Opinions are my love language. You do not have to agree.

I write about the movies, music, television, books, culture, and assorted nonsense that make me think, feel, laugh, argue with the screen, or reach for another Dr Pepper.

Nobody asked.

That has never really stopped me.

I’m Judy, and Nobody Asked Judy is where I review movies, music, television, books, culture, and whatever else makes the questionable decision to wander into my line of sight.

The funny thing is, this isn’t actually my first time being paid—or decidedly not paid—to tell people what I think.

I’ve Been Doing This Longer Than I’d Like to Admit

Once upon an earlier version of the internet, I was a paid music reviewer and interviewer for Muzi.com. I reviewed music, interviewed artists, and even reviewed shows with Slipknot as a local band, back before they became the Slipknot everyone knows now.

Later, I somehow found myself being paid to review comedy films at studio screenings in Los Angeles.

Yes. Someone actually invited me into a theater, showed me a movie, and then specifically wanted to know what I thought about it.

Clearly, society was taking risks.

I also owned, designed, and ran a local music e-zine for about two years, which meant I got to combine several of my favorite things: music, writing, design, creativity, and having opinions.

Then life did what life does.

I wandered off into other projects, other creative outlets, other jobs, other versions of myself.

But apparently the opinions survived.

So…Nobody Asked Judy

NAJ isn’t intended to be a traditional review site.

I’m not interested in pretending that art can be reduced to an objective checklist. I don’t believe my opinion is automatically more valuable than yours because I once got paid for mine.

I just know what makes me laugh. What makes me cry. What makes me think. What stays with me twenty or forty years later.

And I definitely know what makes me want my two hours back.

So some reviews here will be about something released last week.

Others might be about a movie I first watched on a VHS tape in 1984, a book that sent me down a decades-long rabbit hole, a song I’ve carried around forever, or something everyone else forgot existed.

There may also be occasions when I review things nobody has ever considered reviewable.

This seems inevitable.

The Rating System Is Also Questionable

NAJ uses cans.

Why?

Because stars are boring and I am powered primarily by Dr Pepper and opinions.

Technically, the scale goes from an Empty Can to 5 Cans.

Technically.

There is also The Six-Pack, reserved for those rare things I love enough to completely disregard my own rating system.

And yes, at one point I accidentally created a six-pack containing nine cans.

We don’t need to dwell on that.

I didn’t realize what a can of worms I was opening.

A Few Things About Me

I was born in 1974, I’m a Leo, I have three furry girls who are convinced they’re management, and I remain firmly committed to silver jewelry, music that makes me feel something, movies that stay with me, creative projects, sarcasm, and Original Dr Pepper.

Coffee?

Nope.

Dr Pepper?

Always.

I DJ for fun. I write. I design things. I binge old favorites and discover new ones. I start projects because an idea wandered through my head and apparently that constitutes a binding contract.

I’m still trying to find myself.

At this point, I’ve accepted that I may simply keep finding different versions.

One Last Thing

You don’t have to agree with me.

Actually, I hope sometimes you don’t.

Reviews are more interesting when they start conversations instead of ending them. Something I hate may be the thing you adore. Something I give all the cans may make you wonder whether I sustained a head injury immediately before watching it.

That’s fine.

These aren’t definitive judgments.

They’re opinions.

Mine, specifically.

Nobody asked.

I have them anyway.