Storytelling
Captain Marvel: A Genius Lesson in Story Structure
Captain Marvel offers a smart answer to a hard storytelling question: how do you make a compelling movie about the world’s strongest hero?
Storytelling
53 Reactions from a Drunken Viewing of Mortal Engines
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.
Storytelling
What Went Wrong with Bad Times at the El Royale?
This caper flick wants you to believe it’s full of twists and turns… but it’s frustatingly empty.
Storytelling
What Makes the Best Pilot Episodes in TV History Tick?
From The Sopranos to Westworld, how the 10 of the best TV shows displayed their game-changing brilliance from their very first episodes.
Storytelling
What Makes Game of Thrones So Addictive?
Every “must-see” TV show uses some of these addictive story tricks, but only Game of Thrones combined them all to create a runaway hit.
Storytelling
Why Ant-Man and the Wasp Is a Movie About Nothing
Ant-Man and the Wasp has a plot built entirely out of MacGuffins and a villain who finally breaks Marvel’s mold.
Armchair Sociology
Westworld: Reality, A.I., and the God Problem
When I was about 5 or 6, I had a thought that both exhilarated and terrified me. I was riding in the car with my parents, looking out the window, and I thought… How do I know if I’m real? Beyond that… how do I know if “reality” even exists? Read more…
Storytelling
How Iron Man Created the Formula for Every Marvel Movie
10 years after Marvel Studios released Iron Man, here’s how that movie’s success has been duplicated in every MCU film since.
Storytelling
Why Black Sails Has One of the Best Main Characters in TV History
Here’s why Captain Flint on Black Sails is one of the best-written characters in this current era of Peak TV.
Storytelling
Why Black Panther and Wakanda Are the Keys to Marvel’s Future
How the success of Black Panther changes action movies and lays the groundwork for Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.