If you’re a frustrated genre novelist, aspiring fantasy screenwriter, or fanfic writer in the making — and really, who isn’t? — you’ve probably found yourself standing at a bewildering crossroads of dramatic options. Should you rip off Star Wars, or Batman?  What does it truly mean to be human in an age where technology itself blurs the definitions of humanity? What are the limits of love in the face of our own cosmic mortality? Would The Matrix have been cooler with lasers? Fear not. The guideposts to your literary journey …

We’ve all heard stories of the die-hards who list “Jedi” as their official religion during the census. Theatrical premieres of the Star Wars films were accompanied by moviegoers decked out in the garb of their favorite characters, often engaging in spontaneous rehearsals of memorable scenes or battles in ritualistic fashion, not unlike Christmas pageants or passion plays. If fanboys can’t be said to have truly modeled their lives after or around the Star Wars franchise, Fanboys definitely illustrates the extent to which love of the Saga to End All Sagas has touched every aspect of their lives, from the clothes they wear to the parlance they employ in conversation. It’s safe to say that a person who has never seen a Star Wars film would not be able to follow a single dialogue exchange in this entire movie.

Remakes (or in this case, second remakes) are handicapped from the get-go.  Playtime compatriot Daniel Swensen has already outlined the pitfalls of modern updates, and the new Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 falls in line on its tracks like the titular subway train. One can see the infinitely tense possibilities of the skeletal scenario of Morton Freedgood’s (alias John Godey’s) 1973 novel on which each movie has been based: four men hijack a NYC subway car and hold its passengers hostage; the head criminal has found a way to …

An early casualty of the 2009 Oscar Shuffle, Joe Wright’s The Soloist was originally positioned for a fall season award campaign, but ended up being pushed back to a late spring release for reasons only the gods of AMPAS can fathom. Meticulous and meditative, what might have been little more than a showcase for two Academy-level actors at the top of their game was embellished and broadened by Wright’s ornate flourishes and Susannah Grant’s screenplay, which contends with social awareness in a surprisingly antagonistic fashion. You see, the sum total of The Soloist’s wisdom is that perhaps the best thing for the impoverished is to leave them well enough alone.

Evidently suffering from a cerebral hemorrhage that crippled the logic centers of their brains, the suits who went ahead with X-Men 3 without Bryan Singer have decided that fans of the series are just dying to know what really happened to pre-X-Men Wolvie, even though none of these past events really impacted the storytelling of the original three films. With no story value, ostensibly the only reason this film exists at all is to satisfy the craving of the average comic book nerd to see Wolverine in some feverishly-pitched battles, but considering the amount of violence in this film, none of it contains moments of invention or emotional charge equivalent to the savagery on display.

The remake singularity is coming. Within the next decade or so (if current trends are any indication), every film ever made will soon be in a state of constant re-imagining, with infinite remakes in production at any given time. Don’t like Renny Harlin’s explosion-centric take on Apocalypse Now? Well, try Len Wiseman’s explosion-centric take on Apocalypse Now. Or Tim Burton’s. Or Zack Snyder’s. Now, thanks to the ever-expanding proliferation of media, the same tired stories can be repackaged for you in any number of unappealing ways.
Traditionally, most remakes seem to …

I passionately love fairy tales. I love the act of storytelling-using words, tone, and gesture to conjure scenes. I love stories told of heroes, fools, and villains in comedic upsets, heart-rending drama and inevitable resolutions. I love being in the audience, watching a master at work and envisioning all they convey; to be immersed in a well-told story is as nourishing for the soul as a bracing meal is for the body. Even if we no longer confine the telling of tales to winter firesides or quilting racks but include …

The most important tool a writer has in his arsenal is the pen. Again, “pen” is a metaphor. A writer may like pens, but she may be more productive at a keyboard, or with a No. 2 pencil. These are serviceable implements, but there are writing utensils that have the power to alter the course of history; to speak directly from the primal, viscous soup of human consciousness. Creativity begins in the mind, but it finds its expression in the metaphorical, mighty sword of the writer. To wit, here are the most essential writing implements ever wielded by the human hand.

I am a Trekkie and a woman and I am profoundly angry with Star Trek (2009).  I admit, that I did not go into this movie with high expectations. From the beginning of the hype, when this Star Trek prequel was announced as being in pre-production, there were foreboding pangs of dread.  Star Trek has always been about moving forward, that the future of humanity can and will be a more positive and beautiful reality than we know today. This promised future will not come from magic or from …

The crowning irony of this year’s reboot of the Star Trek franchise (hereby dubbed ST09) is that J.J. Abrams deliberately set out to make the film even more mainstream, citing the Star Wars films as immediate reference points, despite the fact that for years, the Trek franchise has been desperately moving toward the mainstream on its own. With Abrams at the helm, Star Trek has come full circle in its continuing voyage through modern media, originating in television, moving to film, then relaunching television spinoffs, and finally, respawning as an exclusively film franchise, but the economy of Abrams’s fleet, efficient TV style butchers the wonder and awe of Star Trek on a fundamental level.