Who am I and why should you care? Very good questions! My name is Raven and I’m just a very relatable, regular guy. I live in the Chicagoland area with my partner, 4 cats and 3 dogs. Yes, my house does smell awful. Thank you for asking.
I’ve always loved movies. I used to watch The Lion King with the captions on so much that I actually learned how to read that way and some of my favorite early memories are of watching movies that my parents definitely should not have let me watch, like Interview with the Vampire and Léon: The Professional. With a gazillion streaming services out there, I’m always looking for opinions on what to watch next, but I get so frustrated with movie reviews that are long-winded and full of pretentious, fancy-pants jargon. I’ve taken exactly 3 film classes in my lifetime so I don’t care about “cinematography” or “mise-en-scène”, just tell me if the movie is good or not! And don’t look down on me for liking “pedestrian” movies, like anything in the MCU. That stuff makes billions of dollars for a reason! Don’t get me wrong though, I like me some super serious, Oscar-worthy stuff too. I’m complicated like that. Anyway, that frustration led me to create this site for people like me who don’t want to sift through 15 pages full of big words and spoilers just to find some jackass’s irrelevant, “educated” opinion. This site is for people who want a short, spoiler-free take from a regular Joe, just like them. Everyone deserves to be able to quickly and efficiently find out if a movie is going to be worth their hard earned free time or not.
Along with movie-watching, my other passion is the band Fall Out Boy. They’ve been my favorite band ever since I first heard Infinity on High as a kid and I make sure to see them every time they’re in town. I’ve even gone out of the country to see them on tour. I told you it wasn’t a phase, mom!
As a 30-something with no real hobbies, I, of course, decided to start working on a podcast that smashes together my 2 favorite things (movies and FOB). It’ll be called Film Out Boy and it’ll explore all the films that are referenced in Fall Out Boy songs. I’m still working out the kinks, but you should be able to find it wherever you get your podcasts soon.
In case you’re wondering, some of my favorite movies are Jennifer’s Body, The Shawshank Redemption, The Pest, The Boondock Saints, Get Him to the Greek and literally anything by John Waters.
Relatable Raven Reviews 