You can learn a lot about storytelling from taking in great stories. Let The Last of Us teach you about immersive storytelling. Don Quixote effortlessly plays with the characters’ relation to the narrative. Learn how to have a bunch of different character arcs in motion from The Avengers. Bad stories can also teach you a… Continue reading Learning From (Others’) Failure
Tag: Movies
Why I Take Issue With Johnny Storm Being Black
So y’know that new Fantastic Four movie coming out next week? It caused a bit of uproar when casting was announced since Michael B. Jordan’s playing Johnny Storm, a character who, in the comics, has been white. This is further complicated by the fact that his sister, Susan Storm, is being played by Kate Mara,… Continue reading Why I Take Issue With Johnny Storm Being Black
But What Does It All Mean?
When The Lord of The Rings was first published, there was a lot of talk about its relation to the second World War. It got to the point that in the foreword to a later edition, Tolkien explicitly said that no, it was not in any way an allegory of World War Two. Tolkien wasn’t… Continue reading But What Does It All Mean?
Pixel Problem
I remember seeing Patrick Jean’s short film “Pixels” when it first hit the internet a few years ago. It’s a cool short film with a fun concept. It does what it does and is great for it. Then there was Freddie Wong’s “Old School vs New School” which took a similar idea and, though not… Continue reading Pixel Problem
Cold War Relevance
Alright. Quick one today because it’s my birthday and I have plans. I talk a lot about science fiction and how often it works as a way to commentate on current events and what not. Sometimes, it’s a lot easier to look at the interplay of fiction when it’s something that happened in the past… Continue reading Cold War Relevance
I’m Going To Use The Word ‘Intertextual’ Because I Want To
Intertextuality is a fun word to say. It’s an even funner concept: it’s the idea that one text will reference another. And I've been on a vacation of sorts this week so I'm going to write about it. See, when intertextual literature lets its world be informed by the outside. Chuck, for example, uses it to… Continue reading I’m Going To Use The Word ‘Intertextual’ Because I Want To
Obligatory Fury Road Entry
I haven’t seen any of the old Mad Max trilogy, more for lack of bother than anything. Pop culture osmosis ensured I knew what it was about, though; post-apocalyptic wasteland, lots of leather, cars, machismo. So Fury Road flew below my radar during much of the lead up to its release. That is, until the… Continue reading Obligatory Fury Road Entry
Top Nine Movies of 2014
Eventually you get to the point when you realize if you keep putting off this list until you’ve seen everything you wanna see you’re never gonna write the darn list. So I’m writing it. So here’s my list of top nine movies for 2014; nine because I’m leaving a space for movies I haven’t seen… Continue reading Top Nine Movies of 2014
Let’s Talk About That Whole Black Widow Thing
People are mad on the internet. As usual. The hubbub recently, though, is about choices made regarding Black Widow in Age of Ultron. Now, I’m a big fan of Black Widow. I’d really like her to get her own movie and Nathan Edmonson’s run on the comics has been fantastic (issue #13 is framed on… Continue reading Let’s Talk About That Whole Black Widow Thing
Masculinity in Age of Ultron
I saw Age of Ultron Thursday night and I have thoughts. There’s the obvious nerd-out factor of the film, and it’s really cool and does a lot of things right (and, arguably, does indeed go smaller than the first Avengers), but those are essays rants for another day. So let’s talk about how the movie… Continue reading Masculinity in Age of Ultron
Essays, Not Rants! 