In the vast history of comic book characters and their origins, The Phantom, also known as The Ghost Who Walks, is noted as being the first superhero to don a skintight costume. The character, which was created by Lee Falk and first appeared in newspaper strips in 1936, also lives in a cave, rides a…
“I know what you’re looking for… a Dream Team!” Warner Bros has revealed the first teaser trailer for the long-awaited sequel Space Jam 2, also known as Space Jam: A New Legacy, directed by Malcolm D. Lee (of Barbershop: The Next Cut, Girls Trip, Night School). The original Space Jam first opened in the summer…
Welcome to Saturday Morning Cartoons, our weekly column where we continue the animated boob tube ritual of yesteryear. Our lives may no longer be scheduled around small screen programming, but that doesn’t mean we should forget the necessary sanctuary of Saturday ‘toons. In this entry, we celebrate the Genndy Tartakovsky Clone Wars series just in time…
What on earth was Peter Jackson thinking when he made King Kong? And no, I’m not talking about the three-hour runtime, or that we spend a full hour of the movie waiting to see the big monkey. I’m talking about his decision to cast the lean, suave drip king Adrien Brody, a man after my…
Ever since its inception near the mid-2010s, Warner Bros.’ fittingly titled “MonsterVerse” has been one of the studio’s flagship franchises over the course of the past ten years. Their various reimaginings of the classic movie monsters of decades past have served as tremendous accomplishments in visual storytelling, bringing these characters to life in new ways…
In 2016, Sana Javeri Kadri found herself at a crossroads. After moving from her hometown of Mumbai to California, she wanted to learn more about the historical forces shaping her own identity and experience as a queer woman of color in the United States. A food photographer, Javeri Kadri turned to culinary history to better…
The bat swivels around to regard us, eyes wide and confused, wings folded protectively across its salt-and-pepper body. One of its wings is mangled—the result of getting entangled in fruit netting. “Bat wing membranes are like skin, it will heal and grow back,” says Jan Virgo, animal rights activist and founder of the non-profit Colac…
★★★★★ Directed by: #ChristosNikou Written by: #ChristosNikou, #AndrejŠtritof Starring: #ArisServetalis, #SofiaGeorgovassili, #AnnaKalaitzidou ,Film Review by: ,Isabelle Ryan After he awakes on a bus apparently unable to remember who or where he is, a man (Aris Servetalis) joins hundreds of other people who have suddenly and inexplicably been afflicted with amnesia. When no relatives appear to…
Continuing on from my coverage of documentaries from SXSW 2021, I wrote about a documentary that details the lives of a few European and North American women who live in a Syrian displacement camp after they left their countries to join ISIS and have now had their citizenships revoked, including former East London schoolgirl Shamima Begum,…
In my youth, there was a locally broadcast television show called “Creature Feature,” in which a monster movie would be air every weekend. This was how I first saw the 1963 “King Kong Vs. Godzilla,” which my childhood buddy John and I watched with giddy delight one afternoon. I still recall our post-viewing conversation, an…
This review occupies a somewhat awkward space: my colleague Nick Allen reviewed the original “Mapplethorpe,” a 2018 film released in 2019, and two years later, here’s a review of “Mapplethorpe: The Director’s Cut” by somebody else who liked it a lot more. “Robert Mapplethorpe’s black and white photography was provocative, raw, and unforgettable,” Nick wrote. “But Ondi…
A part of me still cannot believe this documentary was put together. Maybe it’s because we have seen so many films about characters and their loved ones dealing with an illness, so it’s hard to watch one that is completely real. Maybe it’s because most people would not want the world to see them at…
St. Elmo, once known as Forest City, was settled by miners in the 1870s to fill the need for labor in the local mines. Residents of the town were employed by the hundreds, as they extracted millions of dollars worth of gold and silver. The town grew to its heights after the Alpine Tunnel west…
My favorite movie has been the 1997 dark comedy, Grosse Pointe Blank, for three quarters of my life. I even wrote a lengthy piece on the movie for Film Inquiry last year that got recognition from John Cusack, himself. However, back in 2018, I had an idea for a podcast and because I didn’t trust…
Some thirty years after the Great London Exposition took place, Edinburgh hosted its own presentation. Between the months of May and October 1886, The Meadows was home to an exhibit showcasing Scottish advancements in Art, Science, and Industry. This trade fair attracted nearly three million visitors to the capital city. Over 100 years later, there…
On a gray March day, Tracey Jones sits in her shuttered pub, contemplating the last six months and the invisible barrier just outside the door. The pub Jones took over in October, The Bridge Inn, is named for the nearby crossing over the Ceiriog River, which, along this stretch, marks the border between England and…
Audiences might suspect “Roe v. Wade,” which sheds inconvenient truths about the abortion movement, is aimed at a pro-life demographic. You’d be wrong, according to the film’s driving force, Nick Loeb. Trotting out a long line of crooked, pro-choice characters would “alienate that audience,” Loeb says. “Most of them are not bad people … that’s…
During World War II, this platform was built on Lough Neagh, a large lake to the west of Belfast. It allowed for testing the depth and directional accuracy of Mk VIII torpedoes. The torpedoes were built at the nearby torpedo factory on Randlestown Road in Antrim. Along with the testing facilities, there were also dormitories…
