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…
As the world changes, and as society evolves, so must teaching, and so must teachers. But how, exactly, and where is there an example of a teacher that can best educate (and handle) youngsters as they’re growing up? This exceptional documentary brings us into the classroom of one extraordinary teacher who offers a near perfect…
In Natasha Kermani‘s film Lucky, which just arrived on Shudder, May (played by the amazing Brea Grant), a self-help writer, suddenly finds herself fighting for her life every night by a masked intruder. I was able to speak with the very talented cinematographer of this new horror-satire, Julia Swain, where she was able to really guide us…
“I don’t care about our legacy.” We’re still a few years away from seeing Matt Reeves’ The Batman (due out in 2022), in the meantime this short will definitely scratch your itch for extra Batman content. Batman: Dying is Easy is an impressive new fan-film made by the brothers Aaron and Sean Schoenke. The short…
Turbulent Skies is a Dutch television series that was released in 2020. The series is directed by Joram Lürsen, who is known for directing The Resistance Banker. Turbulent Skies is about Anthony Fokker and Albert Plesman. These were two aviation pioneers who played a major role in building civil aviation in the Netherlands. The series…
Warning: this film contains depictions of suicide, which are discussed in this review. Center Stage, director Stanley Kwan‘s unusual but undeniably brilliant depiction of the life of silent film star Ruan Lingyu, begins with a series of stills of the actress from her earliest films when she was only 16. Many of these films are…
The Santuario de Jesús Nazareno de Atotonilco (Sanctuary of Jesus of Nazareth in Atotonilco) is a baroque temple of the 18th century located just outside San Miguel Allende in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. Its construction was led by Father Luis Felipe Neri de Alfaro, who was inspired by the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. Read moreA…
There are actually nine Troys. Each one is built on the ruins of the last. Homer’s Troy, which the poet wrote about in The Iliad and The Odyssey, is likely Troy VI, trapped under the ruins of other cities. Watching Absent Now the Dead, an avant-garde travelogue from Hamilton Sterling, now streaming via Laemmle Cinemas,…
Originating from Harajuku, Japan’s kawaii subculture has found its way beyond Tokyo, influencing the rest of the world in its sugary wake. Even so, the notoriously dodgy district of Takenotsuka may be the last place in Tokyo one would expect such as culture to materialize, let alone thrive. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho…
★★★★ Directed by: Martin Venier Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonWritten by: Martin Venier Starring: Zarah Kofler Read moreRobert Stack Finally Solves a Mystery in ‘The Strange and Deadly Occurrence’Film Review by: Jason Knight A young woman (Kofler) is stuck in a life she yearns to be free from. This short, fast…
When Minnesota’s first state hospitals in St. Peter and Rochester became woefully overcrowded, it was clear that another facility was needed to meet the needs of the state’s growing population. Fergus Falls State Hospital opened in 1890, and it’s expansive campus was quickly filled. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonThe building…
It’s maddening to think “Cherry” gives us two-plus hours to spend with its main character, but we’re still not sure what makes him tick. Directors Anthony and Joe Russo bring buckets of style to their biggest post-“Avengers” project. The results are mixed, to say the least, but we’re given all the proof needed that Tom…
This unusual sculpture composed of bronze was constructed to commemorate the 100th birthday of Paul Keres. Keres, a local legend in the Estonian city of Narva, was one of the top chess players in the world, a career that spanned from the mid-1930s to the 1960s. In 1950, Keres was awarded the title of International…
When Salam Bunyan and his wife, Aseel, opened their Mediterranean restaurant, Tarbush Kitchen, in Boise’s Central Bench neighborhood in late 2019, the Iraqi couple already had a loyal customer base. That’s because the Bunyans, who arrived in Idaho as refugees 11 years earlier, had been in the food business before: First in 2014, as purveyors…
Teenage years are tough. Every generation has its own take on what it means to be a teenager and while many films are usually filled with dreamy, rockin’ nostalgia of that rite of passage where you transition from kid to what you think is an adult, oftentimes it can just be a near-nightmare you’ve yet…
This museum is only advertised on a small billboard one a highway that leads to a much more famous tourist destination in Da Lat, Lang Biang Mountain. Read moreA Guide to The Perfect Bong Joon-ho MarathonDown a dirt road and past the Institute of Scientific Research, one will eventually come across a small building where…
In honor of Women’s History Month, I am happy to present the dynamic female writers for Women Writers Week 2021. We have been featuring their articles and reviews all week, and wanted to acquaint you with each of them in this annotated table of contents. Here are our featured writers in alphabetical order, accompanied by links to…
Yoshiwara was an infamous red-light district of Edo (today’s Tokyo) that flourished between the 17th and 19th-centuries, extending for around 16 acres during its heyday. A place of extreme extravagance and decadence, the samurai of the Edo period frequented this area seeking romance that was, to quote a contemporaneous expression, “fleeting as a bubble.” Read moreA…
Musher Tabetha Kopta could hear the cheers and shouts as she neared the finish line. After a weekend of races, she and her team of sled dogs were about to place third overall in the New York State Dryland Challenge—for the dogs, however, it was all about the thrill of the run. Pawn and Lilian,…
This longest-ever Oscar season has been blessed with an abundance of female newcomers in front of the camera. In fact, I have seen comments saying that the actresses who are likely to compete for a spot on the ballot have outshined many of the actors who are deemed to be in contention. Read moreA Guide to…
I’m an advocate of great cinematic art, but particularly cinema created by women. Women have a sense of storytelling that is unpretentious and unwavering with a sensitivity that sometimes lacks from our male counterparts. Alice Guy-Blaché is a name I’m sure was mentioned during my studies at Howard University, but somehow it escaped me. Guy-Blaché,…