Robert McKee’s WORKS / DOESN’T WORK Film Reviews

2021: A Year in Review

2021: A Year in Review

Robert breaks down what worked (and didn’t work) in some of the stories he’s seen throughout 2021 on the stage, page and screen.

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IMPOSTERS

IMPOSTERS

Robert McKee's "Works/Doesn't Work" Review IMPOSTERS Created by Paul Adelstein & Adam Brooks It Works. (Spoiler Alert!)I’ve just finished IMPOSTERS (2017-2018), Bravo’s two-season crimedy. The series works. It satirizes con artists and their victims, hooking, holding...

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PARASITE (2019)

PARASITE (2019)

Robert McKee's "Works/Doesn't Work" Review PARASITE Written & Directed by Bong Joon-ho It Works. (Spoiler Alert!)This excellent Korean crimedy from writer/director Bong Joon-ho (THE HOST, SNOWPIERCER) has become an international phenomenon, collecting accolades from...

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EVERYBODY KNOWS (2018)

EVERYBODY KNOWS (2018)

A tear-stained list of Jerry Springer chants (He stole my money! He stole my property! He stole my baby!) infects this wannabe art film.

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MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS (2018)

MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS (2018)

The enmity between Mary and Elizabeth becomes a kind of legal argument that drags on for 40 years. Scenes are thinly disguised prosecution v defense debates over whose queenship is legitimate.

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THE FAVOURITE (2018)

THE FAVOURITE (2018)

Robert McKee's "Works/Doesn't Work" Review THE FAVOURITE Written by Deborah Davis & Tony McNamara It Works. (Spoiler Alert!) THE FAVOURITE is my favorite for the Best Picture Oscar in 2019. Here's four reasons I would love to see it win: Always remember, a cliché...

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Widows (2018)

Widows (2018)

This excellent film merges the Heist (one of the fourteen subgenres of Crime) with subplots of Social Drama, Political Drama and Domestic Drama and uses this mix of genres to revitalize tired conventions.

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A Simple Favor (2018)

A Simple Favor (2018)

If you are looking for a breezy, fun crime story, A SIMPLE FAVOR delivers just that. But for the writer looking to study a fine work, the film offers skillfully executed examples of three key writing principles.

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Other Reviews

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (2015)

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (2015)

A review of George Miller’s film, Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), by Bass Wakil, co-author with Robert McKee on their upcoming book on the Action genre, ACTION: The Art of Excitement.

Robert McKee on AMERICAN SNIPER Success

Robert McKee on AMERICAN SNIPER Success

Public Radio International’s The Takeaway recently asked Robert McKee about the reasons for the surprising box office success of American Sniper (2014), starring Bradley Cooper and directed by Clint Eastwood.

KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON (2014)

KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON (2014)

The writing lesson here is the difference between sentiment and sentimentality; how to express the hard truth of sentiment without wallowing in the mushiness of sentimentality.

COMING HOME (2014)

COMING HOME (2014)

Stories created for the page demand a special talent for retelling in film.  And as COMING HOME once again demonstrates, Zhang Yimou is one of the world’s most brilliant conveyers of prose to the screen.

EDGE OF TOMORROW (2014)

EDGE OF TOMORROW (2014)

Robert McKee gives a short review of the film EDGE OF TOMORROW (2014), starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014)

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014)

Bass Wakil reviews Marvel’s surprise hit GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2015). Bass is the co-author with Robert McKee on their upcoming book ACTION: The Art of Excitement.