One common story formula involves a character receiving a magical gift…or magical ‘curse’…and being forced to deal with the chaos that the magic causes.

In Liar Liar, the slick, dishonest attorney is compelled to only speak the truth.
In Groundhog Day, the main character repeats the same day ...

“Get Back”, the new documentary about the Beatles has been released - I haven't seen the whole thing yet, and I'm a fairly casual fan of the Beatles, but I've seen the shorter version of these recording sessions that was released way back when. And I've seen ...

There has been a lot of online discussion in recent years about the idea of “strong female characters” - what makes a good one, a bad one, etc. All the accusations of sexism, either anti-woman or anti-man have gone along with these discussions, in the glorious, exaggerated way people argue online ...

Everybody lies.

Generally speaking.

I mean, there could be a few out there who don't. A few pure souls that never stray from the truth. Could be. But I doubt it.

Could a mute person lie? I suppose so…whether they're writing something down or using sign language ...

Snow changes everything. The entire environment is completely different, and the minute-to-minute operations of life become more complicated and troublesome.

In comics, snow can be a lot of fun. Flakes can fill up the pages and add to the grit and danger in comics like Sin City…

One of my ...

Awright, first things f*ckin' last…

I just saw a clip of Robert Englund, iconic in his role as Willie on the old TV show “V”…oh, and also as the
horror legend Freddy Krueger, talking about the Nightmare on Elm Street remake, and why it didn't work out ...

There are a handful of cinematic “group shots” that showcase an ensemble of characters in a memorable way.

The Avengers in their first movie have one where they're finally all together, back to back in a circle to face the invading alien army.

There's the Usual Suspects in ...

Living Forever

Robert Zemeckis, director of Back to the Future, Forest Gump, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit among other great movies, made a more obscure dark comedy called Death Becomes Her. The subject matter involves magic related to living forever…even after you're technically dead.

This has always been ...

The idea of “sin” is a prevalent one in horror stories. In terrifying tales, the monstrous against the human also explores good vs. evil.

There is often a “sin” perpetrated by horror Protagonists. The classic Psycho begins with Marion Crane stealing money from her job. Her intentions are understandable, maybe ...

I'm wounded but you can't see it!


A lot of stories involve a wounded and/or flawed character. It's a staple of strong storytelling; a character has some kind of pain or wound to overcome, and that's the inner journey they take along with whatever outward ...