By Sara Abidi An Italian director and screenwriter, the late Bernardo Bertolucci is credited with several works that achieved remarkable critical acclaim. His work in The Last Emperor earned him the Academy Award for Best Director and the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. Eventually, he was presented with the inaugural Honorary Palme d’Or Award at the opening ceremony of the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. … Continue reading Human Dignity: The Cost of Art?
By Abi Dudbridge The notorious battle of the ratings takes place on our screens every Saturday night, as competitors such as ITV and BBC fight for audiences in the most prestigious slot in the TV weekly schedule. Saturday evening is a comfortable spot for the well-established, well-loved programmes, such as The X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing. However, the way in which we enjoy television … Continue reading Is the Saturday night slot still relevant?
By Caleb Carter ÔÇ£Suzy, do you know anything about witches?ÔÇØ Luca GuadagninoÔÇÖs Suspiria ÔÇ£homageÔÇØ is around the corner and looks suitably skin-crawling, but it has a lot to live up to: its influential forefather is a masterpiece of sensory assault. Dario Argento released Suspiria in 1977, a Giallo horror with the logic of a fever-dream. Giallo refers to a specific brand of mystery-horror from the … Continue reading Suspiria: A Retrospective
Nine years on from the legendary filmmaker’s untimely passing, two Quench contributors consider whether his classic works, which focused largely on the trials and tribulations of adolescence, are still relevant for teenage audiences today: ÔÇ£You know, as long as IÔÇÖve known him, everything works for him: school, parents, futureÔÇØ – Ferris BuellerÔÇÖs Day Off From The Breakfast Club to Sixteen Candles, HughesÔÇÖ classic teenage ´¼ülms … Continue reading John Hughes and his teenage masterpieces: relevant beyond the Eighties?
Following the release of Bryan Singer’s Bohemian Rhapsody this week, eight Quench contributors put forward their favourite biopics: Harry Dixon on Amadeus (1984) 193 years after his death, the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was presented on film. The precocious creative genius of his youth spurred on by his domineering father; the toil of his financial difficulties; the lewd, crude folly; the high-societies of the … Continue reading Our Favourite Biopics
By Meg Sharma The many successful years of shows like Love Island, Take Me Out, and Ex on the Beach have proved one thing – the British public are obsessed with watching and commenting on other peopleÔÇÖs love lives. Whether we all just love a gossip or are just a bit nosy, itÔÇÖs hard to avoid these shows and the inevitable ÔÇÿOMG did you SEE … Continue reading The Bi Life: A Long Time Coming
For a long time, TV and film fanatics have been suckers for psychopathic serial-killing antiheroes. We bow down before John Wick, obsess over Dexter and hail the impossibly brutal and deliciously violent escapades of Vin DieselÔÇÖs Riddick. Well, move over men, because youÔÇÖve met your match. Meet Oxana Vorontsova (alias Villanelle). The sexiest, coolest, and most stylish killer to grace our screens in years. Rather … Continue reading Review: Killing Eve
With Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut proving a smash hit in theatres across the globe, four┬áQuench┬ácontributors share their thoughts on┬áA Star is Born: Whilst remakes have become a recent growing trend in the film industry, few have garnered as much fervent attention as Bradley CooperÔÇÖs directorial debut: A Star is Born ÔÇô which is somewhat surprising, considering that CooperÔÇÖs adaptation is the fourth edition of the … Continue reading Reviews: A Star is Born
Say My Name is not just your regular, cookie-cutter romantic comedy. The independent production has been selected as one of the Welsh Film finalists in the 2018 Cardiff International Film Festival, and its script is written by none other than the host of The Guilty Feminist podcast, Deborah Frances-White. As a long-time listener of The Guilty Feminist, I was excited to experience Frances-White’s work across … Continue reading Review: Say My Name @ Cardiff International Film Festival 2018
What do you do when you have the world at your feet – after giving one of the richest performances in recent years, as the centre of a story of first heartbreak at just twenty-one? Where do you go, having achieved what many actors only dream of in perfectly capturing the agonies of a lovesick teenager, and having spent the year as the talk of … Continue reading Review: Beautiful Boy @ BFI LFF 2018
