Hello and welcome to the latest edition of the It’s A Stampede! newsletter. If you’ve been following along since the first edition you’ll be aware this has been an eclectic journey so far.
Over the last few editions there has been a discussion on Michael; a few words about the importance of magazines; and a lengthy ramble about physical media. I’m not entirely sure all of the topics fit within the remit of a newsletter, but as I said back in Newsletter #1, things would go off on a tangent.
In today’s edition of the Newsletter, I’m taking you behind the scenes at It’s A Stampede! HQ to discuss some of the innerworkings of this very blog. It’s A Stampede! has been in existence for just over eight years and despite how it might seem, it takes hard work and organisation to keep things ticking along.
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Movie Reviews 2026
One of the most consistent elements of It’s A Stampede! is the movie reviews. Reviews have been popping up on this blog since its inception back in 2018, but really started to become a regular thing from 2020 onward.
However, last year I decided to switch things up, by moving away from individual reviews in favour of a weekly, newsletter-style post, collecting together a week’s worth of reviews. Titled Movie Reviews 2025, this reviews post ran for 50 weeks last year, and offered up thoughts and critiques on all of the major (and sometimes minor) movies that were released in 2025.
This year I’m continuing to publish movie reviews in this format under the banner heading, Movie Reviews 2026, and once again these posts will pop up for 50 weeks of the year, running from January to mid-December. On average, four movies are reviewed per week, but occasionally more are included (it was five last week).
Putting together the weekly reviews post is fun, but it takes some juggling, as well as some behind the scenes scheduling. Watching and reviewing films takes longer than you might think, and when you factor in all the additional admin time to get each edition of Movie Reviews 2026 into a presentable shape (cinema trips, images, editing, links, etc), it swallows up a big chunk of the week.
And once each edition is complete, there’s not much down time before work on the next one takes place. In fact, more often than not, as I’m finishing up one edition I’ve already got my eye on what follows, because there really is no time to rest on my laurels.
What takes most readers ten minutes to scroll through, takes hours to put together, so when I say it’s a commitment it really is! But I enjoy writing each edition and I hope you enjoy reading them.
The main aim of Movie Reviews 2026 is to point readers and film fans in the direction of the best movies, and steer everyone away from the dross. There are some great movies out there, with plenty of top titles released each year, so I hope you’ve watched at least a few of them based on my reviews.
Anyway, if you regularly read Movie Reviews 2026, then thank you for being a part of its continued success. A new edition will be with you each week (usually on a Friday), so please continue to read, like, share, and so on.
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Blockbuster heaven
Speaking of movies, you’ll be aware that we have now reached summer blockbuster season (my favourite time of the year… after Halloween), and this means you’ll be seeing plenty of blockbuster-related posts popping up on this blog. From guides to long-running series which help you navigate all those sequels, to discussions about movie ratings which should help you decide what films are suitable for you and your family, there is lots to dip in and out of.
In addition to this, this year I am hoping to talk a bit more about the cinema-going experience over the summer. This is likely to be in the form of a general chat about the hits, the misses, the fun of going to the flicks, the snacks, and the merch, etc, and maybe more as the season unfolds.
I expect this discussion will take the shape of a future edition of the Newsletter. I love talking about films, and I REALLY LOVE going to the cinema during the summer, so expect much chit-chat to come.
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Blog content
Now, when I’m not watching and reviewing movies I tend to write about other topics on the It’s A Stampede! blog. These topics have varied over the years, but generally they fall into the realm of ‘geek content’ (comics, TV shows, toys, etc).
I’ve always regarded It’s A Stampede! as a geek hub, which contains (hopefully) lots of useful information. If I see something which I think is interesting, useful, and geeky, then I start compiling a post about it.
There’s been very little deviation in this area for the past eight years, and it’s unlikely I’ll deviate from it moving forward. Now that said, I will be attempting to build on the content in certain areas, so for example you might notice a rise in Batman posts in the coming weeks, because this is something I’m building up on this blog.
If there are topics you’d like me to focus on then let me know. I’m always open to suggestions and constructive feedback about what readers will find useful.
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It ain’t easy being seen
One thing I do want to highlight in this behind the scenes edition of the Newsletter is how much your continued support is important to the success and future of It’s A Stampede!. It’s a cliché to say but without readers clicking, liking, and sharing posts, this blog would be nothing.
When I started It’s A Stampede! back in 2018, things were much easier in the realm of blogging, online engagement… and well… just in general. Post-pandemic, the world has changed quite considerably, and between the rise in AI usage and the complete shittification of Google and social media, it’s getting ever harder to get noticed.
Sometimes I’ll publish interesting, informative, and original posts on this blog and few people ever see them. The internet currently works in very mysterious ways, and it’s having a considerable knock-on effect on readers reaching independent blogs.
I (like most of you) will head online to look for something meaningful and informative, and be hit with some utter nonsense produced by artificial intelligence. Why? Because that’s simply how things go these days.
But let’s not let it get us down. The important thing to do is just provide support where you can – it really does help. So, if you do click on a post or share an article online it makes a difference.
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And that’s pretty much where I’ll leave things for this edition of the Newsletter. It’s a public holiday today in the UK, so I suppose I really should be using this time for some much-needed R ‘n’ R.
Ha! Who am I kidding? I will be jump off this post in a moment to work on this week’s edition of Movie Reviews 2026 instead. These things don’t write themselves!
Alex
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Thank you for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this newsletter post. For more posts be sure to check out the recommended reads below.
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