One of the most overlooked elements of the action genre is sound – more specifically, its use of sound cues to tell a story. However, this mode of storytelling is not only powerful by itself, but is especially suited to the needs of modern action films. Recent advances in sound technology now make it possible for action directors to put sound cues to their full use.
Chicken is a British drama directed by Joe Stephenson, which debuted last year in the UK at the Edinburgh Film Festival. It follows Richard and his older brother Polly, who find themselves continuously travelling in their caravan for a place to call home. Richard, younger and more optimistic in his view, seeks stability, but Polly’s ever-increasing abusive behaviour seems to be getting the better of him.
Film Inquiry compiles a list of the movies that are opening in cinemas every week. Opening this week: Kubo & The Two Strings, Ben-Hur, A Tale of Love & Darkness, War Dogs, Morris From America, Lo And Behold:
A while ago, I had the pleasure to be introduced to Lulu Wang. Before I got to watch her first feature film Posthumous, I got to watch her short Touch (watch Touch here). While watching that, I knew I was in for something great with her first feature.
After School, directed by Alec Tibaldi and written by Tibaldi and co-writer Anne Berkowitz, is a film where the deserved praise goes to the technical crew over the story-line and talent. The film stars Piper De Palma and Ruby Modine as sisters Addie and Xandra in this short drama. Instead of a dramatic story, the film feels like a story about dramatic people.
Clashing tradition with modernity is Ixcanul, a Guatemalan film that scooped up a variety of awards from its festival run but has struggled to find distribution in major markets. I suppose films from first-time feature directors that aren’t about people with paved roads and indoor plumbing seem like a hard sell, but I think that good stories can find audiences, and Ixcanul looks like a good one. Set in the shadows of a volcano and about something as basic as a girl’s transition into womanhood, the film takes a long look at 17-year-old Maria’s impending arranged marriage and her fling with a young local.
We shot Dead Certain in the French Alps during seventeen intense days in the winter of 2014. A post-epidemic thriller, we wanted the film to feel desolate and lonely. The quaint town of Monnetier-Mornex offered a perfect setting:
The past couple years have sparked seemingly, sudden changes in Hollywood. The #OscarsSoWhite trending this year launched a complete member overhaul in the Academy and the way voting was handled within the membership. The EEOC launched an investigation of the Hollywood’s studio system’s complete neglect of hiring women directors, which has sparked an online movement for women in film, both in front of and behind the scenes.
No matter what the critics say, film festival juries frequently appear to be in their own little bubble where they award the top prize to the film with the most political relevance, instead of the best artistic qualities. Last year at Cannes, the middling immigrant drama Dheepan trumped some of the year’s most widely acclaimed movies, from Son of Saul to Carol, for the festival’s top prize. But this was far from the only area critics were left bemused, as Rooney Mara’s performance in Carol suffered the indignity of sharing the Best Actress award with the unhyped Emmanuelle Bercot in My King.
Brad Pitt’s doin’ one thing and one thing only in Allied… falling for Marion Cotillard. Yeah, he’ll kill some Nazis along the way, but it looks like the shady backwaters of the spy world is there to complicate their relationship instead of override the plot. It’s possible that will change in later marketing pushes, but for now, Allied is being pitched as another in a long line of wartime romances.
Last month it was announced that Kirsten Dunst, in her directorial debut, will be directing Dakota Fanning in an adaptation of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar. In an interview, Dunst has noted that her approach in adapting the seminal text has been to avoid the ‘didactic’ and instead ‘make a life of something … you really need to make your own scenes up’. Such an approach, while entirely refreshing for me, is one that regularly receives criticism from those that view the source text as somehow sacred, and thus static and intractable.
Since the inception of the Bourne franchise in 2002, the blockbuster as we know it has undergone a dramatic shift. Variety is limited as superhero films have taken over the industry. There are lingering alternatives like the Mission Impossible and Fast and Furious franchises, but the Bourne films have been the thinking man’s blockbusters since the series began.
I wish more trailers hinted instead of explained like this one, but most trailers don’t have as much to offer as Closet Monster. By that, I don’t mean that it has some big narrative twist, but that there’s layers to the story and the way it’s told. The basics of Closet Monster is still clear:
You may not know her by name, but you’ve definitely seen her face and are familiar with her work. She’s been on your small screen and silver screen starring along side Angelina Jolie, Christina Ricci, Zachary Quinto, and Natasha Lyonne to name a few. She may not look as glamorous as your traditional Hollywood starlet and she doesn’t often play the leading role, but Clea DuVall’s natural beauty and talent first grabbed my attention about fifteen years ago on a day I vividly remember.
I am a huge Pixar fan and Finding Nemo is one of my favourite films, so I was thrilled to know a sequel was being made. However, I was a little reticient. Toy Story 2 & 3 were remarkable sequels to be sure, but they are unique in cinema, Pixar also made Cars 2.