I was born a poor black child.
See, right off the bat you should know that I am a movie maniac. “I was born a poor black child” is a line uttered by Navin R. Johnson (Steve Martin) in the hilarious film “The Jerk.”
I was not actually born a poor black child. I was born a poor white child. And I was born into a loving family from Norwood, Massachusetts.
I had a wonderful mother named Faith, a hard working father named Mike and seven of the best friends a poor, young white boy could ever ask for. I was the third eldest in the pride of 8. My siblings names are Cathy, Michael, Andrew, Donald, Faith, Colin, and Becky. They are the best people anyone could ever know.
But I’m not going to talk about them right now because I’m a HUGE narcissist and this is my profile, not theirs.
My name is Matty W. Kelley and I love movies.
I have always loved movies ever since I was a child. The first film I ever saw in the theatre was “Challenge to be Free.” It was 1975 and I don’t know what theatre I was at. All I know is there was a bear and a man with a beard in the movie. I’m not even sure if it was good or not.
What I am sure of was that I loved the thrill of going to the theatre. I loved the atmosphere. I loved the electricity that surrounded the movie-house back then. I loved the energetic crowd, and I loved the smell of the freshly popped popcorn when you walked into the lobby. I’m telling you from the first time my mother brought me to that theatre I was hooked.
When I was young I didn’t go to the theatre a lot. Maybe three, four times a year. It wasn’t easy for my parents, to wrangle up seven lunatics (and one in Mom’s oven) and purchase a row of seats for the family. It was kind of like taking a zoo of ring-tailed lemurs to the theatre. We were children, which meant we were maniacs. I think that may be why we could only go to the theatre every so often.
But the best memory of my theatre-going life has to be in the summer of 1977. My mother and my aunt took myself, my brothers and sisters, and my cousins to see “Star Wars.” This moment in time would shape me into the movie fanatic that I am today. This movie AND this experience is the reason I see 100 films at the theatre every year. Who would’ve thought that this glorious night that my mother thought may be a fun evening out for the family would in turn be the reason I would eventually move to Hollywood.
“Star Wars” was a life changer for me. I couldn’t believe how incredible it was. I was moved from the theatre to a galaxy far, far away, and I loved every second of it. I could tell you my review of it, but we all know that it’s the best film ever.
For the next 30 years all I would do is see movies at the theatre. I’d go with my brothers. I’d go with my friends. I go with dates, I’d go with strangers, I’d go with hobos, and eventually I would learn to go by myself. (Personally, I think it’s the best way to go. You’re your own cheap date.)
It’s only been over the past seven or eight years where I’ve realized that “Hey, I love movies. Why don’t I try to work in the entertainment industry?” This is when I decided to start writing down all the movies I saw and rate them. Then I figured, “Hey why don’t I write a review on some of these films I see?”
So that’s what I did. I started reviewing movies, in my own demented way that only I know how to.
It took me a long time to put my life together, but I did. I moved myself out to Los Angeles and I am working in the entertainment business. I’m working in tv right now, but I still catch my movies and I write reviews every chance I get.
I know there are many critics out there that know everything about everything in the film industry… but I am not one of them. I am just a guy who loves going to the movies. When you read my reviews you will not hear me ripping the cinematographer apart, mainly because I’m not even sure what he does. What you will get from me is my honest opinion on films that I’ve recently seen at the theatre. Most of the time I am positive on films, (there are not many that I have disdain for) but sometimes I can be pretty negative too. That’s not to knock whoever worked on said film, It’s just that what a certain person sees one way, another person sees it completely the opposite way.
And that’s why I am a movie maniac. It’s all about YOUR opinion. Who really cares what anybody else thinks.
I have a saying: “There’s only ONE person in the world that is a better movie reviewer than me… and that’s YOU.”
I also have another saying: “Life is short, don’t waste it reading a book. Just go see the movie.”
I have a funny feeling some people may not like that saying, but what the hell, I’m a movie guy!
-Matty W. Kelley