Well it's that time again. On April 12, 2008, this blog was created as a back up for any reviews I posted on my then-blog on MySpace [do people still use MySpace?]. I'm close to 500 reviews now, thanks to the support of readers, viewers, bloggers, and just all-around family and friends who enjoy what I offer here. The blog almost has 400,000 views, which I find completely amazing. I'm so grateful so many people appreciate my reviews and thoughts on genre films I love so very much. All I ever wanted to do was entertain others, so I'm glad it seems to be working. What was once something I just did for the hell of it has become something that means a whole lot to me personally and even professionally.
So I just want to thank anyone and everyone who has taken a peek at Full Moon Reviews, including those who have commented and shared anything related to this blog. I've met so many great people because of this and I wouldn't change reviewing films for the world. I can't believe Full Moon Reviews is now FOUR YEARS OLD. It just boggles my mind. It really does.
As for what's coming up: Expect a group of superhero stuff, as films leading up to the highly anticipated THE AVENGERS film will be covered, as well as the continuation of the BATMAN franchise leading to THE DARK KNIGHT RISES. Also there will be horror reviews for CABIN IN THE WOODS, CABIN FEVER and CABIN FEVER 2: SPRING FEVER, JEEPERS CREEPERS, and more. Plus the 500th review will probably be out this month - and it's for a cult classic that I've been wanting to review for a very long time now.
Also expect more Hit & Miss reviews, as I'm heavily backed up in terms of films I have watched for review due to the whole Netflix-Starz fiasco that really overwhelmed most of us bloggers. Plus, they just seem quicker to do than the normal long " Things I've Learned..." reviews - which means more content on the blog monthly. I will still continue long reviews for films I feel need or deserve them, whether they're milestone reviews [every 50th review], part of a major franchise that deserves to be highlighted, or involving an Original vs. Remake type of post. From what I can tell, a lot of you enjoy the simple Hit & Miss reviews, so it won't make much difference. I will try to get at least 2 reviews out per week. As a matter of fact, CABIN FEVER may be out sometime tonight or even tomorrow.
As for video reviews, there aren't any planned. I just don't have the time to film them and then edit them. Plus it seems the written reviews are more popular anyway. I'll return to videos one day, but not anytime soon.
Thanks again to everyone who have supported this blog in any way. It truly means a lot to me. The Big Five is next year - which should be a special one. Stay tuned.
- Fred [The Wolf]
TOP 10 MOST VIEWED REVIEWS [April 12, 2011]
1. 1408 (2007) - 4,045 Views
2. WITCHBOARD (1987) - 3,137 Views
3. ELVIRA, MISTRESS OF THE DARK (1988) - 2,552 Views
4. BABYSITTER WANTED (2008) - 1,284 Views
5. PIRANHA (1978) - 932 Views
6. THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 (1986) - 573 Views
7. 2001 MANIACS: FIELD OF SCREAMS (2010) - 513 Views
8. NIGHT OF THE DEMONS (2009) - 469 Views
9. MEGA SHARK VERSUS GIANT OCTOPUS (2009) - 438 Views
10. NEIGHBOR (2009) [Video Review] - 427 Views
TOP 10 MOST VIEWED REVIEWS [April 12, 2012]
1. 1408 (2007) - 14,192 Views
2. WITCHBOARD (1987) - 10,933 Views
3. ELVIRA, MISTRESS OF THE DARK (1988) - 4,242 Views
4. BABYSITTER WANTED (2008) - 2,986 Views
5. A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (2010) - 2,526 Views
6. SCREAM 4 (2011) [Video Review] - 2,317 Views
7. TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1990) - 2,129 Views
8. MORTAL KOMBAT (1995) & MORTAL KOMBAT: ANNIHILATION (1997) - 2,085 Views
9. 2001 MANIACS: FIELD OF SCREAMS (2010) - 1,973 Views
10. THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 2 (1986) - 1,960 Views
Now the second reason for this post:
I just received the 7 x 7 Link Award by my friend Nolahn of Bloggin' Bin Revue. He's one of the coolest guys I have met on the blogosphere, and definitely a major supporter of me and Full Moon Reviews. If you love a guy who sarcastically reviews B-grade schlock and does a great podcast called The Lair of the Unwanted, definitely check out his blog plus his actual website, Bargain Bin Review. He always links to my blog, so I am returning the favor. Thanks, Nolahn!
