Friday, May 27, 2011

Marvellous Movie Time!!

The blogging world is full of cool people. Now and then, you happen upon someone with whom you really connect. George (Nebular) is one of those people. He runs an awesome blog called CineMarvellous! where he offers sharp, concise movie reviews. George lives in Europe, so I doubt we’ll ever meet in person. But if we did, we’d talk movies for hours, because we share the same taste in films.

I asked George to share a bit about himself, his former Rotten Tomatoes journal, and how he came to us here in the blogging world…

Hey there, Alex’s army!


When Alex asked me to do this self-introduction I was as thrilled as I was anxious, because I’ve never done anything like this before. At first I was like – OMG, so many people will read this! Am I interesting enough not to bore them all to death?! J But then I thought – What the hell, I’m doing it. It will be fun!


First things first, my name is George, and I’m a cinephile coming from a small country in south-eastern Europe. Being obsessed with movies since young age, and working as a video store manager for a long time, movies have always been a huge part of my life. I’ve been writing reviews since 2004, and though I’m just a regular guy who has huge passion for film and cinema in general, I’ve always wanted to be a professional critic.


So, it all began 7 years ago, when I came across the Rotten Tomatoes site by a lucky accident. My first reaction was WOW! I found all this fresh/rotten thing to be pretty cool, and I was so impressed by its editors’ creativity and imaginativeness, that I’ve started to visit the site regularly, spending hours a day on reading critics reviews and stuff. Soon after, I became a part of the RT community, and started my own RT journal called “A Journal Made of Bricks” /because of the bricky pattern I used as a background/. I knew it sounds ridiculous, but at the same time, I kinda liked because it was unusual and unique.


Sadly though, my English was pretty poor at that time, and my reviews were extremely short and mostly consisted of simple, lame sentences like “The cast was great.”; “The visuals were amazing.”; “The story sucks” and things like that - there was nothing insightful, or original, or even remotely witty about those reviews. LOL. However, after a year of regular writing, my English has improved vastly, and I got better and better at reviewing movies. I’ve posted every single day, made hundreds of new friends, got thousands of visitors, and as a result of all this, my journal became hugely popular - I was in a complete shock when I found out that it has reached No. 12 on RT’s ‘TOP 25 Most-Visited Journals Ever’ list, and remained there for a long time. My journal even appeared on the main page of RT for about a week /I’ve got a screenshot to prove it ;)/.


However, in 2008 the guys from RT screwed up pretty much everything, by changing completely the interface design of the web site, which made it unusable for most users, plus, it was full of annoying bugs. A year later, I said goodbye to Rotten Tomatoes, and joined Blogger. In August 2009, I ran a movie blog, called CineMarvellous! (Check it out, and I hope you guys like it). It covers all the genres of film, from martial arts and horror movies to art-house drama, animations and recent sci-fi blockbusters. In the beginning, I’ve started with more detailed movie reviews, but last year I’ve changed the course and began to write brief and to-the-point reviews, because of my busyness, and because I realized that almost nobody likes to read long and tiresome movie reviews. I bet you don’t either. J So far, my blog has been visited over 63,000 times by more than 11,000 unique visitors from 135 different countries. I’m truly grateful to Blogger for giving me the opportunity to write and post reviews for free, and to all my blog buddies, readers and visitors, who make blogging worth it.


Besides RT and Blogger, I’ve done some writing for a local lifestyle magazine called “My Life”. Last year, they’ve contacted me and asked me to do an article for their St. Valentine’s issue – a list that features the ten greatest love stories in history of cinema. To be honest, I’ve struggled a bit with it, simply because romantic movies have never been my cup of tea, /I’m more into horror, sci-fi, fantasy and martial arts/, but I decided to do it nevertheless. The editor in chief loved it, and that’s how I got published for the very first time. J Furthermore, I’ve done some paid reviews, and won several awards, including 2010 TOP MOVIE REVIEW BLOG, which I consider a great achievement.

Thanks for sharing, George!

Now, my awesome army – go visit CineMarvellous! and see how a pro really reviews movies.

And my wife and I are taking off for a few days, so everyone have a safe Memorial Day weekend!

73 comments:

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Alex, I can't thank you enough for letting me do this guest post. I really, really appreciate it, and I'm flattered by being the first guest appearance on your hugely popular blog! I hope your awesome blog buddies will like it. :)

Margo Benson said...

Thank you for introducing George, Alex! There is nothing like lashings of enthusiasm for a subject to entice a reader to a new blog. I'm popping over to CineMarvellous now.
Have a great weekend.

Gail said...

Have a wonderful holiday, Alex!

Will be checking out your friend's site.

Unknown said...

Wow!! George, this is one impressive bio indeed. Cinemarvellous is an amazing film site and I can't recommend it highly enough. You know how much I love visiting and reading all your cool reviews.

Alex, have a great mini vacation and a safe trip. I'm so glad you spotlighted George. He's really great.

