Aug 23 2012
Which Movie Reviews Would Help Your Writing the Most?
I provide advice about how to write novels, comic books and graphic novels. Most of my content applies to fiction-writing in general, but I also provide articles specifically about superhero stories.
After my anthology of superhero movie reviews (Avengers, Dark Knight, Amazing Spider-Man, Iron Man, Catwoman and Green Lantern) gets published, I’d like to look into a follow-up edition of 4-5 more great movies and 1-2 disasters. Which of the following would help you the most? Are there any movies you’d suggest?
- A second set of superhero movies (perhaps a lineup like The Incredibles, First Class, Dark Knight Rises, Kick-Ass, and 2 disasters).
- Pixar movies–any five of their great movies (e.g. Incredibles, Up, Toy Story, Monsters Inc., WALL-E and Finding Nemo) and the disastrous Cars 2.
- Crime/cop movies (perhaps Godfather, Dirty Harry, The Untouchables, The Usual Suspects, Gigli and another disaster TBD).
- Science fiction (maybe The Matrix 1, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, District 9, Terminator 2, Avatar and Pluto Nash)
- Spy movies (perhaps Casino Royale, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Argo, The Avengers, and The Jackal)
- Something else?
We don’t have any ironclad criteria, but my publisher and I focus on these sorts of movies:
- Preferably, each movie is either a critical masterpiece or disaster. Strong opinions create interest.
- Preferably, the movie is a recent blockbuster and/or a memorable classic. The review will make more sense if many readers remember the movie well.
- Ideally, each movie offers stylistic variety compared to the other selections. In particular, I’d like to avoid doing 2+ movies from the same series in a book.
- Ideally, each work clearly fits into the category. (E.g. the Matrix isn’t clearly a superhero movie, even though it has superpowers and a dual identity between Mr. Anderson/Neo).
