Tag: Film

Female Characters, Film Reviews, Uncategorized, World Cinema

Retrospective Review: Mulan: Legendary Warrior

One of the tentpole releases of 2020 is going to be Disney’s live action remake of it’s popular 1998 Animated musical feature “Mulan”, one of the highlights of the Disney Renaissance of the 1990s. Of course COVID-19 has seriously disrupted the schedule, and I’m not going to discuss the merits of it (at the time of writing) being shifted to on online release via the Disney + platform. What I do want to bring your attention to is to the 2009 Chinese live-action version of the story bought to the screen by Hong Kong director Jingle Ma Cho Sing, starring Zhao Wei (aka Vicki Zhao), and along the way tell you a little something about the origins of the character herself. Continue reading Retrospective Review: Mulan: Legendary Warrior

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Film Reviews

ITOL Top 15 Films of 2020 (So Far), Numbers 10-6

Good news everyone, there’s only 177 days left of 2020! Did you check out our picks for numbers 15-11? Well, if not then you can find them here. We’re not going to lie, picking our top 15 films of the year (so far) has been tough especially seeing how release dates of certain films have been delayed and how we’ve been trapped inside for months. However, we’re pleased that the ITOL team have come together to create our top 15 films from the last 6 months. Please let us know which films make your top 15 list and what films are you looking forward to catching later this year! Continue reading ITOL Top 15 Films of 2020 (So Far), Numbers 10-6

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Indie Film, Interviews, Mental Health

Exclusive Interview with Jared Douglas, Christian Gnecco Quintero, and Stefanie Rons Regarding “The Sound of the Wind”

By Bianca Garner With May being Mental Health Awareness Month, it seems like the apporitate time for people to seek out Jared Douglas‘ film, “The Sound of the Wind”. This is a well-crafted, and emotional charged film, which tells the story of  Lucio, a young man whose paranoia has him torn between the pain of abandoning his daughter and the safety of his own life. … Continue reading Exclusive Interview with Jared Douglas, Christian Gnecco Quintero, and Stefanie Rons Regarding “The Sound of the Wind”

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Female Characters, Retrospect Reviews, Reviews, Women in Film

Retrospective Review: Sudden Fear

Year: 1952 Runtime: 110 Minutes Director: David Miller Writers: Lenore J. Coffee & Robert Smith Stars: Joan Crawford, Jack Palance, Gloria Grahame By Bianca Garner The Film Noir genre isn’t always the immediate place to go for great female representation. Women in Noir are often presented as the stuffy secretarial type who works silently in the background for the private eye, or the concerned stay-at-home … Continue reading Retrospective Review: Sudden Fear

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Film Reviews, Reviews

Review: Dreamkatcher

Luke (Henry Thomas), a widower and his new girlfriend, Gail (who happens to be a child psychologist), retreat to a–pause for groans–cabin in the woods! They’re accompanied by his traumatized son, Josh. A cabin which, by the way, was the final resting place of his late wife, Becky (Jules Willcox)–whose murder he has hidden from both Gail and Josh. As far as they’re concerned, she had drowned in the lake; the film, however, opens up with her being brutally axed to death. What could possibly go wrong? 

Despite her profession, Gail (Radha Mitchell) is surprised to learn that Josh, a child, has a mind of his own! He loiters out and steals a talisman from the resident kook of a neighbour, Ruth (the always-fantastic Lin Shaye). The scariest thing about this preposterous film is, perhaps, that brilliant women like Radha Mitchell and horror legend Lin Shaye serve as its executive producers.  Continue reading Review: Dreamkatcher

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Film Reviews, Reviews

Review: True History of the Kelly Gang

“True History of the Kelly Gang” is the latest adaptation of the story of Ned Kelly, an Australian outlaw. Directed by Justin Kurzel, this movie is stacked with talented actors; George MacKay, Russell Crowe, Charlie Hunnam, Thomasin McKenzie, Nicholas Hoult, and Essie Davis. It follows Ned Kelly from a young age and his journey to the man he would become.

I’m in the minority when I admit having no idea who’s Ned Kelly. This film is divided into three parts; Boy, Man, and Monitor. It begins with adult Ned Kelly writing his story (right after a caption stating everything we’re about to witness isn’t true). For someone like myself who isn’t familiar with Kelly, this caption, followed by the scene, left me a bit confused. Continue reading Review: True History of the Kelly Gang

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Film Industry, Personal Essays, Women in Film

Editorial: It Is Exhausting Trying to Find Myself in Cinema, And That’s a Problem

Do you remember the first time you saw yourself in a movie or television show?  Do you remember the feelings that go with it?  The shock of seeing your reflection.  The little guilt that comes with your weaknesses or faults.  The elation you feel seeing yourself.  And also the relief that there is at least one person in the world who sees you, authentically and unabashedly.

I find it difficult to have those moments.  The first film that ever struck me that way was 2010’s “Easy A.”  Emma Stone stars as precocious, intelligent, ego-centric teenager Olive, who thinks she can outsmart life and feelings.  I loved that film so much.  I still feel a bit of a high every time I see it.   Continue reading Editorial: It Is Exhausting Trying to Find Myself in Cinema, And That’s a Problem

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Animated, Female Characters

Animation April: Gertie the Dinosaur

The first animated film star wasn’t a mouse or a rabbit. It may have seemed like “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” (1988) was one of the first times animation and live-action interacted but Roger and his other inked on acetate pals all owe a debt to Gertie the Dinosaur.

Yes, Gertie was a decidedly female animated star, even though she sprang from the imagination of a particularly gifted male artist named Winsor McCay. McCay was largely self-taught though he did do a brief stint as a student at Eastern Michigan University. Ambitious and rebellious of his family’s hopes of him entering the world of business, McCay headed to Chicago to try to support himself in his own way. Continue reading Animation April: Gertie the Dinosaur

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Acting, Female Characters, Interviews, Women in Film

Exclusive Interview With Hermione Corfield, Actress From “Sea Fever”

One of the best thrillers we’ve seen this year has been “Sea Fever”, which took us by surprise in terms of how timely the film’s subject matter is and a superb performance by the film’s leading actress Hermione Corfield. You may recognise the name, Corfield has been popping up in all sorts of films from the likes of “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” (2015) to “Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi” (2017). She is an actor who knows her stuff, studying English literature at UCL and a method acting course at Lee Strasberg in New York. Continue reading Exclusive Interview With Hermione Corfield, Actress From “Sea Fever”

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Directors, Female Filmmaker, Indie Film, Interviews, Women in Film

Exclusive Interview With Neasa Hardiman, Director of “Sea Fever”

“Sea Fever” is a fantastic psychological thriller which will be live streaming on Thursday, April 9th, 5:00pmPT/8:00pmET. Viewers can tune in to watch the official film premiere together, post their comments in a chatroom, and have their questions answered by the cast and crew via a moderated Q&A following the credits.  The event will kick-off the film’s on-demand and Digital release on April 10th. You can check out our review of the film here.

Bianca Garner spoke to the film’s director Neasa Hardiman about how timely the film is, what films inspired her and how they managed to shoot those incredible underwater scenes! Continue reading Exclusive Interview With Neasa Hardiman, Director of “Sea Fever”

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