Film & TV – Page 3 of 14

Are cinemas going extinct? A Post-Covid Review

16Oct

By Jessica WoodNo Comments

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...

Say his name: how Candyman’s sharp social commentary exposes the horrors of reality

16Oct

By Kianna BestNo Comments

Features, Film & TV

Say his name: how Candyman’s sharp social commentary exposes the horrors of reality

Nowhere near as sweet as he sounds, the urban legend of Candyman is rooted in the bitter realities of racism at the hands of white supremacy, birthing a monster and personifying the terrors of oppression. Arguably ahead of its time, the origins of the frightful hook handed menace stem from the realities of a history not so long ago, placing the slasher film and systemic racism alongside each other to induce the greatest levels of fear. The son of slaves and a product of the sinister consequences of the Jim Crow era, Bernard Rose’s Candyman (1992) places on the big screen the constantly perpetuated message that the Black man must be feared. Told from the perspective of graduate student Helen Lyle, the motivations of the Cabrini-Green bogeyman are touched upon but fall back to the ...

17May

By Harry MearNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Film & TV

There’s No Place Like The Cinema

‘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...

I Watched All the Academy Award Winning Films So You Don’t Have To- Here’s the Verdict

17May

By Harry MearNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Film & TV

I Watched All the Academy Award Winning Films So You Don’t Have To- Here’s the Verdict

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...

17May

By Bridget OSullivanNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Film & TV, Opinion

There’s Something About Diana

Diana Spencer, or Princess Diana, has had a stronghold over our screens for decades. She’s been depicted in film and television by a flood of actresses, including Naomi Watts, Toni Collette (a romcom that got shelved after Diana’s death. Don’t worry though, you can still buy it on DVD in Germany according to The Independent) and, most recently, Emma Corrin. At this point, more actresses have played Diana than perhaps any other member of the Royal Family, bar the Queen. I cannot help but think that this says something about the Royals: their deflectors, their outsiders, are more interesting than they themselves are. The public curiosity about Harry and Meghan testifies to this. It’s easy to see why: the institution that is the Royal Family is a dynastic business, which celebrates exclusivi...

28Feb

By Harry MearNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Film & TV

Downsizing the Big Screen

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 ...

18Dec

By Harry MearNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Film & TV

10 Films to look forward to in 2021

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

18Dec

By Harry MearNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Film & TV

Sustainability in the Film Industry

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, ...

As lockdown returns with a second season no-one asked for, here’s how film can help with your mental wellbeing over this lonesome winter.

23Nov

By Harry MearNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Film & TV

As lockdown returns with a second season no-one asked for, here’s how film can help with your mental wellbeing over this lonesome winter.

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...