ABOUT

Chris Jones | Columnist

My name is Chris Jones; I’m the owner and columnist of Overly Honest Movie Reviews and have been since its creation in September 2018. The first film I publicly reviewed was the documentary QUINCY about the life of American record producer, singer, and film producer Quincy Jones. Sadly, many of my original reviews were lost when Facebook unceremoniously removed my page for it to be lost forever.

I originally got into film in grade school; I had watched many major blockbuster films over the years but was never too serious about it. At that point, I decided I wanted to work in the industry; specifically, I wanted to work at Industrial Light and Magic. I even reached out to them about an internship when I left school. I took several different film courses, including the history of film and actual hands-on ones, such as editing and camera work.

It wasn’t until after college that my true love for film came to the surface when I was introduced to the book 1001 MOVIES YOU MUST SEE BEFORE YOU DIE (as it stands right now, there are 1,245 total films because of additions and subtractions each year.) While making my way through that list, I realized I only knew the surface level of film history. So I took the next natural step (in my eyes) and started watching the prominent Oscar category films each year before the Oscars (best picture, actor, actress, director, etc.) After that, I went on to try and watch all of the nominated films each year and have continued that trend.

That gets us to the present; I live in the middle of nowhere in the Midwest. Needless to say, that presents a challenge because not many international films, documentaries, or sometimes even animated films show up around me. While it has become easier with many films coming straight to streaming, there was still a lot that I couldn’t quickly get. That is when I decided to review films; I started reaching out and asking. Hundreds of films later, I’m doing what I love daily, even though I still have a long way to go to get where I want to be; I never imagined that I would be reviewing films for all the places I have.

I’ve screened/covered films for 101 Films, A24, AMC, Amazon, Apple TV+, Bleecker Street, Disney+, Focus Features, Film Movement, GKids, Greenwich, HBO, Hulu, Kino Lorber, Lionsgate, Music Box Films, Neon Rated, Netflix, Paramount+, Peacock+, Roadside Attractions, Saban Films, Searchlight Pictures, Second Sight, Shout! Factory TV, Shudder, Universal Pictures, Warner Media, and more.

I’ve also been honored to review films for the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals.