• Oscars 2019 Controversy: How Important is Hair and Makeup in Film?

    If the last few years have taught us anything, it is that the Oscar’s are nothing short of controversial. The 2013 awards saw Seth McFarlane tank with tasteless domestic violence jokes, and 2016 became the year of celebrity boycotting, a direct result of the predominantly white nominations list. So,...
  • Album Review: Arctic Monkeys – Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino

    Who the f*** are Arctic Monkeys? Only, the biggest name in British alternative music and after a five year hiatus they’re back and certainly making an impression. Twelve years on from their first album, the Sheffield quartet has released their sixth studio album Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino. And...
  • Oscar Diversity and The Inclusion Rider

    Last week I complained about how white the Oscars (and therefore Hollywood) are to this day. What I lightly brushed upon is just how male-dominant the film industry actually is. To start, Frances McDormand had surprised a lot of people on Sunday when she left the stage after collecting...
  • Film Review: The Shape of Water

    The Shape of water has created a huge buzz this award season, winning Best Film Music and Best Direction by Guillermo del Toro at the BAFTAs, and is up for the most nominations at the Oscars including Best Female Lead and Best Film. From the very beginning of this...
  • 90th Academy Awards – Predictions (Pt. II)

    With the 90th Academy Awards just around the corner, Oscar aficionados will be redrafting their carefully curated list of predictions. Although most categories may look near-locked, changes to the Academy’s voting body in recent years (in order to combat the #OscarsSoWhite controversy) combined with a preferential voting system, means...
  • Look Out For… February

    February may be the shortest month, but we’re certainly not short of great film releases. Denzel Washington and Daniel Day-Lewis give Oscar-nominated performances as a shy lawyer in Roman J. Israel, Esq. and an obsessive 1950s dressmaker in Phantom Thread, respectively. Of course, if awards-bait isn’t your thing, Helen...
  • Trailer Watch: The Shape of Water

    The first trailer released for Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water sets it up to be beautiful, heart-warming and poignant in equal measure; personally, I cannot wait. Set against the Cold War, Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is a mute janitor whose work at a secluded laboratory often leaves her...