Film Inquiry’s Best Articles Of October 2016
And just like that, it’s November 2016! How was your Halloween? We had a great time celebrating it on Film Inquiry this year, we recounted the films we love to watch most during the season, and published a great list of foreign horror films.
We published over 70 terrific articles this month, among them reviews of The Girl With All The Gifts, Daguerrotype, The Magnificent Seven, Skiptrace, American Honey, My Scientology Movie, and more. We discussed Woody Allen‘s form and legacy, anthology films, recapped the British Film Festival, considered the position of women in Bollywood, and loads more!
We interviewed directors like Lee Kirk of Ordinary World (here) and Phil Giordano of Supot, about filmmaking in Asia (here). The first two Dinner With Dames nights were also recapped, find the first recap, written by Jenna Payne, here, and the second, written by Rory Gory, here.
Lastly, we also welcomed a bunch of new writers to the team who published their first articles in October! A warm welcome to Hollie Wong, Suchin Mehrotra, Matthias van der Roest, Lee Ashworth, Michelle Aguila and Derek Sanchez.
In case you missed them, here are our favourite articles of October 2016, in no particular order!
Film Inquiry Recommends: 7 Action Films Directed By Women
Unfortunately, outside of the work of Kathryn Bigelow, the list of action films directed by women is severely lacking, probably the least amount in any genre we’ve done since the inception of these articles. With the release of Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman film next year, and hopefully its success will lead to a rise of mainstream female-directed action films.
This list is just a look back at some of the highlights from the past 50 years, covering all the different types of action films that the genre has to offer. […]
Read the rest of Alex Lines‘ article here.
MISS PEREGRINE’S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN: A World Not Ready For The Big Screen
Interpreted from the widely popular young adult fantasy novel by Ransom Riggs, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is home to the latest magical world from the mind of Tim Burton.
Alas, there is no appearance from Johnny Depp or Helena Boham Carter, yet there is no doubt that the somewhat creepy, dire visuals on-screen belong to a Tim Burton film. Aside from the visuals and construction of characters, though, there isn’t much more to this book adaptation. […]
Read the rest of Jess Boswell‘s article here.
“You Have To Get Dirty:” Independent Filmmaker Nick DeRuve’s Long Road To Toronto
A graduate of Niskayuna High School, DeRuve got his undergraduate degree at Long Island University, CW Post. A near fatal car accident following his freshman year landed him in a wheelchair for months, and cost him years of rehabilitation. Defying the medical professional opinions, he was walking back on campus six months later. […]
Read the rest of Jim Dixon‘s interview with Nick DeRuve here.
Marty’s Paradox: The Creation Of Character In BACK TO THE FUTURE
In Back To The Future, the impossibility of the paradox is nudged aside in favour of what is a damn terrific narrative. One which, superbly, philosophises about the ‘what if?’. What if you went back in time? What would happen if you changed things? It’s time travel for beginners, and something I’m sure you’re familiar with. The science and logic of Marty’s creation is intriguing. From paradoxes and the many-world’s interpretation to parental influence and the importance of nurture over nature, Back To The Future is much more than your average time travel movie. […]
Read the rest of Julia Smith‘s article here.
I, DANIEL BLAKE: A Wake Up Call To Right-Wing Britain
In 2013, Ken Loach seemed destined to enter the pantheon of filmmakers who bow out with a movie that was, at best, inconsequential to the hard hitting filmography that came before. His proposed final film was 2014’s Jimmy’s Hall, a film about the tensions between the Catholic Church, local government and the vibrant youth culture of 1930’s Ireland.
For one of the most important British filmmakers of all time, bowing out with a period piece that paid more than a little narrative debt to Footloose ensured underwhelming results. Instead of ending his career on a high, he was ending with nothing more than a shrug from critics and art house audiences alike. […]
Read the rest of Alistair Ryder‘s review here.
Queering The Mainstream: LGBT Representation In Today’s Cinema
There were no outright LGBT characters in the top 10 high-grossing films of 2015, the most viewers got was the gay subtext of Furious 7. In examining 700 films released between 2007 and 2014, the University of Southern California found only 0.4% of leading characters were LGB and no characters were transgender.
With so many films wiping LGBT people off the map, from blockbusters to indies, what do the few queer characters we have now say about LGBT representation? What are the factors stopping the queering of the mainstream? And how does the lack of queer casting and directing also impact the film industry? […]
Read the rest of Hollie Wong‘s article here.
From Filmmaker To Film Festival Director: An Insider’s Guide
As readers may or may not know, I took a break from writing these past few months as I was running my first ever film festival. The Drunken Film Fest (DFF) had its inaugural year in Bradford, England this past summer and it was pretty successful for a first year free film festival, if I do say so myself.
However, my background when it comes to festivals is not in running them, but rather in trying to get accepted to them. This placed me in a unique position when it came to screening and selecting, and my experience running the festival has certainly taught me a few things both about festivals and about independent filmmaking. After this amazing adventure, I thought I’d share what I had learned. […]
Read the rest of Jacqui Griffin‘s article here.
Hawke As Linklater: Exploring Form & Story
It’s 1993. Ethan Hawke is in a theatrical production of Jonathan Marc Sherman’s “Sophistry”, co-starring with Anthony Rapp, who has just finished filming Dazed and Confused. Rapp has invited Hawke to an early preview screening of Dazed, which Hawke has claimed to have ‘flipped out’ over. Richard Linklater, in turn, has seen “Sophistry” , and he and Hawke begin to chat at an after-party one night. […]
Read the rest of James Maitre‘s article here.
Surrealist Cinema: 100 Years Of Psychedelia
There is one movement cinephiles can thank for heroin addicts sinking into carpets and rose petals exploding from cheerleader’s chests: Surrealism. Not only has the movement influenced some of the most iconic films to date like Trainspotting and American Beauty, throughout the last century surrealism has completely turned cinema on its head; creating a new wave of film that drags reality into the world of insanity. […]
Read the rest of Rachael Sampson‘s article here.
13TH: Contextualizing A Movement
Ava DuVernay returns to the documentary format with 13th, a look at the amendment of the United States Constitution that simultaneously abolished slavery and established a loophole for denying rights to targeted groups. The troubling wording in the amendment has to do with convicted criminals, who are the only people exempt from the abolishment of slavery and involuntary servitude. […]
Read the rest of Emily Wheeler‘s review here.
What were your favourite articles this month? Let us know in the comments, and we’d also love to hear it if you have any suggestions.
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