Kyle's Memories

Walk with us now, as we revisit some of our favorite and personal memories about Mutant Reviewers!

NAME AND MRFH NICKNAME (IF ANY)
Kyle is my name, and on the forums I went by "captainkyle" but within the last year or so changed it to "kylerexpop" because it's a lot cooler, tied in with my email address, and is inspired from Grant Morrison's "The Invisibles" comic book masterwork!

His future's so bright, he's gotta wear shades.

TELL US ABOUT HOW YOU FIRST DISCOVERED MRFH, WHAT YOU THOUGHT ABOUT IT, AND HOW YOU CAME ON BOARD AS A WRITER.
In the fall of 1998, I found myself with a choice: either move with my parents to California or stay behind in Colorado for college and my girlfriend. Making what may have been the selfish choice, but was certainly the sane one, I left my Colorado life behind for a California adventure. My first year out here I decided to spend just bumming around and learning the lay of the land; I didn't want to pay out-of-state tuition even at a community college, and I figured skipping first grade and graduating high school at 16 gave me license to take a year off.

In the midst of my revelry, I was discovering and rediscovering the films that would soon come to define me as a person. One in particular, Fletch, became so important that I decided to look up every review I could find via imdb.com. One external review link brought me to Mutant Reviewers from Hell. Like so many before and since, I absolutely fell in love with it. The humor was quirky yet accessible, and the criticism was informed yet playful. I was just blown away.

So much so, in fact, that I did something I had rarely (if ever) done before: I e-mailed the webmaster, Justin, to compliment him and his writers on his impressive site. As is my wont, I was polite yet somehow self-aggrandizing, and semi-arrogantly suggested that if he was ever in need of additional contributions I would be pleased and honored to assist. I felt like I had encountered a vein of similar humor and cinematic enthusiasm, and I knew no matter what happened I had found a website I would be perusing for a very long time.

Amazingly, Justin wrote me back to thank me for reading and for my kind words, and seemed interested in taking me up on my offer! If I could send in some writing samples, and especially two examples of how I would write Mutant reviews, I just might join the MRFH team. I sent stuff in, Justin dug it, and suddenly I was a Mutant Reviewer! Hooray!

SHARE ANY FAVORITE MEMORIES OF "BEHIND THE SCENES" MRFH EVENTS OR INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER MUTANTS.
As I often joke about, receiving random and warmhearted phone calls from main man Justin is always an amazing experience. They're irregular enough that it's hard to expect them, leaving them instead pleasant surprises every single time. Thankfully, he's enough of a worldly fellow to overlook my occasional drunkenness, nor does he ever remark upon my exclamations that I "just got up, dude," even though any cursory knowledge of time zones will reveal that it's usually around 1 p.m. Pacific standard time that I'm saying this.

Phone calls with other Mutants have been few and far between, but not out of any lack of love for them. I'm just not a fan of phone calls. What I am a fan of are postcards and hand-drawn pictures (often of spacemen and "emo girls"), so over the years it's been a joy to exchange notes and cards and mix CDs through the mail with fellow staff members. Holidays are always a special mix of joy (ME: "Cards from all the Mutants! Yes!") and guilt (ME: "I still haven't sent out my 2005 Christmas cards, doctor." MY THERAPIST: "Kyle, you are a bad person.").

Any and all contact with my fellow Mutants over the years has been greatly appreciated and rewarding. Whether it's sharing compliments or just sharing personal anecdotes, it's like keeping in touch with friends across the world whom you haven't actually met in person yet share enough mutual respect with that you would crash on their couch, and offer them yours, any time. Much love!

WHAT WERE SOME OF YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITE ARTICLES & REVIEWS THAT YOU WROTE, AND WHY DO YOU LIKE THEM SO MUCH?
As you might guess, the reviews that I write first (meaning I do all the research and set all the Mutant Meter numbers and bring this particular film to the attention of all) stand out. Reviews of Almost Famous and High Fidelity seem particularly significant to me because I had a vision of the perspective I wanted to share regarding this films, hopefully to the point of bringing nuances in these films that I feel might get generally overlooked to mass attention.

