United Kingdom
With finely tuned performances, The Man With Four Legs is also a visual treat, working within a genre that is often difficult to define.
Film Inquiry interviewed Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe, the founder of the British Urban Film Festival, which is opening for submissions soon.
Ricky Gervais’ feature length outing for his most beloved character is one of the most emotionally poignant comedies in recent memory.
T2 Trainspotting, though enjoyable in its own right, ultimately relies too heavily on nostalgia for the original to be a complete success.
Don’t Hang Up is a tense and effective low-budget thriller, though it misses out on fully probing the dangers of online bullying.
Phil Drinkwater & Tim Woodall tell about how what went into making their BFI-backed psychological horror film Broadcast Signal Intrusion.
Fear Itself is a series of montages of famous horror films, though it misses out on probing just why we are fascinated by being scared.
Twenty Twenty-Four is a sci-fi that alerts its audience as to a possible world-ending scenario, though it’s not a complete success.
The Seasons in Quincy is a series of four essays that each paint a portrait of the late John Berger, an extraordinary and versatile artist.
Fantastic Beasts is a mostly satisfactory return to the world of Harry Potter, though it also suffers from confused and muddled plot-lines.
The New Man is a fascinating insight into modern fatherhood, male identity, cultural expectation and the torturous path of late parenthood.
Mindhorn, the debut feature film from theatre director Sean Foley, has one hell of a concept that has been created as a Frankenstein’s monster, taking bits and pieces from other British cult comedies from the last two decades.
A United Kingdom has plenty of flaws, but more than makes up for them with a heart and an affection that is utterly intoxicating.
Imagine waking up from a coma and finding out that one of the nominees in the 2016 presidential election was a thin skinned egomaniac, with a penchant for airing his racist, misogynist and ableist views (and a platform that allows for homophobic views to boot). Imagine if you found out that he’d already set a precedent for his appalling behaviour, yet he was still inexplicably marching towards success, planning to grab the American electorate by the pussy. Having this news broken to you as your comatose body reanimates and prepares for a life in a new, quasi-dystopian future, is the only way you are likely to be shocked by any of Donald Trump’s antics.
Film is one of the best artistic mediums because it’s always growing; it speaks every language, and every place in the world has their iteration as to what’s scary, twisted, weird or just downright bizarre. Different countries offer different interpretations of horror, from China where vampires hop to Korean Shaman. They don’t wave crosses, nor do they compel the power of Christ upon anyone, but just don’t fall in love with Isabelle Adjani.