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LENS ISSUE #1

THE OFFICE. KRAMPUS. PEEP SHOW. THE SUFFRAGETTES. ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS. THE LOBSTER.

INTRODUCING...

DECEMBER 20 TV CHRISTMAS SPECIALS

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MONTHLY MOVIE EDIT

Our December edit guides you through the best films to watch this month from new releases to old favourites. Empty afternoons will be a thing of the past this holiday season, with a flick for every cosy night in.

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THEY’RE BACK, SWEETIE

NETFLIX VS AMAZON PRIME

REVIEW: THE LOBSTER P.16 DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE P.15

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ESSENTIAL PICTURE

We envelope ourselves in the creepy Christmas character, Krampus. With stars like Toni Collette and Adam Scott, this festive ghoulish tale is poised to be epic.

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THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT, JUST NOT SO ORANGE P.24

AUTEUR ANALYSIS

With the recent release of Crimson Peak, we look back over the work of famed director Guillermo Del Toro, asking what makes his films so distinct.

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THE HOLLYWOOD PAY GAP: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW P.28

VETERANS OF CHANNEL 4

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DISSECTING BIOPICS

SPOTLIGHT: AMY UPCHURCH P.34

THIS DAY IN FILM

A historic view of the momentous movies and talk of the TV world from years gone by: we chart the events that defined each day on screen in December.

FESTIVE FAV URITES Christmas specials are one of the most defining features of the yultide season, they are as essential to the holiday as bunnies are to easter. Whether you like them funny, heartwarming or full of suspense and drama, one thing can be seen and felt throughout: a feeling of togetherness THE BEST CHRISMUKKAH EVER Possibly one of the best O.C episodes out there, Ryan is initiated into the bireligious holiday of ‘Chrismukkah’. Wittily as ever, Seth combines the religions of his Catholic mother and Jewish father into one supreme holiday. Eight days of presents followed by one day of many presents. The beauty of the episode is that the perfect combination of two religious holidays, shows us that if we just try to be a little creative we can all live harmoniously.

THE ONE WITH THE ROUTINE One of the funniest episodes in FRIENDS history, ‘The one with the Routine’ is everything you want from a sitcom Christmas Special. When Monica and Ross accompany Joey and Janine to Dick Clark’s New Years Rockin’ Eve, the pair are so insistent on being on TV that they perform THE ROUITINE! We could mention other plotlines in the episode but if we’re being honest the ‘Routine’ overshadows everything.

DECK THE HALLS When Will realises that is Cousin Ashley has never experienced a proper Christmas he endeavours to create one but pisses off the neighbours in the process.

Filled with endless digs at Carlton’s height and his dating life, what more could you need from a Fresh Prince episode?

THE CHRISTMAS LUNCH INCIDENT When Dawn French’s adorable ‘Vicar of Dibley’ character is invited to four separate Christmas dinners she hasn’t the heart to turn them down and must somehow attend all of them in one night. Christmas in a peaceful English village sounds perfect, throw in quirky characters and mind-boggling stupidity and you’ve got yourself a Chrimbo special.

GAVIN AND STACEY - CHRISTMAS SPECIAL In this mirthful Christmas special the Welsh end of the cast are invited to spend the Christmas season with the Shipmans. They travel to Essex in a coach and although all goes relatively smoothly at first, all hell breaks loose when Gavin announces his plans to move to Wales. This special truly captures what it is to be a dysfunctional family during the holiday season. Punches and strops are thrown and Champagne is poured: a standard Christmas for most families.

SIMPSONS ROASTING ON AN OPEN FIRE The one that kicked it all off! We are of course talking of the premiere Simpsons episode which seas Homer trying his best to make ends meet for his family during the festive period by getting a job as a shopping mall Santa.

Although this proves unsuccessful when he bets the money earned through his moonlighting all on Santa’s Little Helper and loses, the episode eventually ends on a high with the newly disowned dog becoming the Simpsons’ new pet. The episode kick-started the epic series that we’ve all come to know and love today.

THE OFFICE - CHRISTMAS SPECIAL DOUBLE BILL Some might argue that you must choose between the UK version and the US version of ‘The Office’ but I say is it too much to ask for both? I don’t think so. Starting with the UK version’s double bill Christmas Special: the employees of Wernham Hogg are reunited a few years after the show which made them famous. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant manage to bring their usual British irony to the finale episodes of the series and the series finishes on a high with a laugh and a group photo.

CHRISTMAS PARTY

COLD TURKEY

Now we move on to the US version of ‘The Office’.

Michael is being his usual inappropriate self and goes $380 over the $20 limit to buy an iPod. He is disappointed with the homemade gift he receives and as a result the employees of Dunder Mifflin are subsequently forced to partake in the most awkwardly hilarious game of Secret Santa/’Yankee Swap’ ever seen.

Patsy collapses and has to spend Christmas in hospital, she doesn’t mind though because then she can at least spend the holiday season alone on drugs. However when a mix up at the hospital leads Eddy and Saffy to mistakenly believe that Patsy has died, Patsy endeavors to enjoy Christmas and in the one and only warm moment between Saffy and Patsy the pair exchange a brief ‘merry Christmas’ and to everyone’s horror and the viewers pleasure, Patsy even tries to eat a slice of turkey.

THE ONE WITH THE HOLIDAY ARMADILLO Even though we’ve already mentioned a ‘FRIENDS’ episode on this list, we simply couldn’t leave out this iconic Christmas special. In a bid to teach his son Ben about Chanukah, Ross adopts the guise of the fictitious ‘Holiday Armadillo’ when he is unable to find a Santa Claus costume and it makes for never ending laughs.

The exclamations of ‘FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS!’ and ‘THE MACABEES’ coupled with the bouncy waddling walk David Schwimmer adopts whilst inhabiting the garish orange costume, it makes for very entertaining television.

CHRISTMAS AT DOWNTON ABBEY The Downton Abbey 2011 Christmas Special sees Mary coming clean to Mathew about her secret night with the Turkish diplomat and Mr Bates’ death sentence is lessened to life imprisonment. Although the Christmas special contains a lot of drama and heartache, it ultimately ends on a high with Mathew finally proposing to Mary.

THE ROYLE FAMILY CHRISTMAS SPECIAL The ultimate Kitchen Sink sitcom’s first Christmas special is much like the rest of the series: full of hilariously everyday comedy. The whole family is there for Christmas and even though Barbara’s turkey isn’t considered quite up to the mark, everything goes quite harmoniously until Denis goes into labour in the upstairs toilet. The everyday, grainy style of The Royle Family is what makes it so special. The fact that the characters are perpetually glued to the sofa and it all seems to take place in real time makes it one of the best and most relatable sitcoms out there.

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MONTHLY MOVIE EDIT

MONTHLY MOVIE EDIT

Everybody knows that Christmas films are the most essential part of the festive period. Although there is always the debate over which is the ‘best’ Christmas film. Here at LENS we have decided this is impossible and have instead compiled a list of the greatest.

THE SCARY ONE: THE HEARTWARMING THE UNTRADITIONAL GREMLINS ONE: MIRACLE ON ONE: DIE HARD 34TH STREET

Although the only Christmas aspect is the time of year it is set, Die Hard still manages to worm its way onto our screens every year.

PLOT:Following off-duty NYC Police Officer, John McClane as he takes on a group of highly organised criminals performing a heist in a LA skyscraper under the pretence of a terrorist attack using hostages including his wife.

WHY WE LOVE IT:Sometimes it is nice to get away from all the festive fluff that comes with Christmas.

Whether you prefer the 1973 original or the 1994 remake, the story of Miracle on 34th Street is one to warm the hearts of all.

PLOT:Set in the magical state of New York, Miracle on 34th Street tells the story of Kris Kringle – a department store Santa Claus who believes he is the real thing. After he is wrongly arrested after being set up by a rival store it is up to his lawyer friend to prove not only the existence of Santa, but that he is the real thing.

THE FUN ONE: HOME WHY WE LOVE IT:Santa Claus or Father Christmas is the centre ALONE of the holiday for a lot of us and this story focusing A franchise so well known that it is on whether ‘seeing impossible to create a list of Christmas is believing’ is a films without including it. It is the wonderful one. highest grossing live action comedy film of all time in the United States. Now, having spawned four sequels albeit with just one including the original cast.

PLOT:Eight year old Kevin McCallister, is mistakenly left behind when his family flies to Paris for Christmas, initially he is elated with having the house to himself but soon has to defend his house against two wannabe burglars.

