Blog-iversary II: The Blog Warrior

My annual "I can't believe I'm still doing this" post is way tardier than last year's, but it also doubles as an apologia/explanation for said lateness.  For me, summer is as synonymous with travel as it is with disappointing mega-budget blockbusters.  If things seem light on the Amblog for the next couple months, it's because I'm escaping the sun-scorched streets of LA for locales more exotic than the local multiplex.  

But fear not!  You can use this extra time to peruse the highlights of Ambler Amblog, Year Two:

- 2012 in Review is a great place to start cherry-picking my better reviews.  (Spoiler alert: I really loved Django Unchained.)  More recently, Spring Breakers and Iron Man 3 are two films remembered fondly...and Movie 43 another that is certainly not.

- I've added The Catch Up as a semi-regular feature for mini-reviews of new releases alongside the more thematically minded Jump Cuts.  Expect new installments of both in the near future, to cover topics from summer art house counter-programming to fossilized action stars to an iconoclastic animation auteur.

- Unless you work for the NSA, you probably don't care about blog statistics.  But despite easing off the throttle since last spring, I'm proud to note that monthly pageviews are higher than ever: a five-fold increase from last July.  The most-viewed post last year - and all-time?  Let's say it together now: Argo fuck yourself.

- It's also my second year(ish) of happily contributing to Screen Invasion as a staff writer and film critic.  Since the Amblog is largely an exercise in solitude, I'm incredibly grateful to be part of another outlet that's the opposite: a talented team of pop culture writers with omnivorous instincts...and awesome press hook-ups.  Say tuned to Screen Invasion for exclusive material like Spoiler Forum and my upcoming San Diego Comic-Con coverage.

And I couldn't do any of it but for you, the readers.  You have truly created a monster.  Many thanks for all your comments, criticisms, and compliments delivered online and in person, and for continuing to indulge my obsession.