What piques my interest for this upcoming film is the writer and director, Kevin Smith. I’ve seen Clerks II and Mallrats, as well as watching some episodes of Comic Book Men and an interview or two. I have to say, I like the guy.
Cinema is one of the few areas of modern life where the word ‘cult’ can conjure up positive connotations: more Rocky Horror and Fight Club than Charles Manson. Screenings of ‘cult’ films gather huge, enthusiastic crowds and each have their own strange rituals and practices, such as the hilarious habit of spoon-throwing during showings of The Room.
It may still be summer blockbuster season, but awards season is almost with us. Over the next few weeks we’ll have a flood of trailers for award baiting movies, and The Imitation Game ticks multiple boxes: a World War 2 period drama, a biopic, a Harvey Weinstein production and a chance for Benedict Cumberbatch to finally get some awards recognition.
Earlier this week, the British government announced that after years of trying to make it work, they were finally giving up what was already a losing battle. From 2015, it will no longer be illegal to file-share in the UK, to the fears of the entertainment industry. Instead, certain internet providers will email their customers just four warning letters per year informing them at how their killing the industry, to which they’ll probably reply with a shrug and will continue to download the latest episode of Game of Thrones without a second thought.
We came across the following infographic, which features some of the most famous properties you’ve seen in film and on television. It includes the properties used for Blade Runner, Driving Miss Daisy, Home Alone and Downton Abbey. Please click on the infographic to enlarge it so you can actually read it – it’s a big one!
Is it possible to give a film a bad review before anybody’s seen it? Apparently so, as the North Korean government have all but threatened war with the USA based on the trailer for The Interview. The new comedy re-teams James Franco and Seth Rogen, who co-directs with Evan Goldberg, as a hapless TV presenter and his producer who go to the “world’s most dangerous country” to interview Kim Jong-Un.
That kinky book your mom keeps hidden in her dresser drawer is finally being converted to moving pictures. Fifty Shades of Grey is coming, y’all! Get your popcorn ready!
What’s on the Menu? The Exit Room is a film written and directed by Todd Wisemen (Improv Island, Manifesto). It stars Christopher Abbott (Martha Marcy May Marlene, All That I Am) as Joseph Michaels, a journalist facing execution in a futuristic America.
After a couple of talking head viral teasers, we finally get our first glimpse of the situation in Panem in the new trailer for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1. Based on the final installment of Suzanne Collins’s wildly popular series of Hunger Games novels, Mockingjay moves from the games arena to a full-on rebellion reluctantly led by Katniss Everdeen.
For me, the way a film looks is nearly as important as how good it is. I can remember leaving several theatres saying, “Wow, that movie was terrible, but it looked amazing!” Film is a visual media after all, and cinematographers work extrememly hard to present audiences with beautiful and stunning imagery even if the film doesn’t work as a whole – I’m looking at you, Prometheus.
Mad Max: Fury Road is the fourth installment of the 70’s-80’s Mad Max trilogy. It’s both a reboot and a continuation of the series – it’s written and directed by the original mastermind:
The hottest and most popular film genre is the superhero genre. Since the late ’90s, thanks to DC Comics and Marvel Pictures, they have consistently produced superhero films that bring audiences in big masses to theaters. So far this year, there have been three films from that genre, and we are still waiting for the much-anticipated release of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy on August 1st.
Every Monday Film Inquiry publishes the movies that are opening in cinemas! This week: Guardians of the Galaxy, Get On Up, Calvary and What If.
It’s really amazing how some actors are willing to forgo a career full of surefire cash grabs and blockbusters for smaller, bolder roles. Actors like Ryan Gosling and Jake Gyllenhaal have done this and created some very interesting (though not always great) movies that stretch their abilities and require more thought than the many interchangeable popcorn flicks. Maybe it was the train wreck that was Prince of Persia:
Hello all! Gather ’round, it’s time for this week’s Cinephile’s Lounge! Let’s hang out in this beautiful cinema today, the Phoenix Cinema in London.