Alternatives To Mainstream Streaming Platforms

MUBI By Louise Marmie Faced with the scandal caused by the Netflix release of the film 365 days, accused of glorifying rape, human trafficking and Stockholm syndrome, the SVOD giant simply replied that “Netflix is an on-demand company, and viewers may choose what to watch”. In other words, it would seem that love of cinema is not what guides the editorial line of giants like Netflix, … Continue reading Alternatives To Mainstream Streaming Platforms

Our Netflix Original Guilty Pleasures

Selling Sunset By Rhianna Hurren-Myers Selling Sunset went completely under the radar for me when it first aired in 2019, but as lockdown hit, the show was exactly the right level of easy reality-TV watching that we all needed. With three eight-part seasons (so far), the show follows the personal and professional lives of seven realtors at The Oppenheim Group, a prestigious brokerage specialising in … Continue reading Our Netflix Original Guilty Pleasures

DARKÔÇôNetflixÔÇÖs Greatest Mind Bending Sci-Fi Thriller

By Maya Deane DarkÔÇÖs final season was released around a month ago, and I can safely say that it qualifies as one of the most complex Netflix Original series that I have ever seen. Dubbed by some as the ÔÇÿStranger Things for AdultsÔÇÖ, Dark takes your expectations for a show about time travel and throws them out the window, taking an almost sick pleasure in … Continue reading DARKÔÇôNetflixÔÇÖs Greatest Mind Bending Sci-Fi Thriller

Behind The Lens: HORROR

By Phoebe Bowers Categorised often to be corny, clich├®d or formulaic, the horror genre has been overlooked in terms of its sustainability and versatility. Horror over the years has spawned itself into several sub-genres from gothic, to silent, to slasher, to supernatural, to ÔÇÿfound-footage.ÔÇÖ It has birthed some of the most iconic film scenes to-date. We┬á donÔÇÖt even need to name the film where the … Continue reading Behind The Lens: HORROR

Netflix’s Love Affair With K-Drama

Words By Catarina Vicente Photo Illustration by Sangsuk Sylvia Kang It was during  the 2000s that K-pop created such a big reaction from Western audiences that the market for Korean exports boomed. Soon, there was a growing buzz surrounding everything Korean-related, dubbed the ÔÇÿHallyu WaveÔÇÖ, which included  skincare, music, foodÔǪ and K-Dramas.  Western audiences fell in love with K-Dramas, and with growing accessibility to┬áentertainment media … Continue reading Netflix’s Love Affair With K-Drama

Review: I May Destroy You – A Nuanced Exploration of Sexual Assault, Race, and Friendship

By Elly Savva *TW // R*pe & assault: This piece talks openly about details that may be triggering for survivors* In I May Destroy You, Michaela Coel plays Arabella, a young writer from East London navigating life alongside her best friends Terry (Weruche Opia) and Kwame (Paapa Essiedu). In the pilot, Arabella pulls an all-nighter in an attempt to finish a draft for her agents … Continue reading Review: I May Destroy You – A Nuanced Exploration of Sexual Assault, Race, and Friendship

Cinema Is Back…Almost

By Nicole Rees-Williams Artwork by Mike Simon on Unsplash Cinemas in England were supposed to open on the 4th of July after months of darkened screens and empty seats, but many have decided otherwise.  There were plenty of big blockbusters to look forward to this year, such as the next Bond franchise instalment No Time To Die, Christopher NolanÔÇÖs Tenet, and Wonder Woman 1984 to … Continue reading Cinema Is Back…Almost

Creating A Lockdown Cinema Experience

Words by Sarah BelgerArtwork by Sarah Belger With lockdown restrictions easing and life starting to return to normality, , the return of cinema is for the moment at least on hold, following the postponement of reopening plans by major chains across the UK earlier this month. Luckily for you, the big screen need wait no longer, as we at Quench have   a range of ideas … Continue reading Creating A Lockdown Cinema Experience

Hamilton: An Eye Opener For Racial Prejudice

By Georgia Glenn Hamilton is a musical depicting the life and death of Alexander Hamilton: one of the founding fathers of the United States of America. Following his birth to his legacy after death, we are given insight into an immigrant who helped birth America. The first act highlights HamiltonÔÇÖs naivety and his expressed emotions. We meet Eliza, his wife, along with Angelica, his perhaps … Continue reading Hamilton: An Eye Opener For Racial Prejudice

Films Made by BAME Directors

Words by Ona Ojo, Ella Rowe Hall, Thomas Benny, Finegas Stocking and Megan Evans (in order of appearance) Illustration by Shafia Motaleb @artsyfifi Sorry to Bother You (2018) dir. Boots Riley RileyÔÇÖs directorial debut is an absurdist dark comedy set in an alternate modern-day Oakland. Despite an unpromising start in a telemarketing office, young, black and anxious Cassius ÔÇÿCashÔÇÖ Green quickly rises through the company … Continue reading Films Made by BAME Directors

Struggles of a Female Creator in the Film Industry

Words by Sofia Brizio Anna Alfieri is a young Italian actress and filmmaker who spent the entirety of her career in London. Every creative in the world will tell you itÔÇÖs tough to make it in the real world, even more so in London. But itÔÇÖs not often that you hear their stories of victory or defeat, whatever they might be. The typical mediatised story … Continue reading Struggles of a Female Creator in the Film Industry

Queerantine: Here’s to Queer Cinema!

