When the title card appears in Daguerrotype, it announces the film as “Le secret de le chambre noire”. That title reflects the film’s goals as a dark, foreboding ghost mystery, and it probably does so better than the title “Daguerrotype” does. But what I like about the title Daguerrotype (misspelled though it might be), is that it refers to the most interesting part of the film:
A man named Paterson living in a town called Paterson seems quaint, like a small oddity you brush by on a road trip. It’s certainly not something you stop for, but then writer/director Jim Jarmusch rarely stops for the obvious thing. Many of Jarmusch’s films, which are considered exemplary of the American independent scene, ignore traditional plot structures, but Paterson seems to be taking things to a tranquil extreme.
Another day of school on Wednesday (September 14th) allowed me to take a break from my TIFFing, which was welcome. However, I was back on the town the next day, my sixth of what would be nine days in total. After the first weekend, TIFF starts to wind down:
Man, did September fly by, or what? We had such an excellent time featuring one short film every day of September during our #ShortFilmADay challenge. You can find the complete list and some additional information about the shorts we featured in our #ShortFilmADay Recap.
Thought the buddy cop movie formula was tired? Well, it is a cinematic breath of fresh air in comparison to the “bad cop” movie. These movies are tiresome depictions of lawmen (and make no mistake, they are always men) who break every rule in the book whilst trying to enforce it – and even though there have been solid entries into the genre in recent years, it can’t help but feel worn out.
Every Tuesday, Film Inquiry compiles a list of the movies that are opening in cinemas. Opening this week: The Girl On The Train, The Birth of a Nation, The 13th, Voyage of Time, Under The Shadow, Middle School:
Baz Luhrmann is a divisive director. His unique blend of pop culture references coupled with highly choreographed, hyperbolic sequences can, for some, prove distracting. Certainly, these criticisms are understandable, if not valid.
During September, we featured a short film every day, to promote general awareness of short films and the great talent behind them, and to help people find some excellent shorts. Today we’re listing all the short films we featured. We’re also including a bunch of fun graphs to illustrate the data behind the short films!
Killer Friends is a short horror-comedy written by Zach Noe Towers and co-directed by Towers and Tina Carbone. The film stars Jenna-Lee Carreiro, Dave Racki, and Peggy Sinnott alongside Towers, who plays the indestructible jerk himself, Scott. With Friends Like This, Who Needs Enemies?
It’s taken thirteen years for the guys to stage another Christmas heist, but Willie and Marcus are finally back in all their surly glory. They’ve set their sights a bit higher this time, using their Santa and elf routine to infiltrate a large charity group instead of measly department stores. The rude and seemingly uncontrollable antics of Willie put the entire enterprise in jeopardy last time, and thirteen years doesn’t seem to have changed his behavior.
Hundreds of thousands of moviegoers, press, and industry players descend on Canada every year for the Toronto International Film Festival. Eleven days of red carpets, screenings, junkets, and presentations cause a gluttonous amount of content to stream out of the city, covering everything from awards season contenders to fashion faux pas. It’s difficult to imagine anything getting missed by the avalanche, but those who attend know just how immense the festival is.
Sometimes when a movie starts off slow, it picks up and has a good pay off in the end which makes the slow and boring parts forgivable. That’s not the case for Detours, written by Mara Lesemann and directed by Robert McCaskill. The film stars Tara Westwood and Carlo Fiorletta with cameo appearances by Paul Sorvino and Phyllis Somerville.
It’s the final day of our #ShortFilmADay challenge (more here), if you will believe it! I, for one, hardly can – these thirty days have gone by so fast and we’ve seen so many amazing short films! But you didn’t think we wouldn’t go into October without some final fireworks, right?
Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong has done a few acting gigs in recent years, but nothing with the heft and screen time of Ordinary World. In the film, Armstrong stars as a rocker in the midst of a mid-life crisis, and his presence is surprising not only as an actor but as a normally aging adult. His character has left the stage behind for normal family life, and with that comes greying hair and a basic style.
“Sure, I’ll see you again before either of us knows it”. It’s a sentiment resonating with most of us after the passing of a loved one. This line opens the beautiful, bleak, January Hymn, written and directed by Katherine Canty.