For all the many years I’ve written this opinion column for The Walton Tribune, I was always, with only rare exceptions, part of the weekend paper.

This wasn’t a problem — after all, everyone loves the Sunday paper, which childhood taught me was the best paper of the week because there were more comic strips in it — except in one way.

Our weekend paper goes to the press on Fridays. I generally go to the movies on Saturdays. Which meant almost every new movie I saw was after deadline.

Now, I could still come back and write about a new movie I saw come the next weekend, but it always felt more than a little belated to try and pass off a review of a week old movie in the paper. By the time you could read my opinions on one new movie, I had already been to the theater and seen another, which I would also have to write about late, if I wrote about it at all.

So I’ve never really written proper “movie reviews” in the paper. I’ve written plenty of columns about movies, of course, to the delight of some and the consternation of others, but they were usually broader pieces about cinema trends, or my annual Top 10 list or something else of that sort.

But now, having acquired the managing editor title and office, I have also therefore acquired the Wednesday column space.

I have realized that now, after seeing a weekend movie, I can pass off my thoughts on the movie only a few days later, rather than a full week’s worth.

So, yes, I may write even more about movies in the future.

I’m sure you’re all thrilled.

I may not do it regularly — I don’t get the early screenings actual movie critics get, so they can run reviews right when the movie comes out. No matter what, my movie pieces will come at best several days after you could already see the movie.

But I can scratch that itch of playing movie reviewer a bit more often, at least.

Just this past weekend, for instance, I went to see “Predator: Badlands,” the latest installment in the storied franchise about alien hunters who slice up a whole lot of people, until they are sliced up in turn.

This latest iteration of the formula, however, took an interesting turn, as for the first time the Predator of the title is the protagonist, rather than antagonist, and we follow his journey in acquiring a new trophy.

Our hero, in fact, is a young Predator looking to earn his stripes on his first real hunt, meaning he’s not quite the unstoppable killing machine the movies usually feature. He’s chattier, too, especially once he meets a chipper android and brings her along for the ride.

What follows is an unusually affecting coming of age meets found family narrative, just with a lot more alien carnage than usual.

There are no cheesy Arnie one-liners, but it’s a pretty great sci-fi action flick. I had a great time with it.

I’ve got a few more movies to see this month, including the new “Wicked” musical and Disney’s sequel to “Zootopia.” Whether I spend an entire column on them or not, at least now I have the option.

So maybe stock up on some popcorn. We might spend more time on the silver screen around here. 

Stephen Milligan is the managing editor of The Walton Tribune, a sister publication of The Covington News. He can be reached at stephen.milligan@waltontribune.com.