ABOUT TERRY R. CASSREINO

TERRY R. CASSREINO

I am a devoted family man, a high school journalism teacher, a media consultant, president of my own consulting firm (Cassreino Consulting LLC), a recovering professional journalist and a devout Catholic.

And I’m a huge, longtime film buff.

When I say film buff, I mean film buff. I love motion pictures, especially classic foreign films from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s and American films from the 1970s – arguably the greatest decade for American films.

I also love current films, although I personally believe film companies aim most of their productions for a limited audience of high-testosterone, mindless young men fascinated by things that go bang and explode on screen. But that’s another story.

And the sequels. “Cars 2,” “Kung Fu Panda 2,” “The Hangover Pat II,” “Harry Potter 23.” The list goes on and on and on. And foreign film remakes like “The Departed” (an American version of the great Hong Kong cop thriller “Infernal Affairs”) and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (an American remake of the Swedish film, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”). Is there any originality left in Hollywood?

THE PLAZA CINEMA 4, CIRCA 1978

As a teenager, I spent my free time working at the Plaza Cinema 4 – a four-screen theater complex that served as an anchor at the Lake Forest Plaza Shopping Center in New Orleans. I ushered, I took tickets, I sold concessions – I did it all while attending Jesuit High School in New Orleans from 1975-1979.

I also did the same thing for a short time at the Aurora Cinema 6 in Algiers and also at the Sena Mall in Metairie, a single-screen theater on Veterans Boulevard.

Sadly, all of them are history. The Plaza Cinema 4 was razed with the Plaza shopping center after Hurricane Katrina. Lord knows what happened to the Aurora Cinema 6. And the Sena Mall is now home to Martin’s Wine Cellar in Metairie. All three were owned or managed at one time by Gulf States Theaters in New Orleans, a once thriving family-owned chain of multiplexes and drive-ins in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Back to my love of films. I actually studied film at Loyola University in New Orleans from 1979 to 1981 – before I transferred to the University of Mississippi and was sucked into print journalism and the world of newspapers for 25 years.

GULF STATES THEATRES

Interestingly, the very first news story I wrote for a news writing class at Ole Miss: The closing of The Ritz, a storied, single-screen theater off the Square in downtown Oxford. My lengthy story, a fascinating look back at the city’s historic theater, ran unedited in The Oxford Eagle.

My love affair with films has never ended.

Only now, as I grow disgusted by high ticket prices, overpriced theater concessions and rude patrons who talk loudly or use their cell phone while watching films, I find myself staying at home and watching movies on my home theater system.

My set-up is simple: A 55-inch Toshiba high-definition wide screen television capable of 1080p high def signal; a Panasonic first-generation blu-ray player; a high-def Roku streaming box for watching Netflix and Hulu films; an Onkyo multi-channel amplifier-receiver; and a five-speaker, surround sound set-up.

For me, it’s the perfect way to watch classic films.

Now, through this blog, I will bring my love and appreciation for film to the Internet. I plan to offer commentary and thoughts on some current films. But mostly I hope to give readers like you a look at films, both old and current, you may otherwise overlook. In the end, I hope I help you discover great films you might have never seen.

Tell me what you think. Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions on this blog or through an e-mail. You can contact me at editor@sneakprevue.info and you can find me on Facebook. Thanks.

– TERRY R. CASSREINO, founder, editor and publisher, June 29, 2011