The Cinema Is My Happy Place or Why The Heck Am I Doing This Whole Podcast Thingy

Hey there and thanks for stopping by our little podcast/website/audio/cinematic adventure. This was one of those ideas and dreams that rattled around our heads, and in conversations, for a few years after our beloved CineFOOLS ended. Despite both Craig and I still having a few lingering burnout issues, we still were extremely passionate about film and as a result, here we are with From First To Last.

To celebrate our launch, we thought it would be cool for both Craig and myself to write about why we love film so much, to share our story a little but in our own way. This is what the articles you’ll find each week are intended as, we hope they become an accompaniment to the audio you listen to. A place where we’ll share fresh thoughts, expanded perspectives and really whatever comes to us in the days following the release of that week’s episode.

I can’t speak for Craig, and I certainly don’t want to assume on behalf of yourself so I can only speak about what film/movies and the cinema is for me. To me, a movie is more than just a moving story, it’s an escape. It takes us on a journey, shifts the way we think and leaves us in a different emotional space to the way we were two hours previously. In a way the experience of watching a movie in a cinema is a spiritual thing for me. I once made the statement that a trip to the cinemas is like going to church for me and as a Christian, church going man, that was seen as a somewhat blasphemous train of thought.

Now I want to be clear, this train of thought is not intended to be controversial what I’m getting at is that for me, going to the cinemas is like going home, just like how I feel going to church should feel. It’s my happy place! From the moment I step into the cinema foyer and I smell popcorn I feel relaxation wash over me. Like the moment you open the door to your home to smell someone is baking bread, cooking a cake or a roast dinner. I breathe it in and feel 100 times better. 

I guess you could go as far as saying there is something somewhat ritualistic about a trip to the cinemas for me. A ritual that has many parts and as I wrote them down (about 4 times actually), I realised how crazy and nerdy it would sound to someone who doesn’t have the same love of going to the cinema as I do. But for those who do love it, you know that first smell of popcorn, the feeling of the choc top wrapper as it crinkles in your hand, the visual joy as the rows of posters move past you as you walk towards your cinema, the tingle of expectation as the lights come down, the elation at seeing the trailer for one of your most anticipated films and my favourite part of the ritual… the passionate post film coffee and chat. Give me that and my cup will be filled!

This is at the core of From First To Last, we want to let you be a part of our conversations about film. The good ones, the not so good and everything else in between. It’s why I do it and I hope you love doing it with us too.

Big Love, Yeah!

Geoff