Alfonso Cuar├│n is a rarity. A director with barely a blemish on his filmography ÔÇô which now spans more than two decades. Having first leapt onto the scene seventeen years ago with the exceptional Y Tu Mam├í Tambi├®n, which also helped to launch the careers of Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna, Cuar├│n now returns to his homeland with Roma – an immersive, poetic study … Continue reading Review: Roma @ BFI LFF 2018
Netflix is one of the most successful online streaming services out there, providing films and TV shows on demand for millions of people across the world. Although, initially, it exclusively operated as an online and postal DVD rental service, Netflix has since gone on to become one of the worldÔÇÖs largest original content producers in the form of its ÔÇÿNetflix OriginalsÔÇÖ. These are films of … Continue reading The Unstoppable Rise of Netflix Originals
In honour of the 25th anniversary of the original Jurassic Park,┬á two Quench contributors reveal what the legendary franchise means to them.┬á There are two kinds of people. Those who grow out of their dinosaur stage, and those who donÔÇÖt. IÔÇÖm one of the latter. And itÔÇÖs Jurassic ParkÔÇÖ fault. My earliest memory of the franchise was the release of Jurassic Park III in 2001, … Continue reading 25 Years of Jurassic Park: A Celebration
By┬áAnastasia Kropotina Among the many action movies, cookie cutter romantic comedies and questionable horror flicks, one name is capable of giving hope even to the most discouraged moviegoers ÔÇô A24. Founded only in 2012 by David Fenkel, John Hodges and Daniel Katz, A24 is responsible for delivering one critically acclaimed hit after another, of which 24 were academy award nominees. Vibrant and stirring Florida Project, … Continue reading Indie Films: Engaging, Authentic and Liberating
Secret agents and spies have come in many forms in recent years, from the animated Sterling Archer to the amnesiac Jason Bourne. However, few have failed to capture the imagination of the public in the same way as James Bond. Bond first appeared in Ian FlemingÔÇÖs Casino Royale in 1953 and no less than nine years later, in 1962, Bond appeared in his cinematic debut … Continue reading James Bond and where it is headed next – is it time for change?
The 1902 movie, A Trip to the Moon by Georges M├®li├¿s is commonly acknowledged as one of the grounding productions in the development of the narrative of film; its image of the capsule landing in the MoonÔÇÖs eye remains as one of the most iconic in the history of cinema. The fact that one of the most influential movies was also a science fiction film … Continue reading The Future of Sci-Fi Cinema
Fresh Meat by Isabel Cosford University can be a dauntingly awkward experience, whether youÔÇÖre a hot-shot singleton, a career-ridden bookworm, or troublemaker with a serious attitude – which is why the U.K. hit series Fresh Meat is a must-watch for all students either continuing their studies or for those who are about to indulge in the shameless and shabby world of higher education. Fresh Meat … Continue reading Films and TV Shows that get the university experience just right
At this current time, we have a huge wealth of comedic talent coming through and performing in Britain. This talent is predominantly demonstrated through TV shows. In recent years, we have seen wonderful shows such as Fleabag, This Country and Lovesick charm our screens, to name a few. Many of these shows are not only featuring outstanding British talent but also have been written by … Continue reading Review: Stath Lets Flats
ÔÇ£I sold my soul to reality TVÔÇÖ is the chilling line left in the Twitter biography of the late Sophie Gradon, one of the stars of the second series of Love Island. Gradon committed suicide in her family home aged thirty-two, days after discussing the bullying and pressures regarding her looks and other personal features she faced as a consequence of being on Love Island. … Continue reading The Problem with Love Island
Kiana Stevens on Moonrise Kingdom In Moonrise Kingdom, the Oscar-winning director Wes Anderson uses his unmistakably recognisable heartfelt and quirky style to capture the beautiful backdrop of Rhode Island. It is the amalgamation of these two that manage to capture a quaint and comfortingly nostalgic summer romance. Set in 1965 in the coastal town of New Penzance in New England, eccentric and unpopular teenagers Sam … Continue reading Five Films That Get Summer Romance Right
