Minnesota Film Critics Alliance Profile: Brad Lenz

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Brad Lenz, a marketer at Best Buy and the lively host and producer at The Screen Mash, is a lifelong cinephile who brings his passion for movies to life. When he’s not reviewing the latest films, he’s spiking volleyballs in Minneapolis with the same enthusiasm he has for cinema.

Read more about Brad in his own words below. We’re happy to welcome him to the Minnesota Film Critics Alliance.

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How long have you been producing content about movies?
2+ years at The Screen Mash

Where do you live and/or produce content about movies?
Minneapolis

What type of content do you produce about movies?
Instagram: Reviews (written and video), among other film and television content.
Podcast: bi-weekly podcast with either deep dive topics or breakdowns of news; on Apple and Spotify (The Screen Mash).

What motivated you to create content about movies?
I grew up at the movie theater and have a lifelong love for cinema. I went to school and studied marketing, as well as film production and film studies to satiate my passion, but, after graduating, did nothing material with it. As I came into my adult years, I yearned to have a way to express my passion again, and the opportunity arose to build The Screen Mash with an old colleague and MNFCA member Barrett Goetz.

What inspired your love of movies?
Going to the movies is a beautiful collective experience. People from all walks of life come together, sit in a dark room for a few hours, and experience a myriad of emotions all together.

What do you enjoy most about living in Minnesota?
The mixture of city and nature.

What is your favorite movie theater in Minnesota?
Showplace Icon

What are some of your favorite movies from the past year (2023)?
Past Lives, Godzilla Minus One, Talk to Me, Killers of the Flower Moon

What are your favorite movies set in Minnesota?
Wild, Jingle All the Way, Fargo

What are your Social Media accounts?
@thescreenmash on Instagram

Minnesota Film Critics Alliance Profile: Matt Clark

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Matt Clark, a film aficionado and blogger from Minneapolis, dedicates his leisure time to watching movies, penning reviews, savoring coffee, cycling, managing his cats, and bragging about the vibrant local movie scene to all who are interested.

His primary platform for film critique is kino-ventura.blogspot.com.

Read more about Matt in his own words below – we’re fortunate he’s joined the Minnesota Film Critics Alliance.

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How long have you been producing content about movies?
5 years

Where do you live and/or produce content about movies?
Minneapolis

What type of content do you produce about movies?
Written – both for my own blog and for other blogs and zines. I have been on a few podcasts but do not host one of my own.

What motivated you to create content about movies?
Excitement around lesser-known older films mostly and the desire to create dialogue around those films. Also my total enthusiasm for the in-person theatrical experience and finding ways to support it both locally and while traveling.

What inspired your love of movies?
Those first few movies you go to as a kid were so transformative for me and such memorable experiences. It felt so special and I quickly developed a kind of reverence for the theater.

What do you enjoy most about living in Minnesota?
I think we really punch above our weight in cycling, cinema, and book stores. All great things.

What is your favorite movie theater in Minnesota?
RIP Uptown. I hang my hat largely at the Trylon and the Main these days.

What are some of your favorite movies from the past year (2023)?
Past Lives, Perfect Days, La Bete, A Thousand and One, Fallen Leaves

What are your favorite movies set in Minnesota?
Dario Argento’s Trauma

What are your Social Media accounts?
mplsmat on Instagram, MplsMatt on LB, and kinoventura.bsky.social

Minnesota Film Critics Alliance Profile: Brian Orndorf

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Brian Orndorf is a film critic covering theatrical, streaming, and home entertainment releases.

His work can be found at Blu-ray.com and brianorndorf.com.

Read more about Brian in his own words below – we’re so happy he’s joined the Minnesota Film Critics Alliance.

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How long have you been producing content about movies?
I’ve been “in the trenches” for over 25 years, beginning work with various weekly newspapers before transitioning to online content.

Where do you live and/or produce content about movies?
I reside in the Twin Cities.