WHY WE LOVE IT:It’s just iconic.

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Opening in 1984, this black comedy was a huge commercial success, despite receiving huge numbers of complaints for its more violent sequences which later resulted in the change of the rating system by the Motion Picture Association of America.

PLOT:At Christmas time, a young man receives a strange creature called a mogwai as a pet which then creates other creatures who become small, evil monsters – naturally chaos ensues!

WHY WE LOVE IT: It’s nice to have a little scare at Christmas when everything else is all happy and jolly and Gremlins provides just that.

THE CLASSIC ONE: A CHRISTMAS CAROL Originally a novella by the great Charles Dickens, there have now been 26 adaptations for film and television and Lens found it impossible to choose between so have elected to pick the plot in general for this list.

PLOT:Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserable, lonely old man who is visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve – the ghosts of past, present and future and is warned to change his ways. Although other aspects differ between versions, these basic elements remain the same.

WHY WE LOVE IT:As traditional as the turkey on your plate, the Christmas tree in the corner and the man in the red suit with the white beard delivering your presents, A Christmas Carol will always have a place on our televisions at Christmas.

THE ROMANTIC ONE: THE HOLIDAY Set in both California and England, The Holiday’s all star cast includes Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Jude Law and Jack Black and grossing over $200 million dollars worldwide The Holiday is the most romantic of Christmas films.

PLOT:After Amanda breaks up with her cheating boyfriend in LA and Iris’s long term love Jasper gets engaged to someone else, the pair decide to ‘house swap’ for Christmas with Amanda heading to Iris’s beautiful cottage in Surrey while Iris heads to Amanda’s LA mansion. Both find seasonal surprises in store...

WHY WE LOVE IT:Because everyone loves a bit of romance at Christmas and lets face it, we all want the chance to stay in a luxurious LA mansion or an idyllic cottage in the English countryside!

THE FUNNY ONE: ELF

Earning more than six times its budget, Elf grossed over $220 million dollars worldwide, now having spurned a Broadway show, a West End musical and an animated television special, Elf has proved its high standing in Christmas films.

PLOT: Having climbed into Santa’s sleigh as a baby in an orphanage, Buddy the elf grew up in the North Pole with the elves before discovering his true identity as a human. Buddy then decides to travel to New York to find his father, spreading Christmas cheer in the cynical human world as he goes.

WHY WE LOVE IT:It’s impossible not to love Buddy’s story, with the hilarious faux pauxs he makes in the human world and his kind nature.

THE FAMILY ONE: THE GRINCH The highest grossing holiday film of all time, The Grinch is a family Christmas essential for every household over the season.

PLOT:Based on the Dr Seuss novel, this is the story of a creature hell-bent on barring Christmas from coming to Whoville in any way he can.

But brave Cindy Lou has other ideas and endeavours to bring Jim Carey’s hilariously sadistic Grinch around.

WHY WE LOVE IT:Simple yet effective, The Grinch reminds everyone what Christmas is all about.

THE ANIMATED ONE: THE POLAR EXPRESS Based on the children’s book of the same name, The Polar Express s a computer animated musical fantasy featuring human characters animated using live action performance capture techniques.

PLOT:On Christmas Eve, a boy who no longer believes in Santa Claus is picked up by the magical Polar Express train taking children to the North Pole to meet the man himself with chaos ensuing on the way.

WHY WE LOVE IT:A truly beautiful story of belief and friendship, The Polar Express is the perfect Christmas Eve film for adults and children alike.

THE BLACK AND WHITE ONE: ITS A WONDERFUL LIFE A true cinematic gem. It’s a Wonderful Life is one of the most acclaimed films ever made, praised for its writing and hitting number one on the American Film Institute as the most inspirational American film of all time.

PLOT:A man who has given up his dreams in order to help others goes to commit suicide on Christmas Eve its interrupted by his guardian angel, who shows him all the lives he has touched and how different his community would be if he had never been born.

WHY WE LOVE IT:Christmas is a time where we think about what is most important, It’s a Wonderful Life is a special ode to that.

THE MODERN ONE: LOVE ACTUALLY

Grossing nearly $250,000,000 worldwide, Love Actually has an all star cast of both British and American actors.

PLOT:Opening with five weeks to go until Christmas Eve, the film counts down week by week until Christmas Eve showing the lives and loves of an assortment of individuals or linked up primarily in London and the surrounding areas until Christmas Eve. WHY WE LOVE IT:Christmas is a time for loving, and Love Actually shows love in all its different forms around the season. Perfection.

As the Abfab movie edges closer and closer, LENS takes a look back at why the iconic sitcom captured the hearts of millions around the world

THEY’RE BACK,

Sweetie

By Ryan Smith At the beginning of the 90s an era of public relations was forming and engulfing everything with it. Combine the biosphere of fashion PR, launches, lunches, red carpets, 90s hedonism with horrendous parenting, dangerous alcohol and drug abuse, selfindulgence and fags and you’ve got a culturally iconic sitcom spanning two decades.

Starting in 1992, the hit show follows the lives of two champagneswigging socialites: Edina Monsoon and Patsy Stone, who are eternally engaged in warfare with aging, bodyfat and Edina’s teenage daughter.

Edina runs her own PR Company, while Patsy works as a fashion director at a magazine, a post obtained through very fruitful sexual relations with the publisher. Using their combined substantial financial resources the two awfully fashionobsessed middle-aged women spend their time abusing alcohol, drugs and Edina’s prematurely middle aged daughter, Saffron.

Starring Jennifer Saunders, Joanna Lumley, Jane Horrocks, Julia Sawalha, June Whitfield and countless celebrity cameos, the show has spanned over two decades and is ranked as the 17th best greatest TV show of all time by the British Film Institute. In short, everybody loves Abfab, but why? What makes the iconic pair so appealing to viewers?

Abfab began in a time of ridiculousness, everything was in excess and the economic boom - which only really ended in 2008 encouraged people to spend more extravagantly. America’s economy was booming and as a result the UK’s was too. In short, the 90s was a time of peace and affluence.

Fads, trends and crazes were prominent; slap bracelets, trapper keepers, beanie babies, ripped jeans and the like are now considered definitive ways to distinguish time periods in the 90s. This feeling of fun ridiculousness is vividly apparent in

the early series’ of Abfab; Jennifer Saunders’ fad chasing Edina is a clear embodiment of the garish, decadent opulence of the 90s, apparent in one episode when she spends hundreds of thousands of pounds on art just to make herself feel better, while Joanna Lumley’s Patsy signifies the relaxed attitude towards employment.

Having slept with the publisher of her magazine she maintains a sinecure position there throughout the series, only briefly detouring into retail work when she ‘works’ at a high-end shop barking at people that they’re too fat to be allowed to shop there. The pair’s only adversity comes when they stumble from self-induced crisis to self-induced crisis and neither has any real responsibility.

In contrast to the PC culture that had sprung up at the time the pair are hedonistic in their approach to life. They don’t do anything that they don’t really want to. They eat what they want, drink what they want, have sex with who they want and most importantly they say what they want to say. There is something aspirational in the way they don’t answer to anyone and are bleakly honest about the people they come into contact with.

Confused and cynical Saffy is used as the viewer’s window into the world of Patsy and Eddy, with no scene explaining this clearer than one in which Saffy asks her mother what exactly it is she does for a living and a baffled Eddy responds that she ‘PRs things!’

Bubble, Eddy’s perpetually ditzy assistant is so clueless and original that she’s more of a concept than a character. She’s the idea that you can have a job but a ‘not-job’.

A job wherein your sole purpose is really to just be so disorganized and unprofessional that your employer looks good.

Although the characters of Patsy and Eddy appear ridiculous and exaggerated, they are very much

rooted in real life. Elvis Presley’s famous lip curl crawled its way onto Patsy’s face and Eddy’s manic and frazzled vibe is inspired by 80s PR guru Lynn Franks.

Comedian, Ruby Wax commented that she and Jennifer Saunders would trail the hard-nosed PR types of the 80s and 90s and would be captivated by the confusion of PR and spirituality and the way they would scream down the phone at their employees before holding the phone away from their ear and calmly chanting in Buddhist.

Nam-myoho-renge-kyo!

Absolutely Fabulous is so successful because people can relate so well to the pair due to how reflective it is of a lot of friendships.

Friendships that transcend sexuality and gender, wherein one enables the other and is always there to remind them that they’re a wonderful person even though they might very well be a horrible person.

