ENTERTAINMENT

CO-EDITOR FRAN MULVEY & CAMERON LUSTY

Tyrone Album Review

BY RAHUL ANEESH

I talk about Slowthai’s sophomore album “Tyron”, and express my overall thoughts track by track:

45 SMOKE:

This has a menacing instrumental and an aggressive flow and discusses Slowthai’s rich lifestyle as well as his toxic past. The best part for me is the intimidating outro, which brings the hardest head-bops out of me.

CANCELLED:

In the chorus Skepta explains that he can’t be cancelled because of his achievements. In his verse he confronts people trying to “cancel” him. In Slowthai’s verse he talks about how he doesn’t need the approval of award shows. I like the smooth woodwinds and the kicks that occur halfway through.

MAZZA:

This song features an instrumental which I can’t help but do that Pop Smoke dance to. Slowthai talks about depression, suicide, and drug addiction but Asap Rocky’s verse is a bit more upbeat and drops a lot of references to his hometown. Overall, one of the most entertaining collabs this year.

VEX:

This song features an instrumental like something off a horror movie. Slowthai talks about his anger towards certain people and killing off that negativity. I also like the aggressive and confident delivery. I also enjoy the chilling melodic

rap bridge. This track is short at just 48 seconds, but it still has a very energetic instrumental. I love Slowthai’s charisma, I just wish it was extended into a full-length track.

DEAD: The chorus is catchy and fits the bouncy instrumental. Slowthai raps that his life can be taken away, but his spirit still thrives. There’s also a lot of hard-hitting and witty lines. In the second verse he wonders what the world will be like once he’s gone.

PLAYING WITH FIRE: This is a tamer

track, which features an instrumental which gives me the vision of active fireplaces, this song discusses Slowthai’s poor mental state and suicidal thoughts. Then the outro contains helpful advice - especially the line, “If you love the world for its flaws, you will never be disappointed”.

I TRIED: The intro sets the sombre tone of this track. Then over a heavenly instrumental Slowthai provides meaningful imagery of poverty and you can fell the frustration. In the outro we get to hear Slowthai attempt to sing where he sounds helpless.

FOCUS: In the first verse he talks about ignoring the negativity, then in the second verse he talks about avoiding jail. I like the light-hearted instrumental; in the second half of each verse the trap instrumental reveals a soothing boom bap instrumental and I enjoyed Slowthai’s smooth delivery on here.

TERMS: Dominic Fike has a moving chorus about coping with the struggles of fame. Slowthai has an exhilarating flow talking about the hate and depression received. I like the gloomy instrumental which provides the atmosphere of a depressed mind. I would have preferred if Denzel PUSH: I really like the angelic vocals from Deb Never. Also there’s powerful imagery of “pushing” through hard times. The acoustic guitars remind me of cloudy days on the beach and I also love how the instrumental builds up as the track progresses.

NHS: I really enjoyed the thoughtprovoking metaphors, and the track matches the album cover. This song talks about being grateful for a service like NHS and these metaphors make us really think where we would be. Also the last 3 lines of the second verse really answer why we need a service like NHS.

FEEL AWAY: It talks about being sympathetic to pregnant women. I enjoy the pianos and the lush trap drums that enter the chorus, then James Blake comes in with graceful vocals and his verse contains lyrics about the future with a baby. Overall this is a very passionate meaningful personal track.

ADHD: In the first and second verse he sounds weak as he is crying for help. Then there is a skit where I assume it’s Slowthai calling his friend in prison. Then in the third verse it sounds as if he’s having a meltdown of being trapped in this depressed void. Personally I would have preferred it if this track and Feel Away swapped places but it does the album justice.

“Tyron” offers the best of both tough turn up songs and emotionally personal cuts. It’s a fantastic trip in the mind of Slowthai.

Cube (1997)

BY CAMERON LUSTY

RATING: 15 RUN TIME: 1 HOUR 30 MINS GENRE: DRAMA, MYSTERY, SCI-FY FILM OF THE MONTH

I wrote about 4 films for my dissertation. I’ve already written about Coherence and today’s is about the late 90s, low budget, Canadian horror-psychological thriller-sciencefiction film Cube (1997). It was an independent film, produced by the Canadian Film Centre and premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the Best Canadian First Feature Film. It was written and directed by Vincenzo Natali (André Bijelic and Graeme Manson also have writer credit). As expected with an independent film, the cast isn’t star studded, with the two most notable actors being science-fiction TV show alums: Nicole De Boer from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine; and David Hewlett from Stargate SG1 and Stargate Atlantis (shoutout to any Stargate fans; if I was to ever do a TV Show of the Month those shows would definitely be on the list). Regardless of the actors’ clear inexperience, none of them are bad, and they all play their characters, which are all written very varied and with built in conflict, to the best of their abilities. A group of individuals, frightened and with no memory of how they got there, find themselves in a room, one of many that make up an ominous maze-like cubic structure. They must travel from room to room, but some contain traps. They figure out how to decipher whether they are dangerous or not. And to make matters worse: the rooms shift and swap places. So, when they think they are finally understanding the cube they are once again thrown into deep confusion. This film is all about questions. Both you, the viewer, and the characters, will be plagued by existential questions. Who created the Cube? Why? How? And: who are these people and why have they been put in this tortuous game?