Leovi said...

Very interesting these words of George and of course your blog.

Jeff Beesler said...

What an awesome way to get published, George!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

George, you're welcome, and I'm sure they'll dig it!

Thanks, Margo and Gail!

Melissa, he's awesome.

Old Kitty said...

Yay for George!!! Wow what a guy!!! Thank you Cap'n Ninja for having him here too!!! Double Yay!

Have a lovely break oh captain, my captain!! See you soon!

Take care
x

Mary@GigglesandGuns said...

Great piece! It's fun getting to know George.
Have a great get-away.

S.A. Larsenッ said...

George, you sound like a really interesting guy. Thanks for sharing so much of yourself here. And, I'm a major movie buff. Don't know what I'd have done without them in high school. lol

Anonymous said...

Thanks for introducing us to George. I'll stop by and check out his blog.

Elizabeth Spann Craig said...

I'm always glad to get the scoop on upcoming films and see what's worth my money. Looks like an awesome site, and thanks to Alex for hosting you today.

Talli Roland said...

Great post, George and Alex!

Unknown said...

Thanks for the intro. Now popping across to George for a wee nosey.

Lydia Kang said...

Sometimes "this story sucks" really does say it all!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Thank you Kitty and Mary!

Salarsen, you said it.

Lydia, so true!

Karen Lange said...

Nice to meet you, George! Thanks for the introduction, Alex. Have a great weekend everyone. :)

Arlee Bird said...

George, sounds like you've been doing something right with your blogging. Keep up the great work!

Alex, have a great holiday weekend. Good for you for continuing to showcase other bloggers.

Lee
Tossing It Out

Summer Ross said...

Have a great weekend Alex and get some you and her time in :)

Chris Phillips said...

Have a great holiday weekend!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Thanks, Lee! It's the least I can do.

And vacation starts soon...

Emily Rose said...

I love movies too, maybe I can find some new ones to watch.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Thank you all! You really made my day! :) My 'followers' gadget is broken :( Damn!

If you guys want to follow me, try with the bar above the header. There's a 'follow' option, too.

Thanks everyone! Appreciate it!

Charles Gramlich said...

I'll check it out. I don't get to see a lot of movies but maybe he can help me decide which ones are worth seeing.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

That's crappy timing!

alexia said...

Nice to meet you, George! Sounds like a fun blog. I love movies :)

Lindsay said...

Sounds like a great site, George. i'll have to check it out.

And have a nice vacation, Alex ;)

Cheeseboy said...

Wow. So interesting. I loved RT before the change, so it's interesting to hear this inside perspective. I still use RT but not nearly as much as I used to.

Dafeenah said...

Awesome. Another blog where I can find out what movies I have missed. Thanks for sharing Alex!

Donna K. Weaver said...

Nice to meet George. And what's wrong with short language. "Story sucks" says it all, right? =D

Bryan Russell said...

Gonna have to check back there when I'm looking up films.

Mary Aalgaard said...

George, you're making great strides in your movie review career. Congrats! What is your top romantic movie pick?

Unknown said...

You should get someone who will do the chic flics for you. Well, I know you hesitated to this post but I found it extremely interesting.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Cheeseboy, I view RT a little different now. Shame on them!

Donna, sometimes it does!

M Pax said...

It was great to learn more about you, George. :D

Unknown said...

Have a fabulous three-day weekend Alex!

What a great feature! George seems great and I'm looking forward to hopping over there and seeing what all he has to offer!!

Michael Di Gesu said...

Hey, Alex,

Thanks for introducing us to George..... I'll definitely check out his blog site.

Have a great weekend.

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

George is an impressive man with an impressive site. You'd never know English isn't his first language if he didn't share that.

Happy weekend getaway, Alex.
xoRobyn

Saumya said...

George sounds awesome! Thanks for the introduction :) Hope you and your wife have a relaxing long weekend.

Ciara said...

Great website! I bookmarked it because the follower function wasn't working.

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Ciara, thanks! :) Yes, the 'followers' gadget is broken since yesterday. I hope they will fix it soon.

Robyn, thank you so much for the kind words. You have no idea how happy your comment made me :)

Saumya, Michael, Jen, M Pax - a huge thanks to all of you.

Clarissa, glad you found it interesting :) And, yes, I need a chick to do the chick flicks :)

Mary, thanks. As much as I remember, my pick was "Love Actually" :)

Donna, yes it does, but it's also boring? :)

Cheesyboy, I did too, and I still like it now.. just not that much.

Lindsay, I hope you liked it.

Alexia, nice to meet you too :)

Laura said...

great intro to an interesting guy - thanks Alex - off to investigate his blog right away. Have an amazing weekend - don't do anything i wouldn't... :)

ali cross said...