The pair simply do not function without each other. No episode shows this clearer than one in which Eddy descends on Carnegie Hall Tower, New York in a helicopter to tell her best friend that she ‘got bored’ and that she missed her. If that’s not true friendship then I don’t know what is.

What sets Abfab apart from other sitcoms is the fact that Eddy and Patsy aren’t nice or kind people at all.

Unlike shows of the time, ‘Friends’ for example, wherein the main characters were all likeable people with big hearts, Patsy and Eddy are inherently selfish, self-centered, cruel, wasteful, shallow and just generally abysmal human beings. It makes for wonderfully entertaining television.

The ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ film has concluded filming and will star the original cast from the show, with a few added celebrity cameos, such as Kim Kardashian West and Kate Moss, to add to the glamour. The film will be released in 2016. Really not long to wait now, sweeties!

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NETFLIX VS AMAZON PRIME

With a huge rise in the number of people waiting to binge watch their favourite series on popular websites such as Netflix and Amazon Prime – LENS debates the benefits of each. .

Amazon Prime Free access to film and TV: Amazon Prime is the newbie in this equation, so naturally the underdog with less variety of tv shows and films than its counterpart but it does have a big selection of childrens programming as well as the entire series of Downton Abbey and its film base already seems to include more modern films, now including The Imitation Game and Divergent. Amazon also boasts a whole host of original series, gaining rights to the new version of Top Gear that Jeremy Clarkson and co are creating as well as intriguing looking series ‘The Man In The High Castle’, set in a world where World War Two Ended in 1947 with the Nazi’s and the Japanese winning and dividing the US in much the same way as Germany was divided in reality, and entering their own ‘cold war’.

Extras:

Netflix Free access films and TV: Netflix has been around for while now,actually the first of its kind. Orginating in 1997 - providing a DVD rental service to people across the United States before branching out and updating to online services as viewing habits changed.

Therefore, it’s base of film and TV is a lot wider than other websites’ content selection. This includes groundbreaking, traditional binge watch shows like 24, Prison Break and did have exclusive rights to Breaking Bad in the UK until recently. It is also home to recurring series, like Pretty Little Liars, The Vampire Diaries and Once Upon a Time. Netflix original series are also hugely popular on the website, including exceptionally followed titles, Orange is the New Black, The Returned and Marvel’s Jessica Jones.

Extras:

It also puts a massive spin on the concept of online Unfortunately, due to it’s sole focus on film and streaming with its added access bonuses including: amazon television, Netflix offers no extras. music, amazon cloud and next day delivery on a lot of items.

Amazon Prime combines all of the services and is a great starter package if you don’t have a lot of storage on a device, or don’t have a Spotify account.

Devices:

Devices:

Amazon Prime can be used on a variety of devices such as:

Netflix can be watched on a range of platforms including:

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Smart TVs Blu-Ray Players Amazon Fire TV Xbox Wii PlayStation Android Devices (Including Amazon Underground app for Android Phones and Amazon Video for Android tablets) iOS Devices (Including Amazon Video App for IPhone, IPad and IPod Touch) Fire Phone Fire Tablets

Cost:

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Smart TVs Media Players (Apple TV, Chromecast, Nexus Player, Roku) Xbox Wii PlayStation Set Top Boxes (BT, Philips, Sony, Virgin Media, Talk Talk, YouView Blu Ray Players Android Products Apple Products Windows Phone Laptops

Cost:

Netflix is currently just £5.99 a month but for all Additionally, Amazon Prime complete with all the extras is customers in 2016 this will be raised to £6.99 – although £79.00 a year, averaging out at £6.48 a month, alternatively Netflix have promised that for that price rise the content you can buy just the amazon video package for £5.99 a month quality and quantity will rise too.

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ESSENTIAL PICTURE

AN

UNCONVENTIONAL

‘You know relationships can’t be built on a lie!’ David has been rumbled.

As he stares at the bloodied, dead body of the Collie dog lying on his bathroom floor, involuntary tears roll down his cheeks. The dog is, in fact, his brother and the act of savage canicide has been carried out by his new girlfriend.

You see, in the dystopian universe of ‘The Lobster,’ being single is not permitted. In this world, those without a partner are sent to a builtfor-purpose hotel, run by a matronly Olivia Colman and a team of maids and butlers. Here, singles have 45 days to find a partner or they will be banished into the surrounding woodland, but not before they are turned into an animal of their choice.

At the hotel there is no masturbation allowed to promote motivation to couple up and residents attend classes to reinforce the importance of finding a partner e.g. ‘Ensure your partner is on hand to give you the Heimlich Manoeuvre, should you choke while eating.’

David finds himself at the hotel after his wife of 12 years leaves him for another man. As she goes he asks, ‘Does he wear glasses or contacts lenses?’ At the hotel he encounters a hoard of singletons each with their story to tell, each hoping to fall in love before their stay is over. Cue appearances from a string of talented actors. John C Reilly appears as a desperate man with a lisp whose chosen transformation animal is a parrot. Ashley Jensen of ‘Extras’ and ‘Ugly Betty’ fame is perhaps the most tragic of all: old, frenzied and sad with a penchant for butter biscuits.

In order to snare a partner, David – Colin Farrell – has built up a steely and heartless exterior to convince an equally unfeeling hotel resident

LOVE STORY

Lobster stars Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz

REVIEW: THE LOBSTER that they are ‘a match.’ When she discovers that he is hiding his sensitivity she attempts to expose him to hotel management, but he flees into the surrounding forest to live with rest of the ‘loners’ – a group of exiles who have escaped the hotel.

Amongst this group, couples are not permitted. But David encounters and falls for Rachel Weisz, who is shortsighted, like him and they battle to be together in a group founded on being alone.

Residents are able to extend their time at the hotel by capturing ‘loners’ living the woodland by shooting them with tranquiliser darts and bringing them back to the hotel for transformation. ‘The hunt’ occurs once a day and each ‘loner’ gains the hunter an extra 4 days at the hotel.

While living in the woodland, David learns to hide from hunters and live off the land. He captures the short sighted Weisz rabbits and dances to house and dubstep. ‘We must dance alone. That’s why we only listen to electronic music,’ explains the leader of the group of escapees.

On rare visits to the city to gather supplies, ‘loners’ pair up and form false couples as not to be discovered by the authorities. While standing alone in a shopping mall, David is spotted by police and asked to produce a marriage certificate.

Anyone on their own is suspect. A harsh amplification of the prejudice felt when eating at a restaurant alone, going to a wedding with no plus one

or sitting by yourself on a four seater table on the train.

The film was shot using almost entirely natural light on the outskirts of County Kerry in Ireland and is Greek director Yorgos’ Lanthimos (known Dog Tooth and Alps) first English language film. ‘The Lobster’ is a celebration of his directorial style with minimal emotion from characters and lashings of deadpan comedy.

The smiles broken in this film could be counted on one hand. Almost in a trance or somehow stunted, characters state how they are feeling with almost directly opposing body language. Kisses are rare and stoic.

Sex is matter of fact.

The Lobster is a satirical exaggeration of the dating regime in 2015 and the idea that simply having superficial things in common means attraction. As David enters the hotel he is asked to be registered as either hetero or homosexual, he must pick a side. When he states that he is shoe size 44.5, he is told without question that he must be either 44 or 55, there are no half sizes. This film is box ticking and swiping left or right to the extreme. There is no time for maybes or casualness when characters are bound to more than a biological clock. Further advancing the message of their movie, Picture House are now arranging speed dating events around the screening of the movie with the disclaimer, ‘Please note: if you fail to fall in love you will be turned into an animal.’

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D E CL ARAT ION O F For film fans in Britain, the rise of the pop-up, open air, underground and drive-in cinemas has been nothing short of joyous. Where once the only choice was a chain, there is now a list of independent cinemas in or around most cities to provide an antidote to popcorn crunching, midshowing texters and sticky seats.

NO.6 CINEMA, PORTSMOUTH In a city built on the shipping industry, where better to find an independent cinema in Portsmouth than the Historic Dockyard? Nestled amongst the HMS Warrior and Navy museums, behind the children’s ‘action stations’ and laser quest, lies the No.6 Cinema. With the second biggest screen in on the south coast and a charming team of volunteers at the helm, No.6 offers something truly special. Across the cobbled streets of the Dockyard, next to a boating lake and up a metal spiral staircase is a small desk and landing decked out with movie posters and leaflets. On screening nights a snack stand appears offering local ales, bottles of dandelion and burdock or cloudy lemonade amongst flapjacks, peanuts and organic ice cream.

