Dir:  Fernando Meirelles
Released:  28th November 2008

Based on Jose Saramago’s Nobel-prize winning novel, Blindness opened the Cannes festival with a chaotic impression of what would happen were the human race to lose its sight. After City of God (2002) and The Constant Gardner (2005), it seemed natural to keep an eye out for director Fernando Meirelles’ new release, but as the inexplicable ocular contagion gradually spreads on screen, it becomes clear that blind faith is easily misplaced.

In spite of its impressive cast (which includes Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, Gael Garcia Bernal, Danny Glover) and the literary acclaim of Saramago’s novel, Blindness has neither the bite that characterised City of God nor the passion that distinguished The Constant Gardner. Its 120 minutes are painfully long, and Meirelles’ repetitive use of stagy light effects to mimic the onset of the infection quickly become irksome.

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Jean Paul Gaultier’s provocative Autumn/Winter collection, unveiled during Paris Fashion Week recently, reignited an age-old debate. Combining Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ track with animal call sounds, models repeatedly strutted down the runway in fox pelts, long trains of fur and animal heads atop their own as finishing accessories. The use of fur in fashion collections has long been the domain of high-end designer franchise, marred with controversy as a distinctly luxury item- the reliable winter income for fashion houses conscious of the profit margins. Gaultier’s collection used a tried and tested fashion formula, though his particularly extensive exploitation of animal skin means ethical dimensions of the fashion industry are no longer glossed over in catwalk reports – fur is firmly in the limelight once more.

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Orson Welles once said that making a film was “the biggest electric train-set a boy ever had!” Dr. Uwe Boll is definitely among the pantheon of the great auteurs, the directors who took control of their films and made every aspect of production their own.

Boll (his first name should be pronounced ‘you-vaaa’) started out of film school directing thrillers but he made his name adapting videogames, starting with the arcade shoot-em-up, House Of The Dead in 2003; a bright and silly rip-off of every zombie movie you’ve ever heard of but with more teens and bullets. He followed this adaptation with Alone In The Dark in 2005, a broad bastard of H.P. Lovecraft, Aliens and Tara Reid.

Both films got execrable reviews, one reviewer going so far as to say that he serves as a benchmark for all purveyors of bad cinema.  Certainly popular opinion is damning: four of his films currently grace the Internet Movie Database’s mythic ‘Bottom 100’ list, a stratified voting chart of exactly how far below the bottom of the barrel it’s possible to scrape.  And yet, there is so much to love about the man they call The Master of Error. 

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Director: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Release Date: 23 October 2008

There are certain themes I am wary of in films. Those of black identity usually lead to emotional exploitation, while themes of feminism are usually dealt with in a patronising way. And yet, as I sat and watched The Secret Life of Bees, goose bumps appeared that still haven’t left me an hour later as I write this review. I was at times tickled, at times genuinely moved to tears, and I came out of the cinema feeling wholly inspired. All of this was for one reason - Queen Latifah. Perhaps not the first name that comes to mind when considering female screen legends, but in those short moments on screen she has surely secured herself an Academy Award.

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As students, we are the masters of procrastination. Endless hours have been spent by the best of us, judging our ex’s new loves, checking out the competition for a new job or secretly hoping that former acquaintances who were mean to us in school have piled on the pounds. And the best bit is that this whole addictive exercise can be done behind the anonymous protection of our computer screens. This new form of social spying is available thanks to Facebook, and the ‘so last year’ profiling websites, Bebo and MySpace, as well as the multitudes of students who take it all one step further, the ‘bloggers’. 

As a result, a whole new set of previously unaddressed, awkward social situations have arisen. Among the most common involves meeting someone for the first time or bumping into a mate you haven’t seen in years, and realizing not only that you recognize them, but that you know fairly personal and up-to -date details about their lives. Of course, you can never admit this, so you remain your cool and unaffected self by asking endless questions that you already know the answer to. Sound familiar? 

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UCL’s President and Provost has big dreams for the college, whether it means ensuring that it maintains it’s high position on the league tables (9th in the world!) to changing the physical aesthetic of the campus so that’s it’s safer and easier for over 20,000 students. He takes great pride in what he believes to be the typical UCL student: intelligent, open to new challenges and ready to take on the big city. While the bustling Freshers Fayre is unavoidably happening right outside his office, and our newest additions are eagerly signing up to any and every stall in sight, Malcolm Grant chats to Pi about his advice to these new students, and the future of our University. 

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