Review – Page 3 of 8

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 ...

Back to Live, Back to Reality: Bloodstock Review

16Oct

By Amber BrooksNo Comments

Features, Music

Back to Live, Back to Reality: Bloodstock Review

It took a long time to get to Bloodstock festival. There was a four hour train from Egham, but that was nothing compared to the two years I had been waiting for live music to return. The journey was long and arduous; there was so much at stake for the performance industry who had suffered greatly at the callous hands of the pandemic. Yet there was no greater joy than standing in a field in the Midlands for the UK's largest metal festival. Festivals were the glorious beginning of bringing live music back. The government introduced pilot events to test the spread of the virus, with festivals such as Latitude, Download Pilot (A downsized version of the Donnington giant) and Tramlines. Fortunately, there were only 28 positive cases of COVID-19 amongst the 58,000 people who attended these t...

Beautiful World, Where Are You? review: Rooney’s best book yet?

16Oct

By Eva Townsend BiltonNo Comments

Literature

Beautiful World, Where Are You? review: Rooney’s best book yet?

Whether you read a hundred books a year or struggle finishing just one, you’ve probably heard of Sally Rooney, or at least her second novel Normal People. In the four years since the release of her 2017 debut, Conversations with Friends, Rooney has made herself a household name, and her third novel is acutely aware of it. Beautiful World, Where Are You? follows university friends Alice and Eileen, both on the cusp of turning thirty and both navigating romances that form the basis of the novel’s plot. Famous author, Alice, has moved back to Ireland after the pressures of celebrity life in New York proved too much to handle. Despite their less-than-perfect Tinder date, she invites local warehouse worker, Felix, to join her on a work-trip to Rome. Eileen lives in Dublin, flitting betwe...

The Benefits of Working as a Full-time Student: Undergrad 2021 Edition

16Oct

By Jessica WoodNo Comments

Lifestyle

The Benefits of Working as a Full-time Student: Undergrad 2021 Edition

Working whilst studying has become increasingly popular over the years, with almost all of my student friends having a part time job alongside their full-time degree. In fact, research has shown that over half the student population work to subsidise their studies. I could begin by arguing semantics and my standpoint on the increase of tuition fees for our generation, or the unrealistic work experience requirements placed on new graduates, however, instead I want to shed light on my own experience as a working student and how it is possible to: ‘have it all’ (Girl’s Trip, Ryan Peirce). I’ve been working since I was sixteen -- through my GCSEs, A-levels, and the holidays in between- and only now that I am twenty-one do I feel like I have a right to speak on this topic. When ...

15Oct

By Luz Sanchez-Real ZielniewiczNo Comments

Science & Technology

Much Ado About Sleeping

The end of summer feels like the end of a dream. Lie-ins morph into morning lectures; you never seem to win the daily battle with your alarm clock; and all you really want is to finish that dream about the llama and the-- never mind... Sometimes, it seems that getting a good nights’ sleep (and then waking up again) is harder than getting your actual degree. You’re likely aware that there are different stages of sleep which affect how you’ll feel when you wake up. However, it’s difficult to get the timing just right. To paraphrase Shakespeare, ‘the course of true rest never did run smooth’. If we break it down, though, you might just figure out how to wake up feeling fresh as a daisy and ready for all of those 9AMs... The first step to a solid sleep is the non-REM (REM = Rapid ...

Hycean Worlds: A Possible New Frontier in the Search for Life Beyond Earth

15Oct

By Jessica CopelandNo Comments

Science & Technology

Hycean Worlds: A Possible New Frontier in the Search for Life Beyond Earth

The search for extraterrestrial life has conventionally been focused on Earth-like exoplanets -- terrestrial planets orbiting within the habitable zone of their host stars. This method is based on the premise that as life has risen in Earth’s conditions, somewhere with similar conditions could also give rise to life. As such, various exoplanet surveys over the years, including the Kepler and TESS satellites, have catalogued a few thousand Earth-like candidates for further investigation, finding that 1 in 5 Sun-like stars have an Earth-like planet in the habitable zone. However, the candidate pool may have just expanded. In August this year, researchers at Cambridge’s Institute of Astronomy proposed a new hypothetical class of habitable exoplanets and dubbed them Hycean worlds, a ...

19Mar

By Michele TheilNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

A Glass Slipper is No Match for MTS

As a self-proclaimed Musical Theatre geek, I was surprised that I hadn’t heard of Musical Theatre Society’s (MTS) spring term production, Soho Cinders. It is described as ‘Cinderella with a Twist’, adding in elements of contemporary London and bringing in an LGBT+ relationship as well. It is an interesting show, with catchy up-beat numbers that definitely stick in your head long after it’s over. The show starts slowly, with the ensemble filing in to the room subtly – people barely notice until cast members interact with and speak to audience members, catching their attention and keeping their focus for the first number. A narrator, played by Reuben Havelock, appears to introduce us to the characters as they sing Old Compton Street. Bryony O’Hare as the sassy best friend Velcro shines fro...

5Mar

By Emma CurrieNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

Wherefore Art Thou, Shakespeare Society

Shakespeare Society’s second term production of Romeo and Juliet was a pleasurable way to spend a Monday night. Set against the backdrop of the Irish Troubles, the play – conceptualised by Matt Bird and assistant directed by George Collins – brought to life Shakespeare’s famous love story. Niamh Smith and Sophie Barton played the eponymous couple, Smith acting with sensitivity and power throughout, notably in the tender reunion scene between the pair. The take on their love was deliberately sweet and chaste – not quite to my liking as it lacked some of the desperate irrational passion that drives them to their eventual deaths – however, they captured the youthful innocence of their love. Some of these tender moments sadly were swallowed up by the sound void that is the SU. Special ment...

25Nov

By Samantha DavisNo Comments

Culture & Literature, Theatre & Performance

You’d Be Wilde To Miss It

With a pre-existing collection of beautiful and comedic Wildian plays to choose from, I can’t deny I was surprised to hear that these options had been axed for the adaptation of the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray. However, upon leaving the performance I can without a doubt understand the decisions that compelled this magnificent choice. The Picture of Dorian Gray stands alone as Oscar Wilde’s only novel and tells the tale of the conflicting relationship between morality and pleasure which aids to the corruption of the the once beautiful soul of Dorian Gray. It is clear that the production team had this complicated motif in mind and executed it fantastically. Upon entering the hall, Basil Hallwood (Sean Simmons-Barry) is rotating between admiring his artwork and dabbing at the canvas w...