I also dig the reviews of films that are massive pop culture events (like the Star Wars films, the Spider-Man films, etc.) where, like, nearly EVERYBODY on staff sends in reviews within hours of seeing the films. I think a bunch of us hit up midnight previews of Spider-Man and by morning about three of us had sent in reviews. Knowing that so many of us are motivated and enthusiastic enough to go see this movie, get home around 3 or 4 in the morning, and write (mostly) coherent reviews to add our voices to the pop culture symphony, makes me super-happy!

But I don't want to imply that I really love some reviews over others. Writing the truly "cult" reviews, of films that are best described as "hard to find," is an immensely rewarding experience. Bringing attention to overlooked films, being a part of the cult "scene," and greatly inflating one's own sense of self-importance are all very important elements of being a Mutant reviewer that I would not trade in for the world!

SHARE ANY INTERESTING ENCOUNTERS OR E-MAILS THAT YOU HAD WITH MRFH READERS – GOOD OR BAD!
Every time I get any kind of email from readers, it's a fun experience. Even if it's just short and sweet hate mail that bluntly implies I am an idiot for thinking Tron is worth sitting through more than once, for example.

There are quite a few readers whom I still keep in close personal touch with, sharing our love of film and the pen pal process on a regular basis.

And who can forget the dedicated reader who felt such a kinship with me via my reviews and our forums interactions that she successfully borrowed my Veronica Mares Season One DVDs? Since I still need them back, I will never forget! (hint, hint)

WHAT ASPECT OF MRFH DO YOU THINK MAKES IT UNIQUELY SPECIAL APART FROM THE REST OF THE INTERNET?
It's very easy to throw around attributes like "quirky humor" and "sense of family" and "bizarre perspectives on life and cinema." So many websites are memorable and enjoyable in such ways. But I like to think that MRFH stands out in terms of both artistic adherence to personal do-it-yourself creative ethos, as well as a fusion of the shared personal vision of the entire staff. Maybe it's the humor, maybe it's the occasionally iris-shredding green font color, or maybe it's the best-described-as-"unpredictable" selection of reviewed films. It's certainly a mix of all these things and a "mystery" element or two that renders MRFH so amazingly special. I think I'd be upset if I could succinctly point to exactly what makes this place so special. We need mystery, people!

WHAT WAS THE WORST FILM YOU REVIEWED FOR MRFH, AND WHY?
Beyond the obvious, I'd have to say it was Spider-Man 2. It was pretty much review-proof (so many blockbusters are) and I could tell with sickening certainty that it was such an audience pleaser that so many readers were just going to be like "Kyle is a huge idiot if he thinks this AMAZING and OSCAR-WORTHY film is crap. All of his other reviews must be crap, too, if he doubts the greatness of this movie! More cupcakes! Ha ha ha!" I took a cheap shot at the end there, sorry. But, yeah: what was going on here? Madness! I write this part 25 hours before I and the rest of the comic book shop staff will be heading out to see a midnight preview of Spider-Man 3 on our local IMAX screen, so I can't WAIT to see how that goes!

IF YOU HAD A FRIEND WHO WAS TRYING TO GET INTO CULT CINEMA, WHAT FIVE FILMS WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO THEM TO WATCH FIRST, AS A PRIMER?
I would recommend weird, whack stuff like Liquid Sky (soon to be Mutant reviewed!), The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension, Zero Effect, Brick, and Suspiria to get them started. You might think that such a line-up is designed to produce a wise-cracking, cult-knowledge creative EXACTLY like me. But not necessarily. That would be cool, though, eh?

HOW DO YOU THINK MRFH HAS CHANGED OR GROWN OVER THE YEARS YOU'VE KNOWN IT?
Despite my being on staff, I think MRFH has mutated and ultimately matured from something that could easily be discarded as a "fan site" to a website with a legitimate voice in both the cult and pop culture scene. When I first joined the staff, I was bringing the site to the attention of friends who had never heard of such a webpage. In recent years, I've brought up MRFH in polite conversation and been totally overjoyed that not only are complete strangers revealed to be regular readers, but they think I'm a rock star for being a Mutant reviewer. Fantastic!

IF MRFH HAD A THEME SONG, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
"You Give Love a Bad Name" by Bon Jovi. Sure!