 Sue'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)
Sue. Known on the forum as "pfrsue". Known in the MRFH Office as "That old bag". (And that's when they know I'm listening!)
TELL US ABOUT HOW YOU FIRST DISCOVERED MRFH, WHAT YOU THOUGHT ABOUT IT, AND HOW YOU CAME ON BOARD AS A WRITER.
Oh boy, I think I stumbled across MRFH for the first time around eight years ago. I'd love to tell you which movie or article pulled me in, but I don't even remember what I had for breakfast this morning. (Wait, I think it was a donut!) At first I was a casual surfer, then a somewhat more dedicated lurker, and eventually MRFH became part of my daily internet rotation. Movie reviews are a dime a dozen (also like donuts!) but the fun spirited nature and exceptionally good writing of the Mutants really impressed me. It was a fun site to hang out at, even as a silent wraith drifting around periphery of the forum.
When the casting call went out for a new writer, I hesitated about applying. I loved to write, I loved what MRFH was doing, but hey, I thought I was so much older than the standard Mutant demographic that I seriously didn't think I had any shot at a job. Eventually, mostly on a whim, I cobbled together a review of "A Christmas Story", wrote out an application that admitted up front that I wasn't what they were looking for at all, and was immediately hired. I should mention that Drew came on board at the same time I did, which makes us twins. Kinda sorta.
SHARE ANY FAVORITE MEMORIES OF "BEHIND THE SCENES" MRFH EVENTS OR INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER MUTANTS.
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The traveling summit was awesome, though I still can't remember participating in the Goonies Mutant Viewing with Justin and I'm still digesting the fondue feast from Lissa's house. Most recently, during the Summit Which Might Never Be Written About, I had the great good fortune to go to Wisconsin's infamous "House On The Rock" with PoolMan and Spawns 1 and 2. I will never forget Pooly sneaking up behind my daughter by the creepy porcelain doll display and just about sending her into a fear-fueled orbit with his high pitched whisper, "Take us hoooooome! Why don't you loooooooove us?" She still hasn't stopped shaking and I expect the night terrors to go on through her retirement. Ah, good times.
On the other hand, there are a few Mutants who I've never even spoken to on the phone. That needs to be addressed at some point, because they're great people and I love them all like the children I never had. (Because the children I had, were not them.)
WHAT WERE SOME OF YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITE ARTICLES & REVIEWS THAT YOU WROTE, AND WHY DO YOU LIKE THEM SO MUCH?
Dang, I always think that everyone else on the site is a much better writer than I am. That makes this complicated. Hmm.
By far the review that received the most commentary -- good and bad -- was my evisceration of Grave of the Fireflies. Even now, we get the occasional wacko on the forum who logs on just to tell me what a complete idiot I am and that my children should be sold for medical research. Amazingly, I have never lost any sleep over this. Another oldie-but-goodie that I remember fondly was Better Than Sex. I just had fun writing that one for some reason. Hidalgo was fun. So was Footloose, since my daughter essentially wrote the funniest bits for me by mouthing off and nearly getting herself grounded. The two serious reviews I wrote that I'm still proud of were for Brokeback Mountain and The Woodsman.
Article-wise, I was pretty darned satisfied with Regarding Black Hawk Down and Help! Disney's Out To Get Me! for very different reasons.
SHARE ANY INTERESTING ENCOUNTERS OR E-MAILS THAT YOU HAD WITH MRFH READERS – GOOD OR BAD!
Way back when, shortly after I did my article on Cinematic Studs, I had a great email from someone who actually knew one of the movie horses that I'd written about. (Denny from The Man From Snowy River) Finding out that Denny survived the filming of Snowy River 2 (there were rumors that he'd been killed in an accident) was great. Apparently Denny lived to a very ripe old age, so that was just a feel-good kind of email.
I also had some really nice notes from people who read and appreciated my Black Hawk Down article, including a very complimentary one from a retired high-ranking CIA official who was definitely "in the know" about what happened in Somalia. (I could tell you who he his, but then I'd have to kill me.) I also received a thank you email from a former high school classmate of one of the fallen soldiers.
I'm going to join Pooly here for a second and say a big "Thank You!" to everyone who took the time to email, PM or shout out to me on the forums when they thought I'd done something right. Hugs to all of you!!!!!! It can be sort of lonely when you feel like you're reviewing into a void, so I think I speak for all the Mutants when I say that the occasional bit of validation or a pat on the back from a reader really makes our day.
WHAT ASPECT OF MRFH DO YOU THINK MAKES IT UNIQUELY SPECIAL APART FROM THE REST OF THE INTERNET?
Aside from the smell of Mike's socks? (More "unique" than "special" really.) I think it's really the sense of family that we have, both among the staff and among all the folks who hang out on our forum. I credit Justin a lot for running a ship that might be wild, weird and jolly good hijinksy fun, but also maintains a very secure safety net of respect and tolerance for diverse points of view. Besides, where else can a forum conversation on Hidalgo morph into a discussion about great tasting chocolatey Ovaltine? (Thanks Hucklebubba!) Regarding site content, I think the diversity of our staff has always lent itself to being able to cut a pretty wide swath in terms of the kinds of movies we cover. The freedom we have to review where our peers have gone before, also makes for some very entertaining reading.
WHAT WAS THE WORST FILM YOU REVIEWED FOR MRFH, AND WHY?
Grave of the Fireflies is the one that was soooooo bad that I couldn't even sit through all of it. (Here comes more hate mail! Yay!) I'm sorry, but I have so many better things to do with my time than watch animated children die slow and agonizing deaths. Sticking bamboo shoots under my fingernails or maybe a do it yourself appendectomy comes to mind. It's strange that I consider this movie to be the epitome of both the best and the worst. One of my best reviews for one of the worst movies in the history of the universe. Go figure.
Other groaners that will long remain lodged in my brain like acid soaked splinters are Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2, Catwoman, Hollywood Homicide and Dust. I feel like I need to go wash my hands now.
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?
HOW DO YOU THINK MRFH HAS CHANGED OR GROWN OVER THE YEARS YOU'VE KNOWN IT?
We've had considerable staffing changes in the years since I came on board, but the archives maintain the literary treasure trove that our lost Mutants have left to us. Personally, I love digging around in the archives periodically for those hidden nuggets of brilliance. (Clare's stuff is especially fun to read.) We've got a very solid staff at the moment, including our newest ace, Eunice, who holds the keys to the Mutant News Annex. In terms of quality, I think we reached a very high level and we've been fortunate to be able to maintain that, despite losing a few key people, and PoolMan wandering off to play shuffleboard all the time.
The site itself has changed visually somewhat -- a little less confusing to bebop around in. It's funny really, because I always think our front page looks uber-cool, and Justin is always calling me up to tell me that he's planning to tweak it, improve it or feed it more protein and less fiber. He's usually right, but don't tell him I said that. I'd never hear the end of it, if he knew.
IF MRFH HAD A THEME SONG, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
I think we'd need more of an entire soundtrack than a song, but I'll go with the Animaniacs Theme Song. It's catchy. You can dance and throw pies to it.
ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO ADD? (STORIES, FAVORITES, QUOTES, ETC.)
We live. We grow stronger. We fight another day.
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