"Why don’t they speak English?" "Did you run out of other movies to watch?" "You mean I have to read those subtitles?" If you've tried to defend your love and admiration for foreign movies, you’ve probably heard those statements and others like them. A lot of people are downright adamant about refusing to watch a foreign film. But with the advent of my new website, Passport Cinema -- www.passportcinema.com -- I hope to change as many minds as I can while also appealing to viewers like me, who will defend foreign cinema to the death.

Because the Internet is so wide and vast, there are plenty of resources for people looking for reviews of foreign-made motion pictures. But, after joining the staff of fellow ReelTalk critic Diana Saenger’s Classic Movie Guide site, I began thinking of a similar site that, instead of older classics, would deal with the world of foreign movies. A few months and much  typing later, Passport Cinema was born. Of course, I  couldn't do it alone.

Happily, two friends/writers/fellow movie fanatics agreed to be on Passport Cinema’s critiquing staff. They are New York native Andrew Guarini and University of Wisconsin-River Falls student Chris Luedtke. Guarini’s in-depth analyses appear every Tuesday, my coverage of a wide variety of foreign product is posted each Wednesday, and Luedtke’s takes on all walks of foreign cinema are updated on Thursdays. We all have our own little niches to fill, but together, we hope to provide readers with a breadth of coverage on our topic of choice.

Here are three choice quotes from our wide variety of reviews:

"...as though Fassbinder was consistently punching eight-year-olds in the face with the expectation for me to laugh rather than pull back in shock." -- Chris Luedtke's review of Satan's Brew

"...a melodramatic juggernaut of nightmarish proportions..." -- A.J. Hakari's review of Robin-B-Hood

"...a joyfully touching, complex slice of the human existence." -- Andrew Guarini's review of Volver

Our site is brand new, so it's still a little rough around the edges and some changes are planned for the near future. The review archives will soon be separating the reviews by country rather than simply by region, and a new critic, plus some occasional guest reviews, may be just around the corner.

On behalf of myself, Andrew Guarini, and Chris Luedtke, we invite you to visit and become a patron of Passport Cinema, where a world of foreign movies awaits you.