Now let's see what the rules are for this award.
RULE 1: Tell everyone something that no one else knows about you.
A tiny number of people know this, but I used to write an e-mail soap opera for many years. It started back in 2000, when I joined role-playing wrestling federations, where you would choose characters and play as them for matches. You would be judged by how well your promos were against your opponent. I created a character called Johnny Danger, who a lot of people in the fed really enjoyed.
Once I stopped in 2002, I continued the character and all the people that supported that character in a spin-off called Danger TV. I used Jesse Metcalfe as photos for Danger, while Jenna Jameson was the inspiration for his girlfriend/wife. I also had characters who would be "played" by James Franco, Vin Diesel, Dean Cain, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Chris Evans, Denzel Washington, and so on. I used to write it and send it to a group of friends. They were like scripts for a television show that only existed in my head. It had action, comedy, horror, romance, sci-fi, and everything in between.
Not sure how many read them, but I continued until 2007. It just became a chore as the "episodes" just got really long due to 60 characters that I had trouble balancing. Plus I started reviewing in October 2006 and was still in college, which didn't help matters either. I still have an unfinished episode that hasn't been worked on since 2008 and it looks like it'll never be done. I have thought about bringing it back recently, but in a reboot sort of way where the past episodes still exist, yet the newer episodes would take place in a different time frame [sort of like time was changed and only a few characters realize it]. But I never actually sit down and write anything for it. Johnny Danger still exists, however, anytime I buy a WWE game as he's my created character. Other than that, Danger TV is under permanent hiatus. But I had a lot of fun writing it and I hope those who did read it enjoyed it just as much.
RULE 2: Link to one of the posts that I personally think best fits the following categories: Most Beautiful Piece, Most Helpful Piece, Most Popular Piece, Most Controversial Piece, Most Surprisingly Successful Piece, Most Underrated Piece, and Most Pride-Worthy Piece.
Most Beautiful Piece: Dawn of the Dead (1978 & 2004)
I chose this one because it's probably the most different of the reviews I have done, since it's not really a review. This post was a term paper for a final that my college Horror Genre class had issued, where we could decide what to write about in a compare and contrast sort of manner. I got an A+ on it and figured that instead of reviewing the film AGAIN, I would just post it and share why I felt the two films were powerful and well-done in their own respective ways.
Unfortunately, not a lot of people read it [it's one of my lowest viewed posts]. It's a shame because I felt both films deserve more love, even if I did discuss the films in an unfamiliar way in terms of the blog. Maybe mentioning it now will gain more views for the piece, but I'm particularly proud of that post.
Most Helpful Piece: Tape Me: Reel 1 [Indie Horror Spotlight]
I think every Indie Horror Spotlight I do helps the filmmaker gain more traffic and attention to their projects. But my post for my friend Christopher Outridge's project, TAPE ME: REEL 1, definitely seemed to help his views on YouTube [and it's my highest IHS piece in terms of view count]. I believe he's on REEL 3 now and his project is catching on. I like to think that my blog post about it aided in doing that.
Most Popular Piece: 1408 (2007)
In terms of view counts, 1408 has somehow gained so much love on Full Moon Reviews. It's really weird since hardly anyone has commented on the review. Also, 1408 isn't a film many people talk about...like anywhere. But it's been the top post on Full Moon Reviews since its inception, with over 14,000 views as of today. I don't know if that has to do with some spamming, or because there's a huge fan base for John Cusack and/or Samuel L. Jackson. Either way, it's the most popular review, even though I think the review itself is far from my greatest accomplishment.
