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I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t lured me into watching a movie or two: the old “Based On A True Story” tagline. The Conjuring, a recent horror release that is based on the true story, involves possessed dolls and physical apparitions and it’s not necessarily something everyone would believe to be true, so how factual can the story be?
Don’t have the time to watch a full-length movie? Think Blade Runner drags and you never really got through it? Well, the guys over at 1A4Studio have created 1-minute-long versions of a ton of movies, so that you can spare your time for better things (wait, better things than watching movies?
For as long as movies have existed, there have been a slew of gimmicks to lure audiences in. Audiences were drawn into 3D movies as early as the 1920s, and gimmick color effects existed even earlier. Some directors have even taken more clever approaches.
This week, the suicide of Robin Williams shook the entire world to its core. Robin Williams, famous for his stand-up comedy and acting in numerous films, touched many people’s lives and hearts. The team of Film Inquiry too, was greatly saddened by the magnificent actor’s death, and we would like to pay our tribute to him by all sharing some of our fondest memories of him and his work, and the impact he had on us.
Hello fellow cinephiles! It’s been a while since our last Cinephile’s Lounge! It’s my fault:
For the next 30 days, Amazon own my soul. This isn’t the first time – in fact, whenever I subscribe to a new movie streaming service, I have a habit of trying to watch everything I want in that 30 day window so I cancel before I start having to pay. There are plenty of good reasons to stay subscribed to a website (and I’m not saying you shouldn’t), and there are a plethora of good streaming services available, but if you’re on a tight budget taking advantage of a free trial is the only option.
Author’s note: I set out to write a very simple article looking back on Tarantino’s work and I wound up on a truly head-spinning journey into the mad world of Quentin Tarantino’s film universe. I believe I’ve come out of the rabbit hole more informed and slightly dazed, but with some interesting things to say.
Guardians of the Galaxy, the latest instalment in the Marvel cinematic universe, has just smashed box-office records on its way to being number one, raking in almost five times as much as its nearest competitor. It continues the highly successful “phase two” of the studio’s cinematic output which is timetabled until at least 2019. On the face of it, their films are among the safest bets in Hollywood – it is taken for granted that Marvel equals success.
Have you ever noticed that some of the most resounding characters in film, either heroes or villains, usually behave in ways that absolutely baffle you? They are a dichotomy, a wonderful multi-layered creation, taking our breaths away with their grays (a refreshing contrast to the black/white of some of the more forgettable characters in films). Whenever I run across a character like this, my celluloid-loving heart skips a beat.
Time flies, as they say – we’ve already moved deep into the first week of August, which means it’s time to present to you Film Inquiry’s best articles of July. Here they are! Review of Enemy (2013) Jay Ledbetter discussed the mysterious movie Enemy, featuring Jake Gyllenhaal, directed by Denis Villeneuve, both of Prisoners (2012) fame.
Experimental film by its very nature often flies under the radar of the average film viewer and even most movie buffs. However, I’d like to take this opportunity to offer a sort of crash course in experimental film by highlighting five (well, sort of six) experimental filmmakers that deserve at the very least a cursory glance. These are people who changed film-making, completely threw out the rule book, and influenced cinema in very permanent and crucial ways, both with their cameras and their pens.
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.
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!
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.