Victoria Mapplebeck is a BAFTA-winning filmmaker and professor of Digital Arts at Royal Holloway. She received the 2019 BAFTA for her short-form documentary Missed Call, shot entirely on her iPhone. With her debut feature Motherboard, which premiered at the 2024 London Film Festival, Mapplebeck turns the camera on two decades of life with her son Jim, exploring…
When you think of The Summer I Turned Pretty, the first thing that comes to mind is probably Belly’s messy, romantic love triangle but here’s a different take: Season 3 feels like it’s quietly telling a completely different story. Beneath the beachside drama, one character’s quiet evolution has started to steal the spotlight and it’s not…
Martin Harris has worn a lot of hats in his career sports journalist, rock musician, video game icon and now a face in the latest Superman reboot. From swapping stories with co-stars to taking acting cues from James Gunn, Harris brings a mix of humility, enthusiasm, and a knack for great behind-the-scenes anecdotes. Over the…
I am not really a big K-POP person, but I have to say, I really enjoyed the storyline of this one. The music was honestly way better than I expected, and I even ended up adding a couple of the songs to my playlist. I went into it thinking, “Okay, this is probably not my thing,” but…
Some shows fade from memory the minute the credits roll. Normal People isn’t one of them. Since Normal People is now back on Netflix, maybe they can convince BBC to finally do a second season like the audience has been wanting all along. Normal People really is one of those rare shows that deserves more recognition. It’s already got a…
Something I spotted in The First Shadow might be the missing piece of the Season 5 puzzle. After seeing Stranger Things: The First Shadow at the theatre for the second time, I was amazed all over again but this time, I left with my brain spinning, trying to figure out what the elusive easter egg might be for the…
I don’t understand why British true crime documentaries lag so far behind their American counterparts. The storytelling always feels rushed, and you never really get to know the victim as a person. In this case, we don’t even get an explanation of how Louise Kam met her killers. Was it planned, random, casual? Did she…
I think the critics have got this one wrong. The second season of Annika just landed on BBC iPlayer this week, and honestly, it’s perfectly watchable, more than that, it’s gripping, clever, and completely unique in how it’s told. What makes Annika a brilliant crime drama is its format. DI Annika Strandhed (played by Nicola Walker) breaks the fourth…
“This is the messiness of life, and as an annoyingly brilliant man once told me, these are the best bits.” Sofia Carson is on fire with romantic comedies this year, first The Life List, and now My Oxford Year. She has this girl-next-door charm that fits perfectly with these roles. You genuinely believe her as Anna, an…
Happy Gilmore 2 starts with a bang and delivers a hilarious first hour that had me laughing harder than I have in years. The film leans fully into its cornball nature and I loved that about it. It knows what it is and never tries to be anything more than a ridiculous, feel-good comedy. Even though…