Most Controversial Piece: Do You Wanna Know A Secret? (2000)
You can't really tell from the post at Full Moon Reviews, but my review for DO YOU WANNA KNOW A SECRET? made me realize that as a reviewer, I finally made it. When I posted this review in 2008, I will simultaneously posting the reviews on MySpace as well. I pretty much bashed the film and even gave it a BOMB rating [which it rightfully deserves]. However, I had one commenter who pretty much ripped me apart for doing so. She also happened to be the sister of one of the stars of the film, Leonora Scelfo. It was my most commented post on my MySpace blog, as my friends jumped in to my defense and pretty much had a heated debate with this lady who I didn't know from atom. It was my first piece of hate mail, and I enjoyed every second of it. I realized that I was doing something right to get that sort of reaction, and the incident is still brought up by those who were there to experience it. The review is one of my favorites because of that situation alone. I hope Ms. Scelfo and her "lovely" sister are doing well. :D
Most Surprisingly Successful Piece: Babysitter Wanted (2008)
BABYSITTER WANTED is a film I really enjoyed and I'm glad it got a lot of love. But for my review to be the 4th highest viewed on the blog for two straight years?? I don't get it. Sure, I think my review for it was well written. But BABYSITTER WANTED isn't a high profile film that I would think could garner that many views. And I didn't really promote all that much, to be honest. I guess there are more Sarah Thompson fans than I had realized. I hope the film got more attention because of my review, if that's any consolation.
Most Underrated Piece: "Hitch on the Hump": YOUNG AND INNOCENT [THE GIRL WAS YOUNG] (1938)
I did this post for a series that my good friend, TL Bugg was doing for his blog: The Lightning Bug's Lair. It was based on the films of the legendary Alfred Hitchcock, where he chose bloggers to discuss various movies in his filmography. I chose one of his earliest films because there's so many articles one could read on VERTIGO, THE BIRDS, and PSYCHO (1960). I felt the piece was one of my best and I wanted to share a film that not many genre fans had probably known about. Unfortunately the piece is my least viewed post and no one really seemed to care about the film. It's a shame, but you can't please everyone. In fact, PSYCHO (1960) doesn't have that many views either [PSYCHO II has almost three times the amount]. No Hitchcock fans around here? For shame!
Most Pride-Worthy Piece – Savage Streets (1984)
I would have chosen NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968/1990/2006) and THE HITCHER (2007) love letter to Sophia Bush for this category because they're two of my favorites. But I gotta go with SAVAGE STREETS, only because someone thought it was good enough to add it to Wikipedia for the film's page. I got an e-mail that it may be on a blurb for a future DVD/Blu-Ray release, but I'll believe it when I see it. But yeah, that's one of my proudest reviews.
RULE 3: Pass this award on to seven other bloggers.
Here ya go, ladies and gents!
Jenny of Memoirs of a Scream Queen
Master Gio of Words From the Master
Franco of The Film Connoisseur
Maynard of Maynard Morrissey's Horror Movie Diary
Matt of Direct to Video Connoisseur
The Mike of From Midnight, With Love
The Guys of Guts and Grog Reviews
And because it's the blog's birthday, here's an extra one:
Michele of The Girl Who Loves Horror
Now let's see what the rules are for this award.
RULE 1: Tell everyone something that no one else knows about you.
A tiny number of people know this, but I used to write an e-mail soap opera for many years. It started back in 2000, when I joined role-playing wrestling federations, where you would choose characters and play as them for matches. You would be judged by how well your promos were against your opponent. I created a character called Johnny Danger, who a lot of people in the fed really enjoyed.
Once I stopped in 2002, I continued the character and all the people that supported that character in a spin-off called Danger TV. I used Jesse Metcalfe as photos for Danger, while Jenna Jameson was the inspiration for his girlfriend/wife. I also had characters who would be "played" by James Franco, Vin Diesel, Dean Cain, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Chris Evans, Denzel Washington, and so on. I used to write it and send it to a group of friends. They were like scripts for a television show that only existed in my head. It had action, comedy, horror, romance, sci-fi, and everything in between.
