Commentary: ‘Mortal Kombat 2’ Had To Made A Choice Between Tones
The Mortal Kombat franchise has a surprisingly rich mythology. After publishing so many games, the characters and plot have expanded to
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Author: Frank Martin
Commentary — ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’s Villain Stretches The Definition Of Adaptation
Of course, no adaptation is going to be perfect. There needs to be changes made to every character in order
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Commentary — ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Recreates Comic Panels But Ruins Their Context
As a visual medium, comics are perfectly suited to adapt into films. The comic medium can almost serve as storyboards
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Commentary: ‘House Of The Dragon’ Makes The ‘Game Of Thrones’ Ending Worse
There’s no denying it. The Game of Thrones ending was controversial amongst fans. It was almost predictable as the author
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Commentary: ‘Life, Larry And The Pursuit Of Unhappiness’ Is Just Historical ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’
It’s not uncommon for actors and comedians to have similar styles across projects. Often, stand-up comics will produce a sitcom
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Commentary — ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Is Set In Spidey’s Greatest Era
Spider-Man is an extremely interesting character in the world of comics. Since his debut, he’s exploded in popularity, becoming one
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Commentary: ‘The Hawk’ Isn’t Quite A ‘Happy Gilmore’ Clone
On the surface, The Hawk seems like a rehashing of Happy Gilmore, and rightfully so. The series is about a
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Commentary — ‘Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters’ Had An ‘Andor’ Moment
Prequels offer a great opportunity to explore previously established characters in new and interesting ways. They open up backstory that
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Commentary: ‘They Will Kill You’ Is Closer To ‘Willie’s Wonderland’ Than ‘Ready Or Not’
It’s odd how often films come out around the same time with similar premises. It can almost seem as if
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Commentary — ‘Avatar: Fire And Ash’ Is Reverse ‘Star Trek’
In many respects, Star Trek is held up as the beacon of pure science fiction. It showcases how through technology
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Commentary: ‘House Of The Dragon’ Wisely Got More Dragons
The announcement of House of the Dragon was met with a lot of excitement from Game of Thrones fans. Dragons
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Commentary: ‘Widow’s Bay’ Combines The Best Of Two Formats
As far as television structuring goes, there are two big formats. There’s the long-form narrative and the monster of the
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Commentary: ‘They Will Kill You’ Is A Spiral Of Absurdity
There are two big categories of films: those that take themselves seriously and those that do not. Once a film
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Commentary: ‘Rick And Morty’ Has A Different Kind Of Borg
As a parody of classic science fiction tropes and cliches, Rick and Morty has touched upon an absurd amount of
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Commentary: ‘Avatar: Fire And Ash’ Is Not About Plot Or Characters
There are many different building blocks to a story. It’s not just about characters and the plot they must undertake.
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Commentary — ‘Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come’ Took Inspiration From ‘Dragon Ball Z’
It’s interesting to see parallels between different stories, even if they are unintended. Sometimes, plots follow certain trends and formulas
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Commentary — ‘Avatar: Fire And Ash’ Mimics ‘Star Wars’ In More Ways Than One
The Avatar franchise is in a weird place at the moment. It initially started out as just one film, similarly
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Commentary — ‘Ready Or Not: Here I Come’ Opens Up The Universe
Some stories are so self-contained that it’s hard to imagine a spin-off with the potential to expand the universe. In
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Commentary — ‘Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters’ Has A Plausible Kaiju
Sea monsters have existed in the human consciousness for as long as people have ventured out into the ocean. Human
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Commentary: ‘Widow’s Bay’ Thrives On The Close Link Between Horror And Comedy
Horror and comedy might seem like opposing genres. One is about eliciting terror, while the other is meant to encourage
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Commentary: ‘Swapped’ And The Trouble Of Naming Kids Films
A film’s title is extremely important for a number of reasons. First: it communicates what the story is about, but
Read moreCommentary — ‘Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters’ Learns From The Lessons Of ‘Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.’
If the past is any indication, it’s extremely difficult to do a television show spun off from a successful film
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Commentary: Rachel McAdams Is The Most Challenging Part Of ‘Send Help’
It’s always fascinating to see beautiful movie stars play ugly characters. This is not even remotely a new trope, and
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Commentary: ‘Swapped’ Works Because Of Its Fantastical Conceit
Fantasy is a very powerful tool for a story. It allows plot and characters to extend beyond the natural world.
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Commentary: ‘Send Help’ Is A Different Kind Of Revenge Fantasy
Revenge fantasy is a very interesting genre. It involves a character — usually female — undergoing a traumatic experience only
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Commentary: ‘Your Friends & Neighbors’ Should Remember Why It Exists
Premises are extremely important when devising a television show. This might seem obvious, but a surprising number of programs forget
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Commentary: The Most Relatable Character On ‘The Boys’ Is Also Its Least Relatable
Because of the nature of The Boys, it has an incredible cast of ridiculous characters. They include a horny living
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Commentary: ‘Your Friends And Neighbors’ Is A Vain ‘Breaking Bad’
Anti-heroes have become extremely popular ever since Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) forever changed television. Jon Hamm has already popularized an
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Commentary: ‘Devil May Cry’ Season 2 Opens In The Most Perfect Way Possible
Television shows and films based on established properties already have a foundation from which to build their tone. When something
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Commentary: The Reaction To Flight 37 Is The Most Realistic Part Of ‘The Boys’
Early on in The Boys, there’s a plot device that becomes pretty essential to maintaining the status quo. By the
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Commentary: ‘The Boys’ Builds On A Dark Side Of Real History
It’s indisputable that The Boys is a wild story. It has a ridiculous number of superheroes with crazy powers who
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