Tag Archives: the dark knight

When Was the Last Time You Said, ‘That’s the Coolest Thing I’ve Ever Seen’?

I love movies. There’s a power in being shown something I’ve never seen before. In my life, I’ve had many times when I’ve been able to say, “That’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.” However, I worry that that’s becoming … Continue reading

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I Figured Out What Dune (1984) Is Missing

Frank Herbert’s Dune is one of my favorite books. And David Lynch’s Dune (1984) is a guilty pleasure of mine. For a long time, I’ve been fascinated by its failure. What is it about that interpretation of Dune that doesn’t … Continue reading

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Clever Foreshadowing in The Dark Knight

I love the dialogue in The Dark Knight. It’s punchy, full of memorable lines, and has plenty of excellent callbacks to Batman Begins and earlier lines within the film itself. “You either die a hero, or you live long enough … Continue reading

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And I Thought My Jokes Were Bad

Remember that 2008 movie where, near the start, a bunch of mobsters’ money disappears from every bank in their city and gets put into one big pot that none of them have control over? And yet they’re told (by the … Continue reading

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Movies That Force Heroes to Make an Impossible Choice

Great movies force their protagonists to make hard choices that help us understand their true character traits and motivations. Sometimes those choices are extremely difficult, messy, and uncomfortable while others only have the appearance of being like that while they … Continue reading

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Middle Movies Everyone Agrees Are the Best in Their Trilogies

Even though it seems like everyone disagrees on just about every imaginable topic, it’s nice to know that there are at least some things we can all agree upon. Take, for example, movie trilogies. There are a number of them … Continue reading

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The Defining Movies of the Last 5 Decades

We are on the cusp of beginning a new year and a new decade, and, with this in mind, a friend and I were recently talking about movies that define the last five decades. He’s about 20 years older than … Continue reading

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Why Is Two-Face So Easy to Manipulate?

Last week we dissected the Two-Face Meets the Riddler scene in Batman Forever, and this week we’re going to revisit that scene and add a little twist. Have you ever noticed that this scene mirrors the one in The Dark … Continue reading

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A Behind-the-Scenes Look at How I Uncover Cinematic Chiasmus

I’ve written more than a dozen articles explaining how the story structure of some special films fall into the category of Cinematic Chiasmus. These are films that unfold in a particular way in which the events in their first half … Continue reading

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Pleasant Surprises: Law Abiding Citizen

I don’t usually describe films as “stunning,” but that’s the best word I can find for 2009’s Law Abiding Citizen. I am stunned by this film, from its opening scene to its finale it’s constantly surprising me and leaving me … Continue reading

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