Hey, I've done short films too.
But, well ...
I happen to tell more complex stories .... I'm more inspired by shows like Twin Peaks and The Sopranos which set their characters up, develop them, let them live life realistically. Being TV series, they have the time to do so, and I found that Gods of Los Angeles may have actually worked better in its television version.
Gods of Los Angeles is a long film because I had a lot to say in it. I cut about an hour out of it to get it to its current state. The first hour is all plot and doesn't interest me as much, but couldn't be cut down much because of plot ... the rest of the film is all character, and is what I'm proud of.
2.5 hours is a pretty standard length for an ambitious film ... if not for an amateur film, but then I wasn't trying to make the usual amateur film.
That said, I did learn a lot from Gods, and will try to tell simpler stories in the future.
(And with THAT said, one of my more recent scripts, a fantasy epic, would definitely be longer than 2 hours and probably become two films.)
For the interested, I tend to give away samples of my films for free with DVD orders to those who ask nicely.
Because of this, a lot of people reading this probably have copies already.