ABOUT ME
Mark Hobin is the founder of Fast Film Reviews – a site inspired by people who enjoy pithy film criticism. Quality not quantity is the focus. Reviews rarely extend beyond 600 words. A freelance writer who hails from the San Francisco Bay Area, he has been blogging since November 2009. With an emphasis on current releases, he still holds a special place in his heart for classic Hollywood pictures – Hitchcock is a favorite.
Mark is a member of the Online Film Critics Society. It was apparent Mark would be a critic from the very first time he threw his pureed sweet potatoes on the floor in disgust. His love of the cinema sprang from memorable trips to the theater at a very young age. Film commentary naturally followed and he’s been giving his opinion to anyone who will listen ever since.
Mark is also an avid music lover and can name the artist of any song that has ever hit #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. He appreciates all music genres but is especially taken with the electronic dance music of artists like Daft Punk, and Cut Copy. When he isn’t sitting in a darkened movie house, he enjoys dining out more frequently than he cares to admit, playing trivia at the pub, and personally answering every comment he is honored to get on his blog.
Fast Film Reviews 
November 15, 2009 at 10:41 am
Great great blog Mark. I’m so very impressed!! Great job and I look forward to your concise but always very well written movie reviews. 🙂 Welcome to the blogging world.
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November 16, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Mark
This is excellent. I am so proud of you!.
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November 25, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Thanks for subscribing!
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August 20, 2015 at 11:45 am
Can anybody just write a review of a film that nobody has seen yet? How do you go about that process? rayman007@hotmail.com
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November 19, 2009 at 4:01 am
Excellent blog Mark. Your reviews are short and sweet. A nice change of pace from longer reviews written, and I must admit I am guilty of that sometime myself. I have notice some people writing like book length reviews and that’s just too much sometimes. Your setup is perfect. Keep up the good work.
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November 20, 2009 at 1:07 am
Thanks for the kind words. I enjoy reading your blog as well, particularly because you have an affinity for classic movies, which I love.
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April 22, 2014 at 9:57 am
Hi Mark,
My new client 108 Media hired us to do PR for their movie releases, 1-2 a month some theatrical but mostly VOD.
Can you email me your contact info to make sure our media alerts reach you?
Looking forward to hear from you,
Best,
Laurent BOYÉ
Jazo PR/ Jazo PR Canada Inc.
Los Angeles – Montréal- Calgary
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December 10, 2009 at 1:08 pm
Mark this movie review website is quite impressive and detailed orientated. Good job. Although, I have not seen many of the recent movies becuase of the baby, I will review listings and make a plan for a good date night. Any suggestions on 2 good current movies to see?
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December 11, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Blind Side
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December 14, 2009 at 8:16 pm
Your website is so great! I love to share comments about movies I have seen and to see reviews of ones I haven’t seen to see What I might like to try. I especially like the Archives. I can pick these up at the library.
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December 14, 2009 at 10:11 pm
Thank you. Keep posting. I appreciate the feedback!
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December 30, 2009 at 3:41 pm
helloooooooo Mark
i must say WOW
nice work
bro
hey can i hv ur email ID plss i wana discuss some thing with u
take care see ya waiting ur reply bro …….
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January 5, 2010 at 5:22 am
Just found your blog from a comment you wrote on a colleague’s blog (re: GLEE, I believe): http://judgmentalobserver.wordpress.com
What a novel idea you have here–film reviews that are short and to the point.
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January 5, 2010 at 10:44 pm
Hey thanks! Appreciate the support.
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May 4, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Come on, put in some longer pieces as well, for movies that deserve it. Label them “medium” or “long” or something like that, and set it up so you can jump to them if you want to, after youve read the quickie.
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June 16, 2011 at 4:29 am
Calm down Terry. If you want long-winded movie reviews, I’ll write you a few.
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January 5, 2012 at 4:32 pm
Fearghas, I’m sure Mark appreciates your support on this point; but did you ever notice, when you plant of an idea in somebody’s brain, they sometimes make it come true?
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July 30, 2010 at 12:52 pm
Hey bud, I love it!
The reviews are to the point and has your signature wit and bite to them. Keep up the good work, I am now a subscriber and will check with you before I check the others for the ” huff and fluff stuff”
Classic example of when keeping it real goes all the way right. Thank you.