Each character is distinctly defined. Notably, each character is named after a prison, definitely a nod to the cube, very much a prison like structure that also functions as a prison for the main characters. You have the authoritarian leader (Quentin McNeil), amiable at first but becomes hostile when his leadership is challenged; the young, naïve, Mathematics genius (Joan Leaven); the cynical engineer who knows more than he lets on (David Worth); the matriarchal figure (Dr. Helen Holloway), who’s filled with grief from a deep loss: the jaded mentor figure who reluctantly helps the group (Rennes); and a vulnerable, mentally handicapped man (Kazan), who is pigeon-holed and overlooked. Each character finds their psyches eroded by the cube and as tensions form, the group begins to split. With nowhere to go, you as the viewer experience every awkward, scary, tense, and dramatic moment alongside the characters. You will find it hard not to put yourself in the characters’ position. I want to touch on the antagonist briefly. It’s pretty obvious the main antagonist is the maze they’re stuck in, the cube, and that’s what sets this film apart from the crowd. Not many films use a location as their main antagonist, specifically a fake location, which the director/writer consulted mathematicians on to figure out the correct dimensions of the structure. The effects of the cube on the characters provide the same conflict as an antagonist. The fact the cube swaps its interior, meaning it changes over the course of the film, gives the impression of a character arc. I won’t spoil whether the characters get out or not but let’s just say, it feels like the cube is the one who makes the choice. You will have to watch it to find out what I mean. In conclusion, there are some flaws but considering the context of the film – a low-budget film from a firsttime director – then the mistakes are understandable. It also makes the execution of the story even more impressive. The premise itself is original. The cube is meticulously designed. The film is visually captivating. And the story poses questions you will be dying to find an answer to. This is one of my favourite independent films and hopefully you will like it too. We won’t talk about the sequels; if you like Cube, then please don’t watch them.

SEND YOUR THOUGHTS AND ARTICLE IDEAS TO:

CAMERON@STUDENT-LIFE.CO

Do SCREENWRITERS get enough credit?

BY CAMERON LUSTY

To give a short answer… no. However, that alone would not make an interesting article, so I’ll say more. Since I’m being forced to use more words, I’ll talk about why I think screenwriters don’t get enough credit and how it can be improved by you, the viewer. I’m sure we can all agree when a film is very successful it’s usually the actors or directors that get the plaudits. When you think about the most successful films ever, I’m certain the first person you’ll think of connected to that film will be either one of the actors, or the director. But almost never the writer. (If you are one of those people then this is not the article for you. I suggest you do something more worthwhile with your time, you Lovely Human Being.) Take The Fast and Furious franchise. While not critically good films it has a massive audience, yet I never hear any fans of these films say they like it because of the writing. In fact, I’ve never even heard anyone mention who the writer even is (I had to check it wasn’t Vin Diesel). Harry Potter is another classic example of a hugely successful franchise where I never hear the writers praised but, almost exclusively, I hear the actors get praised. But the actors didn’t write it; without the writer the actors would have nothing to say at all. JK Rowling gets praise for the books, not the films. And the less said about her screenwriting abilities the better. My dislike for those franchises could be a whole article on its own but clearly people like them. But do any of them like it because of the screenwriter or are they robbed of the praise that those films could potentially receive (which I don’t see but Film is subjective at the end of the day; but also, at the end of the day I need something to write about).

