Category: About Writing
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Small Moments In Big Movies
Continuing the idea of looking at small moments in big movies, it’s worth noting that the bigger the movie, the more important the smaller moments. In general, big budget action movies don’t have a lot of time to spare for character development, so it makes it imperative that those moments work well. Because the better…
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What A Peanut Butter Sandwich Teaches Us About Anti Heroes
You may have noticed that there are quite a few superhero movies these days. But even before now, it was rare to see a big blockbuster movie in which the protagonist is an anti-hero. When David Koepp sat down to write War Of The Worlds, he made a list of all the things you normally…
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What Jurassic Park Can Teach Us About Foreshadowing
Take another look at this sequence from Jurassic Park. https://youtu.be/fKFDxg4cbIw There’s quite a lot going on here, in a moment that feels like very little is going on. Spielberg is building our anticipation, and John Williams’ music is working brilliantly to service that goal. We’re also getting a sense of geography, showing just how isolated…
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Indy Fence Of The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull
I nearly didn’t watch The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull as part of my re-visit to the Indiana Jones movies. I remembered thoroughly enjoying it in the cinema, and then being disappointed by it on DVD. I may have even fallen asleep during the second watch. But guess what? Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of…
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Using Humour As Exposition In The Last Crusade
What’s the best scene in Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade? You’re quite right, it’s this one. But why is it so good? This scene has an awful lot of legwork to do, and it does it all rather well. The best two ways to get exposition across is through humour and conflict, and if…
