Features
Over at our official Facebook page, we are currently posting daily film recommendations with each week being a different theme.This week’s theme is the films of British cult director Alex Cox, and this article is a collection of those recommendations! The definition of the “cult movie” director, Alex Cox has had an incredibly interesting career, flirting with both studio and independent filmmaking – imprinting his own unique anarchic vision with each film he makes.
A distinctive and imaginative style plays a part in every Wes Anderson film. His influences range from French New Wave films to Jacques Cousteau’s books and films. One influence in particular intrigues me:
In two months time, the world could have already adjusted to the news that Donald Trump has been named the 45th President of the United States. Trump’s entire presidential platform has been built on two things: the first is a disrespect for taste and decency, building an entire campaign around gaffes that would see any other politician deemed unfit to be a part of the establishment, let alone be crowned leader of the free world.
On Thursday, September 22, Blair Witch writer Simon Barrett is hosting the very first Dinner With Dames (DWD). Organised by Jenna Payne in collaboration with Cinefemme, it’s an opportunity for a group of up-and-coming women filmmakers to enter a dialogue about diversity issues and obstacles women face in the entertainment industry, while enjoying a meal. High level industry players are invited to every dinner, in an attempt to break down the barriers of access, help demolish the myths about female filmmakers and to promote more conscious hiring practices in Hollywood.
A novel is a single voice from a single point of view. A movie is a mix of art and business with hundreds of people from carpenters and actors to camera operators and art directors contributing to the big screen adaptation. Is it fair to compare a novel to its movie counterpart?
The Silence of the Lambs is an enduring piece of cinema. Jonathan Demme’s crime-thriller touched a nerve because of its mainstream appeal crossed with glimpses of macabre imagery. A young FBI trainee named Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is enlisted by her superior to visit with notorious cannibal Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) in prison with hopes of gaining insight into another active serial killer:
There’s a strange dichotomy surrounding the films of John Hughes, both written and directed. In one sense, there have been few directors that have so understood the angst of the teenage experience. Yet, conversely, Hughes’ depiction of both race and gender are entirely at odds with his apparent insight into the teen condition.
Frank Perry ’s 1968 film The Swimmer is adapted at length from the 12-page short story of the same name by famed American author John Cheever . It is the story of Ned Merrill (perhaps the finest performance of Burt Lancaster ’s impressive career), whose summer culminates in a trip through various neighbours’ pools until reaching his own home at the end of a large and affluent county of mansions. Only, what starts as a summer begins to feel as if it goes on for years.
When I was seven years old, one of my best friends told me about a movie called Legally Blonde. “I think you would really like it,” she excitedly announced to me after school one day. “The main character is a girly girl who’s also really smart.
There’s a warm feeling that engulfs you when viewing an old Hollywood musical. Usually, it’s a wave of nostalgia as soon as the opening credits start to roll. When silver screen icons like Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse, Ginger Rogers or Fred Astaire show up on your screen to entertain the masses for a few hours, you’re guaranteed an entertaining, yet competent, movie experience.
Why do we visit cinemas and how come we take the time to drive a considerable distance to pay upwards of $10 per film? Maybe it is to see a film that you had been anticipating for some time, or because a group of friends decided to check out a new release. No matter the reason, the focus is always on the film as the main motivator.
A largely-overlooked but critical element in an action film is its ability to tell a story with sound. Dialogue and musical score notwithstanding, sound cues and effects are incredible tools for storytelling in the genre; subtly adding depth and detail without ever compromising action or hogging screen-time. Given recent advances in the field of sound technology, filmmakers are even now using these techniques to great advantage in crafting critically-acclaimed action films.
When the BBC polled an international array of critics, producers and filmmakers for their greatest films of the 21st century, there was naturally an outpouring of frustration on social media. The list was naturally derided for being elitist, not featuring any comedies and for featuring few works by female directors; textbook stuff when it comes to polls of greatest films. When the list was announced earlier this summer, the Film Inquiry team initially agreed on doing our own gigantic top 100 to rival the BBC’s official findings.
Hello! It’s September! That means we’re due for another round-up of our best articles of the last month.
Every year, ten movies are bestowed the honor of becoming nominated by the Academy Of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences. Many of these films will already have had various successes throughout the year: good festival attendance, box office success and probably received other prestigious awards.