It’s that time of year.
I survived another trip around the sun.
Another 365 days passing faster than ever before.
Another year of lost sleep, another year of blood, sweat, and tears, and another year of stress, heartache, and agony.
And another year of rip-roaring fun and excitement.
Starring: Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgard, Emily Watson, Paul Ritter
Company: HBO
Running Time: 330 minutes
Created by: Craig Mazin
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The Best Movie Sequels of All TimeBefore I begin, here are a few basic facts about me that you might already know by now:
I love movies.
I love genre movies — thrillers, action, adventure, horror, science fiction.
I love sagas, series, and trilogies. Call them what you want; I love to revisit characters and storylines that captivated my attention in the first film.
The Greatest Trifectas in (Recent) Film History by TSJWhile writing the blog entry “Where Has the Character-Driven Action Film Gone?” (found here) I mentioned the idea of a trifecta — or “triple” — in film history. There are few directors who can create successful film after successful film. Having one critical and commercial hit is difficult enough. Having two in a row is even harder. And three? Nearly unheard of.
I decided to create a list of the greatest triples in film history. Even the concept seemed absurd, however — what gives me the right to create such a list? Who am I to say one director created a “better” trifecta than another? Moreover, how does one define success or failure in the creative/artistic industry? Sometimes a box office hit can be a critical failure, or vice versa. Well, to be blunt, this is my blog. I’ll write what I want. However, to identify triples and narrow the field it was necessary to create a list of criteria that I would follow.
#Thriller #Action #Movies
First, I have to define the concept. A “Character-Driven Action Film” would be a sub-category of the action genre, set in any time or place that focuses on the character and history of the leads as much as it does on the action elements of the story. Simple enough, right? Right.
So where have these movies gone?
I watched THE TERMINATOR on the weekend.
I had to.
It was calling me.
I use the phrases “watershed film” or “watershed book” quite a lot. That’s the point of this entire blog. What are the movies/books/tv shows that influenced me in the years leading to my first attempts at writing fiction? Hell, even the name of this blog — “Life After Gateway” — is a nod to my favorite Science Fiction novel. This blog is dedicated to the books and movies that inspired me in my creative/formative years. A few TV series, some fantastic authors, and a small selection of short stories helped along the way. Certain teachers were invaluable too.