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July 30, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Appreciate the kind words. Thanks for subscribing!
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June 16, 2011 at 4:32 am
Yes, I am liking this blog. There is a real art to making short AND very insightful movie reviews. Don’t worry about anyone saying your reviews need to be longer – there will always be other people who will write long movie reviews.
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June 16, 2011 at 7:12 am
Thanks Fearghas. Have you ever noticed the really long reviews just recapitulate the plot? If I want that I’ll read the book.
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June 16, 2011 at 11:29 pm
Yup. Most of my reviews recapitulate the plot. But I have fun summarizing a film’s events. Some people need a summary of a film’s events before they’ll consider seeing a movie. Most people are not so demanding though.
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December 27, 2011 at 9:07 am
Hey Mark,
Happy Holiday’s…how about you give your faithful readers a top 10 of 2011? I know I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Cheers,
Russ
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December 27, 2011 at 9:56 am
Hi Russ!
Definitely. I’m still waiting to see a couple 2011 movies that might affect my Top 10, but I’ll be posting one sometime in Jan 2012.
Warm wishes for the holiday season!!
Mark
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January 6, 2012 at 3:30 am
Hi Mark, I’m currently one of your Flixster friends and decided to set up a blog of my own. I’m new to blogging so any tips would greatly be appreciated. First off, how do I follow your blogs from my wordpress page?
Cheers
Mark.
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January 6, 2012 at 2:13 pm
Hey Guys,
On January 12th, 2012 we’re hosting a live Q & A with Angelina Jolie to promote her film In the Land of Blood and Honey, her written and directorial debut. If you were interested in hosting the Live Broadcast of the Q & A on your website, as well as, getting some awesome In the Land of Blood and Honey swag, please feel free to email me and we can get you all set up! Don’t hesitate to come to me with any questions you may have about the event and I look forward to hearing back from you! Have a great day!
Thanks,
John
Partner’s Hub Engagement Team
jmartin@dbaworldwide.com
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April 9, 2012 at 7:00 am
hi mark, wasn’t sure about where to post my question, but was just wondering if you would know of a solution by any chance. My username link, as it appears in my comments to your reviews, seem to be redirecting to someone else’s blog. have you experienced this before?
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April 9, 2012 at 7:44 am
I haven’t. Have you written to wordpress.com? Seems like an error with their software.
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April 9, 2012 at 7:51 am
Are you zento5 or zento10? You’ve used both screen names. Check your Hunger Games comment. Is that the right site?
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April 9, 2012 at 1:51 pm
yes, they were both me, because i recently changed to zento10. (was trying for my name martin, but there were too many already used). anyway, it could be a software error. but the blog its been going to has the same title”intomovies”. So i’ve changed my blog name & web address for the meantime, to “a journey into movies”. just to try to avoid any mix ups with other blogs. am assuming its a more unique title. If that doesn’t work, than am going to write to worpress.com. thank you Mark
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April 9, 2012 at 4:15 pm
ok mark, just fyi, have changed from zento10 to martin250. thanks again for your replies earlier.
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May 25, 2012 at 6:54 am
Greetings Mark…and fellow Blu-ray Elite Team Member. Finally making the rounds to say hello to people from the group. It was so cool to get the invite from WB, eh? Looks like you’ve been at this for some time, will have to dig in and take a look around. Might be fun seeing our different takes on films (i.e. Inception). I for one enjoy hashing out different takes, makes for good conversations, no? See you around. Do you Mubi? I guess I could look
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May 25, 2012 at 7:06 am
Yes being invited to participate in the Blu-ray Elite program has been win-win all around. I think I joined MUBI awhile back but never did anything with it. What’s it all about? It’s nice to interact with fellow film buffs like yourself. I’ll check out your site. Thanks for commenting!
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June 14, 2012 at 12:25 am
Hey Mark,
I just stumbled across this site on google and I love your ability to express your opinions concisely and avoid the sort of “summing up the plot” that some reviews tend to do. As a fellow blogger I was wondering if you’d be able to take a quick look at a blog I just started about a week ago and give me any advice on format, content, etc.
http://rorschachreviews.com/
thanks
– Andy
P.s. Love your site’s format, is that one of the premium options offered by wordpress or is it custom?
