Screentakes

Character and Theme-focused Screenplay Analysis

Unfortunate Misfires

I Was a Teenage Dark Shadows Fan: Dark Shadows

Posted by Jennine Lanouette on Friday, May 25th, 2012

Of all the things I’ve done that I might someday gain cache for, I never thought that having watched Dark Shadows in my youth would be one of them. Yet, lately I keep hearing myself bragging about that fact and finding unexpected bonds with others who share the distinction. I went to see the film read the full article.

What Went Wrong: The Last Airbender

Posted by Jennine Lanouette on Monday, July 12th, 2010

One of my students e-mailed me this week to make a request. “I’ve been secretly hoping,” he said, “that you will cover a movie you might not have a reason to see: The Last Airbender. After my wife and I saw it, she said she liked the story, but thought it was poorly written and read the full article.

How Ridley Missed His Mark: Robin Hood, Part 1

Posted by Jennine Lanouette on Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

Here’s Ed and I walking out of the theater after seeing Robin Hood. Ed: Well . . . I have one good thing to say about it. Me (brightly): Oh, yeah? What’s that? Ed: It employed 855 people. Lately, Ed has been counting the names in the credits at the end of movies. Maybe because read the full article.

Why This Film is Not Gladiator: Robin Hood, Part 2

Posted by Jennine Lanouette on Monday, May 24th, 2010

Despite the producer’s efforts to spin it so, Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood is not Gladiator In Tights. I know this because, it so happens, last week, I analyzed Gladiator in my class. Not a film I might choose on my own. But, a year ago, I was asked to cover an action film and, from read the full article.

The Other Two Writers: Robin Hood, Part 3

Posted by Jennine Lanouette on Sunday, May 23rd, 2010

While working on my Robin Hood, Pts. 1 & 2, I did some prowling around the internet and found this interesting story about “the other two writers.” You know, the two guys who aren’t Brian Helgeland. Names are Ethan Reiff and Cyrus Vorhis and the story goes that they wrote a screenplay called  “Nottingham” that read the full article.