FilmVerse
American Horror Story
Horror in a continuing TV series is a tricky thing. It requires a compelling concept that has to be scary in every episode. The Twilight Zone had some creepy episodes, but mixed horror with science fiction and fantasy; regardless, it was the twist endings and heavy-hitting morality plays that kept people watching. The Night Stalker […]
RIP Steve Jobs
The sad news arrived today that Apple Computers creator Steve Jobs passed away from pancreatic cancer. He has been a technological innovator and friend of the creative community. His Macs have been the standard for editing in the film industry as well as animation, computer graphics, and photography. Our lives have been affected in so […]
Sequels That Ignored Previous Films in a Series
Every time you turn around nowadays a movie series is being “rebooted” or “reimagined.” Basically, that’s the filmmakers saying they don’t care about what came before and will do whatever they want to do with this movie. Ignore the first Hulk’s origin story, because The Incredible Hulk gives us a brand new one during the […]
Character is Plot
It’s been said that character is plot. What does that mean? Simply put, the choices the lead character makes drives the direction the story takes. In movies with weak plots, stuff happens and characters do things, but the two aren’t necessarily related. Take your typical slasher film–an anonymous killer stalks a group of teenagers in […]
Annoying Trends in Movie Titles
Coming up with a name for anything is hard. Just ask any parents of newborns–why do you think the world is full of Juniors? With movies, it’s tough because it has to fit the plot, theme, and feel of the film and be marketable and memorable. At least, you’d think so. It would seem that […]
Director/Actor Pairings That Need to Continue
There have been great movie director/actor pairings in the history of cinema: John Ford and John Wayne, Alfred Hitchcock and Cary Grant, Martin Scorsese and Robert DiNiro, Martin Scorsese and Joe Pesci, Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Scorsese and Harvey Keitel…you get the picture. Of course, the most overused one that everyone is sick […]
For Your Consideration – This Movie Critique
Christopher Guest has made a career from mockumentaries. He co-starred and co-wrote This Is Spinal Tap and then went on to direct such fun films as Waiting for Guffman, A Mighty Wind, and Best in Show. All of those had the conceit of being documentaries about people who only think they’re important. For Your Consideration […]
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