Last year I posted a grand total of 23 articles on That Was A Bit Mental. This year is only eleven days old and already this is the tenth article posted.
There are a few reasons for this. Last year was a pretty hectic one in my life, with various major events taking place at different points in the year.
At the start of the year I took on a new job, as the Games Editor of CVG. Moving from single-format publications (Official Nintendo Magazine and Nintendo Gamer) to a multi-format one required a different mindset and a different working style, so in the first few months I was so focused on that my personal site – which is only a hobby, mind – had to take a back seat.
In May I got married to my awesome wife Louise. Anyone who’s ever been married knows how much of a bastard it is to plan the wedding, so that took up loads of free time too.
Then, shortly after that was the E3 Expo, where the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 were properly revealed. Cue the next six months concentrating solely on blanket coverage of both next-gen systems.
In short, a lot of shit was going down in 2013. This year, so far, things have settled down a hell of a lot. I’m settled in my job, I’m happily married and both next-gen systems are experiencing the typical game drought that always comes in a console’s first year.
All this means I can finally concentrate again on That Was A Bit Mental. I’ve got the film reviewing bug again and while I appreciate my expertise is in writing about games rather than film – if you want professional films reviews check out my colleagues at Total Film – I have a great time writing these reviews of daft films (and I hope that rubs off on you as you read them).
Here, then, is a handy bullet point list detailing the future of the site: what you can look forward to in the coming weeks and months.
- Naturally, first and foremost I’ll be producing a lot more reviews on a regular basis. I’ve got a massive list of films I plan on reviewing.
- One of my review goals is to finish off partially completed film series reviews. At the time of writing the site has reviews of every Child’s Play and every Scream, and both have special ‘Series Overview’ pages detailing every film (click the titles to see them).
- This is only the beginning – in time, many series will have complete review collections and Series Overview articles. Halloween (8 of 11 films reviewed) and Friday The 13th (7 of 12) will be the next two series to be finished – I’m aiming to have both done by the end of January.
- There’ll also be a greater number of features. I’ve only written a handful of features in the site’s history, but I want to expand beyond reviews now. Expect to see more articles of a similar ilk to the TWABM Advent Calendar list feature.
- I’ll be posting shorter news stories too. If I see a notable trailer of an upcoming film, or if a previously released film is due to get a new DVD or Blu-ray release, I’ll be sure to let you know.
- I’m a big fan of cheesy trailers and like to collect grindhouse and B-movie trailers as a hobby, so expect to see future articles where I post a selection of my favourites.
- Once I hit the 200 review mark (I’m currently at 177), I’ll start work on the That Was A Bit Mental Volume 2 ebook in my spare time (don’t forget you can currently get the first volume at a dirt cheap reduced price).
- Finally, in a day or so I’ll be posting a list of films I plan to review in the future – this is by no means an exhaustive list and there will be plenty of other films not on the list that will be reviewed in the near future. It should provide a rough guide on what’s to come though, and will help save you recommending films I already plan to see.
Sound good? I ruddy hope so, because I’m up for it. But you don’t need to just sit back while I chuck reviews at you – your feedback isn’t just welcome, it’s encouraged. Here’s how you can do your bit.
- If you disagree with one of my reviews (or agree with it, of course), feel free to comment at the end of the article and let me know.
- Is there a film I haven’t covered that you want me to review? Email me at chris@thatwasabitmental.com and let me know. This whole point of this site is that I’m writing reviews for you to read, so let me know what you want to see me cover and I’ll do everything in my power to get the film in question.
- Similarly, if there are any feature ideas you’d like to see me cover, let me know. Maybe you want me to discuss soundtracks, show the weirdest foreign posters, list the best killer dolls in history… you name it, I’ll strongly consider it.
- Follow the site on Twitter @TWABM, and Like the TWABM Facebook page. Every time I post a new article a link is automatically posted on both, and if you like what you read it would mean a hell of a lot to me if you were to RT or share it through your social network of choice.
- If you enjoy a review and decide you fancy buying the film for yourself, please do use the Amazon links I provide at the end of the review. Each time someone buys stuff via the site I get a few pence which, in time, I’ll be able to save up to eventually remove ads from the site and increase my image storage space.
Well, that’s about it for now. A massive thank you for reading That Was A Bit Mental and staying with it so far (assuming you have, of course!). I hope you stick around for the foreseeable future and help me grow the site into something truly special.