Not sure how many read them, but I continued until 2007. It just became a chore as the "episodes" just got really long due to 60 characters that I had trouble balancing. Plus I started reviewing in October 2006 and was still in college, which didn't help matters either. I still have an unfinished episode that hasn't been worked on since 2008 and it looks like it'll never be done. I have thought about bringing it back recently, but in a reboot sort of way where the past episodes still exist, yet the newer episodes would take place in a different time frame [sort of like time was changed and only a few characters realize it]. But I never actually sit down and write anything for it. Johnny Danger still exists, however, anytime I buy a WWE game as he's my created character. Other than that, Danger TV is under permanent hiatus. But I had a lot of fun writing it and I hope those who did read it enjoyed it just as much.
RULE 2: Link to one of the posts that I personally think best fits the following categories: Most Beautiful Piece, Most Helpful Piece, Most Popular Piece, Most Controversial Piece, Most Surprisingly Successful Piece, Most Underrated Piece, and Most Pride-Worthy Piece.
Most Beautiful Piece: Dawn of the Dead (1978 & 2004)
I chose this one because it's probably the most different of the reviews I have done, since it's not really a review. This post was a term paper for a final that my college Horror Genre class had issued, where we could decide what to write about in a compare and contrast sort of manner. I got an A+ on it and figured that instead of reviewing the film AGAIN, I would just post it and share why I felt the two films were powerful and well-done in their own respective ways.
Unfortunately, not a lot of people read it [it's one of my lowest viewed posts]. It's a shame because I felt both films deserve more love, even if I did discuss the films in an unfamiliar way in terms of the blog. Maybe mentioning it now will gain more views for the piece, but I'm particularly proud of that post.
Most Helpful Piece: Tape Me: Reel 1 [Indie Horror Spotlight]
I think every Indie Horror Spotlight I do helps the filmmaker gain more traffic and attention to their projects. But my post for my friend Christopher Outridge's project, TAPE ME: REEL 1, definitely seemed to help his views on YouTube [and it's my highest IHS piece in terms of view count]. I believe he's on REEL 3 now and his project is catching on. I like to think that my blog post about it aided in doing that.
Most Popular Piece: 1408 (2007)
In terms of view counts, 1408 has somehow gained so much love on Full Moon Reviews. It's really weird since hardly anyone has commented on the review. Also, 1408 isn't a film many people talk about...like anywhere. But it's been the top post on Full Moon Reviews since its inception, with over 14,000 views as of today. I don't know if that has to do with some spamming, or because there's a huge fan base for John Cusack and/or Samuel L. Jackson. Either way, it's the most popular review, even though I think the review itself is far from my greatest accomplishment.
Most Controversial Piece: Do You Wanna Know A Secret? (2000)
You can't really tell from the post at Full Moon Reviews, but my review for DO YOU WANNA KNOW A SECRET? made me realize that as a reviewer, I finally made it. When I posted this review in 2008, I will simultaneously posting the reviews on MySpace as well. I pretty much bashed the film and even gave it a BOMB rating [which it rightfully deserves]. However, I had one commenter who pretty much ripped me apart for doing so. She also happened to be the sister of one of the stars of the film, Leonora Scelfo. It was my most commented post on my MySpace blog, as my friends jumped in to my defense and pretty much had a heated debate with this lady who I didn't know from atom. It was my first piece of hate mail, and I enjoyed every second of it. I realized that I was doing something right to get that sort of reaction, and the incident is still brought up by those who were there to experience it. The review is one of my favorites because of that situation alone. I hope Ms. Scelfo and her "lovely" sister are doing well. :D
Most Surprisingly Successful Piece: Babysitter Wanted (2008)
BABYSITTER WANTED is a film I really enjoyed and I'm glad it got a lot of love. But for my review to be the 4th highest viewed on the blog for two straight years?? I don't get it. Sure, I think my review for it was well written. But BABYSITTER WANTED isn't a high profile film that I would think could garner that many views. And I didn't really promote all that much, to be honest. I guess there are more Sarah Thompson fans than I had realized. I hope the film got more attention because of my review, if that's any consolation.
