James Davies

Film

Featured Film Articles

Explore a selection of my work discussing cinema below

ThatJamesDavies •

12 Days of Filmmas Day 9

Documentary is something I have great interest in, having studies its history and progresses in a number of stages of my education, I am in awe of documentary’s ability to consistently push filmmaking boundaries. Be it from the Lumière Brothers’ actualities to the development of narrative by Vertov and Flaherty. British documentary which pushed for political and social change (Housing Problems (1935)) and developments in the ‘Direct Cinema’ movement
ThatJamesDavies •

12 Days of Filmmas Day 7

When one thinks of a cinematic hitman, a character with killer instincts, Keanu Reeves’ John Wick, Matt Damon’s Jason Bourne, Rupert Friend’s Agent 47 or Scarlett Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff probably spring to mind. Saul Goodman and Father March are not characters you might consider however, in Ilya Naishuller’s Nobody (2021) Bob Odenkirk’s Hutch Mansell, an ex-professional killer is living an average suburban American life.
ThatJamesDavies •

12 Days of Filmmas Day 6

Over the last two years, we as a nation and inter-nation have experienced things which nobody could have even imagined a number of years ago. Naturally, these experiences have affected us all in a variety of ways and if there is one film which adequately expresses these ebbing and flowing emotions it’s Bo Burnham: Inside (2021).

At this point in time, those who may not have watched Inside will certainly have heard of it, from the buzz it created online following its release to the soundbites an
ThatJamesDavies •

12 Days of Filmmas Day 5

The Mitchells vs The Machines (2021) dir Michael Rianda & Jeff Rowe

Back in 2018, home for the holidays after my first term at university, it was time for a father and son day out and naturally the cinema was the obvious choice. After a short drive and a quick stop at the concession stand, we sat down in our seats ready to watch our film. What were we watching that day you might be asking? It was a film that I hadn’t heard much about, it was something digestible and not to heavy, something perf
ThatJamesDavies •

12 Days of Filmmas Day 2

In the realm of Iranian cinema, Abbas Kiarostami is a powerhouse. As well as having an amazing name, Kiarostami produces incredible cinematic experiences, many of which tackle the difficulties of Iranian life, and this is certainly true of Ten (2002). Ten follows a female driver (Mania Akbari) as she has 10 conversations with passengers as she travels around Tehran.

In February Iranian cinema ruled my film viewings, from Marzieh Makhmalbaf’s The Day I Became a Woman (2000) to Vincent Paronnaud
ThatJamesDavies •

Norwich Film Festival 2021 | Personal Favourites

Once a year, during a cold autumnal week, a pilgrimage is taken. Through darkness, rain, wind and unreliable train services, intrepid cinephiles venture East to the flatlands of Norfolk for the Norwich Film Festival.

During the festival, attendees are treated to a variety of viewing experiences, with films spanning a multiplicity of genres, styles and countries and this year’s festival is no exception! With so much on offer however, it can be difficult to traverse such an array of amazing films
ThatJamesDavies •

7 Spooky Films For This Halloween

Halloween. A Holiday which despite its clear commercial presence in the UK, it does not have quite the cultural significance that it does in other nations such as the US. Thus, despite our best efforts, the occasion seems to fall a little short, forcing many of us it feign interest and excitement in the name of social appearances. Despite this however, Halloween is not off the cards this year, even if you’re avoiding that upcoming office party where a set of vampire teeth, stored in a top pocket
ThatJamesDavies •

Mass (2021) dir. Fran Kranz

In London attending this year’s London Film Festival and having been in the capital for two days already, tired from travelling, I began to feel a little under the weather. As such, the prospect of joining a queue for a screening of some huge name (the likes of The French Dispatch (2021) for example) at silly o’clock in the morning didn’t excite me. Instead I opted to stay in my hotel room, something which I had seen described in one of many reviews as ‘like staying in a Louboutin shoe box’, in
Film East •

Streaming pandemic

Just under the tune blaring from speakers, a slight tapping could be heard throughout the room. Any other time, I might find this an interruption to the screening but there, at that moment, after being separated for so long and being unable to experience the cinema, there was a beauty to that slight knocking on the auditorium floor. A group of people who had never met before, from a variety of backgrounds and with vastly different life stories had been brought together at that moment by cinema.
ThatJamesDavies •

NFF2020: Top Films from Week 1!

We are coming to the end of the opening week for this years Norwich Film Festival, but fear not, there are still three weeks to go and whether you’ve already started watching or are yet to dive in, 132 short films can certainly seem overwhelming so as the week comes to a close, here is a guide to some of my top films so far!

End-O is about endometriosis and you’ll come to here that word rather a lot, while seemingly not the liveliest of subjects, this piece is anything but dull. Directed by Sex
ThatJamesDavies •

Norwich Film Festival 2020: Quite an Introduction

It is nearly one week until the start the Norwich Film Festival, a festival which this year I have the pleasure of working with and trust me, you need to put it in your calender because you don’t want to miss this one. But how is it different to any other film festival?! I hear you scream, well here I am to tell you why it is you should be attending this year’s festival.

The Norwich Film Festival is one of the fastest growing festivals in the UK and this year will commence remotely on November
ThatJamesDavies •

Festen: Cinematic Discomfort

In 1995 a group of Danish filmmakers came together to discuss the nature of cinema, they came to the conclusion that they did not agree with the dishonesty and focus on technology within the film industry, consequently they to wrote a list of rules in which filmmakers were encouraged to promote realism with ‘on location’ filming and the use of only diegetic sound. These influential filmmakers; Lars Von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg, Søren Kragh-Jacobsen and Kristian Levring coined the campaign the ‘D
ThatJamesDavies •

Portrait of a Lady on Fire

A beautifully unconventional exploration and portrayal of love in the 18th-century.

Back in February Céline Sciamma unleashed her Portrait of a Lady on Fire on the UK, due to the changing global situation and the general lack of commercial cinema near me (I’m not complaining, I’d just like to be able to go and see more than one film at a time. Plus, support your local picture houses, they need it, especially at the moment!) I wasn’t able to view this masterpiece until April when it was released
ThatJamesDavies •

10 Films to Lift you through Lockdown

Lockdown. Lights down. Volume up. Feet up.

By week four of lockdown I’m sure many of us have exhausted what we planned on watching, may that be film or tv. However, fear not! I have compiled a list of films avaiable on to watch or rent on streaming services for your enjoyment. These films are not your Zootopia‘s or Gladiator‘s (although both very good choices) instead they’re films which you and your lockeddown peers may have overlooked.

For the sake of this list I have placed our choices into

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