HBO
The best movie culture writing from around the internet-o-sphere.
There will be a quiz later. Just leave a tab open for us, will ya?
“Why The Sixth Sense Ending Has Never Been Matched” – Michael Howard at Esquire makes an honest case for a twist ending that’s remained peerless for 15 years. It’s funny to read something like this while remembering Fight Club came out the same year. Which is really the dominant twist?
“The grand epiphany that our beloved child shrink had been dead all along did not come underhanded. The dots were there all along, but nobody, including the audience, wanted to connect them. The Sixth Sense’s ending was shocking without being cheap, unforeseen without feeling deceptive, oddly comforting without seeming banal, and gave closure without looking lazy. Plus, it came at the end of an era during which audiences still allowed themselves to be surprised by major movies. It was perfect.”
“The Sixth Sense Made M. Night Shyamalan Into Hollywood’s Last Spielberg” – Meanwhile, Scott Mendelson at Forbes argues that thewe slapped Shyamalan with stuck too closely. Maybe no other Spielberg has come along, and no other twist has hit as hard, and maybe they’re related.
“10 Lessons From the Surprising Success of Guardians of the Galaxy” – Charlie Jane Anders at io9 screams into the wilderness, hoping the major studios listen. (Especially since they have so many superhero movies coming down the pipe.)
“Mark Duplass Doesn’t Want to be a Superhero (Unless He’s Asked)” – Mike Ryan at Screen Crush speaks with the star of The One I Love about everything except The One I Love.
“Nice Try, Hollywood, But a Female Superhero Won’t Solve Your Gender Problem” – Josh Dickey at Mashable delivers a scorching pile of internet outrage, a plan for a woman with a cape, and why the studios will have to do a ton more to make things better.
Really just any female superhero at this point.
— Perfect Plots (@perfectplots) August 5, 2014
“The Secret Origin of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Animated Series” – Jacob Hall at Screen Crush gets the insider history. Hint: it doesn’t involve ooze.
“True Detective’s Nic Pizzolatto on Season 2, ‘Stupid Criticism’ and Rumors of On-Set Drama” – Lacey Rose at The Hollywood Reporter profiles a creator in the crosshairs.