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August 2, 2012 at 10:54 am
Thanks Mark for being the one to go see the movies before I do. It allows me to decide whether I go to the movies or wait til it comes out on dvd. 🙂
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September 6, 2012 at 10:21 am
Hey!
Nick from http://www.cinekatz.com here. Doing some scout work for the LAMB. We’re wanting to make an email newsletter for community features as well as a list we’re making similar to Sight & Sound’s best movies of all time list. Just need an email!
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September 22, 2012 at 7:43 am
Hey Mark, do you have an email address I could contact you by? I’m starting up a series of interviews with fellow bloggers I was hoping you might be interested in taking part. I’ll send you the specifics over email if you like 🙂
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December 18, 2012 at 3:36 pm
Just so you know, I have just nominated you for The Very Inspiring Blogger Award 🙂
http://mrrumsey.wordpress.com/2012/12/18/awards/comment-page-1/#comment-569
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December 18, 2012 at 11:45 pm
Thank you!!
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January 14, 2013 at 10:41 pm
hi mark, just letting you know that i have decided to close my blog, as i will not have enough time to continue writing like i did before. thank you very much for all your comments on my blog. it was much appreciated. will continue to read your blog and comment occasionally. thank you again.
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January 15, 2013 at 12:32 am
Oh no! That’s a shame. Curious why you decided to delete the whole site instead of leaving it up so people can read your past reviews. There’s certainly no requirement to update. I think writing for my own blog is such a joy because I am under no obligation to post at regular intervals. I just write when I can. I only suggest this because I enjoy your writing.
On another note, please continue to leave your thoughts. I meant to formally thank you for all the observations you leave on my site. You made the list of my Top 5 most active commentators for last year. I really appreciate that A LOT.
Curious, now that you don’t have a blog, do you have a Twitter handle so we can still converse easily?
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January 15, 2013 at 5:57 pm
yes, sorry about leaving the blogosphere. am glad you enjoyed my blog.
another reason why i closed it was because i was not satisfied with many of my posts, particularly the earlier ones( in part due to writing style and the explanations/ criticisms of the films) . So i was not comfortable leaving the blog the way it was.
You are very welcome about the comments i made on your blog. and thank you for the reviews! i love movies. have loved them since childhood, particularly after seeing a Star Wars and an Indiana Jones movie at the theater back in the 80’s. i might even go as far as saying that anyone who saw them as a child back then, may love movies largely in part because of those two trilogies.
anyway,
i don’t have a twitter account, but once i do, will let you know. in the meantime, and when possible, i shall be visiting your blog and commenting just like before, and under the same username.
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February 3, 2013 at 3:26 am
I agree that most movie reviews should be fast and to the point; I try to do the same, as well. Hopefully you can check out some of my reviews/recommendations when you have a chance (but my Last Exorcism article is lengthy; the others are short).
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February 5, 2013 at 12:43 am
Your review of The Last Exorcism is indeed long, but I’ll check it out anyway. 😉
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April 10, 2013 at 10:40 pm
Hi there!
You have a great blog and I enjoy reading it every so often. You show good depth and quality and thats really important in reviews!
I was hoping you could skim over my blog, that would be awesome!!!
Thanks a lot and all the best with your blogging,
Arena
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April 11, 2013 at 2:56 am
Thanks so much! I’ll check your blog out.
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June 5, 2013 at 12:41 pm
Hi,
I came across your website and I thought you would be interested in working with us on Universal Pictures The Purge, with is coming to theaters June 7th!
We have a great T-Shirt giveaway pack for you to give out to one of your readers. Let me know if you’re interested in working together and check out all the information below!
Mike
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January 26, 2014 at 5:02 pm
Thanks for stopping by and liking “winter comes once more” 🙂 Not a big fan of critic sites/blogs – but you have a fairly interesting one.
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January 26, 2014 at 5:23 pm
Yes likewise I don’t frequent photo blogs, but some nice pictures on your site.
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January 28, 2014 at 10:20 am
Hi Mark. I have a feature film that is being released next week on DVD and VOD – was hoping to chat with you about getting it reviewed on your blog! Please shoot me a message if you might be open to hearing more, and I will send you all the details.
