Saturday, April 20Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Tag: Cinema

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...
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Highbrow Horror: Our Current Golden Age of Scary Cinema
22Feb By Noah KeppenNo Comments
Culture & Literature, Film & TV

Highbrow Horror: Our Current Golden Age of Scary Cinema

Something strange is happening in the film industry today: horror, the longstanding recipient of film critics’ harshest vitriol, is experiencing its very own renaissance. The genre, which for decades has been derided as only a source of schlocky thrills and cheesy plotlines, is finally gaining positive attention thanks to a new wave of horror films garnering rave reviews. Films like The Babadook, The Witch, It Comes At Night, and Hereditary are challenging viewers’ suppositions of what a horror movie is, and how good it can be. These films eschew common horror tricks, like numerous jump scares or gratuitous gore, instead choosing to find horror in more thought-provoking places. It Comes At Night in particular foregoes the inclusion of a supernatural entity or crazed serial killer at all...
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Ahead of its time: ‘Back to the Future’ turns 30.
5Nov By George SomersNo Comments
Culture & Literature, Film & TV

Ahead of its time: ‘Back to the Future’ turns 30.

October 21st 2015. For any self-respecting cinema fan, this date has a notorious significance. Hurtling forward in time to save the Mcfly family pride, this is the day to which the big screen’s most famous DeLorean is catapulted into the future, amidst a world of hoverboards, flying cars and the eighteenth 'Jaws' sequel. Admittedly, the writers were a bit off. One of the defining films of the eighties – and single-handedly making the science fiction genre cool again – 'Back to the Future' pulled in a staggering $380 million at the box office, as well as cementing itself as one of the most successful movies of all time. With this year marking the close of its thirtieth year, former cast, crew and devoted fans alike are refusing to let this occasion go unnoticed. With special trilogy scre...
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Old Dogs, New Tricks: ‘The Intern’ Review.
5Nov By George SomersNo Comments
Culture & Literature, Film & TV

Old Dogs, New Tricks: ‘The Intern’ Review.

There are three types of mainstream Hollywood movie. Toss away these silly ideas of ‘genre’ or ‘style’, or this common misconception that there’s an unlimited variety of films, ranging from romantic comedy through to apocalyptic sci-fi – That’s simply wrong. There’s only a mere trio when it comes to the motion picture industry: the good, the bad and the ugly. Good can be judged by how much money it makes - observe Marvel Studios’ achievement in bagging over a billion bucks in a single blockbuster - or the quality of the script - if you didn’t cry when Simba’s father died, your heart is made of stone. Then there’s the bad, which is fairly self-explanatory: 'Battlefield Earth', 'The Last Airbender' and 'Sex Lives of the Potato Men' can call themselves proud honorary members of this elite ...
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28Jan By Eleanor WaltonNo Comments
Culture & Literature, Film & TV

Tales as old as time

Trends come and go in Hollywood from fashion to A-lister; everything comes in and out of style and the world audiences taste in films is no less fickle. An example? Twilight. It dawned the vampire era in tv and film in 2008 and the fallout from is still being felt with films like The Vampire Academy, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones and Warm Bodies all being greenlit following its success. But with the lacklustre response from audiences for similar franchises in comparison to Twilights’ success the tastes have changed. It may be easy for people to claim that now is the era of the superhero with another eleven films planned in the genre over the next five years. But in the shadow of trends rising and falling in recent years has been one far more consistent and it’s seen its fair s...
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28Jan By Michelangelo fanoNo Comments
Culture & Literature, Film & TV

Getting closer to the Academy

Lo and behold Royal Holloway! Award season is upon us, and here are the predictions for one of the most awaited events of the year: The Oscars. Indeed, the biggest cinematography event of the year is getting closer and closer and one is naturally led to wonder to whom the famous golden statue will go to. However, of course, it is too early to predict who might actually triumph on the night of the 22nd of February at the Dolby Theater. I'll try my best to point your way to the nominees, however. One film that most captured my attention was Wes Anderson’s “The Grand Budapest Hotel”. The film is about the adventures and misadventures of the last concierge Monsieur Gustave H. (fantastically interpreted by Ralph Fiennes) of the luxurious Hotel before the war, seen from the perspective of ...
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