Mercer Labs Gives ‘One Piece’ An Immersive Experience
Fandom is a curious thing. It involves individuals absorbing a story and characters so much that their excitement for a
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Author: Frank Martin
Commentary: ‘Wicked: For Good’ Echoes ‘V For Vendetta’
It’s weird the similarities that are found in various movies. Of course, that doesn’t mean movies necessarily copy each other.
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Commentary: ‘Frankenstein’ Starts With A Bang But Ends With A Whimper
Some stories are simply difficult to end. It all depends on what type of climax the storyteller is looking for.
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Commentary: ‘Marvel Zombies’ Understood The Assignment
Some stories exist for a focused purpose. When that happens, all the other character and thematic work must revolve around
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Commentary: ‘Haunted Hotel’ Is ‘Ghosts’ Without Limits
It’s amazing how so many stories can derive from similar premises even though they are completely different. Haunted Hotel is
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Commentary: ‘Marvel Zombies’ Was Always Going To Falter With Its Ending
There are some premises that are just difficult to end by their very nature. They set the story up towards
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Commentary: ‘Frankenstein’ Reinvents An Icon
When a particular character inhabits the public consciousness for a long time — say a couple of centuries — it’s
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Commentary: Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein’ Is A Visual Treat
So many films these days try to become as grounded and realistic as possible. Filmmakers want to set their stories
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Commentary: ‘Andor’ Reminds Us Of The Empire’s Everyday Horrors
Since Star Wars deals with larger-than-life characters, it’s easy to forget that the majority of the galaxy is filled with
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Commentary: ‘Splinter Cell: Deathwatch’ Works Best When It Remembers It’s ‘Splinter Cell’
Adapting a narrative television show or movie from a video game can be difficult, as evident by so many of
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Commentary: ‘Chainsaw Man: The Reze Arc’ Succeeds By Knowing Exactly What It Is
There’s something to be said about stories that are fully aware of what they are and have no qualms about
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Commentary: ‘Chainsaw Man: The Reze Arc’ Surprises With Love
Sometimes it’s easy to judge a story by its metaphorical cover. What looks like a wild and crazy experience often
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Commentary: ‘M3GAN 2.0’ Works On A Classic Sequel Trope
One of the most classic sequel plots in film is when the heroes and the villain from the first film
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Commentary: ‘Gravity’ Enters A Genre About Filmmaking Challenges
Everyone knows what a traditional story looks like. It has a three-act structure with characters on an arc that ultimately
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Commentary: ‘The Upside’ Reveals Why A Story About Life Is Hard To End
One of the foundational rules of dramatic storytelling: characters need an obstacle to overcome. There needs to be some sort
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Commentary: ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ Is ‘The Original Series’ With A Higher Budget
One of the great things about long-lasting franchises such as Star Wars and Marvel: they’ve created so many installments that they
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Commentary: ‘Alien: Earth’ Stays True To The Franchise’s Namesake
Like Predator, the Alien franchise has a very vague title, and this was done on purpose to explore the meaning of the
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Commentary: ‘M3GAN 2.0’ Gives Fans A Taste Of A ‘Watchdogs’ Movie
Video-game-to-film adaptations have had a notorious track record. It’s very difficult to take the gameplay fans love and turn it
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Commentary: ‘M3GAN 2.0’ Channels ‘Aliens’ With Its Change Of Genre
Most sequels typically follow the same genre as their predecessors. This makes obvious sense as fans of the first film
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Commentary: Revisiting ‘Scary Movie’ Puts Two Types Of Comedy On Display
Comedy is interesting as it can approach material in a multitude of ways. The two big categories are timeless jokes
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Commentary: ‘Alien: Earth’ Combines Something Familiar With Something New
With nostalgia riding high these days, it’s important for studios to bring back popular intellectual property. But they also
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Commentary: ‘Super Crooks’ Takes A Unique Approach To Its Pacing
Pacing is extremely important regardless of the medium in which the story is being told. Pacing that moves too slowly
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Commentary: ‘Long Story Short’ Is A Jewish And Animated ‘This Is Us’
Family drama is fertile storytelling material. There have been countless stories that revolve around dysfunctional families creating havoc throughout their
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Commentary: ‘Super Crooks’ Highlights A Different Kind Of Anime
The manga-to-anime pipeline runs like a smooth machine at this point. Japanese comics are released in droves, many of which
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Commentary: Brad Pitt Succeeds As Both A Winner And A Loser
At this point, there’s no denying that Brad Pitt has had a long acting career. His list of credits includes
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Commentary: ‘Final Destination Bloodlines’ Stretches The Formula
The Final Destination franchise burned very hot and short. When it first burst on the scene, it had numerous installments, all
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Commentary: ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ Handles Sobriety Well
It’s very easy for stories with certain subject matter to become preachy. When a story revolves around a sensitive topic,
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Commentary: ‘Weapons’ Struggles With Tone
Tone is a very important factor in any horror movie. Horror and comedy go together very well — probably because
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Commentary: ‘Black Mirror’ Turned A Deus Ex Machina Into A Key Plot Point
A deus ex machina is a controversial storytelling device. It’s when something random or spontaneous happens in a story in
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Commentary: ‘Weapons’ Never Capitalizes On Its Premise
Premises can serve many different purposes in a story. They can be used merely to tee up a plot and
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Commentary: The Dark Truth Of ‘The Bear’
Mental health plays a big role in The Bear. There are so many characters with such high character drama that
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