Chairman of No.6, John Holland, describes the cinema as ‘a bit more rough and ready,’ than some of the independent cinemas that have developed in the last few years. ‘Some of the more upmarket independent cinemas offer at seat drinks services and sofas and things like that. I don’t think we’ll ever go down that route.’ John explains that although his background isn’t related to film, he is – like most of the other volunteers that run No.6 – a real film fan. ‘We have to be careful because we’ve only got three screening nights a week. We try to bring something different to each week. We want to bring things that are contemporary as well as old favourites.’

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But he is optimistic ‘Well, I mean all the doom-sayers have said cinema’s dead. Sometimes for a film you get someone say “We’ve come over from Bournemouth” and it’s like “you’ve come from Bournemouth to see this film here?” It is nice and you think, well why have they done that? Because they were searching for the film and this is the only place they can find it. One of the things that always used to amaze me about coming here was when you see a film and you really want to think about it and have a chat about it and when you’re walking down there, outside, it’s got an amazing feeling, this place. You’re not straight onto a busy road you’ve got that space, and you’ve got the Warrior all lit up and it’s a nice place to be.’

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No. 6 cinema has been running for 10 years and it has taken that time to fully find its feet.

John explains ‘The last people to run it were the Historic Dockyard and they found that it was a lot of hassle for not much gain but they said if anyone wants to come in and make a bid they could do that. So a group of us film fans got together and made a bid and raised some money with the help of the Dockyard and we started and we haven’t looked back.’ Although the management in place works in the fleeting present, the future is always uncertain, ‘It depends on the Historic Dockyard continuing to welcome us’ says John ‘the Royal Marines museum is likely to move in here in 2017 so whether they’ll want to keep the auditorium or allow us to stay is unknown.’

INDEPENDENCE HYDE PARK PICTURE HOUSE, LEEDS In Leeds is a slightly different story. In the busting northern city the Hyde Park Picture House first opened its doors in 1914 and hasn’t shut since. It was one of the first purpose built cinemas to open in the UK. The original building is still intact, with red tiled letters above the door and the current management still pledging to adhere to the cinema’s earliest advertising slogan ‘The cosiest cinema in Leeds.’

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Picture House administrator Ollie Jenkins says it is hard to define what is popular for a cinema like Hyde Park, ‘We tend to shy away from the bigger blockbusters because our single screen makes programming these films more difficult. Our programme is a real mix, consisting mainly of new releases, with a few cult shows and classics in there too. Our new releases tend to be critically acclaimed films which do well on the festival circuit, as well as more challenging and specialist art-house, documentary and foreign language films.’

Like Portsmouth’s No.6, Hyde Park Picture House is thriving.

Not only does the cinema offer a full programme, but holds weekly events such as BYOB (Bring Your Own Baby) when parents can bring their child of up to 12 months to enjoy a flick with reduced sound and increased lighting, as well as bottle warming facilities and baby changing areas. ‘Tuesday Wonders!’ at Hyde Park highlights great films that didn’t have the advertising budget to make it to the mainstream.

‘Film making has never been better, which from an exhibitors point of view if hugely important,’ says Ollie. He thinks that we have a return to localism to thank for this. ‘Certainly if you look at overall cinema attendance, whilst it is generally going down every year, attendance at independents is doing the opposite. I think this is probably a trend which can be seen across a number of industries, from coffee shops to market stalls. There has been a questioning perhaps of the value that big corporations bring to communities, and rather than going with Cineworld, Amazon, Starbucks and Tesco, people are seeking something more authentic, local and personable.’

With such an extensive history, Hyde Park Picture House can enjoy a more comfortable and permanent existence. The pressures of streaming and ‘on demand’ loom, but Hyde Park can rely on regulars who live locally to fill the seats. ‘We want to continue to be part of the community and a place that people who live near us feel a connection with,’ Ollie Says. ‘I think the future for cinemas like ours is being open to changes we may have to make and being willing to adapt to find a place within the market. That’s why we’ve been able to stay open when so many cinemas are closing. So for us that probably means more event based cinema, like Q&As with directors and partnering with other local independents to run events. We play to the strengths we have over ‘On Demand,’ which is making the most of the shared experience cinemas offer, showing films in the best possible way that trumps a TV screen or tablet and programming really interesting films.’

But is the surge in independent cinemas challenging the wider film industry? Are success stories like the embryonic No.6 Cinema in Portsmouth and the well-established Hyde Park Picture House in Leeds rare cases? Ollie doesn’t think so: ‘Individuals who go onto become filmmakers often refer to specific indie cinemas that helped give them a kind of film education and being responsible for why they love films and decide to make them. Independent cinemas like ours are often the only places in a city or a county where audiences can access and engage with really valuable independent and foreign language cinema, so without us existing and screening these films, the industry would have much less plurality and dominated by far fewer, much bigger American movies.’

There’s no definitive answer to whether independent cinemas are making a real difference. Box office sales can only show so much. There is scope for art houses to inspire and nurture the film makers of tomorrow in a way that can’t be measured.

WWW.HYDEPARKPICTUREHOUSE.CO.UK 17

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ESSENTIAL PICTURE

TWISTED

In a dark take on festive folklore, director and writer Michael Dougherty explores the legend of a Germanic yuletide ghoul.

Krampus is an ancient demon intent on punishing non-believers and is summoned to a fraught family after their young son turns his back on Christmas.

CHRISTMAS

REVIEW: KRAMPUS

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He is the ‘shadow of St. Nicholas’ and arrives with a tirade of demonic minions in the form of Christmas toys. For serious horror buffs the gnashing teeth of a child-eating clown are creepy enough to penetrate nightmares while the jokes and spooky storyline will keep the masses entertained. Starring Toni Collette and Adam Scott, Krampus is this seasons’ festive antidote.

There is no shame in taking a break from the overbearing joy and faux happiness in December to enter a world of horror, where ginger bread men are deadly and teddy bears have a blood thirst. The considerable hype behind Krampus has put the film on a risky pedestal. However, this movie might just beat the curse of the Christmas horror/comedy and make its way on to the list of the few that have been successful.

Krampus tests the boundaries between fun and frightening and could join the collection of alternative Christmas classics on the shelf in some households. A few jokes fall slightly flat and some elements of the story might cause a head-scratch for devoted film fans. However, you might find yourself just as likely to play this movie on a cosy night in as established festive flicks like Home Alone. This film wasn’t made to win awards but to satisfy the need for decent movie to fill the screen during

obligatory hungover hours or chilly evenings of the holidays – a role which fulfills perfectly.

In a tricky technique, Krampus was barely screened to critics before its release and was put under a lastminute review embargo. Although a strange tactic in today’s world of over-sharing, it resulted in a growing curiosity around the movie. While we learned the main storyline from the short trailer, it was only just enough to entice. Glimpses of hooves and horns eluded to the character of the main monster without giving the game away - a mistake made all too often by filmmakers today. The animatronic creatures, make up and anti-santa himself were created by the same team that are renowned for their work on The Hobbit and King Kong, with a particularly fearsome outcome.

In its short 98 minutes, Krampus is all killer (literally) and no filler. No scene is wasted or redundant. The opening sequence highlights the repugnant elements of the holiday season, such as shoppers trampling each other to get the best deals in sales and garish window displays in greedy stores. As ‘It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas’ blares, shopping fanatics are seen being tasered and arrested, which sets an off-beat vibe for this film. The family in Krampus are portrayed by

actors capable of much more than a seasonal comedy/horror gimmick which adds to the depth of the movie’s premise. A relatable mother now finds the season tiresome and her husband would be more than satisfied with a quiet few weeks off work. Taking away the Christmas spirit from a young and excitable child is no easy feat and Krampus highlights the true terror when this becomes a reality. The combination of laughs and frights leaves the audience lulled in and out of a sense of security, with the shock of each scare heightened.

While The New Batch somewhat quenched our thirst for a Christmas move infused with just the right amount of gore, intrigue and laughout-loud moments, Krampus satisfies what we have been missing since 1984 when the original ‘Gremlins’ was released. The sci-fi Christmas scare-fest paved the way for movies like Krampus, and early productions of this genre are heavily referenced in this picture.

Derived from the German word ‘krampen,’ meaning claw, it is no surprise that the vicious character makes The Babadook look friendly.

