By the glow of a computer screen, Shelbi LeMeilleur, freshman English major, began a blog In February of 2011. LeMeilleur had a distinct mission in mind for her little corner of the Internet – she would watch and review every movie listed in the book “1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.”
“Half the time, the critics don’t get it right, so I want to let people know my opinion,” LeMeilleur said. “Also, it gives me a great excuse to write about anything.”
She was initially inspired to blog after seeing the movie “Julie and Julia,” which follows the story of a woman who cooks her way through every recipe in a cookbook and blogs about each attempt. Like in the movie, LeMeilleur’s objective originally was to watch and review the 1,001 movies from the book “1,001 Movies You Must See Before You Die,” but since then the scope of her blog has broadened to include any movie she sees.
Two years, 4,086 hits and more than 82 movies later, LeMeilleur still writes and reviews regularly. She fully intends to watch and review the remaining 919 movies in the book, as well as any other film that comes up along the way.
“I won’t truly feel accomplished until I have finished them all,” LeMeilleur said.
LeMeilleur said she would love to be a film critic someday, and she sees her blog as a gateway into a world of opportunities that could lead her down that path.
“I’d be able to do two of my favorite things – write, and watch movies,” LeMeilleur said. “[The blog] could possibly open doors for me when I look to make a career out of writing.”
For LeMeilleur, watching movies provides a temporary escape from the noise of the world.
“It gives you an outsider’s perspective on different things,” LeMeilleur said. “It’s no different than sitting back and reading a book, except with movies, your getting pictures behind another person’s imagination.”
Because she has become the film guru within her circle of friends, she is the first person they go to for movie advice.
“It was weird at first, but I love that they want my opinion,” LeMeilleur said.
After considering placing ads on her blog to generate revenue, LeMeilleur decided against it.
“Even though it would be nice to earn some money from this, I don’t feel like ads are the right way to do that,” LeMeilleur said. “Ads are annoying and I don’t want to annoy my readers and give them an excuse to stop reading. This blog is for other people just as much as it is for me.”
Jacob Triska, junior ocean engineering major, said he reads LeMeilleur’s film reviews because they give readers a deeper understanding of film analysis.
“I’m always interested in expanding the knowledge I have when it comes to film, and this blog helps me do that,” Triska said. “Not only does it help me in a ways where I can find new and exciting films to watch, but I can also gather new perspectives on films I’ve already seen.”
Matthew Herrera, freshman physics major, said he appreciates LeMeilleur’s writing style.
“I think she gives great insight into the movies she’s reviewed,” Herrera said. “It’s really neat. I really enjoyed her review of ‘The Evil Dead.'”