In Emma Seligman’s delightfully anxiety-driven comedy “Shiva Baby,” the post-funeral service rites of a Jewish family and friends are interrupted by a chaotic series of one-upmanships and unexpected guests. Based on Seligman’s short of the same name, “Shiva Baby” follows Danielle (Rachel Sennott) on her way to meet her family for the somber occasion after an…
Every Breath You Take is a deep character study in the disconnected yet shared grief of a family as they navigate their lives following a devastating loss. Infused and compounded by mystery, intrigue, and thrills, the film challenges viewers not only on the experience of grief but the path taken to not only overcome but become…
A small protrusion resembling the surrounding burial tumuli protrudes from the ground in a quiet corner of Wolseong Fortress. However, this one in particular had a very different purpose. Seokbinggo literally means “stone ice storage.” It is effectively an icebox made of stone and was the secret behind Korea’s ability to have ice in the…
Located 25 minutes west of Tooele, Utah, is the site of a former booming mining town that was full of life and promise. A distant memory of the Old West, Mercur became one of Utah’s first mining districts in 1893. At one point, the town was home to well over 5,000 people. However, in 1902 a…
★★★★★ Directed by: Fabrizio Gammardella Written by: Fabrizio Gammardella Film Review by: Vikas Yadav Fabrizio Gammardella’s A Piglet’s Tale is nothing short of alchemy. Resembling something made from camp Studio Ghibli, this animated short is one of the best things I have seen this year and deserves to be seen by everyone no matter how…
The African American Film Critics Association (AAFCA), the world’s largest group of Black film critics, will hold its twelfth annual awards ceremony virtually on Wednesday, April 7th, sponsored by Nissan and Morgan Stanley. “Judas and the Black Messiah” was named the year’s Best Film, in addition to winning Best Supporting Actor for Daniel Kaluuya and Best…
A visit to any one of the United States’ national parks will offer a feast for the senses, from the scent of wildflowers along the Great Smoky Mountains to the sound of a bird call bouncing off the walls of the Grand Canyon. But beyond postcard-perfect views and fresh air, the bounty of the land…
“Nothing like a bloodbath to start the day.” Time for more already! Warner Bros has dropped in yet another trailer for James Gunn’s new The Suicide Squad movie, following up the original Suicide Squad from 2017. This is a “green band” trailer they made to initially show in theaters exclusively with Godzilla vs Kong, and…
In colonial America, a family might enjoy a Cheshire pork pie filled with pork tenderloin, apples, and spices. Another might enjoy a corncake, thanks to the maize long cultivated by Indigenous people. A wealthy family might indulge in a bird—but not just any bird, you see. A bird that had been plucked, cooked, and reassembled…
Welcome back to the newest, and at times goriest, column here at Film Inquiry – Horrific Inquiry. Twice a month, I will be tackling all things horror, each month bringing two films back into the spotlight to terrify and frighten once more. And occasionally looking at those that could have pushed the envelope further. Join…
It’s a tricky thing trying to pretend you’re a predator deep in the rainforest in northern Republic of the Congo. “It’s very humid, and sweat bees are all over you,” according to primatologist and conservation scientist Claudia Stephan. “Most of the time you see ahead for just a couple of meters due to dense vegetation,”…
It’s a comedy challenge. And not just any comedy challenge – it’s a roast! And not just any roast, it’s a roast of winners of the semi-coveted title of Miss Congeniality. How will these queens EVER come up with material that’s deeply cutting and hilarious in relation to these nice queens? A roast is not…
The horror genre has been surprisingly kind to Christians of late. The hacky 2020 shocker “We Summon the Darkness” proved an exception, trotting out stale anti-Christian tropes amidst its cinematic wreckage. Still, the “Conjuring” franchise alone shows horror filmmaking that leverages evil without punishing people of faith. “The Unholy” continues this tradition while embracing horror…
Grief, loss, and loneliness are far from new examinations within film. Yet, with a unique individuality within the emotion, there is never a shortage of perspectives a film can encompass. While not always on the mark, Every Breath You Take, from director Vaughn Stein, is the latest film to tackle these emotions, infusing a character…
Castel Meur, a small stone cottage in Plougrescant, France, was built in 1861 in a precarious position at the tip of the peninsula. At the time, construction was much less regulated and more riskily undertaken. To protect it from the frequently violent coastal weather, the house was positioned with its back to the sea and…
Erected in 1985 to commemorate the Soviet Army’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II, the Victory Memorial to Soviet Army is one of Riga’s most controversial monuments. The memorial complex dominates the park with its towering 249 foot (76 meters tall) obelisk. It is adorned with five golden stars that symbolize the five…
These pegasus sculptures first appeared in Warsaw in August of 2008. Originally, they were set to be a temporary exhibit designed to celebrate the works of the Polish writer Zbigniew Herbert, however, their popularity led to them becoming a permanent fixture of the city’s landscape. The installation was part of the Norwid-Herbert Mediterranean inspirations exhibition,…
Growing up is harder than expected in Paper Spiders, the latest from co-writer/director Inon Shampanier. Melanie has the usual teenage problems: getting through boring classes, deciding whether to take the not-so-great advice of her friends and navigating a budding romance. But on top of that, she’s also worried about her mother, who she has a close…