In these articles, we explore filmmaking concepts, expand on our film knowledge, and dig deeper into all aspects of what goes on behind the scenes.
Matt Sully

Ghost Writer in the Machine

We’re inundated with AI stories as of late, laughing and marveling at its varied mistakes and achievements, but the what-if phase of artist replacement has already passed.

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Poster for the movie "Alien"
Matt Sully

The End, Or is It?

The ending of a movie is the final impression that movie will make on a movie-goer’s brain. Studios must do their best to make it perfect and sometimes that requires a cinematic overhaul.

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Matt Sully

Richard Donner

Donner left so many quality films behind, films that I have watched dozens of times and will watch dozens more. When I want action, a fright, or a laugh, Donner’s got my back.

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Matt Sully

Black Horror Cinema

Aside from Blaxploitation movies of the 70s like Blacula and one-offs like Vampire in Brooklyn, black horror has been largely ignored at the box office, and the coveted horror franchise has been elusive.

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Matt Sully

The MacGuffin

The MacGuffin has fueled the creativity of filmmakers for decades. It has sent heroes running into danger and villains on murderous rampages.

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Matt Sully

Alphabet Soup

I still often use the term ‘B Movie,’ without considering its origins or the possibility there are other letter designations for subpar filmmaking. There are.

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Matt Sully

October Horror Releases

Terrifying new titles are releasing this October. While most are coming to your favorite streaming services, a handful will also be at the theaters. See when and where to get your next film fright.

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Matt Sully

Shermer, Illinois

Shermer, Illinois is the fictitious suburb of Chicago which characters from The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off called home.

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Matt Sully

Premium Cuts

Director’s Cuts. Special editions. Extended editions. With the ability to create so many different versions of films, audiences can get lost in the naming conventions, and not really know what they’re getting.

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Vanessa Sully

Not Today, Satan!

How many times have you heard someone say, “Hollywood is running out of ideas?” Should all the reboots get the boot, or could horror be immune to retake overkill?

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Matt Sully

Parody Parity

Some people think parody is dead, or rather that it’s been diluted by half-hearted disjointed efforts, and on the surface they may be right, but what I see is an expansion of parody moving into new types of films.

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Matt Sully

The Write Stuff

There are several attributions for screenwriters: ‘Screenplay by,’ ‘Screen Story by,’ ‘Adaptation by,’ ‘Written by’ and ‘Story by.’ Making sense of these is hard, and incredibly specific.

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Matt Sully

The Future of Special Effects

As things change in how Hollywood makes movies, there have been questions by those on both sides of the movie screen as to the future of special effects, and the future of actors in a CG-fueled world of film.

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Matt Sully

Animation in Film

From Pete’s Dragon to Better Off Dead and The Smurfs, animation has enhanced the fantastic world of cinema for over a century.

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Matt Sully

Foreign Cinema

There is a vast and expanding catalog of movies out there that most American movie-goers will never watch, and it’s mainly because they’re foreign. People are hesitant to venture outside their comfort zones, and for many, foreign languages are a big barrier to overcome.

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Matt Sully

What’s in a Name?

A renaming process is something that happens very often in Hollywood. Here’s some well-known movies that were almost known by a completely different name.

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