Thursday, March 28Royal Holloway's offical student publication, est. 1986

Tag: Film Review

<strong><em>Will you go on the record? </em>How ‘She Said’ reminds us of the sad realities of Hollywood. </strong>
Culture

Will you go on the record? How ‘She Said’ reminds us of the sad realities of Hollywood. 

Released five years after the original article from The New York Times was published, ‘She Said’ tells the story of the two journalists who uncovered the Harvey Weinstein sexual assault scandal. Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey are played by Zoe Kazan and Carey Mulligan respectively, yet the film also includes actresses who were victims of Weinstein including Gwyneth Paltrow and Ashley Judd, who play/voice themselves.  The film itself is subtle, yet the statement it makes is bold. By criticising the very industry that it has been created in, the film sets out to confront the industry professionals who will be watching this film – many of whom will have worked with Weinstein, maybe even defended him. ‘She Said’ does not glamorise Hollywood or the media industry – it does the opposite.&...
War on Everyone Review
Culture & Literature, Film & TV

War on Everyone Review

John Michael McDonagh moves to the United States for his third feature film, following the very Irish ‘The Guard’ and ‘Calvary’. Such a transition often brings an implication of a larger emphasis on action and spectacle, and while that could certainly be said for ‘War on Everyone’, the film doesn’t lose any of McDonagh’s cynical wit or ethically dubious characters. Alexander Skarsgård and Michael Peña star as detectives Terry and Bob who, quite simply, don’t play by the rules. That might sound rather banal, but the two characters will seemingly do almost anything in order to make their job easier, while making it fun in their own belligerent and carefree way. They carry on with their indulgences hassle free until they cross paths with a new local crime boss played by Theo James. Th...
The Revenant
Culture & Literature, Film & TV

The Revenant

Leonardo DiCaprio goes all out in The Revenant giving his most physical and raw performance of his career, which is highly likely to win him Oscar gold, something he’s been hunting for a while now. The Revenant, tells the story of real life frontiersman, Hugh glass who must survive the harsh wilderness of the American West to get revenge on those who wronged him. DiCaprio’s performance as Hugh Glass is largely characterized by his physical commitment to the role which he displays many times in the film such as through sleeping in a dead horse’s carcass, eating a raw bison liver, acting in well below freezing temperatures and getting mauled by a bear. However, DiCaprio never over acts in these moments, but keeps his performance subtle and as much as I always see DiCaprio as the good looking...
Beasts of No Nation
Culture & Literature, Film & TV

Beasts of No Nation

Rise of streaming service have become a concern for cinema chains in recent years as smarter cinema goers realise they can wait for certain films and TV series to become available on streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime rather than giving the film a chance in the cinema, unless it’s a film that warrants to be seen on a big screen like a summer blockbuster. Cinemas have become worried that people will become lazier and less driven to see films in the cinema, if they have the option to watch films at home instead and to an extent they are right. (more…)
The DUFF- An interview with Bella Thorne
Culture & Literature, Film & TV

The DUFF- An interview with Bella Thorne

On first hearing the premise for The DUFF (which stands for Designated Ugly Fat Friend), you might be skeptical. After all, who wants to watch a film that, on first impression, boxes people up into stereotypical categories and judges their value based on their appearance? However, you must be careful not to be guilty of the same with this film. We follow Bianca, the so-called DUFF, as she discovers that she is the “friendly approachable one” guys talk to in order to date her “hot” best friends. Outraged by this, Bianca sets out to reverse-DUFF herself, with the help of the school’s most popular jock Wesley. This film is laugh-out-loud funny, with the banter between Bianca and Wesley both cheeky and heart-warming. Mae Whitman (Bianca) brings so many little idiosyncrasies to her characte...
White God Review
Culture & Literature, Film & TV

White God Review

Man’s best friend? What’s that 02? Be more dog should we? Kornél Mundruczó might beg to differ on that one if his new film, White God (‘Feher isten’), is anything to go by. In an internet-age saturated and suffocating with viral videos of nearly all things cute and cuddly under the sun squeaking and squawking, White God is quite the oxygen mask strap-on. Telecommunication marketing strategies aren’t likely to be changed though, as White God is unlikely to make it beyond the art house circuit, despite attracting critical approbation. Bearing an opening dedication to Hungary’s famed politico-auteur, Miklós Jancsó, Mundruczó’s seventh film is a political allegory with bite, a bizarre, quixotic tale of canine uprising that his countryman would have been proud to have his pawmark on. Swappin...
Culture & Literature, Film & TV

Wild at the BFI London Film Festival

Gather round film-lovers, for it’s that time of year again - yes, the BFI London Film Festival is back! It saddens me to say that I did not get the chance to see this year’s prime starlets, (Mr Turner, Foxcatcher and The Imitation Game spring to mind) but all is not lost. 'Wild' has crept below many people’s radars, even my own. I can blame the marketing campaign as much as I like but I should have known better. This is director Jean-Marc Vallée’s second film of 2014, and the first, 'Dallas Buyers Club', was outstanding, landing two Oscars. Is 'Wild' another Academy contender? Based on Cheryl Strayed’s similarly titled memoir, 'Wild' focuses on her hike along the Pacific Crest Trail in the mid-nineties. Years of reckless behaviour as a drug and sex addict, kickstarted by the untimely de...