Awesome! I'm totally going ... 1) because every time I read "CineMarvellous!" it makes me think of "mahvellous darling, simply mahvelous" which is hillarious and 2) I just used "holy tomatoes" in a tweet out of some weird fluke only to come here NEXT and discover George used to write for Rotten TOMATOES. So of course, it must be fate!

Empty Nest Insider said...

Thanks for introducing us to George! What an amazing accomplishment learning a new language while you were writing. Talk about on the job training! I'm heading over there right away. Thanks again Alex, and have a great weekend! Julie

Ella said...

Nice to meet you George! I love your view and how blogging has opened doors for you~ Congrats! I'll be by to visit you :D

Alex and everyone who reads this; be safe this weekend and have fun!~

Jennie Bailey said...

The Hubster is a huge Rotten Tomatoes fan. I wonder who is going to like CineMarvellous more - me? Or him? GREAT site. Thanks for sharing, Alex. You always have the best blogging friends! Have a wonderful weekend!!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Robyn, I wouldn't have known it!

Ciara, thank you for doing that! Yeah, the widget is all messed up today.

Laura, I'm pretty tame...

Ali, it is fate! And yes, when I created the post title, Billy Crystal came to mind.

Ella, safety is my middle name.

Thanks everyone for visiting today, for visiting George's site, and for the weekend wishes.

Jemi Fraser said...

Great post George! I'm always so impressed with people who can communicate so clearly in more than one language! :)

Margo Kelly said...

Very interesting!
Thanks,

Rusty Carl said...

Hey - I popped over to his blog and spent a while reading through his reviews. Great stuff.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Jemi, isn't it amazing?

Rusty, you could get lost there...

Chuck said...

I am off to his site! Have a great weekend Alex!

Jamie Gibbs said...

Cinemarvellous is awesome :D Great guest post, and now I think I will dip back into the blog for more movie goodness :D

Ellie Garratt said...

Fabulous interview! Have a great weekend.

Ellie Garratt

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Chuck, go!

Jamie, no one does reviews like George.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

I new site I need to follow!

Tracy Jo said...

This is great! I am off to check you out George. Thanks Alex!

Theres just life said...

Okay I have tried to comment 3 times today and blogger couldn't be found????
I really enjoyed meeting George. I use to manage a Video store myself, I always got the phone calls to help out with a bet going on. Or help chose a good movie to show at school that would meet their guide lines.

But I loved it. I have always loved movies and talking about them as well.

Pamela Jo
http://theresjustlifeyaliveit.blogspot.com

Jai Joshi said...

Thanks for introducing me to George and CineMarvellous, Alex! I love films and I love knowing people who share my interests.

Jai

Andrew said...

Cinemarvellous really is a great blog....
I check it out all of the time.

Great read today!

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Ali, glad to hear that reading my blog's title make you feel that way :) And, yes, it's a fate :)

Julie, writing movie reviews really helped me a lot with improving my skills in English.

Ella, dear, I think we've met before ;) Well, not in person, but here at Alex's blog.

Jennie, so am I. You should introduce me to your husband :)

Jemi, thanks. Appreciate it.

Rusty, really? Wow! Thanks, mate. Glad you ended up captivated by my blog :)

Jamie, thanks mate. Your comments are always so sweet :)

Pamela, nice to meet you too. As a former video store manager, you know that people often as for movie recommendations.. like all the time, right? :)

Andrew, thanks, buddy. You're one of my favorite commentors. :)

KM Nalle said...

I've recently discovered the joys of movie review blogs. I can't wait to check out CineMarvellous. I enjoyed reading about your journey.

Thanks for hosting Alex!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Pamela, glad you kept trying to comment!

Thanks everyone for visiting!

Denise Covey said...

It was awesome to see George on the stage. How great to be so into something to that depth!

Denise<3

Unknown said...

well if that is not inspiring i don't know what is. I hope I can get my blog up and running like that :)

teresa

dolorah said...

You've come a long ways George.

I'll give it a go :)

.......dhole

Enid Wilson said...

You write very well, George! So what is the most memorable movie in 2010 for you?

Chemical Fusion

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

Enid, thanks. For me, the most memorable movie of 2010 is, hands down, "The Social Network". :)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Thanks again everyone and glad George was inspiring! Now I know how much more I can do if I just stick to it.

Unknown said...

George your article got me in awe of how powerful your singular passion for film critique is that fueled your achievements today! Especially the part where you mentioned that you started off with a simple command of English, this is inspirational material.

I'll never quite see your reviews the same ever again. Respect ;)

Kudos to George and Alex for featuring his story! :)

George Beremov [Nebular] said...

L'Aussie, yes, I'm truly passionate at writing about movie.

Teresa, thank you so much. Glad you found it inspiring. :)

Donna, I have.. and it's been an amazing experience.

J-Son, I can't thank you enough, buddy. You found my story inspirational, and I found your comment to be so uplifting!

Alex is the man! :)

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

JSon, I'm definitely impressed!

Pat Tillett said...

Great post! I'll be sure to check him out...