This film is one for fans of alternative narratives and easy belly laughs.

See it in cinemascope then stack it amongst your collection for an annual viewing.

Adam Scott plays Tom

THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT JUST NOT SO orange ANYMORE As the ubiquitous Orange Wednesdays offer rolls its end credits, the end of an era in cinema exhibition concession practice is marked.

By Kerry Gough Orange Wednesdays represented one of the major UK cinema-going incentives of the last ten years.

However, the end of the offer which came five years after the merging of T-Mobile and Orange, has been met with some frustration from the cinema-going audience, who are mourning the loss as EE closed the 2 for 1 Wednesday operation.

Speculative claims surrounding the end of the deal include, a decreasing cinema audience, the rise of home network service uptake and the changing audience viewing preferences that have been ushered in. The challenge presented by new home technologies development and the flexible viewing opportunities that tablet devices and smart phone technologies have allowed continue to represent an on-going challenge to the film industry.

While EE mobile and broadband customers are no longer able to take advantage of the deal, the impact does not stop there, as Birmingham City University Radio graduate, Sammie Kerr states, “I’m sure we can all agree that we may have bent the system a little, I’ve been using Orange Wednesdays for years but have I actually ever been on Orange? Um, no.” For many this is an understandable move, another Radio graduate Rachel Chew similarly highlights how “I’m not even on Orange or EE but the promotion has become a social event that I don’t miss out on!”, she does recognise, “It’s a shame, but I think we can all understand that it must be costing EE a lot.”

For the majority of our Media students at Birmingham City University, both the cost of a visit to the cinema and the loss of the Wednesday cinema social are an issue

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of concern. Television graduate, Molly Cope, reinforces how: “I rarely go to the cinema on any other day than Wednesdays and sometimes it’s not just to see a certain film but also the social aspect… I don’t think the ending of orange Wednesdays will put cinemas in too much of a bad financial state, but I think it will lead to an increase in illegal downloading instead. Many people who regularly went in groups on a Wednesday will probably find another way to socially interact in that sort of environment to watch the latest film.”

This is a sentiment which is reinforced by Johnny Seifert, broadcaster, presenter and BCU graduate, who recognising how Orange Wednesdays had become a regular cinema social event, comments that, “I was never on Orange and those that were, were always begged for a code.

But… there is a social side to Orange Wednesday, with that becoming the optimum day to go to the cinema.”

“Can you send me your Orange Wednesday code?” had, up until recently, been a request regularly shared amongst our student community. However, while the pernicious impact that such cinema ticket hacks and cheats may have had upon the demise of the iconic offer, this is more likely to be the result of shifting audience viewing habits in response to already high cinema ticket costs. As Alice Hackett, Broad Course Media student at Birmingham City University points out: “I don’t go to the cinema that often because I prefer to stream films online at home. The cinema is getting really expensive… Orange Wednesdays was really useful when my friends and I did decide to go to the cinema to see blockbusters. I have never been on the Orange network but have grabbed the codes from friends in the past a

lot.”

The loss of Orange Wednesdays, whatever the impetus behind EEs decision, had the potential to have a huge impact upon cinema going habits, with many left disappointed.

Another Birmingham School of Media student, Nikkita Beghi commented how, “Orange Wednesdays actually made going to the cinema affordable.

I thinks it’s outrageous that a ticket can cost me up to £15 and for popcorn and a drink it’s £10. I’m a student and that £25 could easily be my weekly shop of food.” These are complaints that the cinema exhibition providers are going to have to respond to directly from now on.

While the end of Orange Wednesdays represented the end of an era, existing T-Mobile customers were never offered the same deal.

Instead EE has a new customer loyalty programme under wraps, to go with its launch of the EETV package which includes a Freeview HD Tuner, internet access and an enormous 1TB of storage. As a response to the youth audience movement towards streaming and, dare I say it, illegal downloading, the technology generation are growing up and as they move to new platforms for their media consumption, the industry is having to change its approach in order to keep up. EE already have a major share of UK network coverage, and now they, along with other providers, are moving their operation to our front rooms. In this respect, however it’s not all bad news, as we face a brave new competitive marketplace. Not only are we seeing a move towards increasingly competitive home entertainment packages through quadruple or quad play provision, which offers combined television, telephone, broadband and wireless home entertainment, but we are also

The loss of the Orange Wednesday offer will create a more competetive marketplace for the cinema goer seeing increasing competition in the film exhibition market.

While concern has been expressed over the affordability of a cinema trip for families, and their key youth audience, exhibition chains and independent outlets have recognised the need to court the family and youth audience, and in response to declining box office and concessions sales, already have measures in place to counter this. Vue Cinemas, offer a number of discounts and savings including, Super Tuesdays (1/3rd off), Kids weekend matinees at a heavily discounted rate (£1.75/ child or accompanying adult ticket), as well as their Teen 13-18 (20% discount) and Family Tickets (for 2 adults, 2 children, where all pay the child rate/ ticket). Cineworld offer Bargain Tuesdays, while Odeon Cinemas’ have operated a loyalty card system in addition to Film Fan Monday. This is a competitive environment which is set to increase across the coming months. And on the same day that Orange Wednesday came to an end, Odeon announced their intention to put the chain up for sale.

For many, the Orange Wednesday 2 for 1 discount made the luxury of a trip to the cinema a reasonable expense, and while it is an anticipated that the loss in revenue to the cinema exhibition outlets has been significant, this ultimately has opened up the competition, as cinema venues compete for audience loyalty. The

loss of the Orange Wednesday offer has created a more competitive marketplace for the cinema-goer and will act as a stimulus for the exhibition chains and independent cinema owners to put in place competitively attractive discounts and incentives as they compete for audiences on an individual basis.

Cinema exhibition venues face the need to up their game if they are to remain competitive and in this respect, the audience has won.

When these feelings are shared by those working within the film industry, it’s time that exhibition outlets stepped up, and the end of Orange Wednesdays has been the grenade that the existing exhibition practices needed. As new cinematic technologies have meant real developments in film production, the viewing experience itself has remained largely static, and is far from a ‘luxury’ experience for the expense involved. For many, this is a source of frustration, including Christian Lett, VFX Supervisor at Bait Studio, “They’re blaming it on the fact that less people are going to the cinema. Maybe that’s because the experience sucks and it’s too damn expensive.” As a result, the declining cinematic experience has seen audiences move away to home entertainment where they have control over their viewing experience and the environments in which they consume film. It’s not just the high

ticket price that puts people off, but also the state of the venues themselves. BCU graduate, Magda Petford, expressed that she’d be more likely to pay for a quality independent cinema experience than the usual mainstream “sticky-floored” offering.

Gone are the tungsten twinkling façades of the Picture Palace, but perhaps the quality of the cinema experience, in addition to competitive pricing, is just one way that local cinema exhibitors can become a more attractive option for our entertainment activity. Stefan Doyle, Freelance Breakfast Producer at Global Radio, is hopeful that “the end of Orange Wednesdays has forced cinemas to change their strategy on how to get people in to watch films”, in his view, “cinemas need to either introduce more offers or lower the prices to ensure the consumer will keep coming back, particularly with how easy it is for someone with the right know how to stream a film currently in the cinema illegally online!”

For the cinema exhibition industry, then, with the demise of Orange Wednesdays, the challenge to capture lost audiences has been set.

With the increasing competition for our disposable income, for cinema goers, and media consumers more generally, the future looks decidedly bright, but just not quite as orange as it once was.

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Still from ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’

AUTEUR ANALYSIS

MONSTER MASTER

Known for his poetically beautiful style, Guillermo del Toro’s creative flair has led to some of the most visually rich films of our time. With the recent release of gothic horror Crimson Peak, lens takes a look at what makes guillermo del toro such a gifted auteur

‘Pan’s Labyrinth’, the ‘Hellboy’ films, the ‘Blade’ franchise, ‘Pacific Rim’, ‘The Devil’s Backbone’ and most recently ‘Crimson Peak’, these are just some of the pictures that Guillermo Del Toro has masterminded.

Del Toro’s work is characterised by distinctive insectile and religious images as well as a fascination with underworld and clockwork motifs.

Amber and golden colour themes are dominant throughout his work and collaborations with actors Doug Jones and Ron Perlman define his pictures.

