Taylor Sheridan's Frontier Trilogy covers rarely-explored territories across the United States, each adding their own twist to the Neo-Western genre. Through subtle exposition and thoughtful world building, "Hell or High Water" shows us a glimpse of life in West Texas, and how far desperate men are willing to go to save what they love.

We conclude our analysis of the Star Wars prequels with Episode 3, Revenge of the Sith. While this may have been the strongest screenplay of the trilogy, it too had unexplained plot elements, rushed character development, and missed opportunities. In this week's episode, we discuss the missteps and what they could have done differently.

Perhaps more so than any of the Star Wars prequels, "Attack of the Clones" is the biggest missed opportunity. Rushed character arcs, lack of subtext, and questionable decisions all take away from the highly-anticipated precursor to the Clone Wars. We discuss where the screenplay all went wrong, and what they could have done to fix it.

The Star Wars prequels are three of the most divisive, insulted, and perhaps anguished films of modern cinema, not just because of what they were, but what they could have been. In this series, we break down why the writing of the Star Wars prequels didn't work, and what they could have done to fix them. This week, we cover The Phantom Menace and its many whiffs.

Sam Raimi’s long awaited return to superhero films brought us the visuals, style, and odes to horror that we expected. However, a poor screenplay hampered what could have been an all-time classic for the Marvel Universe. This week, we discuss what Sam Raimi did right, what the screenplay got wrong, and the mess that the MCU is left with following Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

Agatha Christie's 1934 murder/mystery classic has captured audience imaginations worldwide and has yielded many faithful (and not so faithful) adaptations. This week, we discover what makes this classic novel work, what bits haven't stood the test of time, and where most of the silver screen adaptations of the Belgian detective have gone wrong.

"The Northman" is a condensed retelling of the legend of Amleth, the story from which Shakespeare's Hamlet was born. It's also arguably one of the best movies of 2022 thus far. This week, we break down what makes the writing, directing, casting, and everything else work so well, and why Robert Eggers just might be the next great filmmaker.

Novel and Film "Annihilation" are about roughly the same story - an alien visits earth, teaching our protagonist about life, loss and the self-destructing tendencies of mankind. Yet, the original novel and the movie adaptation take entirely different approaches to explaining these heavy themes. We break down both on this week's episode.

Aaron Sorkin's Best Adapted Screenplay, "The Social Network", did more than just tell a needed and robust story, it also did something more important - it entertained us. With the help of "Se7en" and "Gone Girl" director David Fincher, "The Social Network" became both a well crafted story, but a beautiful one as well.

Nobel Prize winning novelist Kazuo Ishiguro's latest novel touches on high-concept themes like life, loss, loneliness, and the human condition, all through the lens of a child-like artificial intelligence. We break down what makes this POV work, where it struggles, and how this book is more than meets the eye.

This week, we review Kenneth Branagh's highly personal directorial and writing masterclass, BELFAST, which deservedly won Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars. We also discuss other Oscars winners & losers, both with the films themselves and with certain members of the crowd...

An ensemble albeit small cast of actors worked to produce, write, and star in the Netflix movie, Windfall. We discuss what makes this chamber drama work, and how information reveals can deepen and heighten tension.

This week, we do a deeper dive on HBO's STATION 11, a show we've raved about in the past. We also discuss one of the nominees for Best Picture, THE POWER OF THE DOG, and how it does antagonists right.

The Batman lived up to the hype and then some. We discuss what made this noir detective story click, and compare it against some of the previous iterations of Batman.

Euphoria is one of America's most watched, most discussed, and most controversial shows out today. This week, we discuss what makes it work, whether or not the controversy is warranted, and what we expect from the show moving forward.

This week, we dive into Netflix's latest number 1 show, and why all parodies are not created equal. We also discuss how to structure a thriller, and why self contained stories are becoming rarer each year.

We discuss the themes, story structure, and genre-bending world build that defines the 1995 classic "Ghost in the Shell". We also review the 2022 Oscars nominations and discuss what they got right, what they got wrong, and who will win big.

This week, we take turns selecting what we believe to be the best screenplays of the 90's, and see who can come up with the best roster of stories. Part 2of a 2 part series.

Author, publisher, podcaster, and beta reader Tiffany C. Lewis joined us this week to discuss what it takes to polish your manuscript, and why getting beta readers might be the most critical part of any editing process

You can find all seven of Tiffany’s novels, as well as more information about her new podcast BETA READER BITS at https://tiffanychristinalewis.com/ . You can find Beta Reader Bits anywhere you get your podcasts.

This week, we take turns selecting what we believe to be the best screenplays of the 90's, and see who can come up with the best roster of stories. Part 1 of a 2 part series.