During my time at the Iris Prize Festival, I was lucky enough to be able to see a few of the competition winners, which includes ÔÇÿBest British ShortÔÇÖ, and ÔÇÿBest International ShortÔÇÖ, to name a few.┬á Lily Set against the backdrop of IrelandÔÇÖs gloomy skies, and steeped in the uncertainty of teenage life, ÔÇÿLilyÔÇÖ is a brief, devastating look at the internal struggle, and, often, … Continue reading IRIS PRIZE SHORT FILM REVIEW: Lily
The power couple that gave us Forrest Gump reunites once more to rejoice our screens with a Christmas classic. ‘The Polar Express’ directed by Robert Zemeckis and voiced by Tom Hanks, among others, reimagines the 1985ÔÇÖs children book written by Chris Van Allsburg. The animators have attempted to preserve the look of the original illustrations of the book using state-of-the-art motion-capture technology, the result is … Continue reading Quenchmas Countdown: Day 1 – ‘The Polar Express’
The LGBTQ+ narrative in cinema is one that comes with a rather complicated history. From ÔÇÿBrokeback MountainÔÇÖ right up to this yearÔÇÖs most lauded romance, ÔÇÿCall Me by Your NameÔÇÖ, LGBTQ+ stories in film have repeatedly been dominated by drama, tragedy and, more often than one would like, death. How refreshing it is, then, as a huge fan of queer narratives, to come across Christopher … Continue reading IRIS PRIZE REVIEW: Prom King, 2010
Ever since the Autumn of 2016, and under the administration of Donald Trump, countless groups of people have been vilified, scrutinised, and scapegoated by the very government that is supposed to represent them. From the announcement of TrumpÔÇÖs decision to campaign to become the president of the United States onwards, much conversation in America has revolved around the rights of minorities, and much of it … Continue reading IRIS PRIZE REVIEW: Signature Move
┬áFerris Bueller told us that “Life moves pretty fast. If you donÔÇÖt stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.”, Timon and Pumbaa said that the philosophy of Hakuna Matata was the way forward for stress-free days and Forrest Gump’s mum always said “Life was like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get”. Quench’s contributors write about their … Continue reading Big Life Lessons from the Big Screen – Part II
Made in memory of a BASE jumper, this film introduces J.C, a jumper who pushes everything to the limit. Flying lower and faster after an accident we follow how he deals with the past and watch how he chooses to live his life; by filming everything. From the get-go, the film offers something slightly different than your regular adrenalin genre. With the majority of film … Continue reading Review: BASE
Childhood is a strange thing. When youÔÇÖre young, primary school feels like the centre of the universe, and no one on this earth could tell you that the friends youÔÇÖve made wonÔÇÖt always be there. Everything seemed so much simpler, right? Well, actually, maybe not. We might think weÔÇÖre stressed out now, with looming university assignments and deadlines creeping around the corner, but our primary … Continue reading Interview & Review with School Life Director,┬áNeasa N├¡ Chian├íin┬áand Co-Director/Producer,┬áDavid Rane
Heart-warming, emotionally captivating and equal parts darkness and light, Joe StephensonÔÇÖs feature debut film Chicken is, conversely to the title, not solely about farm animals. Originally a play by Freddie Machin, it follows Richard (Scott Chambers), an optimistic and sunny teenage boy living in a caravan with his volatile brother Polly (Morgan Watkins), dealing with both PollyÔÇÖs changeable moods and his own undiagnosed learning difficulties. … Continue reading Interview & Review with Chicken director Joe Stephenson
The HitmanÔÇÖs Bodyguard is the new action-comedy film by director Patrick Hughes, whose previous pictures can be counted on one hand by a person missing three fingers: Red Hill (me neither) and The Expendables 3 (yes, they really did make three). The film stars Ryan Reynolds as Michael Bryce, a disgraced security contractor who must escort his arch-nemesis, hitman Darius Kincaid, played by Samuel L. … Continue reading Review: The Hitman’s Bodyguard
We have seen a lot of Spider-Men on the big screen, and by now we all know how the story goes. We know Peter Parker well – he’s a science nerd, a somewhat awkward teenager with a burning crush on Mary Jane Watson and we know he’s a misfit by day and a web-wielding crime fighter by night. And we all remember Tobey Maguire (the … Continue reading Review: Spider-Man: Homecoming