Here at Quench Film & TV, one of our favourite topics to discuss is The Importance of Queer Cinema, because we all get bored of watching the same heteronormative narratives on our screens. Now that we’re stuck indoors, why not celebrate some of our favourite Queer films and shows? Quarantine? More like Quarantine! Portrait of a Lady on Fire By Phoebe Bowers If you want … Continue reading Queerantine: Here’s to Queer Cinema!

Normal People and Turmoils of Heartbreak

By Megan Evans The TV adaption of Sally Rooney’s bestselling novel Normal People has enfolded so much turmoil and heartbreak in front of us during this coronavirus outbreak. It is a complicated love story set in Northern Ireland, between two school students who have mutual fascinations and a friendship bond like no other despite their differing personality traits. A synopsis of the storyline is fairly … Continue reading Normal People and Turmoils of Heartbreak

Review: Never Have I Ever

By Pui Kuan Cheah Netflix has been on a roll lately, delivering plenty of content to audiences stuck indoors. Enter teen rom-com Never Have I Ever, from the minds of Lang Fisher and Mindy Kaling. Loosely based on KalingÔÇÖs childhood, this series is full of laughs but will also tug at your heartstrings. Never Have I Ever follows feisty Indian-American teenager Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) … Continue reading Review: Never Have I Ever

Unorthodox: The Journey of Self-Discovery

By Anna Heledd As someone who ravishes in learning about cultures so distant from my own, I was very eager to watch NetflixÔÇÖs Unorthodox upon its release. Adapted from a Deborah FeldmanÔÇÖs 2012 memoir, ÔÇÿUnorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic RootsÔÇÖ, the show follows the devastating yet empowering tale of 19 year old Esty Shapiro (Shira Haas); a Hasidic Jewish woman on the journey … Continue reading Unorthodox: The Journey of Self-Discovery

An Interview With a Dancer from Sex Education Season 2

By Lindsay Smith Last time Laura Dazon spoke to us about the ways you can secure a golden ticket through the back door and become an extra! This time, we speak to 20 year old Kiera Robinson, a dancer at Rubicon Dance theatre, on her experiences of performing in the NetflixÔÇÖs Sex Education chaotic Romeo & Juliet play in the season finale of season 2. … Continue reading An Interview With a Dancer from Sex Education Season 2

What’s on Streaming: May

Here’s a small list of our favourite shows that you can stream this month! Enjoy. Hollywood By Alisha Keane You are stuck inside, lacking hope, and feeling as though the world outside is scary and dark. Correct? Hollywood on Netflix is the show for you. Set in post-WW2 1940s Golden Age Hollywood, Ryan MurphyÔÇÖs second original series for Netflix (first was The Politician) re-tells the … Continue reading What’s on Streaming: May

Love is Blind as a Microcosm for the Pitfalls of Millennial Dating

By Holly McElroy NetflixÔÇÖs new dating show Love is Blind presents itself as a social experiment, where single women and men date in booths where they cannot see each other, before deciding whether or not they want to get engaged. If they do decide to get married, so begins a whirlwind of a group honeymoon in Mexico, moving into apartments and meeting the family until … Continue reading Love is Blind as a Microcosm for the Pitfalls of Millennial Dating

Deep Dive: The Evolution of the Teen Drama Genre

By Ella Rowe-Hall Teen dramas. The occasionally cringe-inducing yet always loveable, dramatic slices of the lives we often wished we ourselves could have led during our own teenage years. Though it feels like they have been dominating Netflix since the dawn of time, the genre only truly took form during the early 1990ÔÇÖs. Whilst many teen drama fanatics could never overlook the staple that is … Continue reading Deep Dive: The Evolution of the Teen Drama Genre

The return of Killing Eve

The Return of Killing Eve – Season Three

By Kat Smith Killing Eve is officially back, but is it better than ever? At the end of season two, we left Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh) and Villanelle (Jodie Comer) – or Oksana if you will – on a sharp cliff-hanger. Villanelle had supposedly killed Eve after we finally thought they would be together after what had already been a flirtatious whirlwind of twisting dynamics; … Continue reading The Return of Killing Eve – Season Three