Every week Film Inquiry publishes the movies that are opening in cinemas! This week: Furious 7, Woman In Gold, 5 To 7, Lambert & Stamp and Effie Gray.
Paper Towns is the anticipated adaptation of John Green’s novel of the same name. The film has been penned by the same screenwriting team that adapted Green’s hugely successful The Fault In Our Stars, Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, and is directed by Jake Schreier.
The 1980’s through the years leading up the handover in 1997 were paramount in Hong Kong’s long-running series of action films. They have yielded some of the best titles to have emerged from the crown colony as it was in this era. The very words “Hong Kong” at this point in time stirs up images of hit men wielding two handguns, flying swordsmen, and an endless array of bright neon lights.
Suite Française is an adaptation of Irène Némirovsky’s novel of the same name. Prior to seeing the film I had no knowledge of its provenance, and will withhold this particular information for now lest it misinform how you read the rest of this review. As always, I will attempt to remain objective.
From ideation to financing, distribution to production, the movie industry is just that, an industry. Let’s take a peek behind the projectors and movie screens at all facets of the films, and the people behind them, that we love. Let’s take another look at some of our favorite movies.
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya tells the folklore of a Japanese princess born from a bamboo stalk in the heavens and raised as the child of an elderly agrarian couple. She lives and grows up rapidly right before our eyes, just like the bamboo from which she was bred. She was meant to live a more “normal” life, though, and is soon thrust into a lifestyle that contradicts her humble upbringings.
So tell me if you’ve heard this one before. A well-dressed English man “transports” high value “packages” through very dangerous situations. He also knows martial arts and often beats up thugs that try to mess with his car.
I have to admit, I was a little excited to see that a sequel had been made to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. I had liked it and was curious as to what had happened to the characters. But what is more, I went to see the first film with my grandmother and I knew how much she and her friends liked it.
As a person I am usually against being politically correct because people become extremely sensitive to certain issues. Even then I must admit my hypocrisy when certain issues are expressed in the most inane and simple ways just to sell a ticket. This is not something unusual for Hollywood, many of their films have no sense of true empathy for characters that can be considered “other”.
Unfinished Business was something of a surprise to hear about, but the combination of Vince Vaughn, Tom Wilkinson and Dave Franco was enough to convince me that it might be worth a shot. Coming across as a clichéd but entertaining story of down on their luck business men on a European jaunt, I expected some impressive improvisational comedy from Vaughn, some gravitas from Wilkinson, and maybe something worthy of note from Dave Franco (who was great in Now You See Me). But, as we all know, expectations are a dangerous thing.
Every week Film Inquiry publishes the movies that are opening in cinemas! This week: Serena, Get Hard, Home, While We’re Young, The Salt Of The Earth, The Riot Club, White God and Cupcakes.
At this year’s Oscars ceremony, five worthy films vied for the coveted Best Animated Feature award. Of course, we all know the winner, but there was one nominee in particular that no one seemed to have even heard of, let alone seen. It was the outlier.
Australia’s film industry has always been a little unstable. From the decline of Australian-made films in the inter-war period to the increased arts funding by the liberal government of John Gorton, the industry seems to travel in peaks and troughs much more than the American industry. Indeed, the fierce competition from American-made movies no doubt contributes to the infrequency of big-selling Aussie flicks.
You know what I miss? The Office. Thus I present to you Teacher of the Year which is like The Office.
Film Noir is not an easy genre to tackle nowadays, simply because trends in culture have changed. The hard-boiled detective of the black and white screen, the one with the alienated, tough exterior and a penchant for femme fatales – think Dana Andrews in Laura or Bogie in The Big Sleep – would cause no more than a snicker, so removed are they from the world we witness every passing day. Our post-modernist mindset asks for the type of heroes we find authentic, those we can relate to, this is why the grand days of Film Noir have passed – which is not to say some of its elements cannot be used for fine, fine cinema.