Hello, I am Patrick Lance Smith. I am twenty-five and am currently a worker at a under satisfying job. On again off again college student and aficionado of trivial knowledge and factoids about a plethora of subjects. Another thing I've called myself from time to time is a cinephile. When long days get me down or I'm dealing with some crazy customers, I can always count on a good film to lighten my spirits. Action, Horror, Comedy, Drama; a combo of either and anything in between for the film's running time, and I'm set and content.

I remember when I first fell in love with movies. I was six years old and my grandfather got me "Jurassic Park" on VHS (showing my age a bit here) and we sat down in the den to watch it. Of course, it was a smash hit at the box office and was a visual marvel which some people say still holds up today, but to me it was so real I cried when the raptors chased the brother-sister duo!

Promptly, my grandfather informed me that it was "just a movie" and that dinosaurs had been extinct for millions of years and therefore couldn't be real creatures in the film. This puzzled me a bit so I asked if that meant everything was fake, like no one is in real danger, and of course he said yes. So I questioned further, "Then why does it feel real?"

And that's when he said something that changed my life, "That's the magic of movies," he told me. "The magic of all great stories is how it makes us feel." From that point on I knew I wanted people to be entertained - to feel and emote with only the power of a story. Of course my six year old brain put it together in a different way but the idea was the same. I said to myself, "I want to make magic!"

Now, it's nineteen years later and I've found myself a little closer but still far away from my dream. The old saying goes, "Those that can't do, teach." Further, those who can't do or teach, critique.

It's silly to say but there are plenty of people who haven't spent a second behind a camera or as a director for a film that will tear one to shreds with their opinion and criticisms. I choose not to be one of those people and instead of splashing my opinion over every movie and calling it right, Odyssey has afforded me the immense opportunity to immerse you, the reader into the deep love I have for movies and entertainment. I will do reviews, reminisce on films past an even provide list of must see films past and present. I will try to offer as unbiased an opinion as humanly possible but some movies are near and dear to my heart ("Speed Racer" being one of them, but that's for a later discussion). I hope I didn't bore you to tears and I hope you're looking forward to my weekly posts here in The Odyssey. This is Patrick Smith and I'll see you in the movies.