What type of content do you produce about movies?
I focus on written reviews covering all sorts of films. Reviews of new releases arrive weekly. I also handle Blu-ray and UHD releases.

What motivated you to create content about movies?
It’s a fascinating journey to keep up with theatrical releases, and critical coverage allows me to remain invested in the ongoing ways of industry activity and creative endeavors.

What inspired your love of movies?
Theater experiences, with their occasional unpredictable nature and communal energy. There’s still magic to be found out there.

What do you enjoy most about living in Minnesota?
There’s nothing quite like the culture and natural beauty of Minnesota.

What is your favorite movie theater in Minnesota?
There’s not a day that goes by without some thought paid to the past glory of The Cooper Theater, once located in St. Louis Park, MN.

What are some of your favorite movies from the past year (2023)?
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, The Holdovers, Ernest and Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia, You Hurt My Feelings, and The Iron Claw.

What are your favorite movies set in Minnesota?
Sweet Land, Untamed Heart, Miracle

What are your Social Media accounts?
No social media at this time. (You’ll have to catch Brian at the movies!)

Minnesota Film Critics Alliance Profile: Zach Hammill

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Zach is a lifelong cinephile and, as a screenwriter, filmmaker, video editor, and teacher himself, knows how hard it is to make one. He has a broad appreciation and seeks to be a “Movie Friend”: a bridge person for those who want to get into and enjoy film as much as he does. Zach creates movie-themed content for his YouTube channel The Z List with Zach Hammill (soon to be rebranded as Movie Friend!) and writes film reviews which appear on social media and on his website, http://www.zachhammill.com/moviefriend.

Read more about Zach in his own words below – we’re thrilled he’s joined the Minnesota Film Critics Alliance.

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How long have you been producing content about movies?
I’ve been writing reviews since 2002, somewhat informally on IMDb, and I have really kicked it up in the last five or six years or so.

Where do you live and/or produce content about movies?
I live and work in Minneapolis, MN.

What type of content do you produce about movies?
I write film reviews a few times a month, I create filmmaker rankings, monthly lists of what I watched/rewatched and what I liked about them, jokes about movies, and I host conversations on my YouTube channel around different themes such as Oscar nominated films and so forth.

What motivated you to create content about movies?
I love movies to my core, and want other people to discover their love of them too. Recently folks have told me I should review movies professionally, and I sort of figure that since I’m planning on watching movies anyway, I thought it best to not just simply consume them, but give back through recommendations and discussions.

What inspired your love of movies?
I’m not really sure. It’s not like we were a big movie family growing up. I just think I loved them, ever since the first one I remember seeing, which was Robert Altman’s Popeye. That love really blossomed when I got a job at a video store in high school. Then I was watching movies constantly, even watching them before school or during lunch in the choir room, which had a VCR.

What do you enjoy most about living in Minnesota?
Its natural, unwieldy earthy beauty. When I’m not in a movie theater, I like to be experiencing Minnesota’s breathtaking seasons.

What is your favorite movie theater in Minnesota?
I ping pong between Emagine Willow Creek 12 and AMC Rosedale 14. I’m also a huge fan of Trylon. That’s a happy place for me.

What are some of your favorite movies from the past year (2023)?
Past Lives, Godzilla Minus One, Beau Is Afraid, American Fiction, Oppenheimer, Anatomy of a Fall, You Hurt My Feelings, Barbie, Fremont, Showing Up. Last year was a really great year for movies.

What are your favorite movies set in Minnesota?
A Serious Man is the greatest film made in Minnesota, head and shoulders above the rest. Other favorites are Fargo, the Grumpy Old Men movies, and the brilliantly subversive Young Adult.

What are your Social Media accounts?
Movie Friend on Facebook, @zachhammill on IG, The Z List with Zach Hammill on YouTube

Minnesota Film Critics Alliance Profile: Barrett Goetz

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Barrett Goetz, a dedicated Minnesotan and avid movie enthusiast, is an alumnus of the University of Minnesota. He is a husband and father of two, working as a digital marketer at Target. A passionate cinephile, he enjoys Star Wars and comic books. Residing in South Minneapolis, he is a fan of the Vikings, Timberwolves, and Gophers.