Growing up in 70s Guadalajara, Mexico Gullermo Del Toro was a child with a morbid curiosity which would later lead him to be one of the best auteurs of our time. Scouring the city’s sewers and sprinkling salt on slugs, the director, screenwriter, producer, and novelist has always been interested in the macabre and the gothic. In a home video from his childhood he can be heard asking for a mandrake root for Christmas for the purposes of black magic.

After Del Toro’s father won the Mexican lottery and used the money to build a Chrysler-dealership empire, he moved his family into a white modernist mansion that came to be the home of Guillermo’s many pets; hundreds of snakes, many white rats and even a crow were young Guillerom’s childhood companions.

Being a lover of monsters, he began to draw at an early age and by the time he was in High School he had made his first short film about a monster who crawls out of a toilet only to find that humans are quite repugnant and scurries back in.

Del Toro’s craft holds a strong influence of fairy tales and gothic horror. Although horrifying monsters - who he considers great symbols of

power - are a stand-out feature in Guillermo’s movies, the real monsters are almost always proven to be humans and no film embodies this theory better than the beautifully dark and twisted fairy tale ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’, in which a young girl meets a faun-like creature who tells her she is the Princess of the underworld. This is undoubtedly Guillermo’s most iconic picture. The harsh and cruel human world of postcivil war, Francoist period in Spain is entwined with the mythical when the young girl must endure several challenges in order to return to the kingdom of the Underworld.

The film employs special effects make-up, animatronics and CGI effects to bring the incredible creatures in this dark fairy tale to life. The secondary antagonist of Pan’s Labyrinth, the ‘pale man’ is a particularly chilling creature. Inspired

by Del Toro’s own weight loss, the villain has folds and folds of sagging skin. A lone gaping mouth on his face is a suggestion of the creature’s everlasting hunger; a hunger which is made all the more disturbing in that the pictures on the walls of his lair show him devouring live children whole, a particularly taboo theme in horror cinema. What makes the pale man’s five-minutes of air-time so unsettling, aside from the fact that his eyeballs are located in the palms of his hands, is his complete lack of speech. He is a perfect embodiment of gluttony.

Guillermo is so dedicated to his craft that he will do anything for his creatures to be fully realised on screen.

He returned half his salary for ‘Hellboy’ and the entirety of his salary for ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’

in an effort to pay for creature effects that his financial backers deemed too costly.

One of his favourite moments in horror is in ‘Alien’ when Harry Dean Stanton cannot run from the alien creature descending before him because he is too enthralled by its appearance. Del Toro’s creatures can be both demonic and angelic all in one stroke. The androgynous Angel of death in ‘Hellboy II: The Golden Army’ is as similar two the principal antagonist of Predator as it is to the most beautiful creatures portrayed on screen.

What makes Del Toto’s creatures stand out is that they’re not confined to the occasional appearance from the shadows as is the case in many other monster movies: they are in fact shown in great detail and splendour. Guillermo wants the audience to gawk at his marvellous creations. The term ‘less is more’ really doesn’t apply when it comes to his industry.

THE HOLLYWOOD PAY GAP: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Watching Suffragette made women feel empowered but also brought modern day inequalities to the top of the pile.... are Hollywood’s actresses the present day Suffragettes?

By Paisley Tedder This year we have been treated to many female led films, from Pitch Perfect Two, to Cinderella, the final instalment of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part II and possibly the .most obvious one, Suffragette.

Suffragette tells the historical story of a group of women between 1911-1913 who were part of the movement to try and get women the right to vote. The film struck a lot of chords with myself particularly when you consider how it was just over one hundred years ago and the system is still not equal. Equal pay is a huge concept of this and is currently an incredibly hot topic in Hollywood.

Jennifer Lawrence brought the issue to the forefront of global media when she spoke out against it alongside other well known actresses; Meryl Streep and Viola Davis. Although Lawrence is the worlds highest paid actress, raking in $52 million in the 12 months to June 2015, the figure pales in comparison to that earned by the worlds highest paid actor, in Robert Downey Junior, who banked a whopping $80 million.

Hollywood’s equality problem isn’t just to do with the pay gap though, there is also a huge struggle with women’s representation on screen, with just 28.1% of characters in the top 100 films of 2014 being

Jennifer Lawrence brought the issue to the forefront of global media. female and only 21% had a lead or co lead role. Behind the camera, the situation is worse – as in the same 2014 ranking of films, women made up just 18.9% of producers, 11.2% of writers and a shocking 1.9% of directors.

In the modern age, the underrepresentation of women is completely unacceptable. With women making up 50% of audiences it is ridiculous that there should be such fewer female participation on and behind the screen – particularly when women are heavily involved in a lot of the highest grossing films. Both

Pitch Perfect and Cinderella made over $800 million and Fifty Shades of Grey, whether you loved or hated it had a female director and female lead earned a worldwide gross of $570 million.

For black women, the statistics are even more shocking as on average white actresses make an average of 78% of an actors wage, while African American and Native American women make 64 and 59 cents for every dollar made my a white man and Hispanic women earn as little as 56 cents to a white mans dollar.

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THE VETERANS Now officialy the longest running comedy on Channel 4 the much revered Peep Show has returned to our screens. This article will help you get up-to-date with all the goings on and most importantly, the good, the bad and the Jez.

The British sense of humour is something that has always been characterized in the form of slapstick comedy. Look at the highly successful Carry On – something that was widely regarded as the most influential comedy series on British television. But what if instead of violence and tongue-in-cheek humour that would evoke laughter we had a TV series based around two very different bachelors. Two bachelors who instead of hitting each other, strike back at conflict over strange things with interesting and witty rebuttal. That’s what Peep Show did, does, and unfortunately after this series will stop doing. That’s right, after series 8 finished on something of a cliff hanger, Peep show has decided to finally tie up all the lose ends in its finale.

But Channel 4’s longest serving comedy will undoubtedly be remembered by it’s cult following for years and years to come. The fact is, no show has ever used POV angle so well and so consistently and gained very few plaudits for it. The biggest shame, really, is that Peep Show, in its small, underfunded beginnings wasn’t actually critically acclaimed.

What’s worse though, is that absolutely everyone who watches the show always relates to monumental failure, Mark Corrigan. Played by comedian, writer and occasional QI panellist, David Mitchell, does do a fantastic job, indeed. Whether it be the way in which Mitchell is now so blatantly absorbed by his character, his delivery of the lines or in fact the way he looks at his counterpart Jez (Robert Webb), Corrigan, the loser, is unashamedly so the more relatable

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one. And isn’t that depressing.

Whether it stems from the episode in series 4 when Mark marries his love interest who he thinks is the “One” the scene in which they get in the car straight after leaving church and both himself and Sophie break down into tears in the back of the car says an awful lot about their relationship.

Inevitably he ends up regretting it wholly die to the fact that his new love interest, Dobby, has the most awkward love scene with him in a stationary cupboard. Which ends in Mitchell’s character relieving himself, embarrassingly.

The devil on Mark’s shoulder comes in the form of his flatmate/unruly tenant, Jez. Mitchell’s real-life best friend and comedy partner, Robert Webb, plays Jez. Webb’s character is everything that a musical failure could be. And funnily enough, much like Pinky and the Brain, Jez has his friend Superhans (Matt King) to scheme with.

Jez and Superhans want to be the next Chemical brothers. They’re still living in the days of the hacienda.

And they just love almost all forms of drugs. Superhans in one episode even finds a love for the “running high” a scene, which sees Superhans run all the way from Croydon, where he lives, to Worthing, where his legs inevitably break down.

The type of humour that entails in Peep Show is genuinely different to the type of humour you would expect in British humour. It’s really not a cheap laugh or two, but instead is a well thought out way of making these actors make as much of an idiot of themselves as they are of one another. Peep Show often focuses

Inset: Mark and Jez

on the internal monologue of both characters gives the comedy so much more context than lines they are simply saying aloud to each other. You learn from each internal monologue the feelings of the main characters Mark and Jez as well as what they’re next plan of action is going to be.

The way both of them are so over the top with how they act with one another is also hilarious. For example, episode one of series 8, Mark stumbles across an Indian restaurant to see Jeremy indulging in an Indian meal with the money Mark gave him to get some therapy. Jeremy then returns home full and probably feeling

Dobby

OF CHANNEL 4

SuperHans

a little bit sick from eating so much food to see that Mark has kindly bought him an Indian meal for dinner.

This ends in a massive argument and Jeremy spitefully eating an Onion Bhaji whilst getting incredibly upset with Mark and almost crying at the dinner table. But as the little quibbles between the two bachelors become full episode problems there is a constant entwining of their separate but sometimes joined love interests.

