I can’t believe it’s been a decade since I started doing this, and when I look back, I’m surprised by what I’ve been able to achieve.
The Movie Guy didn’t just start as one idea, but rather as a collection of things that miraculously came together. It probably started more than 10 years ago, but in April 2016, my first real movie review was published. Oddly enough, it was just after Easter weekend, and if I remember correctly, it was for Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Things really just happened. I remember starting at the Windhoek Express in March 2016, and since it was a community newspaper, I wanted something that would just be mine. I tried personal columns, which were great, but then I realised that most newspapers didn’t have a movie review section. I submitted my first review at the beginning of April, and my editor approved it.
I tried again the next week, and eventually, people started liking it. I obviously loved it because I got to go to the cinema every week. I was able to give my opinions on all kinds of movies, and if I didn’t get to go to the cinema, I just reviewed a TV show. I not only got to watch the movies, but I also built a relationship with the local cinema chain, one that remained long after I left the newspaper.
I think it was around the middle of 2018 that I decided to start a blog separate from my normal reviews. I still wanted it to be movie-focused, but not just reviews. I wanted to do movie rankings and share articles that didn’t make the cut for the newspaper. I didn’t have a name yet, but it was quite easy to come up with one.
I’m a guy who loves movies, so I decided to call myself The Movie Guy. That’s also what I called the blog and Facebook page. The Instagram page came way after that, and not long after, I posted my first video review. It was in July 2019, and the review was for Spider-Man: Far From Home. It’s still on YouTube.
I had picked up a few video editing skills and thought I could ace making videos. I was wrong. After three or four videos, I just gave up. It wasn’t until 2022 that I started posting videos again. It was also in 2019 that I got to Comic Con Africa for the first time. I think that planted the seed for my eventual move to South Africa.
Then 2020 came, and everything came to a standstill. My dream of being the next big film reviewer died. I still wrote reviews for a while, but eventually, I ended up in a place where I couldn’t go to the movies anymore. I still posted memes on Instagram just to keep the page alive.
In May 2022, the pandemic was mostly over. I had a new phone, and everyone was doing TikTok, so I decided to check it out myself. I posted my first TikTok reviewing Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and cross-posted it to other platforms. I started writing reviews again, and people seemed to read them.
I went back to Comic Con Africa, and right then I knew I had to continue being The Movie Guy. So, all of this might have started 10 years ago, but in 2022, it became something I committed myself to. There were moments when I wanted to give up. I suffered burnouts, sleepless nights, hundreds of rejections, and online bullying, but I still wouldn’t trade this for anything.
The way I see it, I’m just getting started. I’ve now interviewed celebrities, attended multiple film events, made friends in the industry, and I’m finally doing something I truly love. Plus, I get to write reviews for the Republikein, which is an honour. And before I forget, I relaunched my website as www.themovieguy.co.za so everyone can follow along with my progress.
The Movie Guy is no longer just a guy who loves movies. It’s a brand that will continue sharing love for films, TV, and pop culture long after I’m gone.
