Film & TV – Page 2 of 13

From Gilmore Girls to Ginny & Georgia: The Rise of the ‘Sexy’ Teen

31Jan

By Eva Townsend BiltonNo Comments

Film & TV

From Gilmore Girls to Ginny & Georgia: The Rise of the ‘Sexy’ Teen

It hasn’t escaped the notice of viewers that on-screen sex scenes are becoming more and more frequent. As we move ever further from the Hays Code-era censorship, chaste kisses and prudish cutaways have become a thing of the past, a relic of the twentieth century. But it’s in films and television shows centred around underage characters where this development in on-screen sex is considered a moral grey area. Imagine a real-life 16-year-old. Maybe you have a sibling or a cousin around that age. They’re children, right? It’s downright uncomfortable to think of them in a sexual context. Yet when these 16-year-olds are portrayed by gorgeous Hollywood twenty-somethings, a high-school setting is not enough to deter showrunners and audiences from viewing fictional children in a sexual light.&n...

31Jan

By Kianna BestNo Comments

Film & TV

The Sex Lives of College Girls

Warning: spoilers ahead From emotionally confusing affairs, career advancing sexual favours and the occasional cringeworthy delivery of a line, episode one of Mindy Kaling’s newest project sets us up for a series as messy and unfiltered as its title promises. With the awkward experiences of high school explored in her Netflix series Never Have I Ever, Kaling graduates to the gothic buildings and manicured lawns of fictional Essex College, showing that the awkward moments are far from over. Along with co-creator Justin Noble (writer and producer on Brooklyn Nine-Nine), Kaling draws upon her own experiences, as she has creatively done in the past, exploring the challenges of being caught in-between the past embarrassments of high school and the future of adulthood. As we follow Kimberley...

31Jan

By Beth McCowenNo Comments

Film & TV

LGBTV: Representation on television

People often seem to underestimate just how powerful it can be to see someone like you in a book, on a stage or screen, or anywhere else for that matter. For members of the LGBTQ+ community, especially young people, representation can be the difference between feeling alone and feeling seen and validated, especially if they are struggling to come to terms with their sexual orientation or gender identity. Here are just a few of the most influential LGBTQ+ characters who we count ourselves lucky to have witnessed the journeys of. Arizona Robbins, Grey’s Anatomy This angelic Pediatric Surgeon gave a heart-warming portrayal of a sapphic woman, in one famous scene proudly referring to herself as ‘lesbianic’. Her popular but turbulent relationship with her wife Cal...

The Harry Potter Reunion: Through the Eyes of a Fan

3Jan

By Beth McCowenNo Comments

Film & TV

The Harry Potter Reunion: Through the Eyes of a Fan

At the very start of 2022, people all over the world sat in anticipation, waiting excitedly to watch some of their favourite actors from the films that shaped their childhoods reunite. There have, however, been some controversial opinions on the nature of the reunion and the involvement of the books’ author, J.K. Rowling, after questions have been raised about her series of transphobic comments, as well as a distinct lack of diversity in her novels and their film adaptations. We sat down with two lovely members of Royal Holloway’s Harry Potter Society - Mayuree Kumkar and one who preferred to remain anonymous, to hear their thoughts on the matter. "I don't think any other movie has you feel like you grow up with them as you watch it." The members began by speaking about how it was a...

The Remake Rotation : Why Hollywood Hopped on the Remake, Reboot and Reimagination Roundabout

14Nov

By Kianna BestNo Comments

Film & TV

The Remake Rotation : Why Hollywood Hopped on the Remake, Reboot and Reimagination Roundabout

Getty Images/Neal Preston Does anyone ever crave that feeling of seeing a movie for the first time? Crave the moment when you first plonk down into the seat that will hold you captive for the next two hours, snacks in hand and drink secured next to you? Ever want to feel that undeniable anticipation of watching the plot unravel, twist, heighten right before your eyes? Well, with the current way that Hollywood is moving, those iconic first time experiences are becoming less exciting and more so like a groundhog day rotation. Somewhere between sweet nostalgia and a painful game of deja-vu, Hollywood’s recent remake culture offers each generation their own experiences with the same film. But where does it end? Wonka’s a recent example; My cousin’s version of Willy Wonka will be a brood...

