Awesome Film Essays

CineFix picks its top 10 cinematographers of all time. The next time you praise a movie’s lighting, camera movement, framing, coloring or even mood, know that it’s not just because of the director, set designer or cameramen. It’s the cinematographer at work.

ScreenPrism treats Wes Anderson’s breakout film Rushmore as the director’s coming-of-age. The movie sees the debut of Anderson’s dollhouse aesthetic – albeit raw and less ornate – and penchant for indie music, while the story and theme are lifted from his life.

“There are no choices.” Blade Runner draws us in with memorable visuals of a dystopian future. But at its core, it’s a noir film. Lessons from the Screenplay lists the three key elements of noir and how they manifest in Ridley Scott’s classic.

(PG-13) Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange features a dark and disturbed main character, but somehow we still come to sympathize with Alex DeLarge. ScreenPrism brilliantly analyzes one of film’s greatest anti-heroes, whose charm and sophistication are oddly appealing.

(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.

…or rather, the wiseguys behind Goodfellas. The Film Theorists share trivia not only about the real Henry Hill – the mobster that Ray Liotta portrayed in the film – but also how the other actors were cast, and how they sought inspiration for their roles.

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.