Shootouts, unlike any other type of action scenes, put death in the forefront of the audience’s mind. Whereas a car chase draws the attention onto the race, or a fight scene onto the pursuit of victory, shootouts test the mortality of our protagonists and anti-heroes. It’s more than just a hail of bullets that matters …
A good fight scene is built into the fabric of an action film such that you can sense it coming like a storm on the horizon. It’s in the details of the opponents: the cracking of knuckles, the puffing of chests, the staredowns that say, “It’s about to go down.” A good fight scene makes …
If you’re an action hero, pulling off daring rescues and badass escapes is just another day at the office. The rescue has been the prototypical action scene since humans have been able to put pen to paper. From Tarzan swinging in on a vine to Iron Man flying in on his jets, a hero isn’t …
There’s nothing like the thrill of a chase. A bank robber pulls off an elaborate heist only to be pursued by a dogged detective on foot. A soldier escapes from enemy territory but must outrun the angry combatants on his tail. A man wrongly accused of murder has just his wits and his two legs …
In 1999, The Wachowski siblings released a film that is now one of the biggest pop culture phenomenons of today in The Matrix. It followed Neo, a young man who finds out that his world is nothing but a virtual reality constructed by machines, while the reality is that the world is a desolate wasteland …
Every decade has their cinematic science fiction obsessions which speak to its concerns of the age; in the 1950s films such as Earth vs. The Flying Saucers and Them! capitalised on fears of alien invasion and nuclear proliferation. In the 1960s films like Barbarella and Ikarie XB-1 captured the hopes and dangers of space exploration …
It is a common worry that we have become too dependant on the Internet and on our phones. We spend so much time plugged into the Matrix, as Ilana puts it, that we can’t handle any time separated from it. We can forcibly remove ourselves from its hold over us, but we inevitably begin to crave it and, in some ways, require it. We are helpless without it, and if this episode proves anything, it’s the the truth of that statement, at least for Abbi and Ilana.
The term ‘Plot Hole’ has grown legs and begun a marathon sprint in the last few years. In most cases, the vast majority of accusations were false, revealing a common misunderstanding of what plot hole means.
Even before it saw the light of day, The Matrix Revolutions was let down by being positioned atop the most diminutive of pedestals. It is a film that was destined to be an overwhelmingly epic endgame but failed to fulfill itself, badly in need of ironing out.
There was a withering backlash against The Matrix Sequels that still exists to this day. Watching them will reveal that criticisms made in retrospect are symptoms of a bigger problem: Reloaded and Revolutions are damned by avoidable narrative problems
With 111.5-million U.S. viewers, and a further 7.3-million in Canada, Super Bowl XLVIII was the most-watched in history. The commercial spots were the most expensive for any TV broadcast in any given year, and there were plenty of big name stars and A-list directors who helped create these very expensive advertisements. John Hillcoat, director of …
If one goes and peruses the oeuvre of the Wachowski Siblings they will likely come across a film that sticks out like a sore thumb. Between the Matrix Revolutions and Cloud Atlas lies the critical and box office disaster Speed Racer. The label of disaster is not only unfair, but it is completely inaccurate. Speed …
The Sixth Sense has come and gone as has its (alleged) twist ending. It’s hard to categorize The Sixth Sense but like The Shining or Inception I shall dub it as part of the puzzle picture genre that keeps appearing then disappearing only to come back. At first sight, the very existence of puzzle pictures …
Recently, the intrepid co-hosts of Sound on Sight radio asked me to help host a podcast devoted to Keanu Reeves. I had been hoping for a long time that they would have just such a podcast, and I wanted to take this opportunity to explain a little bit more about why I find Reeves to …
For an actor so enigmatically blessed with sensitive leading man looks, Keanu Reeves has an uncanny dexterity within the action genre. Hampered by the effortlessness of his airhead turn as Ted in Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Reeves spent years shedding his pretty boy persona in more arthouse and mainstream dramatic fare, only to find it right …
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Directed by Gore Verbinski Written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Stuart Beattie, and Jay Wolpert Starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush Captain Jack Sparrow is the worst thing that ever happened to Johnny Depp’s career. The prevailing wisdom is that the constantly …
Tim Anderson created these beautiful posters for some our favorite classic sci-fi films. Tim graduated from Art Center College of Design in 2009 with a BFA in Illustration and has worked on various entertainment design projects for Paramount Pictures, video games and a few independent films. He is currently working as a concept designer for …
Comic Book adaptations are the bread and butter for Hollywood at the moment. Every year sees an increase in comic flicks in development and without question the most secure genre to invest in is the superhero one. In fact, it’s hard nowadays to remember a day when the superhero blockbuster was merely a rare …
Well it’s a new day and here is yet another montage, the second in two days. Lucky for us, it’s just as great. Yesterday we showed you A Brief History of Title Design. This time however, it’s the work of youtuber Hatinhand. He brings us a montage sequence of amazing movie ending spoilers. Overall there …
Derek Stettler has edited together a video titled Reel Wisdom: Lessons from 40 Films in 7 Minutes. Here is what the editor told /film. I made this video because I love films and I think there is great wisdom inherent in the film medium. This video represents some of the best wisdom from films, edited …
In 1993, audiences gazing on the truly imposing sight of dinosaurs come to life in Jurassic Park felt the same sense of jaw-dropping awe displayed by the movie’s human characters. Nothing in movie history could compare to what Steven Spielberg and his CGI crew were able to put on the screen: not the herky-jerky stop-motion-animated …