In the days of the revisionist Western, sometimes a throwback to the simple pleasures of the genre’s oldest delights are all that are needed. The only problem with revisiting old cliches is that no amount of nostalgia or charm can make them feel original again, and if performed without either, it comes across as laboured box-ticking in order to fulfil genre requirements. Forsaken unfortunately is the latter, possessing an initial kitsch charm that wears thin quickly when it transpires the film has no unique tricks up its sleeve.
They did it with asteroids, and they did it with Snow White. Now, we’re inexplicably getting two takes on the story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a wealthy New York socialite with a terrible singing voice. The French version, Marguerite, plays more loosely with the facts, while this U.
Over at our official Facebook page, we are currently posting daily film recommendations, with each week being a different theme. This is a collection of those recommendations! This week’s theme is female-directed French films.
Is it possible for a contemporary America drama dealing with grief not be referred to using the “post-9/11” prefix? Louder Than Bombs charts the emotional complexities of a middle-class New York family as a retrospective article about their deceased war photographer mother/wife is published in the New York Times, resurfacing their most base fragilities. There is nothing in the film that remotely refers back to that harrowing event in American history, yet for many audiences it’s embedded in the subtext – New Yorkers who are confused how to react after this unexpected turbulent event in their lives.
Before Mads Mikkelsen became an international star as the blood-weeping villain in the James Bond film Casino Royale, he had established himself as one of the most prominent actors in his home country of Denmark, by working with some of the best talent the country has to offer. He got his start on Nicolas Winding Refn’s Pusher series and has appeared in every film that award-winning Anders Thomas Jensen has directed. To this day, he continues to balance his international work with Danish films, and with Jensen’s return to the directing chair after a ten year absence, Mikkelsen returns as well to keep their long-standing collaboration alive.
German silent cinema of the 1920’s produced some of the most influential directors in the art of film making. Most directors and screenwriters working during this period were highly influenced by the German Expressionism art movement. Directors displayed Expressionism art in their films by presenting a distorted reality, which showed the inner turmoil of the characters.
Two years after his ex-wife disappeared, Will (Logan Marshall-Green) and his new girlfriend Kira (Emayatzy Corinealdi) get an invitation to a dinner party his ex-wife is throwing out of the blue. The couple is hesitant, the invitation is too elaborately fancy, and it all feels slightly off, especially after such a long time of complete silence. On their way to the party, they hit a coyote, which Will kills out of mercy.
Over one million people crossed into Europe in 2015, more than three times the amount from the previous year, overwhelming existing systems and leaving the EU struggling to agree on a unified approach to the crisis. Some countries have tightened their border control, citing old, xenophobic fears that ignore the flesh-and-blood people sitting on their doorsteps. It’s a perfect time, then, for films like Dheepan, which tell small, humanistic stories of immigrants that make us remember the individuals at the heart of this crisis.
Since they first hit cinema screens in 1984, the Coen Brothers have had a firm grip on audiences and critics alike. Renowned for their idiosyncratic, high quality work, they have found themselves increasingly in demand with studios and actors, many of whom aim to make their next project a Coen Brothers film. They have written, directed and produced all of their own pictures, edited most of them, and have recently ventured into the ‘gun for hire’ realm of screenwriting, contributing to Steven Spielberg’s Bridge of Spies, Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken, Michael Hoffman’s Gambit, and George Clooney’s upcoming Suburbicon.
In classical art forms each specific field has one or two areas that have a more prestigious status. In dance it is ballet, and in the orchestra it is the violin. These two have a reputation of being highly difficult to master, being rigid in both technique and discipline.
Every Tuesday Film Inquiry publishes the movies that are opening in cinemas! This week: Hardcore Henry, The Boss, Demolition, The Invitation, Louder Than Bombs andMr.
A subtle yet intriguing glimpse at family built on celebrity, One More Time spins a much darker story into a lighthearted drama. Indie earmarks set the tone of the film, as the dialogue-driven character study deftly navigates each family member’s individual flaws while also allowing for a lasting bond with the audience. Pepper in the oddball charm of its male star alongside a borderline Gen X female protagonist, and the foundation is set for a well-crafted, yet easy-on-the-emotions watch.
When people ask me who my favourite superhero is I always wonder at what makes a good one. Is it the good guy? Is it the guy out for revenge?
A strange and unfortunate thing happened during the run of the American television series Spartacus. The blood and sex-filled show had to delay production and recast its titular lead due to actor Andy Whitfield’s cancer diagnosis. This injection of reality into a pulp show is incongruous, as these situations often are for television series.
The figure of the action heroine in film has always been present to some extent, even looking back to some of the adventure shorts of silent cinema or the femme fatales of post-war film noir it could be argued that there were early incarnations of the action heroine that we recognise today. However, despite her presence as a figure across all genres and time periods, it has only been in the last few decades that we have really seen women taking centre stage in their own stories and action set pieces. Female led action films have rarely avoided criticism, such is the weight of expectation when women feature prominently in a genre in which they have more often than not been excluded or marginalised.