movies Archives - Justin Kownacki

Modern Storytelling Is Broken, and Here’s How to Fix It

From Lost to Game of Thrones to The Rise of Skywalker, the “mystery box” style of storytelling is coming up short. Here’s why — and how to fix it.

Booksmart, Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut, is a glorious mess, just like its characters… and it works.

Avengers: Endgame owes its success to one word: character.

Laika’s biggest animated fim is missing a crucial element that causes the movie to fall short of satisfying.

A hero is only as good as his villain, and that’s where Shazam’s plot problems start.

Captain Marvel offers a smart answer to a hard storytelling question: how do you make a compelling movie about the world’s strongest hero?

How did Steve Harrington become one of the most popular characters on Stranger Things?

Mortal Engines may be one of 2018’s biggest box-office bombs, but it didn’t have to be. Here’s the key ingredient the movie forgot to include.

This caper flick wants you to believe it’s full of twists and turns… but it’s frustatingly empty.

Why, despite some stellar filmmaking, does First Man fail to satisfy?