On 19th February 2008, Karen Matthews called the police to say her nine-year-old daughter Shannon hadn’t come home from school in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. What followed was West Yorkshire Police’s biggest investigation since the Yorkshire Ripper. A massive £3.2 million search unfolded, lasting 24 days and gripping the nation. This new two-part documentary, The Hunt for…
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…
I’m walking past the theatre district the other night, and I swear I thought I’d taken a wrong turn into an earlier age. Back to the Future in giant neon. Down the street The Lion King (again). Around the corner The Devil Wears Prada and right there in the middle? A whole pack of spotted dogs 101 Dalmatians and…
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’m not the kind of person who can just pop one on Spotify while I’m on the train or a plane and zone out. I like to watch podcasts and actually take them in properly. I would still 100% classify that as entertainment. It’s just a different kind of experience when you’re watching the full conversation unfold,…