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April 15, 2014 at 8:29 am
I’ve nominated you for the Liebster Award! Check out my blog for more information!
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April 15, 2014 at 12:19 pm
Why thank you!
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June 28, 2014 at 8:58 pm
Hello Mark!
Found your excellent movie review blog via your hilarious and spot-on “assessment” of “Transformers 4” on Rotten Tomatoes.
Just, so best! +1 for being a Cut Copy fan too! 🙂
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June 29, 2014 at 7:45 pm
Awesome. Thanks for reading!
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June 13, 2015 at 4:09 am
Mark, your blog is fantastic and I admire your love for foreign movies. I am from India and I would like to suggest a Bollywood movie to you called Taare Zameen Par. It is superb, so please check it out. Here’s the link to the movie. It has eng subs so I guess you won’t have any difficulties. Enjoy ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyfB2cEY718
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August 16, 2015 at 9:03 pm
I enjoy reading your blog as well (especially archives). Perhaps your readers can make requests regarding movies that are not reviewed? Maybe we have to justify the ticket and your time. Given your insight, I would have been very curious about your opinion of “Dark Places.” I suppose it doesn’t help to compare the book to a movie, but, would love to know if you do. Charlize Theron seems to overact more and more… does changing her appearance really count as play a part?
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August 17, 2015 at 6:08 am
It’s odd that I have heard so little about this film. I see it’s based on a book by author Gillian Flynn who also wrote Gone Girl. Although she didn’t adapt her own book this time. I also noticed Dark Places features Charlize Theron and Nicholas Hoult who were both in Mad Max: Fury Road this year. I’m definitely intrigued.
P.S. Thanks for commenting Peter! 🙂
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November 22, 2015 at 9:40 am
Mark, is film criticism your occupation or do you just do it as your passion ?
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November 23, 2015 at 12:05 am
My passion.
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November 23, 2015 at 8:01 pm
What do you do as your occupation ?
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March 8, 2016 at 7:06 pm
After the academy awards each year, I think you ought to do a brief article on your reaction to them.
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March 9, 2016 at 1:23 am
That’s a great idea. As a matter of fact, it’s a perfect segue into the podcast I guested on seconds after the Oscars ended: https://audioboom.com/boos/4245103-out-now-bonus-88th-annual-academy-award-wrap-up
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May 2, 2016 at 11:57 pm
please review my short movie
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July 15, 2016 at 9:31 am
I’ve followed your blog for over a year now and I really love it! I love that you get to the point, your honest. Your one of the bloggers that inspired me to start my own film review blog. This deep respect for films, their creation and the actors/actresses performances should be shared. You do it already, I just hope I give it justice too.
Keep going, Mark!
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July 15, 2016 at 2:35 pm
I really appreciate your comment. Thank you for the love!
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October 20, 2016 at 10:09 am
Hello Mark,
Hope this e-mail finds you well. I came across your website and e-mail via one of your reviews in IMDB.
I’m a Malaysian film director currently residing in Beijing, China. I’ve a directorial debut short film (The Story of 90 Coins) which I hope you’re kind enough to review. Currently the film is getting about 30+ accolades from international film festivals.
I look forward for your constructive reply, comments and review which will be a great motivation and a learning curve to my film-making career path.
Below are the relevant info on my short film.
a) Short film streaming link: http://www.vimeo.com/143267832/
b) IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5182914/
c) Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/thestoryof90coins/
Thank you for your time and hope to hear from you soon.
Regards,
Michael Wong
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July 11, 2018 at 12:06 pm
Hey Mark! I keep up the good work on your blog! I write movie reviews myself and but I feel like I have a lot to learn on how to write a good movie blog. I would appreciate any tips or advice you can give!
My blog is :
thecinemapsycho.wordpress.com
Thanks!
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August 28, 2019 at 4:30 pm
Can’t believe I haven’t found your blog sooner! We have a very similar love for movies. You’ve got my follow.
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August 28, 2019 at 5:50 pm
Thank you for following. I look forward to reading your thoughts. 😊
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April 9, 2021 at 9:59 am
Mark,
I’m a fan of your site. I’ve recently released two ten minute shorts that I’m looking for thoughts on, good or bad. Let me know if you ever have time to write up some reviews!
Thank you and take care!
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