The 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang.

Like millions of others, I have tried to watch the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang as much as possible. Ever since the games started more than two weeks ago, I've tried my best to follow almost every event that has been on.

So far during these fifteen days, I've managed to watch tons of stuff: events like curling, biathlon, cross-country skiing, slalom, half-pipe, nordic combined, ski jumping, speed skating, luge, freestyle and ice-hockey among other events.

Still, when it comes to my very favorite event at PyeonChang, there's one sport that I have preferred watching over the others. Of all the events that I have followed during these games, I have loved watching figure skating the most.

The reason that I have enjoyed watching figure skating so much is that figure skating is not just a sport - it's also an art form. It's an art form that manages to combine skating, spins, step sequences and jumps with music and choreography.

In figure skating, even though winning and competing is obviously important, it's not the only thing that counts. The main reason to watch - at least for many of us in the audience - is not that much about who wins or who places on the podium.

In reality, it's the artistic side of figure skating that draws us to the sport and makes it so popular. It's the jumps, the moves and the music combined with the performer's charisma and personality that matters the most.

Instead of us simply watching the athletes performing and winning or losing, in figure skating we get to forget the 'competition' and enjoy the performances. We get to listen to the music and enjoy their skating programs with our souls.

Compared to the rest of the sports, figure skating is such a fresh exception, because almost every other event is only about winning and being the best. They are only about being the best and getting to the podium to hear the national anthem.

After all, ice hockey for example is all about winning and your team scoring more goals than your opponent's team. It doesn't really have that much of a special 'meaning' or purpose as a game when you think about it.

The same can also be said about a physically demanding sport like cross-country skiing. There's not that much meaning or artistic merit in being faster than the rest of the athletes and reaching the finish line before everyone else.

Still, just because I'm being critical of these other events, I'm obviously not to say that there's anything wrong with watching these other sports. I'm not saying that you're not supposed to or not allowed to enjoy watching them at all.

After all, I myself have watched almost every event during these Olympic games. I have spent countless hours cheering for my countrymen while hoping that they would succeed and win medals in their respective events.

At the same time, it cannot be denied that a sport like figure skating manages to be a bit different. It manages to remind us that there's more to sports than just competing and being best based on points or numbers.

In that sense, as we're reaching the last days of the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, we should keep in mind that the Olympics are not supposed to be only about winning. They are not only about who's supposedly the best in the world.

After all, the real purpose of the Olympics is to bring people together from all over the world. These games are supposed to be about uniting us so that we would forget the differences that we supposedly have as human beings. 

In the end, the truth is that who eventually turns out to be the winner in any of these events isn't really that important. It's not that important who manages to win the gold medal in these more than hundred events that they have there.

After all, even though it does feel great to watch your fellow countryman win a gold medal or place on the podium, that's not all there is to it. There are other aspects too that are important and that matter in sports.

In that sense, we should be grateful that a wonderful sport like figure skating exists. We should be grateful, because it's a sport that shows that it's not all about winning and that as an athlete, you don't always have to win in order to be considered a winner.

Why 'inciting incident' matters in storytelling.

When it comes to writing a screenplay, it cannot be overstated how important it is that your story has a good structure. No matter what it's about, your story has to be well structured so that it could keep us entertained from start to finish.

After all, if you manage to come up with the right story beats for your script, your story as a whole is likely going to work. Your script is going to have the ingredients that are needed to keep your audience interested in what's going on.

Still, when it comes to these 'story beats' that have to do with structure, one of these beats is probably more important than the others. Of all the story beats, the 'inciting incident' is the most important one when it comes to writing a solid screenplay.

In a nutshell, the inciting incident is the catalyst in the script that sets things in motion in your script. This story beat happens when your main protagonist makes the decision - early on in the script - that leads to him beginning his adventure.

For example, in James Bond movies, the inciting incident happens when our secret agent - after the pre-title sequence -  gets his mission briefing. He is sent on a mission and is expected to either fix things or to find out what's going on.

Among other things, Bond might try to find a lost nuclear submarine tracking system, figure out what happened to a missing space rocket, find out more about a mysterious microchip or find out why his fellow agent died with a Faberge egg in his hand.

The reason that catalysts like these are so important, is that without them, there would be no story to tell. If there were no moment in the story that would push the main character to a new direction in the script, there would be no story to follow.

After all, would 'M' not give 007 a briefing that would send our agent on a mission, all he would do is sip those vodka martinis and sleep with pretty ladies. He wouldn't be trying to prevent the crazy bad guy from taking over the planet.