Discover more about Barrett in his own words below; we are excited to welcome him to the Minnesota Film Critics Alliance.

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How long have you been producing content about movies?
For The Screen Mash, 2 years (2022 – present). Prior to that I had a blog called The Movie Mash that I wrote reviews for about 7 years (2009 – 2016)

Where do you live and/or produce content about movies?
Minneapolis (South by Lake Harriet)

What type of content do you produce about movies?
Instagram: Reviews (written and video), movie clips, entertainment news and facts, memes, original video edits.
Podcast: bi-weekly podcast with either deep dive topics or breakdowns of news; on Apple and Spotify (The Screen Mash).

What motivated you to create content about movies?
It’s honestly a creative outlet that I legit need to express myself. I’ve loved movies deeply since I was a kid and knew I always wanted to be a part of them in some legitimate capacity. I don’t quite get that at my job so my outlet is The Screen Mash.

What inspired your love of movies?
The magic of the craft and being transported to another world.

What do you enjoy most about living in Minnesota?
The food, the people, the lakes, our sports teams (even though we often suck). I’ve never wanted to live anywhere else. My son will be entering public elementary school in the fall!

What is your favorite movie theater in Minnesota?
AMC Southdale

What are some of your favorite movies from the past year (2023)?
Oppenheimer, The Holdovers, Past Lives, Godzilla Minus One, Poor Things, Guardians 3, Theater Camp

What are your favorite movies set in Minnesota?
The Mighty Ducks, Jingle All the Way, Fargo

What are your Social Media accounts?
@thescreenmash on Instagram

Minnesota Film Critics Alliance Profile: Catherine Krummey

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Catherine Krummey, a.k.a. Cat, is an award-winning communicator with more than a decade of professional experience in journalism, marketing, communications and social media.

Veg Out brings together her lifelong love of pop culture (especially movies) with her unique vegan spin on classic comfort food.

She lives in the Twin Cities area with her husband and their cats, Yowzer and Jack-Jack. In addition to cooking, baking and consuming pop culture, she loves traveling, trying new restaurants, enjoying nature and spending time with her family and friends.

Discover more about Cat in her own words below – we are ecstatic to welcome her to the Minnesota Film Critics Alliance.

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How long have you been producing content about movies?
I have been producing content about movies since 2000, when I was 14 and had a Geocities website.

Where do you live and/or produce content about movies?
I live in the Twin Cities area.

What type of content do you produce about movies?
I produce blog posts on my website (vegoutrecipes.com) that pair comfort movies with vegan comfort food. I also regularly share reviews and thoughts on films on film through social media, mainly Instagram (@veg_out_recipes) and Letterboxd (moviecat).

What motivated you to create content about movies?
I got into journalism as a teenager because I wanted to be a film critic. While I fulfilled that dream at publications including the Grand Forks Herald, life provided some alternate direction and I walked away from it for a few years. Now, my love of baking and cooking has helped reinvigorate my love of film, and I am excited for what’s to come as I inch back into this space.

What inspired your love of movies?
I grew up watching Siskel and Ebert for new movie knowledge and TCM for classic movie knowledge.

What do you enjoy most about living in Minnesota?
I enjoy being closer to family after stints on the East Coast, in the South and on the West Coast.

What is your favorite movie theater in Minnesota?
I have a fondness for Emagine Willow Creek because I used to be able to walk there from my apartment.

What are some of your favorite movies from the past year (2023)?
We Eatin’ Good, Rye Lane, Past Lives, Barbie & Joy Ride

What are your favorite movies set in Minnesota?
Juno & The Mighty Ducks

What are your Social Media accounts?
@veg_out_recipes on Instagram, TikTok & Threads; moviecat on Letterboxd; @ckrummey on Facebook, Twitter/X, Pinterest & Instagram