Colin McMahon's Blog, page 4

Good Writing Has Consequences

I’ve been hosting a writing workshop recently where we talk about ways to improve writing technique. While I have a lot of fun teaching this class, there are always topics that get away – There are only so many hours in a day, you know?

With that in mind, I’d like to take the time to reinforce a short, seemingly simple lesson: Good writing has consequences, or rather, good writing has the sense of consequence. Let’s dive in:

What is Consequence?

Merriam-Webster defines consequence as “...

Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga – a Film Ranking

With the Skywalker saga freshly behind and Star Wars’ future lying somewhere beyond (or, more likely, far in the past), it is time to recap the main nine saga films. Since I watched all of these recently, I have a pretty clear picture of each movie. Note: as of right now, I have only seen The Rise of Skywalker once, so that film is subject to the most movement in future ranking revisions. Okay, let’s get started!

The “Bad”

Someone once compared Star Wars to pizza and *ahem* a certain adult...

Reviewing the Rise of Skywalker

Over the past week and a half, I have been re-watching every Star Wars episode released (so every theatrical film minus Clone Wars, Rogue One, and Solo). Why? In a recent interview, director J.J. Abrams stated that his newest film, Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker, isn’t just the ending to the recent sequel trilogy, but the ending to the entirety of the Star Wars trilogies. So, okay – he’s not just trying to wrap up The Force Awakens and Last Jedi – but Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, ...

Toy Story 4: Pixar’s Frankenstein

You know, I’m going to stop doubting Pixar when it comes to Toy Story movies. After 2, I was skeptical of 3, and after 3 – man did I not think 4 was going to be anything special. Somehow, however, Pixar has managed to defy the law of diminishing returns and Toy Story 4 is as amazing (if not more so) than its predecessors. From its characters to its dialogue to its unbelievable sense of self-awareness, Toy Story 4 is an unexpected gem.

But there’s one thing in particular I want to focus on: Wa...

What Makes a Good Godzilla Movie?

So, when I started writing my review of 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters, I had difficulty. It wasn’t that I didn’t have anything to say (I can always find an excuse to share my opinion), it was that the conversation around the film changed so rapidly. I’m part of several Godzilla fan groups on social media and almost overnight I saw the tone of the conversation shift from eager excitement to guarded, sometimes pointed defense of the film. The reason? Actually – there are 177 of them. As...

Why We Need LGBTQ Pride

This post is way overdue. I’ve been thinking of writing it for years – but somehow never put the text to page. Perhaps I was optimistic – I think part of me thought “Do we really need another straight person weighing in on gay rights? Does anyone really want to hear from me?” I think I also told myself that maybe the situation was okay now – that we as a people had embraced the LGBTQ community as equals and could finally put decades of hate and mistreatment behind us. I now see that I was foo...

How to Write Madness

Okay…since I’m watching the ending of Game of Thrones (season 8) every weekend, I naturally have a lot of thoughts on it. Without getting into too much – I don’t like it. Kudos to you if you do, but I personally feel like there is a lot lacking in Game of Thrones – and really that there has been a lot lacking for a while – now it’s just all coming to a head.

One of the aspects I miss the most: character writing. Concluding character arcs is very difficult, especially if it’s over the course o...

The Long Night: When Subversion Failed Game of Thrones

Warning: This post specifically discusses, in detail, episode 3 of season 8 of Game of Thrones, “The Long Night.”  Here be spoilers.

Game of Thrones has, in some ways, been a truly bizarre experiment. Unlike most adaptations, the source material was unfinished when the show began production. Unlike even fewer adaptations, the source material will still be unfinished when its adaptation concludes.

From a writing perspective, this can create real problems when trying to adapt a narrative. Most...

Endgame: The MCU’s Immature, Messy, but Satisfying “Conclusion”

Avatar: the Last Airbender and Legend of Korra show creator Bryan Konietzko once said that the best stories have endings. What he meant was that, no matter how much we love certain characters, eventually we have to realize that their narrative journey is over and move on. In Avengers: Endgame, the MCU likely came as close as it ever will to providing this type of closure.

The only question remains: Just how satisfying is it? I will do my best to avoid spoilers in this review (there are minor...

Wasted Potential: In Defense of Thor

With the release of Avengers: Endgame just hours away, a lot of the internet is doing its best to create clickbait-y articles on anything Marvel-related. A popular topic? Ranking the previous 21 Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films to find the “definitive” best. Of course, there is no real greatest movie in the MCU – art being subjective. While I make no secret of my hate for Thor: The Dark World, I have no problem if you enjoy it. On the contrary – I’m glad someone does.

But one thing I no...