Still, when it comes to these catalysts, just because Bond franchise uses these simple - yet effective - storytelling tricks, that doesn't mean that it's the only way to go. I'm not saying that there's only one way to do it and that you shouldn't try something else.

In reality, your inciting incident and story catalyst will always depend on what your story and your characters are going to be about. They will depend on the genre of the movie and the goals that your characters are going to have.

In high concept movies for example, it's likely that you'll need only that one single catalyst for your script. In these films you'll likely get your catalyst from that major event that affects your protagonist and the rest of the characters.

In some other films though, it might be that the story has multiple - internal or external - moments that will push your character into his journey. Especially with smaller films that rely on character development, this tends to happen more.

Still, when it all is said and done, regardless of the genre and your story, you shouldn't forget that you always need that inciting incident in your story. It's absolutely crucial that your script has that catalyst that pushes your character in to the right direction.

After all, if you manage to come up with one that is solid, there's a good chance that your script is going to work. If you're willing to work hard and come up with solid story beats throughout your script, you have a chance of creating a good story.

On the other hand, the truth is that if you don't manage to come up with a good inciting incident for your script, your screenplay won't work. There's no chance that you'll be able to create something that is going to keep the audience entertained.

In theses cases, instead of creating something solid, you'll come up with a script that won't have any value. Instead of writing a story that keeps us entertained and happy, you'll create a script that nobody wants to read and that nobody is going to want to produce.

Is 'Up' Pixar's worst animated film?

When it comes to animated films, it's not exactly a secret that I prefer watching animations over live action films. I prefer watching animations because watching them puts me on a better mood and makes me feel better about life in general.

Especially when it comes to films made by Pixar studios, I have almost always enjoyed their animations. Whether we're talking about Ratatouille, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles or Wall-E, I have found their films to be well made and entertaining.

Still, that doesn't mean that Pixar has always managed to entertain me and make me happy. Especially when it comes to their animation 'Up', I have found the film to be really disappointing and lacking when it comes to its overall quality.

The biggest reason that I haven't been able to enjoy 'Up', is that unlike in almost every other Pixar film, the story in this film is entirely too inconsistent. There are too many problems with the story and how it's put together.

Probably the biggest problem with the film is that its main story is told during its first twelve minutes. After the first part - that includes the main character being a child, growing up, getting married, getting old and losing his wife - the movie runs out of story.

Yet, instead of this 'short film' about Carl and his wife Ellie wrapping itself after those solid twelve minutes, the film goes on for another seventy-five minutes. The movie goes on, even though there's basically no story left to tell and nothing for the characters to do.

What is especially awful about this extended part of the movie is that it forgets what the first part was about. During the second part of the movie, the 'laws' of the first part's universe get thrown out and the animation becomes more or less a different film.

For example, in the second part of the film, the story 'restarts' when our main character Carl decides to fly away with his house that has thousands of helium filled balloons tied to it. He flies away after he receives a court order to move into a retirement home.

This 'balloon house' itself might not be too much to swallow - but when you add things like a 110 year old villain and talking dogs that fly airplanes into the mix, the story falls apart. The movie just gets completely ridiculous and implausible.

Especially when it comes to us getting introduced to those talking dogs in South America, the complete lack of direction and continuity in the film becomes obvious. You can't help but to shake your head in disbelief when this happens.

What is really unfortunate about all these problems with the story is that when you consider all those other aspects of the film, there aren't really any problems here. Everything else except the story is really well made in 'Up'.

After all, it's obvious that the director of the film, the animation department, the voice actors, the composer and the rest of the crew worked really hard on the movie. They did everything they could to make film as good as it could only be.

Still, when it comes to the film as a whole, the story in 'Up' does not work well enough. There are too many problems with the screenplay that cannot be overlooked and be forgiven just because this happens to be a Pixar film.

In that sense, when you think of 'Up' as a movie and compare it to those other animations that the studio has produced, it's pretty clear that 'Up' is not one of their best films. This Pixar film is not even close to being one of their better animations.

After all, even though the production values in the movie are very high, that's not good enough. It's not enough to come up with an 'interesting' premise and think that one good idea is all that it takes to write a great screenplay.

On the contrary, it takes a lot more than a good idea for a short film to turn it into a full length movie. It takes a lot more work and effort to be able to come up with characters and storylines that make sense from start finish.

In that sense, it's unfortunate that the writers weren't able to come up with good stuff here. They weren't able come up with a screenplay that had the potential to entertain and to keep us happy throughout the movie.

As unfortunate as it is, instead of paying attention to the basics, they gave up and took the easy way out. They took the easy way out and settled with ideas that didn't make sense and that didn't have enough potential to turn into a great story.