zen

Structure: A Room With a View

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A structural overview of A Room with a View (Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, 1985). Without any doubt, this is one of the finest literary adaptations and a timeless romantic movie. The film launched the careers of actors Daniel Day Lewis and Helena Bonham Carter, while it was a first major hit in a string of successful … Read more

Structure: Terminator 2

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A structural overview of Terminator 2: Judgment Day (J. Cameron, 1991). Terminator 2 offers amazing entertainment, with groundbreaking visual effects and unexpected character layers. Just like he did five years earlier with Aliens, co-writer/director James Cameron delivered an exceptionally satisfying sequel. ACT ONE Sequence A: Two Terminators 00.00 Girl on swings, idyllic ‘silence before the … Read more

Structure: Ghost World

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A cult comic, two charismatic teen actresses, an inspired director and a sparse score. Six pages of a comic book were turned into one of the coolest movies of the decade. A structural overview of Terry Zwigoff’s Ghost World (2001). Because the plot points are often quite subtle, structurally this film seems a bit fluid and the protagonist’s … Read more

Exciting Coincidence?

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“A strong inciting incident is an event that happens to the protagonist, never an action by the protagonist“, I said. Then I asked you for exceptions, i.e. strong Inciting Incidents that are actions by the protagonist. Now have a look at the first three responses I received: 1.) THELMA & LOUISE, 2.) PULP FICTION and … Read more

First, Break All the Rules

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When I asked this student which one thing she remembered above anything else, she replied: “That you can break the rules, and get away with it.” She was not my student. In itself there’s nothing wrong with trying, but it saddens me that Heath Ledger’s last Australian film, Candy, was an example of a film … Read more