I concede that some very great screenwriters are celebrated but I posit that most of those are also directors of the films they write. And people will usually consider them a director first and writer second (and in some cases may not even realise they’re a writer). Such contemporary examples would be James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Baby Driver). Both are talented screenwriters but is it their directing or writing people like? Or, like usual, do the actors get the praise. Everyone who likes Guardians of the Galaxy knows it starred Chris Pratt but how many know who wrote it? So even when I can highlight a screenwriter who actually does receive praise, it’s rarely for their writing, and even then, they are overshadowed by the people who are saying the things they wrote. Even the big names – Tarantino, Sorkin, Christopher Nolan – would be considered directors before writers. That isn’t to say screenwriters don’t ever get any credit, it’s just the credit they do get is from people who do, genuinely, appreciate the craft and the work that it requires. Whereas when a casual film viewer likes a film, they are more likely to stick to the surface of appreciation and, as a result, believe the actor is responsible for why they liked it and not realise it’s the screenwriter. Now, I have heard casual film goers say they like the way a film is written but, unlike when they like a specific actor, they won’t find out the writer’s name. And that’s what I think needs to change. I want to see people treating writers the way they treat actors. They might not be as conventionally attractive but most of them are pretty smart and they’re certainly responsible (in most cases) for larger portions of why you like a film than the actor - who just showed up and got paid to read lines (clearly not all, but too many). I don’t want to take away praise from the actors but share it among the other people responsible for a film – and give the screenwriters what they’re long overdue. BUT THAT’S ONE, TOTALLY OBJECTIVE, DEFINITELY UNBIASED SCREENWRITER’S OPINION.

Local young creative one step closer to dream ambition

This week, local cinematographer Joshua Freemantle received welcomed news he has been hoping for, as his dream to create a community production company has moved onestep closer to fruition, after pitching his business plan to regional charity Access Community Trust.

After deciding further education was not for him, Joshua, 18 from Lowestoft, has spent over five years building his knowledge and understanding of the creative industry and produced a portfolio of video assets for local authorities and digital advertisements for Google and Channel 4.

Joshua’s love of film, his hometown and for the diverse communities surrounding it was highlighted last year, following the successful cinematic release of a feature length film entitled ‘Life of Lowestoft’, which has been viewed by over 10,000 people around the world. The powerful thought provoking local documentary took over two years to film and edit and has since gone on to win a number of awards from online film festivals.

Earlier this year Joshua begun to capture a number of voices from local ambassadors, that are part of the Towns Fund for a community podcast series, which included an interview with regional charity CEO Emma Ratzer MBE of Access Community Trust. It was after this meeting that Joshua spoke at length of his ultimate vision to create a social enterprise production company in Lowestoft, operated by young people for young people, who want to learn about the creative industry and develop hands on industry standard skills.

Impressed by his passion and enthusiasm, Emma encouraged Joshua to create a long-term business plan for ‘Sunrise Studios’ and this week presented this to a panel of judges (in a Dragon’s Den styled pitch) from the charity for further feedback and advice.

After being grilled by the panel, Joshua finally received an offer he had hoped for from the charity’s CEO Emma Ratzer, of full time employment, which would give him the opportunity to build Sunrise Studios within the Trust’s growing social enterprise network.

Following the successful pitch Joshua remarked,

“I’M ABSOLUTELY DELIGHTED! LOWESTOFT HAS A PROMISING FUTURE AND SUNRISE STUDIOS IS SET TO SUPPORT AND CAPTURE THIS BY BUILDING BRIGHTER HORIZONS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE WHO CURRENTLY ARE SOCIALLY ISOLATED. THERE ARE MANY EXCITING PLANS TO DEVELOP OVER THE COMING MONTHS NOW I HAVE AN ELEMENT OF SECURITY FOR MY FUTURE. I AM ALREADY SPEAKING WITH THE LOCAL AUTHORITY AND ESTABLISHED COMMUNITY GROUPS ON HOW THE STUDIOS CAN ASSIST WITH MAJOR REGENERATION PROJECTS, SUCH AS THE CULTURAL QUARTER AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SHARING THIS WITH THE LOCAL COMMUNITY VERY SOON.” Emma Ratzer MBE, who has led Access Community Trust for over a decade commented,

“AT ACCESS, WE POSITIVELY SUPPORT COUNTLESS INDIVIDUALS EVERY YEAR ACROSS SUFFOLK AND NORFOLK. SADLY, AT TIMES, THE VOICES OF YOUNG PEOPLE ARE OFTEN MISSED WITHIN SOCIETY AND THIS IS SOMETHING WE ARE DETERMINED TO CHANGE. WE OPERATE MANY INITIATIVES FOR PEOPLE UNDER 25 TO ENGAGE WITH, INCLUDING ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION, APPRENTICESHIPS, YOUTH AND MENTAL HEALTH FORUMS AND GROUP ACTIVITIES. BY WELCOMING JOSHUA AND SUNRISE STUDIOS TO ACCESS, IT PROVIDES ADDITIONAL PLATFORMS FOR LOCAL YOUNG PEOPLE TO BE LISTENED TO AND TAKEN SERIOUSLY. AFTER ALL, THIS GENERATION IS OUR FUTURE.”

For more information on Sunrise Studios visit:

www.sunriselowestoft.com