For Jeremy it all starts with Big Suze, an overly posh woman that Jeremy lived with for a year and a half prior to the start of the show. Interestingly Suze is a ghost character up until the

third series when she in fact becomes a major supporting role. The way Big Suze’s character is introduced is very interesting a it gives the show another life, a good bit of context and when she is introduced to the audience it kind of feels like you’ve known her all the while.

After Big Suze falls for Mark’s boss Alan Johnson, or Johnson, Jeremy moves onto Mark’s sister. For Mark this is incredibly uncomfortable as his sister has just been through a divorce and knows that Jeremy is simply just capitalizing on that fact, until, of course, he falls madly in love with her, when she, of course, falls madly out of love with him. This is all to Mark’s liking, as he see it, they deserve to be that upset. Things go from bad to desperate as Jeremy then falls in love with his Marijuana dealer.

Elena, a Russian emigrant, seduces Jeremy whilst unknowingly to him she has a girlfriend. This again ends up blowing up in Jeremy’s face as Elena’s girlfriend, Gail, finds out and due to them living in the same block of flats, makes life an awful lot harder for Jeremy.

But this unhappy ending benefits Mark. At this point in the show, Mark is out of work and so Gail hires him for a job as a waiter in her Mexican restaurant. Though he reaped the rewards in this failure of Jeremy’s love life, things haven’t really been better for Mark. It all starts with Sophie. Mark fights with his Merseyside bully, Jeff Heaney, who is portrayed by Neil Fitzmaurice, for her hand in marriage. But as mentioned earlier, they realise they made the wrong decision, immediately get divorced and end up having a child, as you would expect. It gets even worse as Mark falls in love with a shoe sales girl who is a student. Mark in his usual way tries to lie his way into her bed, which then sees him pretending to be a mature student at her university.

This sees him go to her university and sit in on with her small seminar groups and be interogatted by the lecturer. He also then makes a fool of himself in front of the lecturer at a small gathering he has at his house to discuss literature, bringing cheap wine to try and fit in with the

other students. The shoe sales girl, apparently, makes reappearance in the last series. The shoe sales girl, apparently, makes reappearance in the last series. It all comes to a rousing end with Dobby. Mark meets Dobby in the IT department of where he works, JLB. At the time when he meets her he is actually with Sophie so he ignores the temptation and pretends as though it’s not real. As the demise of Sophie and Mark’s relationship inevitably comes, Dobby becomes Mark’s one true love, who he sits and watches films with and eats Lamb Passanda, he truly has everything he could ever have wanted. But then as he asks her to move in with him and things are a bit fragile as she says she’s not ready to make such a commitment, Jeremy also begins to fall for Dobby. But things don’t stop there in the love triangle of Jeremy, Mark and Sophie.

Just after the break up, Jeremy visits Sophie and smokes a joint with her which results in them kissing. Luckily Mark doesn’t find out, but the fact that it is a little secret between Jeremy, Sophie and the audience makes hilarious.

This brings us to the last episode of series 8. In the last episode of series 8, Mark, Dobby and Jez all go for a picnic. It couldn’t have ended worse, as they all sit there besides the canal, Jeremy exclaims his love for Dobby right in front of her boyfriend Mark.

This is where the cliff-hanger actually comes in, because it ends with Mark and Jeremy having an argument and then that’s it. Nobody knew how things would pan out but we could only guess that the life-long friendship would inevitable come to an end.

Series 9 looks to be an interesting one. Will Mark and Jez make up?

Did Dobby choose who she wanted in the end or did she just leave the pair of them to squabble? Series 9 is rumoured to be the big finale, but nobody wants it to be, and with speculation rising over the doubts that it will be, all we can do is turn Channel 4 on of a Wednesday at 10pm laugh an awful lot and like Christmas day, just hope it never ends.

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An emerging trend within recent years, the biopic is becoming the most popular genre of film.

These six films are arguably the pioneers, from the blockbusters through to the independents

Inset: Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg

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THEORY OF EVERYTHING

THE SOCIAL NETWORK

WOLF OF WALL STREET

Eddie Redmayne was a surprising actor to have as a leading role in such an eagerly anticipated film as Theory Of Everything. He hadn’t really done much of note other than the commercial flop that was Jupiter Ascending. The film was critically acclaimed and was a beautiful way of portraying the life of Stephen Hawking.

It showed a lot of Hawkings before his disease shut his body down. His loveable personality is a side which many people aren’t aware of. This film highlights his sense of humour, which would have been forgotten if he had not featured in The Simpsons not so long ago. Ed dropped the commercial flop of Jupiter Ascending behind him when he entered this role and worked tirelessly to perfect the traits of one of the world’s most influential physicists. A great biopic which showed that not all the actors that feature in them follow suit.

Facebook is the life-blood of the next generation. It would be preposterous to believe that such an important factor in day-to-day life came after a few beers were had following an unfortunate date for Mark Zuckerberg. Funnily enough, the premise was stumbled upon in a halfcut haze of despair. This was Jesse Eisenberg’s first role in a big film. And Eisenberg delivered. He’s a great actor and looks alarmingly like Zuckerbeg.

It’s an interesting story The Social Network. The film is based around the lawsuits that Zuckerberg faced whilst the website was in its early stages.

The use of a pastel coloured filter on the film is actually a quite quirky reference to the use of such filters on Facebook in all it’s prominence. It’s an interesting look at how Facebook coped in its teething stages and how it became the influential stronghold that it now is.

The life of Jordan Belfourt was a questionable endeavour. With two big names like Leonardo Di Caprio and Martin Scorcese it was hard to see this film being anything other than a resounding success, really. Di Caprio, like in every film he stars in, submersed his self in the role completely and pulled off arguably one of the best performances of not only the year but of his career. The only real surprise of this film was that Di Caprio didn’t walk away from the Oscars with one of his own. The issues with this film really came in the last half-hour. The ending itself was a bit lacklustre; the film went from 60 miles per hour to nought in a matter of seconds. The way they depicted Belfourt’s life would also be something that could be criticised. It’s not that it wasn’t necessary to show the excess of the man, case and point being Di Caprio taking drugs from a prostitute’s bottom.

DISSECTING BIOPICS CONTROL

NOWHERE BOY

WALK THE LINE

Anton Corbjin worked closely with Joy Division as they grew to prominence in the 1980s’, so it was no surprise that he would take the reins of Ian Curtis’ biopic. Control, under the guidance of Deborah Curtis’ book Touching From A Distance, depicts the struggles of Ian Curtis, as a musician, husband and a father. In a fittingly black and white aesthetic, Sam Riley – who plays the protagonist – arguably does the job of his life. The way Riley, not only, looks like Curtis, but perfects the haunted, epileptic inspired dance moves of Curtis on stage whilst performing.The film comes to an abrupt but beautifully filmed ending as it shows Ian Curtis following through with his ‘not living past the age of 21’ plan and ends his life in his kitchen. Control finishes with a shot of his wife walking in to find his limp corpse hung above the kitchen table, she screams and the film ends.

A fantastic depiction of a fascinating time in music, indeed.

After Aaron Taylor-Johnson simply played a parody of himself in Angus Thongs and Perfect Snogging it was interesting that he was given the role of John Lennon in his biopic. But what was more interesting about Nowhere Boy was how much Aaron Taylor-Johnson was actually the saviour of the whole film. The poor script writing and budget soundtrack were completely wasted on this whole project. But it was a bit of a halfhearted production, showing that the plot is a really important part of filmmaking. It’s arguable that if this wasn’t about John Lennon it wouldn’t have done half as well as it did in the box office. But that’s not to take anything from Taylor-Johnson’s performance.

The most important part of the role was the accent, he had the bravado of a young Lennon nailed. Taylor-Johnson showed that he’s still a promising young actor with an awful lot to offer, and if it wasn’t for him this film would have been a disaster.

Johnny Cash lived a torrid life. His career covered an awful lot of areas, even having his own TV show at one point. A character of such cultural relevance needed a big name, and surprisingly, it got Joaquin Phoenix.

Phoenix hadn’t really done anything of note before Walk The Line, other than Gladiator. Yet, here he is romancing with Reese Witherspoon – who’s fantastic by the way – and playing the man of the moment, Cash. Phoenix truly displays the character of Cash with finesse and brilliance. You’d think he’d been on a ranch all his life with the way he was articulating in this film, with his strong perfected SouthAmerican accent in his arsenalw. The film simply depicts the rise to fame that a country and western singer like Johnny Cash would experience at that time in music, the trials, the tribulations and at times, the rejection of the one thing he actually wants, his June - Reese Witherspoon.

