FrankenScript :: Lee Gabel's Screenwriting Journal/Blog

This is an engaging film, up until a point, and that’s where it starts to fall apart. The premise is intriguing, the story fresh and inventive, and the actors turn in good performances. However, the surprise twist three-quarters into the film turns what was shaping up to be a solid sci-fi film into just another [...]

I went into this film not expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised. Even though there have been lots of “body swap” movies in the past, this was a fresh take on an old theme. While I still had to suspend my disbelief over being “17 again”, there was no clichéd time travel or dream [...]

Damn. This film was terrible. This film suffers from the false notion that startling the audience is the same as scaring them. It’s not. To scare an audience, you need to build up tension and suspense and serve up a nice payoff. You get none of that here. Instead, you get scene after scene of [...]

Interesting premise, but not quite as interesting in movie form. I’ll describe it as “The Terminator” meets “Beowulf”, but no where near as good as those two movies. For one thing, most of the movie takes place in darkness, so it is difficult to see anything. Plus the characters seem too “on the nose” with [...]

There’s more style than substance here, and even saying that, the style is pretty thin. Why even bother remaking this film? To update the hair styles? To give everyone smartphones? I found this film to be tremendously cruel. The only smart thing this film did was let us know who the killer was right from [...]

I just had to reprint this article. Too good not to share. Vancouver lawyer read how-to books before adapting Isherwood novel for film By GLEN SCHAEFER, Canwest News ServiceJanuary 2, 2010 The phrase “don’t quit your day job” is meant for people who try their hands at creative endeavours and fall flat. That wouldn’t apply [...]