Film Essays and Analysis
How Midsommar and The Wicker Man Hold Much of the Same Wisdom - How in trying to avoid taking pointers from 'The Wicker Man', Ari Aster made the closest thing to it, 'Midsommar', and how both films use the same wisdom to terrify all of us. Article by Louis B Scheuer.
Requiem for an American Dream - Requiem for an American Dream - how Darren Aronofsky's 'Requiem for a Dream' (2000) is about more than just drugs, it's about commodification, capitalism and modernity. Article by Kristina Murkett.
Loincloths, Muscles, Sorcery and the Rock of Uranus: A Journey Into the Realm of the Italian Peplum (c.1958-1965) - A journey into Italian Peplum, the cinema of mythical gods, muscle-bound heroes, sorcery and loincloths, as presented by Paul A J Lewis.
Harry Potter and the Uncredited Creator of That Chess Scene - The story of Jeremy Silman, the International Master of Chess uncredited with work on 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' and that iconic chess scene. Article by Kieran Judge.
‘Burning’ and Elusive Truth - How Chang-Dong Lee purposefully obscures the truth in his 2018 mystery 'Burning' to provide one of the most engaging examples of the genre in decades. Article by Jack Cameron.
Hollywood Spectacles – Nerds, Perverts and the Morally Deviant - Bespectacled film characters have long been presented with a number of damaging traits, the least of which is "being a nerd". Ciaran Duncan explores this problematic representation in this feature essay.
Nolan’s Films Are Complex, but Are They Deep? - Famed film director Christopher Nolan has long been a filmmaker who pursues interesting concepts, but are movie releases such as 'Tenet' and 'Inception' actually deep? Louis B Scheuer explores.
Christopher Nolan’s Cinematic Chores: Understanding ‘Tenet’ - Nolan frequently assigns his audience chores, engineering his films in such a way that requires them to participate in each narrative actively. 'Tenet' is no exception. Leoni Horton explores.
Feeling Blue, Facebook? The Colour Symbolism of The Social Network - How David Fincher's Mark Zuckerberg Facebook movie uses colour to evoke meaning and further story. Essay by Kristina Murkett.
Blockbuster Filmmaking and Transmedia Storytelling at the Great Pit of Carkoon - How the Great Pit of Carkoon in 'Star Wars - Return of the Jedi' is an example of commodified transmedia storytelling and blockbuster filmmaking. Essay by Jacob Davis.
CGI Vs Animatronics - In 2020, the debate surrounding the use of CGI versus the use of Animatronics is more divisive than ever. o which is better? Louis B Scheuer explores.
The Little Game of Dogville, and a Philosopher Who Sucks at His Job - Lars von Trier's Bertolt Brecht-inspired film about absent of most elements of set paints a picture of a broken capitalistic system. Cole Clark analyses how in this piece on the movie starring Nicole Kidman and Paul Bettany.
Why Is It So Hard to Make a Good Shark Film? - They did it. We had one. A good shark movie. So why has it been so difficult for anyone else to come close to matching 'Jaws' in the 45 years since its release? Martha Lane breaks it down.
For Only A Fistful Of Dollars – How A Low Budget Western Reinvented the Hollywood Hero - The Sergio Leone directed Spaghetti Western 'A Fistful of Dollars' left an indelible mark on the film industry in a lot of ways, but how it reshaped the male hero may be its biggest. Article by Stephen Vega.
When Love Transcends Time (Travel) - "Time travel [...] can miraculously give characters their happily ever after, snatch it cruelly away, or both." Time travel and love in cinema - an essay by Sam Sewell-Peterson.
The Trickling Influence of ‘Inception’ - How Christopher Nolan hit 'Inception' "mark[ed] the turning of the tide – planting the idea of the more intelligent blockbuster". Article by Aaron Bayne.
Rachel McAdams: The Time-Traveller’s Wife - "I have a question for you Rachel McAdams: where is your agency? And, why do you have such a thing for time-travellers?" - Annice White on Rachel McAdams: the time traveller's wife.
How Music Reframes the Violence in You Were Never Really Here - How the music composed by Jonny Greenwood for 'You Were Never Really Here' borrows from Aphex Twin to create a dialogue between character and narrative. Essay by Cole Clark.
How Every Element in the Final Sequence from ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ Works To Create A Wonderfully Disturbing Finale - How Anthony Minghella's 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' borrows from Hitchcock and Film Noir to create a phenomenal and tense final sequence. Analysis by Sophie Cook.
Real-Time: Examining How the Safdie Brothers Experiment with Naturalistic Cinema - Are Josh and Benny Safdie, The Safdie Brothers, the quiet revolutionaries of contemporary cinema? Leoni Horton examines their exploration of naturalistic filmmaking thus far, looking at the likes of 'Uncut Gems' and 'Good Time'.
Superhero Bust: The Future of the Superhero Genre - Have we seen the pinnacle of the superhero movie mountain? Gillian MacLeod looks at the facts, analysing the genre in conjunction with a prominent film theory in this special superhero movie essay.
