3 minute read
Movies that make a Di erence
Movies that make a difference….
With an average of 15 million cinema admissions a month, it’s o cial - the UK loves movies! No more so than the Techlive team who, when they’re not watching movies, are busy debating, discussing and dissecting them.
A refl ection on the importance of fi lm in our lives. Entertainment, escapism, inspiration…..but what about a movie’s potential to make the audience think? or make an impact on our lives?
With this in mind, we ask a few key members of Techlive’s team to talk about movies that have made a di erence in their lives…
TIM WORRALL, MANAGING DIRECTOR, NOMADLAND A good movie should provoke thought and manipulate your emotions - making you laugh and cry and involving you in the lives of the main characters. I so enjoy it when a movie steals my mind and transports me to another world for a couple of hours.
For this reason, I loved Nomadland. A small budget feature that, via some brilliant acting and direction, delivers you into the heart of an impoverished USA, and the daily struggle facing millions of Americans at the bottom end of the social scale.
Many of the characters played themselves, adding a real authenticity. It was a tough, gritty watch, leaving you exhausted but thankful of the privileges in your own life.
I was delighted to see it win Best Picture at the Oscars and was equally pleased to see it added to the Airtime portfolio! REECE AHERNE, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, AMERICAN BEAUTY Having studied fi lm and TV production, I appreciate a movie that is technically profi cient and multi-layered.
For me, American Beauty is a masterpiece; every second of every scene has been fi nely crafted and is rich with nuance and connotation. I love how director Sam Mendes can convey important messages or commentary via such elementary methods – the fl ick of a head or a glance, for example.
And because of this, it’s a movie that will continue to deliver over multiple watches – you’ll notice something new, something interesting each time.
It’s also intellectually satisfying, satirical of the American middle class and explores numerous themes - relationships, self-liberation, consumerism, sexuality. All in all, a wonderful movie fully deserving of its Best Picture Oscar.
RICHARD EXCELL, OPERATIONS DIRECTOR, GLADIATOR It has to be Gladiator. A modern classic with Ridley Scott at his impeccable best. Scott and Russell Crowe have produced a number of feelgood movies, with a key theme being good triumphing over evil . Gladiator is a great example of this and for me, is on a di erent cinematic level.
It wraps you up in an evocative world, full of immersive, intimate settings and of course, a stunning portrayal of life within the Colosseum.
Add to this a heady cocktail of sub-themes, power, corruption, honour, duty, revenge – all making you think, all playing with your emotions. NOREEN JAVAID, MARKETING & DATA EXECUTIVE, AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR I love the Avengers series – packed full of nail-biting action, emotional highs and lows and possibly the best CGI around. Avengers: Infi nity War is a real jewel and I loved every second of it.
Having previously watched Captain America and fallen in love with the Marvel franchise, I became emotionally invested in the characters and the story. Infi nity War is the last of the Avengers cinematic universe, and what an ending it was!
I won’t disclose any spoilers, instead will just say the movie’s fi nal scenes are a thrilling, exhausting conclusion to a storyline that’s been building for over a decade.
