“The Shawshank Redemption” (1994) – how to become a Master of the two Worlds

My closer look on “The Shawshank Redemption”, seen through the lenses of the Hero’s Journey narrative structure and archetypes.

The Hero’s Journeys in “La La Land”

“La La Land” has been one of the most acclaimed movies from 2016, receiving a landslide of awards including 7 Golden Globes and 6 Academy Awards (well, they thought 7 at first). It currently scores a 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, with critical consensus as: “La La Land breathes new life into a bygone genre with thrillingly assured direction, […]

“The Jungle Book” – a comparison between the versions (1967-2016)

Raise your hand if you don’t know “The Jungle Book” (and then, run and do something about it, seriously). It is an iconic story, probably one of the most well known by young people and adults across several different generations. Since the publication of the book by Rudyard Kipling (which was rather a collection of books) […]

The Hero’s Journeys in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”

Now that the enthusiasm has cooled down, the questions remains: is Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Episode VII) cool or not? The film has been released on December 2015 and has achieved an impressive number of records (stuff like being the highest grossing movie of 2015). It is now the third highest grossing film of all times, after Avatar […]

Meeting the Mentor

Odysseus, the reluctant hero, is about to leave for the War of Troy. He knows the war will not be an easy one: dangerous, uncertain, long. His heart is heavy: he is leaving behind his beloved island Ithaca and his family, his wife Penelope and his newborn son Telemachus. He is especially worried about the […]