Film – The Orbital

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

1Mar

By Daisy ClarksonNo Comments

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.&...

The Worst Person In The World: the Nordic highs and lows of human connection

24Jun

By Olivia TaylorNo Comments

Features, Film & TV

The Worst Person In The World: the Nordic highs and lows of human connection

Joachim Trier’s Oslo trilogy may not follow stories that are directly linked, but there is a connection between them that even Anders Danielsen Lie, who stars in each film, noticed ‘feels just like a continuation’. That continuation may be loss, love, or loneliness, three themes that follow the central characters through each story. But whilst they aren’t always resolved, they haunt audiences with a sense of realism, often hitting close to home. ‘The Worst Person in the World’ or ‘Verdens verste menneske’ is Trier’s final installment, and a cinematic masterpiece in its own right. It captures the fragility of life through the lens of Julie, a 20-something woman who gets stuck in the indecisiveness of her ambition, a cultivated indication of what it means to be young and conflicted. “I f...

9 of the Best Relationships in Television

24Jun

By Victoria BurdenNo Comments

Features, Film & TV

9 of the Best Relationships in Television

Romantic Relationships Phil and Claire Dunphy – Modern Family Across 11 seasons of iconic television, Phil and Claire continuously proved they have one of the best onscreen relationships. From Phil’s optimistic nature and cheerleader mentality to Claire’s determined and competitive streak, these two balance each other out to form the perfect married couple. Mel and Jack – Virgin River While the show keeps throwing obstacles at these two, they always find their way back to one another. Their pasts constantly make it difficult for them to focus on creating a future. Despite this, Jack’s uncanny ability to get himself in harm's way and Mel’s speciality in helping those in need make for a dynamic that leaves viewers wanting more. Friendships Otis and Eric – S...

24Jun

By Kianna BestNo Comments

Features, Film & TV

Streaming Services Saved My Life

The title might be a tad hyperbolic, but looking back on the months of being confined to the four walls of my home during the beginning of 2020, it makes sense. With the staggering halt to social interaction during the early days of the pandemic, film lovers lost out on the conventional cinema going experience. Transcending its responsibility as a source of our binge watching, streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ satiated our cravings. With concepts such as Netflix Party and other group watching services, virtual film watching experiences allowed us to adapt to our new circumstances while capturing the social cinema feeling that we all missed and loved. With fleeting trends that aimed to keep us occupied during the seemingly endless days of lockdown, Netflix remained tried and t...

13Nov

By Madelaine GrayNo Comments

News, Opinion

The Diana Dilemma

The public’s obsession with Diana is as exploitative as the paparazzi who killed her. The final shot of series four of Netflix’s The Crown shows Emma Corrin as Princess Diana, a slow zoom bringing her wide, tear-filled eyes into prominence. It’s a haunting image, unpleasant to watch. In many ways, the whole series is. And yet we just can’t stop ourselves. Dianamania is back with a vengeance. Diana: The Musical was just released on Netflix (to a critical battering of possibly unrivalled ferocity), Spencer has recently hit the big screen, Rowing Blazers are re-releasing ‘iconic’ Diana fashion moments. Maybe it’s the upcoming 25th anniversary of her passing – is 25 years long enough that any semblance of respect goes out the window? It would seem so. With each year that passes, the ...

10 films and TV shows that would be better if they were gay

24Mar

By Maria GreenNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Film & TV

10 films and TV shows that would be better if they were gay

Love Island It would just be better, right? High School Musical If Chad and Ryan's homoerotic performance of 'I Don't Dance' in HSM 2 didn't convince you something steamy was going on in the locker room after that baseball game, I don't know what will. Titanic ‘Jackie, I want you to draw me like one of your French girls’. To All The Boys I've Loved Before This could be a great bisexual one. Stick a few girls in. You'd have to change the title I guess, but it would be worth it. Gilmore Girls Some people preferred Dean, others preferred Jess, and Logan was there too, but there should be one thing that we can all agree on: Paris should have been gay. Whether or not Rory should have ended up with Paris is up for deb...

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...

18Dec

By Mollie CarlyleNo Comments

Features

In Conversation With: Charlie Higson

Hello Charlie. First of all, thank you very much for taking the time out of your busy schedule to speak to us. Christ! If I’d known there were so many questions I wouldn’t have agreed. Being a Norfolk girl myself, I was very happy to read that you went to the University of East Anglia, which became a very unlikely hotspot for up and coming comedians (with connections to Jim Moir, Harry Enfield, Paul Whitehouse, Dave Cummings etc.). What was university life like on the seventies Norwich scene? I started there in 1977 – which seems about a hundred years ago. So much has changed since then it’s hard to get across to people how different things were in the 70s. Norwich was quite isolated – although the university connected it to a wider world. There was a professional ENTS officer at...

15Mar

By Bethany GoodingNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Film & TV

Black Panther

The newest Marvel film, Black Panther has smashed box office records, heading towards $1 billion in global ticket sales. The huge turnout to cinemas to watch the newest superhero movie proves the industry wrong in their belief that films dominated by a black cast would not be popular. Across America, a trip to the cinema became a cultural event as African-Americans arrived in traditional African dress. The huge success of the film highlights how long it has taken a film like this to be made and how long it is taking for the entertainment industry to diversify. The music industry is becoming increasingly diverse as grime and rap artists rise in popularity. In 2016 the Brit Awards were criticised when not a single black person was nominated for any of the awards. This year, Stormzy’s succ...

Innovative Documenting: RHUL Student Wins Film Award

22Dec

By Michele TheilNo Comments

News

Innovative Documenting: RHUL Student Wins Film Award

A PHD student here at Royal Holloway has been awarded with the ‘Innovation Award’ at this year’s AHCR Research Film Awards. The winners were announced earlier this month, with Iris Zaki’s short documentary Shampoo Summit winning overall. Zaki directed, produced, wrote, edited and filmed the documentary by herself. The documentary was filmed in the Israeli city of Haifa, where Zaki is originally from. Zaki got a job in a hair salon in the city and subsequently placed a camera on the edge of a washbasin so that it would face a customer as their hair was being shampooed by Zaki. Judges said that this was an “innovative technique” to use in this type of filming. Zaki would talk to the clients about a myriad of topics, including but not limited to, Israeli history and politics, general li...