Film Essays

(PG-13) ScreenPrism looks back at the character arc of Mad Men‘s other Don Draper. Wonderfully portrayed by Christina Hendricks, Joan Holloway started out believing that marriage was a woman’s best chance at happiness. But she’s too smart to stay that way.

Stranger Things borrows heavily from three titans of ’80s film and literature: Steven Spielberg, slasher and horror flicks, and Stephen King. ScreenPrism starts its list of the Netflix series’ references and homages with ones related to Spielberg.

Film editor Jacob T. Swinney compiled this intense reel of moments from Darren Aronofsky’s films in which the camera gets up close and personal with its subjects. The technique provides an immediacy and sense of involvement that’s about as visceral as it gets.

(PG-13, Flashing lights) Director Darren Aronofsky has an incredibly consistent filmography. It’s not only in terms of his movies’ quality, but also in the themes that he chooses to tackle and visualize: ambition, fantasies, and the gap between parents and children.

Video essayist Patrick H Willems explores an interesting notion in the world of film criticism – that the original Ghostbusters was missing something that virtually every other movie has ever has – a theme, subtext, message, or story arc for its main characters.

(PG-13: Language) “The f**k did I do?” ScreenPrism starts its discussion of HBO’s The Wire with an analysis of Detective Jimmy McNulty. McNulty truly cared about putting bad guys in jail. And that’s about the only good thing we can say about him.

(PG-13: Language) Videogamedunkey casts his analytical eye on his favorite horror film, The Shining. It’s a movie that needs no further introduction. But until every single human being has watched it, we think it qualifies as underappreciated.

(SPOILERS) CineFix’s latest compilation features five wonderfully finessed scenes that effectively use camera movement, sound, blocking and more to express emotions, foreshadowing and other intangible concepts and states.

Seventeen years ago, Christopher and Jonathan Nolan bamboozled us with their breakout film, Memento. If the film’s alternating backward and forward stories still puzzle you, imagine the mental gymnastics that the Nolan brothers had to go through to bring it to life.

Now You See It suggests how you can tell if a plot twist is good: watch or read the story again and see if you still enjoy it. Because unlike reality, fiction has to make sense. Instead of being a complete tangent, the twist has to fit in with the rest of the tale.

Before Master Chief, before Superman, there was the cowboy. CineFix presents its picks for the best Western films of all time. You probably won’t agree with the list, but it’s a great reminder of the genre’s timeless relevance and appeal.

“The more removed the point of view is from our own, the more fascinating it is.” ScreenPrism enumerates the different meanings or purposes of the point of view shot. It can both reveal and conceal, excite and horrify, and empower and constrict.

Film essayist Nerdwriter1 looks at Paul Thomas Anderson’s masterwork There Will Be Blood as an example of how its relatively modest use of edits and subtle framing adjustments have much greater emotional impact than the crazy rapid cuts we’re used to these days.

ScreenPrism ponders the meaning of Game of Thrones’ white walkers. Are they reminders that our dreams and issues ultimately mean nothing? Or do ice zombies have a literal connotation? Perhaps they’re misunderstood beings with their own problems?

(SPOILERS) Master of None‘s second season makes no secret of its Italian neorealist influence. But ScreenPrism gives a great breakdown of the show’s ambitious yet successful mission: adopting the dour style for the middle class while remaining sincere.

ScreenPrism briefly analyzes Christopher Nolan’s diverse filmography. His movies are often morally ambiguous stories revolving around someone with multiple personas, but it seems he has taken a more positive turn beginning with Interstellar.

“There are only two emotions – pleasure and pain.” Lessons from the Screenplay gives two reasons why Game of Thrones remains fresh and engaging: its scenes often have a simple flow, but every now and then the show will break from convention to keep us guessing.

(PG-13) Wisecrack’s Garyx Wormuloid looks back at an Earthling cult classic: Amy Heckerling’s sweet and smart teen movie Clueless. He enumerates Cher Horowitz’s epiphanies while poking fun at the movie’s heavy-handed foreshadowing.

“The human way is violence and death.” Like other excellent examples of fantasy and science fiction, the Planet of the Apes movies urge us to look inward. ScreenPrism points out how the franchise’s movies served as signs of their times.

(PG-13, SPOILERS) Wisecrack uses The Society of the Spectacle to summarize Black Mirror: social media and ads encourage us to subscribe to a commercialized and self-fulfilling form of validation, instead of acknowledging our individuality and imperfections.

Now You See It reminds us that the clothing of characters in movies are meticulously chosen or made, and not just in superhero or fantasy films. From blending in with the setting to reflecting a character’s story, costumes offer viewers many clues to better understand a film.

(PG-13, Gore) CineFix celebrates the 25th anniversary of Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs by building a list around it. Watch them tick off their favorite movie crimes and its parts: the plan, the members, the getaway etc. And no, City on Fire is not in it.

“Peter loves being Spider-Man, but he doesn’t love being Peter Parker.” ScreenPrism contrasts the approaches of the three modern Spider-Man movie adaptations while breaking down the symbols and philosophies of Marvel’s teenage icon.

“The mysterious thing about telling stories is that it ends up changing you.” Lessons from the Screenplay relays how co-director Pete Docter and the rest of the story team for Inside Out got stuck in a rut, and how they eventually figured out how the movie would play out.

Whether you think she’s underrated or overrated, we can’t deny Sofia Coppola’s eye for beauty, visual storytelling and willingness to evolve. ScreenPrism explores the filmmaker’s trademarks and how they show up in her movies.