14Nov

By Victoria BurdenNo Comments

Features, Film & TV, News

The 12 Days of Christmas Films

With Christmas well and truly underway here are twelve festive favourites to get you in the spirit! Day 1 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (2005) While not technically a Christmas film, Narnia’s eternal winter and an appearance from Santa himself gives enough reason to consider this film a great way to ease you into the festive season. With a mixture of action, adventure, fantasy, and a sprinkle of Christmas, there’s plenty for everyone to enjoy in this children’s classic. Day 2 How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) / The Grinch (2018) For the Scrooges among us, this one is ideal for you. If you’re not quite ready for the chaos of Christmas but equally don’t want to miss out on the fun, sit yourself down and give this a watch. You might just find the Gr...

14Nov

By Leah EdwardsNo Comments

Film & TV

The Artistic Mother: Maid – A Review

Based off Stephanie Land’s memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive, the new Netflix drama series Maid is a must see. Margaret Qualley (who you may recognise from Tarantino’s film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) stars as Alex, a twenty-six year old woman who leaves her emotionally abusive boyfriend Sean (played by Nick Robinson) to try and make a better life for her and her two year old daughter, Maddy (played by Rylea Nevaeh Whittet). The title soon becomes clear as the protagonist lands a job at Value Maids cleaning wealthy people’s homes on the picturesque Fisher Island. The unglamorous job is challenging; Alex battles both low wages and entitled clients while simultaneously battling the flaws of the American Welfare system. On top of all this she must also...

Only Murders In The Building: the secrets in the walls

16Oct

By Victoria BurdenNo Comments

Features, Film & TV

Only Murders In The Building: the secrets in the walls

When true crime podcasts become the comforting friend of loneliness… Only Murders In The Building, one of the newest editions to hit Disney Plus, follows the story of three lonely, eccentric misfits, Charles (Steve Martin), Oliver (Martin Short) and Mabel (Selena Gomez) in New York City, brought together by their mutual love of their favourite true crime podcast ‘All Is Not Ok in Oklahoma’. Living their seemingly mundane lives within the same apartment building known as the Arconia, the three find themselves wrapped up in a crime case of their own after the shocking death of fellow resident Tim Kono (Julian Cihi), and team-up in an attempt to solve the mystery. True Crime podcasts are at an all-time high, and Only Murders In The Building takes the concept of a True Crime Podcast as ...

Are cinemas going extinct? A Post-Covid Review

16Oct

By Jessica WoodNo Comments

Film & TV, Theatre & Performance

Are cinemas going extinct? A Post-Covid Review

Stale popcorn and half-working escalators, overpriced, too-watery coke and the blue raspberry (what even is that?) slushy that comes with a funny shaped, reusable plastic cup that will sit on your windowsill for months, never to be used again -- there’s nothing quite like the cinema. The first public performance of a film was in 1896, but with the pandemic forcing us to stay at home and the growing popularity of binge-watching culture, the cinema don’t have the same grasp on society as it once did. Growing up, I just about lived in the theatre, taking every chance I could to watch the latest movies; it was my safe space and I enjoyed the shared experience of watching with other people. The final battle scene, where every person in the theatre gasped in shock during Twilight Breaking Da...

Jennifer’s Body: the Final Girl Dismantled

16Oct

By Leah EdwardsNo Comments

Film & TV

Jennifer’s Body: the Final Girl Dismantled

Warning - this article contains spoilers. With it being Halloween, a lot of us will be spending the season in various ways. Whether it is going out to the SU dressed up in costume, or snuggling up under a blanket and watching a scary movie. Nowadays, we are spoiled for choice with what films we can watch, because horror films have many sub-genres. For example, a sub-genre in horror which always fascinated me was the ‘slasher film’. This was primarily because all the slasher films of the 70s, 80s, and 90s ended in the same manner. There was always a ‘Final Girl’ who overcame the killer and survived. Admittedly there were different variations of the Final Girl trope. One could easily point out a contrast between Jamie Lee Curtis’ virginal Laurie Strode in Halloween (1978), to...