An American Werewolf In London – Unfinished Game-Changing Fun - Roger Ebert once described horror-comedy 'An American Werewolf in London' (1981), from director John Landis, as "unfinished". Sarah Williams looks at how this unfinished movie changed the game by making horror fun.
‘Green Street’ and Toxic Masculinity - Toxic masculinity and violence in 'Green Street' (2005) starring Elijah Wood and Charlie Hunnam. How critique of the film seems to have missed the point, as written by George Forster. 
Breaking Principles: Passive Characters in ‘Vivarium’ (2020) - How 'Vivarium' (2020) succeeds in frustrating some and enlightening others through its choice of presenting actively-passive characters against all usual writing principles. Essay by Kieran Judge. 
Examining Controversial Depictions of Jesus Christ in Cinema - As one of history's most influential figures, depictions of Jesus Christ have caused controversy and discord since the days of the early church, and the same goes for cinema. In this piece Katie Doyle examines cinema's most provocative interpretations of the Easter Story.
Are Musicals Cinema’s Next Big Trend? - With the future of the film industry uncertain, people are turning to the ultimate form of escapism: the movie musical. Could the often suppressed genre be cinema's next big trend? Charlie Gardiner explores.
Windows Into Bong Joon-ho’s ‘Parasite’ - Bong Joon-ho's Best Picture Oscar winning feature 'Parasite' (2019/2020) makes spectacular use of windows to establish and reinforce themes. Sam Sewell-Peterson explores in this 'Parasite' essay.
Plot Reveals vs Plot Twists – When They Work and When They Don’t - When plot twists work and when they don't. Kieran Judge explores one of cinema's most controversial, discussion stirring narrative elements, ruminating on some of the form's best and most famous examples.
The Identity Crisis of Hong Kong Cinema - How the films of the likes of John Woo and Wong Kar-wai have illustrated the identity crisis and cultural anxieties of Hong Kong during the state's rich history of cinema.
100 Years of ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’ – Is It Still Significant? - Famed German Expressionism horror-thriller 'The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari' turns 100 years old in 2020, but is it still relevant? Jacob Davis explores Germany's first massively popular German export here.
No, You Are: Deconstructing Dinesh D’Souza’s Interview with Richard Spencer - Dinesh D'Souza and Richard Spencer walk into a sit-down interview on right wing American politics. Jacob Davis deconstructs 'The Death of A Nation' here.
A Brief History of the Director’s Cut - From the Ridley Scott's Director's Cut of 'Blade Runner' to Peter Jackson's 'Lord of the Rings' extended editions and right through to the Snyder Cut of 'Justice League' - the history of the director's cut as presented by Sam Sewell-Peterson.
How Cathy Yan’s ‘Birds of Prey’ Reawakens the Ethos of the Riot Grrrl - ‘That girl thinks she’s the Queen of the neighbourhood, I got news for you, she is!’ - How Cathy Yan's 'Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey' embraces the Riot Grrrl ethos in its fresh attempts to validate female anger. Article by Leoni Horton.
10 Years of Shutter Island – Flawless Directorial Command and Mental Health Examination - Released 10 years ago (2010), Martin Scorsese's 'Shutter Island' has taken on a life of its own to remain a relevant and enticing masterpiece from one of cinema's greatest. Beth Sawdon explores...
The Streaming Romance: Reception and Perception in Modern Moviestaying - Jacob Davis looks at 5 Netflix rom-coms with noticeable disparities between their critic and audience scores to decipher why those disparities exist and hopefully lend a helping hand on which one/s to watch.Why Parasite’s Oscars Dominance Matters - 'Parasite winning, and winning so big, shows that maybe barriers are being broken down'. Jacob Davis on why 'Parasite' winning big at the Oscars 2020 matters.
From ‘Foreign Language’ To ‘International Feature’: Why A Change In Name Isn’t Enough - The Oscars have renamed their 'Best Foreign Language Film' category 'Best International Feature Film' in the name of inclusivity - but, as Sophie Butcher discusses, this alone is not enough to improve recognition for world cinema.
Could ‘Frozen II’ Win Best Original Song? – Oscars 2020 - "in the final “Into the unknown” in the chorus, [Elsa] goes so far past the safe notes, way into the enchanted forest. Here the chorus acts as a microcosm for the whole narrative." - Sophie Cook on why "Into the Uknown" should win Best Original Song at the 2020 Oscars.
In Defence of The Academy – A Sarcastic Address of the Controversy Surrounding The Oscars - For close to a century, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been a pillar of open-mindedness and has set benchmarks for inclusion. This article celebrates their otherworldly knowledge and passion that totally isn't bought or the source of controversy.
1917 Is Not Nationalistic - Is '1917' inherently nationalistic? The multi-time Oscar nominee and Golden Globes winner has come under fire from certain sections of the press, but Jacob Davis disagrees with the consensus. Full feature/essay here.