Writing Great Villains: Why They Shouldn't Be Sympathetic
Writing great villains is about striking a balance between charming and evil, so we love them but also love to see them lose.

Based on the Maratha warrior Hansaji Mohite who was later given the title of Sarnobat Hambirrao, the film portrays his life as the Commander in Chief of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's army.
Writing great villains is about striking a balance between charming and evil, so we love them but also love to see them lose.
Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion is a fan-favorite, as are some of the more science fiction angled movies like 28 Days Later or World War Z. I recently watched the 1995 Wolfgang Peterson-directed movie, Outbreak for the first time, which is currently available on Netflix.
The Roses is a wickedly sharp marital warfare comedy that transforms domestic dysfunction into high art. Olivia Colman and Benedict Cumberbatch deliver powerhouse performances as a couple whose fairy-tale romance implodes when his architectural career collapses just as her culinary empire takes off. What makes Jay Roach's remake so devastatingly effective is its refusal to pick sides—both spouses are equally sympathetic and monstrous, wielding Tony McNamara's razor-sharp dialogue like weapons forged from shared intimacies. It's a film that dares you to laugh at relationship wreckage while forcing you to confront the uncomfortable truth that the line between passionate love and mutual destruction is terrifyingly thin.
Here's what Disney got wrong with "Aladdin" and how it can avoid those pitfalls with "Hercules."
'Free Guy' combines classic Disney (a white heteronormative love story), exploration of popular video games and the culture around them, and Ryan Reynolds adult humor in the best way to make a super fun family flick.