The Golden Age of cinema is back!

(photo courtesy of Mart Basa)

This was originally posted on the Macleay Newsroom website. 

Calling all movie buffs: Surry Hills has an old and improved cinema.

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The Golden Age Cinema and Bar has just opened in Commonwealth Street, and it’s the most charming cinema you’ve seen. Tickets for its opening season of classics are selling out fast.

For all you drinkers out there, the 60-seat cinema caters to your needs. There’s a bar inside the cinema, which allows audiences to drink at their leisure. The choice of classic cocktails, highball drinks and a range of beers will leave you spoilt for choice.

The quaint theatre doesn’t serve your typical cinema ‘choc-top ice-cream and buttered popcorn’ foods. Viewers have a choice of cured meats, cheese plates and marinated mushrooms. Have no fear, sandwiches, sundaes and ‘cocktail popcorn’ will still be available to purchase.

Ticket prices vary as they’re based on how much admission would’ve been when the film was first released. The showing of Marx Brothers’ Duck Soup (1933) sold out with tickets selling at 5 cents each! Yes, you read that correctly, 5 cents each.

Here are the top-five timeless films to watch:

1. Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)
2. Poltergeist (1982)
3. The Breakfast Club (1985)
4. Mala Noche (1986)
5. Edward Scissorhands (1990)

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Is One Direction's 3D movie really worth your $22?

This was originally posted on the Macleay Newsroom website.

We review This is Us and here’s the verdict.

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To be brutally honest, no it’s not. It’s also not worth watching it in 3D (which is what bumped admission up to $22).

But despite the ridiculous ticket price, the doco has still nabbed the top spot in box office sales, according to this report.

In a nutshell:

The movie follows the biggest boy band – Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson – around the world on their Take Me Home tour. Fans get an insight into their behind-the-scenes antics and life away from the One Direction phenomenon.

The good stuff:

As a One Direction fan, I thought the movie was great, just not worth all the cash. It definitely ticks all the boxes that makes it enjoyable to watch. It’s nice to see another side to the boys, like their funny banter and cheeky personalities that Directioners love.

The movie also provides screaming teenage girls (and their less-than-impressed boyfriends) with plenty of eye-candy – there are lots of shots of the guys shirtless – and a chance to sing along with the five lads and pretend they’re at a 1D concert. Being in 3D means you can reach out and lightly (or roughly, whatever floats your boat) stroke Harry’s dimpled cheeks. I have to hand it to the director Morgan Spurlock: the CGI concert snippets throughout the documentary are pretty cool.

The not-so good stuff:

It feels like a repeat of their 2012 TV movie, One Direction: A Year In The Making. Both documentaries show their life before X-Factor, their X-Factor journey and life after the reality show propelled them into the stratosphere.

When you compare this to Justin Bieber’s 3D documentary Never Say Never it doesn’t make the cut. While audiences walked into Bieber’s movie expecting just an hour-long concert movie, they walked out with new found respect for the superstar. That’s what This Is Us lacked – it didn’t give the audience a new perspective on the 1D boys.

The other major let down was the overpriced tickets and the fact that it didn’t need to be in 3D, which would save audience’s $4 on ticket price.

All in all, it was a fun documentary, but maybe wait until it’s on DVD.

Rating:

For the film: 7/10

For the price: 0/10

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This might be the greatest news ever!

This was originally posted on the Macleay Newsroom website. 

A spin-off to one of the most successful movie series is finally here.

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An extension of the wizarding world of Harry Potter has finally been announced by Warner Bros. Entertainment and it will be J.K. Rowling’s screenwriting debut.

The movie was inspired by Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, a textbook first year Hogwarts students were required to read. The book, set in New York 70 years before Harry was born, is about the adventures of fictional author Newt Scamander.

The movie will feature well-known faces and mystical creatures.

Warner Bros. Entertainment chief executive Kevin Tsujihara said, “We are incredibly honoured that [J. K. Rowling] has chosen to partner with us on this exciting new exploration of the world of wizardry which has been tremendously successful.

“We know that audiences will be as excited as we are to see what her brilliant and boundless imagination conjures up for us.”

Well, yeah we are!

Here’s hoping that the Golden Trio apparate themselves into a cameo!

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New state of mind!

First week of my internship is over and it has reignited my love for journalism and writing.

For months, my college marks have really had me questioning my ability and had me questioning whether journalism really was what I wanted to do. But after this week, I can happily say that journalism and writing is what I was born to do and I am more determined than ever to make this dream of mine a reality.

To finally have articles I have written be published in a newspaper and to have working journalists commend me for my writing and praise my skills is exactly the motivation I have been looking for. 

Feeling absolutely great and ready to start the new semester of college with a new attitude and not let my marks get the better of me and my dream. 

xx