For mental health awareness week, Calum Cooper discusses RWBY: Volume 9 and the arc of self-acceptance that defines the central character of Ruby Rose. Continue reading Mental Health Awareness Week: How RWBY Volume 9 Explores Trauma and Self-Acceptance
By Morgan Roberts Frankie Kraft is an actor, writer, and director originally form New York City. He began performing off-Broadway until he moved to Los Angeles at age 10 with his family. Growing up in the San Fernando Valley, he attended performing arts schools before moving back to Manhattan to attend Circle in the Square Theatre School to study musical theatre. After his training, Kraft … Continue reading Interview with “Help Her Live” Filmmaker Frankie Kraft
Calum Cooper writes a deep dive exploration into RWBY’s themes of unified feminism and the toxic masculinity found within lone hero archetypes. Continue reading RWBY: Unified Feminism and the Toxic Masculinity of Lone Heroes
Film critic Calum Cooper reviews The Son, a film that stigmatises mental health and reduces its otherwise serious topic to a manipulative plot device. Continue reading LFF2022 Review: The Son
Film critic Calum Cooper continues coverage of the London Film Festival by reviewing Lila Neugebauer’s moving feature debut, Causeway. Continue reading LFF2022 Review: Causeway
Year: 2021 Runtime: 108 Minutes Director: Michael Pearce Writer(s): Michael Pearce, Joe Barton Stars: Riz Ahmed, Octavia Spencer, Lucian-River Chauhan, Janina Gavankar Director Michael Pearce’s sophomore effort, “Encounter” (2021), creates an initially engaging sci-fi story that eventually takes a more personal turn that showcases lasting scars of trauma. The film follows a pair of young brothers who end up going on a journey with their … Continue reading Encounter: TIFF 2021 Review
“So, for how long have you been depressed for?” This was the question once posed to me by a counsellor during our first counselling session. “I dunno.” I shrugged in response. “Ever since I was a kid, I think.” It sounds like an exaggeration but to some extent, it’s true. In my life there have been two consistencies: depression and film. Both elements are so entwined in my life that it’s easier for me to recall the events of a film rather than the events of my life. Continue reading Time to Be Honest: Depression, Film And Me
“Now Voyager” was ahead of its time in depicting those with mental health struggles as not deserving to be shoved away in an attic room and never spoken about in polite society. Continue reading Mental Health Awareness Month Retrospective: Now, Voyager
What would you do if I told you that today was your last day on this planet? Would your galvanized restlessness motivate you to spend every waking moment with the most accessible loved one? Would you, in a state of fear, find the closest possible place to go skydiving? Would you suddenly become religious and confess all your sins to a priest–or would you do the alternative and regurgitate every mistake you’ve ever made with a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon in hand? Continue reading Review: She Dies Tomorrow
“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” has been on my list for a while; it is one of only three films to have won the Big Five at the Oscars. For you non-Oscar fanatics out there, the Big Five is the coined term for a film that has won all of the five major awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay (original or adapted). “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” is based on Ken Kesey’s famous novel from 1962 of the same name, of which I purchased at a used bookstore for $2 and still have yet to read. I’ll get around to that one day, too. All of this being said, there were super high expectations going into this first viewing. Continue reading One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest: Order and Chaos in Society
In Their Own League 