Writing Movie “WRONGS” By Jim West Brightburn Directed by David Yarocesky Written by Brian Gunn and Mark Gunn How many times does a trailer make or break a film?  More often than not right?  This is exactly the case for Brightburn.  This movie feels like a great idea that was given to mediocre writers who have no real sense of how to deliver a story by slowly revealing details that would explain everything.  The trailer gives it all away and that is such a shame.  I strongly feel with a tightly edited trailer and film sequenced differently, would have… Continue reading

Writing Movie “WRONGS” By Jim West Dark Phoenix Directed by Simon Kinberg Written by Simon Kinberg More often than not a great epic storyline from a comic book can never seem to live up the hype on the big screen, and this is such a case.  Since the first X-Men movie back in 2000, filmmakers have tried in vain to deliver a Dark Phoenix storyline, but as the train wreck of a film that was 2006’s X-Men:  The Last Stand was it is not an easy feat.  Here we have a successful writer from films like Mr. and Mrs. Smith… Continue reading

Writing Movie “WRONGS” By Jim West   Long Shot Directed by Jonathan Levine Written by Dan Sterling and Liz Hannah   What a refreshing story and take on the usually bland or vomit inducing romantic comedy film!  I start off with such a exclamation because I do hope this film connects with wide audiences as it truly deserves to be.  Solid direction, excellent performances by the cast, and a solid storyline that actually takes the risks and delivers with something fresh to say about the real value of integrity in these modern times where image is seemingly most important.  The… Continue reading

  Writing Movie “WRONGS” By Jim West   Hellboy Directed by Neil Marshall Written by Andrew Cosby   2004’s Hellboy with Ron Perlman in the title role was perhaps the best we will get for this comic book character.  Helmed by the fantastic visionary Guillermo del Toro, the 2004 film used mysticism to set the tone of the film.  This reboot just goes straight for gore and blood.  Rarely do I find myself in such a situation with a film that I am hard pressed to figure out how to salvage it or make it better.  This is such a… Continue reading

Writing Movie “WRONGS” By Jim West   SHAZAM! Directed by David F. Sandberg Written by Henry Gayden and Darren Lemke   Since the 2018 huge success of the colorful and fun filled Aquaman, DC has finally learned that melodrama and dark tones are not what audiences want with their superhero films. Shazam may not bring in the big box office numbers as Aquaman, but it should do well in spite of following familiar story beats of a superhero discovers his powers type story.  With two writers on this film, they both pulled off a film perfect for middle graders and… Continue reading

Writing Movie “WRONGS” By Jim West   Us Directed by Jordan Peele Written by Jordan Peele   In 2017, Jordan Peele had a smash hit in his directorial debut with Get Out.  An original and fresh horror film that was layered and captivating.  It is easy to say his next foray into horror genre had many salivating.  With a modest budget of 20 million and a cast of great actors who made big impacts in Black Panther (Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke), this certainly had all the right components of a solid film.  Yet for Jordan Peele as the sole… Continue reading

Writing Movie “WRONGS” By Jim West Captain Marvel Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck Written by Nicole Perlman, Meg LeFauve, Anna Boden, Kevin Fleck, Geneva Robertson-Dworet An origin film has quite a lot to accomplish story wise in its runtime.  It must introduce the hero, show them before they were a hero, what event or tragedy created them, and what challenge they must face both internally and externally to be able to complete their journey to becoming a hero.  What typically bogs down origin stories is either the mishandling of the hero’s journey, or the lack of a flaw… Continue reading

Writing Movie “WRONGS” By Jim West   Cold Pursuit Directed by Hans Petter Moland Written by Frank Baldwin Based upon a Norwegian Film, In Order of Disappearance (2014), this film translates well with the same director helming the American remake.  Liam Neeson turns in a subdued performance as a father of a grown son who gets murdered by drug dealers, and takes his revenge by killing them one by one.  This black comedy action film has a few surprising laughable moments by way of how people get taken out, but ultimately the film feels a bit flat and lacking of… Continue reading