25 August 2004 (confirmed/seconded/reinforced, 30 November 2006)

Hopefully this will be as much of a non-event as my previous Declaration of Major Changes five years ago - meaning I'll hopefully be able to downgrade the time spent on this website without any discernible decrease in quality (such as it is). But I do plan/hope to downgrade slightly, even if the quality ends up suffering.

Basically, what I've realised over the summer - though of course I've known it all along - is that the site is taking too much of my time, and I get to do a lot more stuff when it's dormant. That doesn't mean I ever plan to shut it down completely - after all, I've written (in my journal) about every film I've seen since I was 12 years old, so I might as well put these blatherings online. On the other hand, I've never claimed to be well-read when it comes to film theory, and it's kind of pointless (and time-consuming) to try and be a Critic when I'm really just a drive-by enthusiast. I've also realised over the years that the audience for this kind of home-made site is always going to be limited. People like solid consumer-guide reviews with beginning, middle and end. Annoying, but that's the way it is.

Over the past year I've been writing old-movie comments in a so-called screening log, done in a mad rush with a (flexible) 15-minute limit on writing time. The plan is to do more or less the same with new films from now on - i.e. keep it simple and functional. No attempts at critical theory or keeping up with the Sicinskis. No elaborate stylistics and hours of searching for the mot juste. Slam-dunk reviews, that's our philosophy from now on at the Century of Movies.

It might work, it might not. The results might be so incoherent I'll go back to the old time-consuming ways (and take this notice down). Maybe it won't even make any difference. Maybe I'm doomed to spend half my weekend on this site for all eternity. Hopefully, though, I'll get more time to work on my own stuff (and generally have a life) and no-one will be any the wiser. Wish me luck, faithful readers...