2016
Paterson is informed by the rich tradition of American poetry and modelled as a gentle meditation on the minutiae of artistic life.
I Am Not Your Negro is a documentary based on the works of activist James Baldwin, and is overall a powerful examination of race in America.
2016 was a great year for film. Our Film Inquiry writers submitted their top ten lists, along with their pick for best film of the year.
The Daughter is a film about a family in Australia who suddenly uncover a buried secret; it is an effectively wrought, tension-filled drama.
Dark Night is based on the events of the Aurora theater shooting; with a detached aesthetic perspective, it is a compelling yet tragic film.
2016. A year that will live in infamy. A year shaken by unexpected celebrity deaths, an unnerving election cycle, and unsuspecting twists waiting around every corner.
After Fire focuses on a female veteran named Valerie Sullivan, discussing how women in the military deal with trauma after coming home from war.
20th Century Women is a remarkable character study of women in the 1970s, but it falls just shy of greatness due to its lack of plot.
What happened to the art of film criticism, the kind of visceral, honest prose delivered from titans like Pauline Kael? We are witnessing its noisy death rattle and few seem to care. Moonlight, the newest film from director and co-writer Barry Jenkins, is a literal coming-of-age story, chronicling the journey of a young, gay black man, Chiron, into adulthood amidst the rougher parts of Miami.
Patriots Day is a memoir to the tragic events of the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing, brought to screen both tactfully and honorably.
Films focusing on a very niche subject walk an incredibly fine line. Most of the time if a film is geared on something specifically niche, it’s a fair bet that the writer or director has experience in the subject. This can either work brilliantly in favour of the film, or it can alienate audiences and feel quite awkward to experience.
Martin Scorsese’s Silence begins with a dark, blank screen, with only the gentle humming of cicadas heard on all sides. It then immediately opens up to an overcast shot overlooking the banks of a river, where numerous people are being strung up and tortured. Such a peaceful moment undercut by extreme violence is very much an indication of what’s to come.
A Monster Calls is an entertaining and beautifully presented fantasy, which also imbues deeper universal themes of grief and loss.
Somatic is a short film from director Will Nash, delving into complex questions of cloning and the nature of our reality.
Assassin’s Creed may be the best video game adaptation, with some dynamic action, but it still has a run of seething and frustrating flaws