I conducted a straw poll of my friends, all of whom have a love for cinema, as to whether the Oscars influenced their film choices, and it was almost an equal split with positive and negative responses. Some gave little credence to the awards, believing that the nominated films are likely to be over hyped or simply preferring to seek out films for themselves, whereas others viewed the Oscars as a reliable guide for high quality films.
Read MoreIn light of the pandemic bringing a halt to any and all travel plans my girlfriend and I had, we decided we’d plug in and take a trip around the world through the wonder of the small screen so, without further ado, join us on a whistle stop tour as we take flight from LAX and head eastward bound to sample some of the sights the rest of the world has to offer. Our first stop?
Read MoreJennifer James is definitely one to watch. After moving to England for university, she has directed, produced and starred in several short films with her directorial debut (not including the short she did at university) completing post-production in January this year. She’s honest and open about her struggles with mental health and eating disorders and how that has impacted her new film, Physique.
Read MoreNot only a form of escapism, these shows give us a window into the past, a window into the stories either us, our parents or our grandparents, remember.
Read MoreOf course, I’m not saying that an actor changing their appearance for a role is bad, there’s nothing wrong with people wearing wigs, different clothes, make-up, accessories, etc… My issue lies somewhere between there and pretending to be an entirely different sub-group by means of physical transformation.
Read MoreAnime as a genre has enjoyed an increase in popularity over the last decade, with a constantly diversifying audience demographic. Its popularity has especially picked up traction in the latter half of the decade, as establish streaming sites such as Netflix and Crunchyroll continue to host and even produce original anime’s for global audiences.
Read MoreAs much as The Crown’s earlier episodes may have worked to quench my thirst for theatrical, melodramatic depictions of history, I’d like to suggest that it might be time to use its £100 million budget elsewhere.
Read MoreReleased on Netflix on the 5th of February, Malcolm and Marie is about an African-American film director and his girlfriend who’ve just returned from a screening of his latest film
Read MoreWith many film festivals moving online during the pandemic, it was no surprise that BFI Flare did the same and I’m so glad they did.
Read MoreAs an adult, Disney have remade so many timeless classics, that have almost expanded the real worlds they wanted to make at the time, and they wished upon a star for greater technical innovations. Now we have: grander palaces and circuses, even more magical costumes and additional stories that were not originally explored in depth
Read MoreWomen’s age in Hollywood is a messy knot of glorifying youth and infantilising young women to vilify and hide middle-aged or older women. By putting female actors in relationships with older men, Hollywood influences society’s expectations of how women age and act.
Read MoreIt is important that we all recognise the limitations of art as a space of protest. If we are informed, enlightened, and educated, but do not go on to act, then our protest exists in aesthetic alone. It becomes performative. The virtue signalling of black squares that flooded Instagram in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the lack of meaningful progress since has taught us, yet again, that ‘protest’ without action will always be performative.
Read MoreWe all need a good cry from time to time, don’t we? I often find watching a sad movie lets out emotions I didn’t know I was holding back. A study by Oxford University found that sad films actually boost endorphins in the brain and and increase our pain tolerance.
Read MoreThe Cotswold International Film Festival is the newest film festival from Kayleigh-Paige Rees and George Perry which began on New Year’s Eve – starting 2021 with a bang! It offers the chance for independent filmmakers around the world to showcase their work and earn recognition across several short film genres.
Read MoreThe new six-part BBC documentary stretches just over six hours long and employs Curtis’ signature style constituted of bold and abstract headings on colourful backgrounds alongside archive footage backed by a retrofuturistic soundtrack, provided mostly by Burial, Aphex Twin and Nine Inch Nails.
Read MoreInstead of living out my very own rom-com without the rom, I rewatched my favourites and wondered how much better they would be if they were a little bit more diverse. Okay… diverse at all.
Read MoreIt's easy to think that maybe there haven't been any good female directors. Perhaps, women just aren't as good as men. But actually, female directors have been making films since the very early days of cinema. To celebrate their achievements this women's history month, here are five of my favourite films directed by women, with movies for every mood!
Read MoreJamie Robson is an award-winning European actor whose films have premiered at the likes of TIFF and BFI whilst garnering nominations at festivals including Raindance and Sundance. Not only an actor, Jamie has writing and producing credits under his belt and is seen as one of the pioneers of the British Weird Wave, a new genre of film that many believe is a reaction to Brexit.
Read MoreIn real interviews with Ted Bundy, and indeed with Charles Sobhraj, the sense of self-mythologising is sickening. These men see themselves as fascinating, enigmatic characters. True crime dramas run the risk of presenting them as such.
Read MoreOur inescapable yearning for a future that we cannot quite have is being reflected more and more in our treatment of older actors still working today. There is an increasing desire to see trends, performances and genres that have lost prominence within Hollywood, reflected in popular films emerging on streaming sites nowadays.
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