Who couldnÔÇÖt love Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2? Especially that opening sequence, recapturing everything you loved about the first film ÔÇô fantastic music, action-packed space battles and stunning visuals! The next instalment sees Peter and the gang working as heroes for hire but when Rocket steals batteries, it evokes the wrath of the Sovereign. This causes the Guardians to crash onto a planet where … Continue reading Review: Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol.2
Whilst he is commonly known as a director and writer, I believe that King of X meets Y film-making, Edgar Wright, might as well be called a genre mixologist. His films never fit exactly into one category, blending together to create something that, for me at least, is pretty much always perfect. With a resume including the comedy-meets-zombie horror of Shaun of the Dead or … Continue reading Review: Baby Driver
When I first saw the trailer for Life I must admit I honestly thought it would be a thoroughly shit film ÔÇô an easy pay check for some of the veteran actors within this sci-fi horror such as Ryan Reynolds and Jake Gyllenhaal. The only reason I have even seen the film is because I was spontaneously invited by my house mates, under the false … Continue reading Review: Life (2017)
On the 9th December,┬áJet Trash came to Cardiff VUE cinema┬áfor a screening and exclusive Q+A with Casper Lee. We sent Joe Fletcher and Maddy Steele along to give us their two cents on this new indie film. Check the trailer out here. A play on ÔÇÿjet setÔÇÖ, Jet Trash is definitely not a desired outcome for a seemingly tranquil holiday destination. The screenplay follows the … Continue reading Review: Jet Trash
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them After the CGI shambles of ÔÇÿThe HobbitÔÇÖ, the endless swathe of Marvel and DC releases, and the largely likeable ÔÇÿStar WarsÔÇÖ sequel, the Harry Potter franchise made its lurch into the age of the reboot this week with ÔÇÿFantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemÔÇÖ. J.K. Rowling had so far focused only on a narrow sliver of the … Continue reading Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
In 2005, Werner Herzog released Grizzly Man, a film that explores the world of an environmentalist called Timothy Treadwell who lived with grizzly bears at Katmai National Park, Alaska. After living with the wild animals for thirteen years, Treadwell and his girlfriend, Amy Huguenard, were killed by the very thing Treadwell left human civilization for. Like most Herzog films, the film focuses on a singular … Continue reading BFI LFF Review: Lo and Behold with Herzog/Ayoade Q+A
On the Milky Road (Na Mlje─ìnom Putu)┬ádir. Emir Kusturica -┬áSerbia On the Milky Road (Na Mlje─ìnom Putu) is a metaphorical film about love and war directed by the internationally recognised, Serbian filmmaker and actor: Emir Kusturica. The film, with a folkloresque essence, tells the story of Kosta (also played by Kusturica), a war-touched, humble and poetic protagonist who works as a milkman in a remote … Continue reading BFI LFF Review: On the Milky Road
During the post-screening Q+A, director Paul Schrader stated that there were too many filmmakers that thought ‘inside the box’, and those that claimed to ‘think outside the box, are actually still in the box’. As such, he chose to have many first time filmmakers (what he calls the ‘post-rules generation’) work on Dog Eat Dog; however he probably needs to realise that basic coherency isn’t … Continue reading BFI LFF Review: Dog Eat Dog
The 60th annual BFI London Film Festival┬áwas an experience to remember. With over 245 films from 74 countries lasting for a duration of almost two weeks, the film festival really has something for everyone. I took the coach from Cardiff to London and stayed overnight in London at a quaint hotel that reminded me something of a Shakespearean set, just to be able to attend … Continue reading BFI LFF Reviews: Houston, We Have A Problem!, Zoology, Noonday Witch
Since appearing at film festivals at the beginning of the year and having been released to U.S theatres over the summer, itÔÇÖs been a long wait for Daniel RadcliffeÔÇÖs flatulent corpse to propel itself to British shores. If youÔÇÖve been following the production of the film at all youÔÇÖll have known about the farting. If not (spoilers!) thereÔÇÖs farting. Continuing his post-Harry Potter reinvention, Radcliffe … Continue reading Review: Swiss Army Man
