Month: October 2020

When thinking of animals that reflect the breadth and diversity that is Edinburgh, there’s a plethora of species to choose from, from the mythical unicorn, which is the nation’s symbolic animal, to Greyfriars Bobby, a famed Skye terrier who is the city’s mascot. There is also Dolly the Sheep, the first mammal to be cloned, or  Wojtek…

In the north of Saint Petersburg lies an astoundingly large and somber memorial complex dedicated mostly to the victims of the Siege of Leningrad carried out by Nazi soldiers during World War II. This siege—considered a genocide by some historians—was one of the longest and most destructive sieges in history. It was also perhaps the costliest…

Thanks to our friends at Roadshow Films, Film Inquiry is happy to announce that we’ve got 5 in-season double passes to give away for Rams to our Australian readers! Jeremy Sims’ faithful and empathetic adaptation of Grímur Hákonarson’s Oscar-nominated Icelandic drama Rams has sneak previews across the weekend of October 23-25, with the film releasing in cinemas everywhere in…

Streaming might be the future, but physical media is still the present. It’s also awesome, depending on the title, the label, and the release, so each week we take a look at the new Blu-rays and DVDs making their way into the world. Welcome to this week in Home Video for October 20th, 2020 including our…

In and around Amiens in the French Picardy region, a stretch of floating farmland poses an unusual challenge to local farmers and gardeners. Les Hortillonnages d’Amiens are an age-old, 300-hectare area of marshland where vegetables and flowers grow on gardens connected by 40 miles of canal. One legend claims that the Hortillonnages date back to…

When Joe Cornish’s Attack The Block arrived in cinemas back in 2011, it quickly became a cult favourite but struggled to make big numbers at the box office. Had it been released today in the wake of greater calls for diversity, it’s easy to imagine the film getting much more mainstream fanfare. After all, Attack…

Filmmaker Steve McQueen’s latest project, the five-part Small Axe anthology, takes its name from a West Indian proverb that says “if you are the big tree, we are the small axe.” In other words, voices that may seem small on their own can challenge more powerful ones when they are raised together. It’s hard to…

Mental health is a topic that has only recently begun to receive proper representation in film and television. For decades, people didn’t treat mental health seriously, thus making life more difficult for those struggling. No one knows this better than Amy McCorkle who, in 1999, suffered a bipolar breakdown while trying to pursue her dream…

In 2016, HB1523 was signed into U.S. law, making it legal to deny housing or even fire someone simply because of who they are on the basis of violations of religious beliefs. With the ink of a pen, religious beliefs became the sole and primary basis for human rights decisions and discrimination. In an instant,…

According to Piers Mitchell, a paleopathologist from the University of Cambridge, scientists have been extracting data from ancient human poop for over a century. “In the past, we’ve been able to look at a single coprolite from a single person”—that is to say, a preserved turd—“and study the microbiome of that one individual.” (The microbiome…

When I first learned about Japanese country singer Tomi Fujiyama, I marveled. Here was a young Japanese woman who took the American country music scene by storm, including performances at the Grand Old Opry. But like so many others, I probably wondered how her love of American music came about. It just illustrates the way…

October is defined in Webster’s Dictionary as “31 days of horror.” Don’t bother looking it up; it’s true. Most people take that to mean highlighting one horror movie a day, but here at FSR, we’ve taken that up a spooky notch or nine by celebrating each day with a top ten list. This article about…

Early on in Rams – Jeremy Sims‘ Australian remake of the 2015 Oscar-nominated Icelandic drama of the same name – estranged brothers Colin (Sam Neill) and Les (Michael Caton) are forced to nestle together when they are the last two competitors in their remote Western Australian town’s annual prize ram contest. Despite the tension that…

Joe Rogan had to go and open up his big, Spotify-fed mouth. The podcast giant blasted his critics within the music platform eager to cancel him for sharing the “wrong” thoughts. Rogan responded, in part, by questioning why the woke staffers weren’t offended by the hateful lyrics peddled on the platform. Read moreA Guide to…

In 2015, Pablo Salvatierra was a 23-year-old Argentinian student struggling with a severe case of a skin disease called psoriasis. With no true cure on offer, his doctors had suggested a four-week fast of no solid food, followed by a permanent change in diet. It was a skinny, skinny Salvatierra who left his bedroom the…

Lamech said to his wives: “Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; You wives of Lamech, listen to what I say: I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for striking me. If Cain is avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy-sevenfold.” (Genesis 4:23-24, NRSV) After Cain killed his brother, he feared that someone would…

“Are you hiding something?” Trinity Creative has released an official trailer for an indie drama titled That Good Night, which originally premiered in 2017 at the Edinburgh and Shanghai Film Festivals. The film stars John Hurt (who passed away in early 2017 before this premiered at the festivals) as Ralph, a once-famous screenwriter, who is…

For reasons that are beyond obvious, martial arts cinema has always focused on characters at the peak of their physical prowess. Sitting through Ip Man 4: The Finale, it’s easy to forget that Donnie Yen is actually in his late fifties, yet still moves with the same level of finesse that he did for the…

Every autumn, a quarter million people go to Virginia’s famed Shenandoah National Park to see the spectacular fall colors of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Those traveling along Skyline Drive, the park’s main road, pass a routered wood sign pointing to Lewis Mountain. Eighty years ago, the park marker included an additional line: “Negro Area.” It…

Queerly Ever After is a bi-monthly column where I take a look at LGBT+ films that gave their characters a romantic happily-ever-after. There will be spoilers. Also, don’t forget to buy your Queerly Ever After merch right here. It is also important that I include a content warning for suicide attempts in this article. Read moreA…

★★★★ Written and Directed by: #StefanGeorgiou Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonStarring: #MatLaroche, #HannahEmanuel, #SarahNiles, #HelenaBanerjee #WillKenning and #ComfortFabian Short film review by: Brian Penn Read moreRobert Stack Finally Solves a Mystery in ‘The Strange and Deadly Occurrence’Loneliness and isolation are two of the greatest enemies we face in life. The notion…