Film Essays

(Gore, SPOILERS) ScreenPrism deconstructs the story and the various endings of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. It’s a story about itself, it’s a story about being a helpless consumer, and it’s a story about accepting that we can’t change the past.

Pixar’s movies are often tearjerkers. But they are also about characters who change for the better. ScreenPrism looks at Toy Story, Up and Ratatouille to show the three types of obstacles that Pixar characters overcome on their way to making us cry.

We don’t think there’s any way to accurately depict hallucinations, but filmmakers have tried for years to give us an idea, and thanks to CGI, we’re getting some really trippy effects on screen. Film Qualia explores how psychedelic imagery has made it into mainstream films.

(SPOILERS) Science fiction movies often explore human tendencies. But Alex Garland’s adaptation of Annihilation tackles large ideas: duplication, self-destruction and mutation. Lessons from the Screenplay looks at how the film manifests its themes.

Film Radar made this great video about wardrobe design in film and TV. Good costume designers inhabit the minds of both the characters and the director. In terms of production, costumes are often custom made, even for extras, and may have multiple replicas.

While computer graphics can be used to greatly expand cinematic worlds, they can also be overdone. Marvel Studios is one of the worst culprits when it comes to slathering on the CGI, and film essayist Browntable provides some examples of why it takes us out of the action.

Back in 2014, CineFix named its picks for best long takes in films. Now, they revisit their list to add new ones, defend some picks, including fight scenes, slow burning shots, scenes that involve hundreds or thousands of people, opening shots, Steadicam shots and more.

(PG-13: Language) “What do I want a way outta here for?” Lessons from the Screenplay uses Good Will Hunting to demonstrate how writing fictional characters can sometimes be writing about psychology. Characters have traumas that need to be overcome before they change.

Lessons from the Screenplay used the screenplay for The Devil Wears Prada to showcase how an effective script can grab the audience’s attention, introduce the main characters and sum up the movie within its first 10 pages.

After showing us how movie heroes have evolved, Wisecrack takes a look at the bad guys. Villains are as much reflections of the times as heroes. Going from “the other” to corruption to terrorists, we now have villains that have heroic ideals, but insane methods.

Just Write looks at the stylistic choices and subject matter of Blade Runner and Neuromancer and how they went on to influence an endless stream of science fiction movies, graphic novels, and TV shows for decades to come.

From Wes Anderson to Edgar Wright to Stanley Kubrick, there are some filmmakers who make such a distinctive mark on the screen that you can tell they made a film from a single frame. CineFix looks at these and two other auteurs of the screen in their latest film analysis.

These days, we’re accustomed to such seamless and realistic visual effects on the big screen and even some TV series that we’ve become pretty jaded by CGI. But one look at Diane Bullock’s reel of 1990’s movie VFX should serve as a reminder of just how good we’ve got it today.

While most of us who watched Breaking Bad associated its title with the dramatic transformation of Walter White from everyday Joe Schmoe to drug kingpin, but ScreenPrism shows us how multiple characters on the series had similarly destructive trajectories.

Kaptainkristian looks at how director Guillermo del Toro designs and presents monsters in his films. Using quotes from the director himself, the film essayist identifies the key elements of a del Toro monster, including transformation and the use of prosthetics and motion actors.

Lessons from the Screenplay looks at how Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg wrote Shaun of the Dead to show us a great way to build a story. In the film, the supporting characters and even the story of the world are reflections of the main character’s traits.

(PG-13, SPOILERS) CineFix presents more brilliant moments in film, this time focusing on patterns. They showcase five scenes from different films that establish a pattern using cuts, camera angles, character movements, only to subvert our expectations.

(PG-13: Language, Gore) “Omar comin’!” ScreenPrism takes a look at one of The Wire’s (and television’s) most memorable and popular characters. Omar Little was a pain for the drug lords of his neighborhood, a sliver of justice in an otherwise rigged game.

Looking for a movie to watch with your pals this Halloween? Look no further than Chopping Mall – a cult classic from the 1980s about a group of horny teens hang out in the mall after work, only to be stalked by killer robots. In Praise of Shadows explains why you need to watch.

If you ask us, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions were huge letdowns, whether or not we compare them to the first film. But Just Write argues that with adult eyes – and some perseverance – the movies are worth rewatching and dissecting.

(PG-13: Language) We’ve seen Superbad at least a dozen times, and it doesn’t get old. The Cosmonaut Variety Hour provides his take on why he thinks the 2007 film is the greatest teen comedy of all time. It’s a great coming-of-age story disguised as a horny teen sex comedy.

CineFix presents its picks for the best movie soundtracks. There are soundtracks that seem like scores, familiar ones that evoke nostalgia, anachronistic soundtracks, ones that introduce us to new genres or artists, soundtracks that inspired the movie itself, and more.

Now You See It looks at the evolving meaning of stripes, particularly striped clothing, in history, art and fashion, and how these meanings translate into motion pictures. Striped clothing can indicate that the character is an outcast, a rebel, childish and more.

Julian Palmer of The Discarded Image takes a look back at the unique sound textures found in movies from the 1980s. While some of the highly-synthesized soundscapes feel dated or shallow, others were pioneering and perfectly suited the content on screen.

(PG-13: Language) ScreenPrism looks at how the fourth season of Bojack Horseman is all about addressing the root cause of one’s unhappiness. The show reminds us that those who’ve done us wrong are people too, that we have to face our past, and more.

Lessons from the Screenplay looks at how the screenwriters and sound designers created the sounds of A Quiet Place. The writers became creative with the screenplay, while the sound designers avoided extended silence, and used sound to mimic the flow of tension.

Lessons from the Screenplay looks at how No Country for Old Men makes us put its story together instead of using dialogue alone. Characters are given depth and the plot is implied through actions, and the film’s progression clues the audience into its moral.

“Watching a Lau Kar-leung film is similar to watching an illustrated guide or documentation of kung-fu and its philosophy.” The Museum of Modern Art’s La Frances Hui talks about the history of kung-fu films before breaking down the work of legendary filmmaker Lau Kar-leung.

CineFix presents its top 10 picks for best movie scores. There are ones that are great at setting the mood, ones at expressing or emphasizing ideas, ones at transporting us to a place or time, and the evocative theme song that’s stuck to a character or scene.

Jacob T. Swinney and Fandor dive into the film trope of an object of desire that its characters are searching for, but the audience doesn’t necessarily care about. It can drive motivations and momentum, but as we’ve learned before, MacGuffin’s aren’t always the best plot device.

(Gore) ScreenPrism talks about the trademarks of a Coen Brothers film. It often starts with a crime that goes awry, and eventually punishment gets dealt but in a roundabout manner, with random acts and vile characters as the jury. But it’s not totally hopeless.

Wisecrack’s extraterrestrial critic Garyx Wormuloid takes on the first summer blockbuster hit, Jaws. Not that anyone needs further motivation to watch and appreciate Steven Spielberg’s classic, but it does have timely messages within.