Welcome to the party, pal!

Yeah. I think John McClane said it best. (If you don't get the reference, you probably will not be a regular visitor here.)

Welcome to my exciting new blog, "Maki at the Movies."

A little bit about me ... Since October 2001, I have been a reporter for The Star Democrat, a daily newspaper in Easton, Md., covering local government, schools, crime and whatever else needs covering. Since December 2001, I have contributed movie reviews to the paper's "It's the Weekend!" section. (My first published review was Ocean's Eleven.) A handy index of many of my reviews is available at Rotten Tomatoes.



Unfortunately, a slight redesign of the paper's entertainment section, now known simply as "Weekend," has left less room for reviews. I will continue to file them with the hope that the editor will find the space, but because I enjoy writing reviews and people tell me they enjoy reading them, I have started the blog you're reading now.

The focus here will be on new theatrical releases. However, advance screenings are in the Baltimore area, 70 miles or more away from me here in Easton. I try to go to as many as I can, but my first obligation is to the job I actually get paid to do, which usually requires me to work one or two nights a week. There are also daytime screenings that are next to impossible for me to attend. I also contribute to a music Web site, Live-Metal.net, which can be time consuming. So you will not see reviews of every new release here. I'll do as many as I can, but I'm only one person with a full-time job who doesn't exactly live in a movie hub. The advantage of this blog, though, is that if I see and review a movie after it opens, I can post the review here immediately instead of waiting for it to run a week later in the paper. When time allows, I might also post about DVD releases or whatever else is on my mind.

I've never done this before, so I can't say for sure what form this will take. All I know is that I started writing reviews six and a half years ago because I love the movies. That hasn't changed. If anything, that love has grown stronger, especially after the slew of exquisite films in 2007. This year hasn't gotten off to such a hot start, but I'm always hopeful that the next great film is just waiting to be found. So stay tuned to this blog and let's have some fun. The first reviews should be posted later this weekend.