For most members of my generation, the year 2006 is a hazy childhood memory, marked by Disney Channel’s Hannah Montana, the Nintendo DS Lite, and French soccer player Zinedine Zidane’s headbutt on eventual World Cup winner Marco Materazzi (a moment I copied one too many times at the park with my father).
But for freelancer Justin Hall, 2006 was the year he dove headfirst into the world of film reviews, a practice he continues today twenty years later. Originally from Jesup, Georgia, Hall grew up in neighboring Ludowici, and graduated from Georgia Southern in 2023 with a degree in Multimedia Journalism. In addition to writing film reviews, Hall freelances for a variety of news outlets in Georgia, most notably the Bryan County News.
Last month, I had the chance to speak with Hall about his long-standing love of film, his movie-reviewing process, and why he still believes that the art form can still impact people’s lives today, despite the allure of the Big Screen rapidly shrinking in the face of on-demand streaming and apps like Facebook and Tiktok decimating our collective attention spans. Plus, I asked him to rank his favorite four movies of his lifetime.
Interview edited for length and clarity.
On what stirred his love of movies…
“I’ve always been a big fan of film ever since I was about maybe four or five, and it just kind of developed from there.”
“I think film is perhaps the one format that can truly transcend what I call the human experience. I think other art forms, like music or books, can do a sensational job of giving us insight into the human experience, but I think film encapsulates it in a fashion that those [other] art forms really can't.”
“I remember reading reviews from the likes of Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. I remember watching their TV show [Sneak Previews] when I was a kid and watching it religiously, and despite the fact that I didn't really even know what they were talking about. The fact that they were discussing movies was all I really needed to know, and so I watched them for several years.”
On where he first started writing reviews…
“I started with my dad's hometown newspaper, which was called the Webster Echo, located in Webster Springs, West Virginia. There were a few people submitting casual movie reviews, and I really wanted to see if I could try to get involved in that myself. And so I contacted the Webster Echo, and asked if I could start submitting reviews of my own to it. And they said yes, and so I did movie reviews for the Webster Echo from 2006 to 2008.
“Then, also in 2006 is when the Long County News [website] started going and I knew the editor of that website, and so I asked if I could start submitting reviews to her, and she said yes. So I did that from October of 2006 to February of 2010 when the website closed down.
“Then in 2008 is when the Long County Press newspaper started up, and just like I did with the previous two, I contacted the editor, asked if I could submit movie reviews to them. And she said yes, and that was actually my longest gig in terms of reviews. [December 2008 to January 2024].
“And back in 2012 is when I made the decision to press my luck and contact virtually every publication in Southeast Georgia to see if anyone was interested in having me submit my movie reviews. And the one that responded out of all of those was the Press Sentinel at Jesup, and they said they were interested, and I have been reviewing for them since May of 2012. I’ve also been reviewing with the Coastal Courier since 2014.”
On how he reviews movies…
“I usually take mental notes. And what I'll do is, if certain scenes or moments in the film really stick out, those are really buried in my head, for the duration of the film, as well as when I get ready to start sitting down to start my reviews.
And what I like to do is generally try to get into my initial thoughts, to give the reader some kind of taste of what they can expect for the rest of the review. So I'll give you right off the bat whether or not I think a movie is good or not.
[But] I mean, I don't give spoilers for any of my reviews. No spoilers whatsoever.”
On how his approach to film criticism has changed over time…
“Just like many other writers, in any format, it doesn't have to be film criticism, but writing in general, you have to find your voice. And when I first started, I did not find my voice.
“I was a little bit apprehensive in terms of whether or not I should even give movies a negative review, to be honest, but it's one of those things where inevitably, you're going to get sick and tired of the idea of [always] sounding the same.
“Honesty has to be at the forefront…whether it's positive or negative, honesty has to be at the forefront. As long as you maintain your honesty and integrity [in reviews], I think that’s a good thing.”
On what advice he’d give to those wanting to become film critics…
“Number one, the advice that I have is to find your voice. That's got to be number one, find your voice.”
“Number two, I would recommend that people who want to study film criticism look at film critics of the past, such as Ebert, Siskel, Pauline Kael…she was a champion of film criticism. Vincent Canby, he was another one who was a great film critic…and study what they thought about film. Try to focus on their perspective in terms of how they view film. Not plagiarize, but take influence and take stock of what they saw in a film. And maybe it can provide a dynamic as to how, you know, young reviewers want to have their own voice.
“It also helps. I think, to study a variety of film genres: don't limit yourself to one particular genre. I would recommend black and white films, foreign films, silent films, you know, stuff that can get you out of your comfort zone in terms of what you're used to seeing.”
Justin Hall’s top four favorite films, ranked
Editor’s Note: Hall said that these four films were his personal favorites, not necessarily the “best” films, objectively speaking. We have Rotten Tomatoes for that.
- Titanic (1997)* - *Hall’s top pick
- Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope (1977).
- The Dark Knight (2008)
- The Wizard of Oz (1939)