Most Underrated Piece: "Hitch on the Hump": YOUNG AND INNOCENT [THE GIRL WAS YOUNG] (1938)
I did this post for a series that my good friend, TL Bugg was doing for his blog: The Lightning Bug's Lair. It was based on the films of the legendary Alfred Hitchcock, where he chose bloggers to discuss various movies in his filmography. I chose one of his earliest films because there's so many articles one could read on VERTIGO, THE BIRDS, and PSYCHO (1960). I felt the piece was one of my best and I wanted to share a film that not many genre fans had probably known about. Unfortunately the piece is my least viewed post and no one really seemed to care about the film. It's a shame, but you can't please everyone. In fact, PSYCHO (1960) doesn't have that many views either [PSYCHO II has almost three times the amount]. No Hitchcock fans around here? For shame!
Most Pride-Worthy Piece – Savage Streets (1984)
I would have chosen NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968/1990/2006) and THE HITCHER (2007) love letter to Sophia Bush for this category because they're two of my favorites. But I gotta go with SAVAGE STREETS, only because someone thought it was good enough to add it to Wikipedia for the film's page. I got an e-mail that it may be on a blurb for a future DVD/Blu-Ray release, but I'll believe it when I see it. But yeah, that's one of my proudest reviews.
RULE 3: Pass this award on to seven other bloggers.
Here ya go, ladies and gents!
Jenny of Memoirs of a Scream Queen
Master Gio of Words From the Master
Franco of The Film Connoisseur
Maynard of Maynard Morrissey's Horror Movie Diary
Matt of Direct to Video Connoisseur
The Mike of From Midnight, With Love
The Guys of Guts and Grog Reviews
And because it's the blog's birthday, here's an extra one:
Michele of The Girl Who Loves Horror
Congrats dude! Keep em comin'! And thanks for the award!
ReplyDeleteThanks! And no problem, dude! You deserve it. You have a fantastic blog. Here's to another year! :D
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Full Moon Reviews! Thank you so much for the award! I really enjoyed this post. :)
ReplyDeleteHUUUGE Congrats to your blog's 4th birthday!! Keep up the great work, let's drink to the next 4 years!! :)
ReplyDeleteOh, and THAAAAAAANK YOU for the award. I really, really appreciate that. Sunday or Monday, there'll be a post on my blog dedicated to you :)
Great job getting to four years, Fred! I wonder how my blog will be when it's that old.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame about those reviews that didn't get that many views.
Also, Johnny Danger sounds cool!
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone! It truly means a lot to have friends and supporters like you guys! I could only imagine the 5th year celebration!
ReplyDeleteAs for Johnny Danger, he was one bad mofo. He'll return one day in some way, shape, or form.
Congrats, bro!! Keep up the awesome work!! & thanx for the award!! :)
ReplyDeleteCongratulations man. 4 years is a long time in blog years. I've been at it for about 1 1/2 years now, and I can only aspire to the success Full Moon Reviews has achieved. Keep up the great work, and good choices on who to pass it along to.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, me and your blog have the same birthday?? FREAKY. Well, happy (belated) birfday to your awesome blog and here's to many more years of wonderfully well-written and heartfelt reviews! Looking forward to reading some of the ones to come in the future.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the award!
Thank you again, guys! Yeah, I can't believe it's been this long. I've actually been reviewing for 6 years this October, which is even crazier. I hope the next year will be just as great, as I have some great [and not so great] stuff planned - especially once I'm done with the BATMAN and AVENGERS stuff.
ReplyDeleteAnd no problem about the awards. I wish I could have given out more because there are more than 7 that deserved it.