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AMY UPCHURCH

S P O T L I G H T

INSTAGRAM: @upyourchurch

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This issue’s spotlight falls on young filmmaker Amy Upchurch. The 21 year old from Chippenham is an avid fan of the gangster genre and does not shy away from dark themes in her own productions.

We spoke to her about where she sees her career heading and what is on the horizon for newcomers to the film industry.

Why did you decide to study film?

I started watching three films a day during study leave when I was supposed to be revising for my A-Level exams, so I thought it would make sense to turn that into what I was studying.

Which film makers do you admire and why?

I really love Martin Scorsese due to his attention to detail and his devotion to genre; I think he makes gangster films really well. David Lynch because he’s really weird but his films make you think about the world and life and stuff, I think it’s important to remember that films are art and are there to provoke an emotional response. I think he encourages that through his own style and doesn’t really care what anyone else thinks. Also Derek Cianfrance due to his directing thought process. For example, in preparation for his film Blue Valentine he made the actors live together as a couple so they would seem natural during the filming and I think it really paid off. I really enjoy the concept of slaving over a project until it’s exactly what you want and I think these directors are great examples of that.

Which genre of films do you prefer and why?

I really like gangster films; I just think they look so slick and cool.

I went through a stage of really enjoying the whole indie coming-ofage genre but I think it’s getting a bit over-played now. I’m partial to a psychological thriller as that’s the only thing I can get my housemates to watch with me because we can then argue about it afterwards and they love it. I think I always watch whatever the people I’m with want to watch because I like everything. My Dad loves westerns and sci-fi and my Mum loves crime thrillers and fantasy films.

Explain your latest film and the inspirations behind it.

I recently wrote a crime thriller as part of my dissertation, which I really enjoyed, although I find the actual writing of a script really challenging.

I struggle to add in turns to the story without being cliche so I’ve got

millions of incomplete ideas just sat around. The film I’m working on this year was written by a friend of mine and explores the idea of memory loss. It’s a drama but I’m working as the cinematographer so I’m really excited about it: it’s always fun to see a project progress using an enthusiastic group. My inspirations in terms of cinematography have come from techniques used in Breaking Bad and Narcos, there were a lot of really complicated and beautiful shots used in both and I’d love to try to recreate some of those.

Where do you generally find inspiration?

To be honest, I’m not really big on listening to anyone else when it comes to whether a film is worth watching or not. I’d rather formulate my own ideas about it before hearing others as I feel it takes away from it a little bit. In terms of creating stuff, I’ve been fortunate enough to meet some really interesting people who always talk about cool stuff. I guess I enjoy the idea of making films about your own experiences and emotions and trying to project them in a cool way rather than trying to create something new e.g. fantasy and sci-fi.

So I guess I get my inspiration from my own life and the people around me.

What are your must-see movies of 2015?

I’ve been really bad at watching films this year to be honest. I’m really excited to watch By The Sea which is co-directed by Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Also the Hateful Eight as I’m a real big Tarantino fan.

Ex Machina was good and so was The Lobster and Southpaw. I’ve heard really good things about The Revenant, Mistress America (because I liked Frances Ha) and Tangerine.

Do you think it is easy to break into the film industry as a young film maker?

Not at all, but I think if you have enough personal drive and motivation its not hard to get your work seen by a lot of people. I really enjoy seeing my peers’ work at university and amateur filmmaker’s work so I imagine there are lots of other people

that do too. You’d be surprised how many people will want to help out in some sort of way because it’s fun.

I think it’s very important to value the feedback you get from everyone when it comes to progressing in the film industry. Networking is really key and that’s also made so much easier these days as you can literally tweet people and be like ‘Yo I really like your work’ and they’ll actually probably see it. There are so many places online available for you to show and share your work, but I imagine getting the right people to see it is a different story. I think for a lot of the jobs if you don’t put in the effort there are 10 other people waiting behind you who will happily take your place, so you’ve got to have motivation and confidence to know you can do your job well. I think you just have to keep open-minded rather than aiming for a specific job role as that’s how you work out what you can contribute rather than solely personal gain/achievement.

What would be your ideal path after you graduate?

I’d love to start making my own films more regularly and have that as my main job somehow. I’ve kind of been looking into the possibility of shooting music videos or helping out with that in someway. Either way I’d like to be doing something creative still. I’d love to travel but would only really consider it if it was alongside my career I guess, I don’t just want to be jetting off and then coming back to realise I’ve done nothing productive with my time. I’d love to get into a graduate scheme at a film production company maybe.

Which 3 movies would you take to a desert island and why?

1. Pulp Fiction because I’ve already seen it like 124209357029857 times so I guess I wouldn’t be sick of it.

2. Charlie and the Chocolate factory because I’d need something to cheer me up and it’s funny. Like how can you not laugh at Augustus Gloop?

Come onnnnnn.

3. Goodfellas because the soundtrack is decent so that’s like two birds one stone.

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ANGELA’S ASHES

THE DEER HUNTER

SCARFACE

This film documents the failures in a young immigrants life, Frank McCourt. The film follows the life of a young McCourt as his father’s alcohol problems and subsequent failure to secure work in America means that his family have to migrate back to Ireland.

The film then shows how McCourt gains the means he needs to get back to his land of dreams, America. It was based on semi-biographical novel by Frank McCourt and was directed by Alan Parker. Though the film was set in Limerick, some scenes were in fact filmed in Cork and Blackpool. It’s an interesting insight into how the potato famine had its repercussions.

Released on December 8th 1978, The Deer Hunter was one of the first real “Epic War” drama films. The film included a young Robert De Niro, and this was one of his first films of note. It also included none other than the queen herself, Meryl Streep and Christopher Walken, it could be argued that with such a soon to be star-studded cast, this could have well of been the pioneer of the genre.

The story of the film focuses on a trio of working-class-Russian-American steelworkers in a sleepy town of Pittsburgh, who then go on to fight in the Vietnam war. It covers an awful lot of issues that were made by the war.

The cult classic, Scarface, was released on December 1st 1983. The film featured Al Pacino, who before this film had played a similar role in The Godfather. It is still considered to this day as one of the most culturally relevant movements in film, with the time of the creation and the relevance of the themes in the film with relation to modern day New York. The film has been praised by greats such as Martin Scorsese and is also referred to in modern pop culture in rap music, video games and comic books. These cultural shockwaves are what make a film relevant, and any normal film a cult classic.

THIS MONTH IN FILM Interestingly, the month of December has had a few diamonds amongst the rough of the Christmas films. Amongst all the Christmas films, it’s quite surprising to see so many dystopian themed films mixed with reallife historical sentiments.

THE FAMILY MAN

CHILDREN OF MEN

SCHINDLER’S LIST

This follows the life of a wealthy businessman who prefers work over family-life, Nicholas Cage. But as he meets his counterpart on Christmas Eve, Cash, Don Cheadle, in the middle of a heist in a convenience store, his world is flipped upside down and their lives swap. Pretty much just like Freaky Friday. Its no surprise that the film flopped as yet another notch of failure is added to Cage’s droll bedpost. Surprisingly funny at times, the film follows Cage’s character as he tries to make sense of his new life, exactly like Freaky Friday. In short the film has a moral; the poor are rich in a way that the rich are poor in.

In a dystopian future where nobody can conceive a child, Clive Owen has found himself with the only pregnant woman in the world. Owen’s character, Theo Faron, is an ex-activist turned alcoholic civil servant. The film consists of the trials and tribulations a heavily wanted man would face when trying to get a pregnant woman to safety. The film stars an array of English film stars, including Michael Caine, who strangely plays a Marijuana growing hippy. It was based on a novel of the same title, but the screenplay itself was credited to five writers with Clive Owen making unaccredited contributions.

The World War 2 film was released on December 15th 1993. The novel Schindler’s Ark, which was published in 1982, inspired it. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, and featured the actor Liam Neeson. The film follows Oskar Schindler – a German businessman – who endeavoured to save Jewish people from the Nazis by employing them in his factories. The film is considered one of the most important historical film, as not only was it relatively near the time when directors started to feel comfortable with the idea of films about the holocaust, but because it was also harrowing and didn’t, really, miss anything out.

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Inset: Clive Owen in Children of Men