Author: Harry Mear

‘Open the pod bay cinema doors, please, Hal’- 2001: A Space Odyssey Dust off your best jacket, grab some overpriced popcorn and settle down to watch a film the way it was meant to be experienced because the big screen is back! It’s been a long four months hasn’t it and if you’re anything like me there’s been a considerable void in your life since curtains closed for picture houses and theatres back in January. But cry no more for cinemas have reopened across the country on this glorious May 17th (if only it could’ve been the 4th for those fellow Star Wars fanatics out there). So what have we missed and what have we got to look forward to? Let me fill you in. We’ve had a lot of the main events which mostly had a virtual premiere including the BAFTA Awards, the Oscars, the Golden G...

The Oscar season has been and gone this year with little controversy (here’s looking at you Moonlight…) and we’ve seen some much-deserved recipients for Academy Awards, old and new.  Chloé Zhao’s Nomandland raked in Best Actress for Frances McDormand who shines in a stunning performance as Fern- an ageing and misplaced widower travelling across the American West during the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. The film also received Best Director and Best Picture, virtually the trifecta of Hollywood achievement, and it’s certainly a worthy winner of Oscar gold.            8/10 Rating Anthony Hopkins stars in The Father as a pensioner suffering from rapidly impairing dementia which creates delusions and confusion for both the characters and th...

At the end of 2019, cinema was reaching heights it had not previously seen in years with attendance numbers rising, box office income booming and a steady growth of cinema chains warding off hungry streaming service giants. Just over a year later, the film industry continues to grapple with coronavirus safety precautions and cinemas are on their knees with no end in sight to the void of successive lockdowns. Meanwhile, Netflix, Disney + and Amazon Prime have surged ahead of competitors like Odeon and Cineworld to new dizzying peaks of obsessive mass consumerism. One has to ask the question; can cinema adapt and survive in its darkest hour? If the recent recording of the Tom Cruise outburst on-set at Pinewood Studios whilst shooting the latest Mission Impossible flick is anything to go ...

Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone (Limited Release: December 2020) dir. Francis Ford CoppolaThe Beatles: Get Back (April 2021) dir. Peter JacksonLast Night in Soho (April 2021) dir. Edgar WrightThe Matrix 4 (December 2021) dir. Lana WachowskiNo Time to Die (April 2021) dir. Cary Joji FukunagaDune (October 2021) dir. Denis VilleneuveThe Mauritanian (February 2021) dir. Kevin MacdonaldThe Last Duel (October 2021) dir. Russell CroweTop Gun: Maverick (July 2021) dir. Joseph KosinskiWest Side Story (December 2021) dir. Steven Spielberg

Harry Mear When you think of carbon emissions and climate change, the behemoth industries like oil, coal and gas are usually the prime suspects first in mind being the largest contributors towards the 33 gigatonnes of emissions produced in 2019 alone. However, you might not consider the film industry to be a culprit of significantly contributing to the greenhouse gas effect and jeopardizing the future of our planet, think again.  According to a 2006 study carried out by the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA)*, relative to its economic activity in Los Angeles, film production makes a larger contribution to greenhouse gas emissions than the manufacturing, clothing or hotel industries. This is perhaps unsurprising when considering Los Angeles as the home to Hollywood, ...

Harry Mear With cinemas once again barred from audiences and the long nights drawing in, the retreat to lockdown and self-isolation has been difficult and even more challenging for those that suffer from mental health issues. To help you through the winter and in reflection of the theme of this issue, what better way to tackle the stigma surrounding mental illness by exploring its depiction in films which embrace afflictions in interesting and uplifting styles. Films such as Little Miss Sunshine, Silver Linings Playbook, Pixar’s Inside Out, A Beautiful Mind, Anger Management, Good Will Hunting and Groundhog Day address various mental health issues and are perfect for disappearing into the sofa with a deep-dish takeaway (it’s important to support the local businesses too). In these f...

Doubts surrounding the capability of organising the national film festival this year have been subdued by the efforts of the BFI (British Film Institute) as the annual London Film Festival (LFF) transferred from the big screen to a fresh online streaming service. Despite the flurry of cancelled film and cultural events across the globe in the midst of the pandemic including the Tribeca Film Festival, pop-culture titan Comic-Con and the glorious Cannes, the LFF led the way with a new platform for virtual festival-goers. The wealth of industry events available included revealing behind-the-scenes footage and talks with directors and producers that were very satisfying for anyone seeking the means to break into the business. I would recommend making the most of available talks and spotlig...

Can the film industry survive in the post-pandemic world? In the midst of a global crisis that has ravaged economies and industries worldwide, how can cinema prevail against suffocating lockdown measures and rivalling threats with little leg-room for social-distancing? Since the UK and most of the world effectively halted in March in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic, the repercussions and restrictions dealt to the public have had dire consequences for us as individuals but also for the industries and workers dependent upon an active society. The film industry and cinemas survive upon the millions of moviegoers who flocked to the pictures before lockdown barred the doors to a summer of blockbuster releases. But the survival of cinema in its current form where chain venues like Od...