Culture | Westminster World

Apr92024 by Luke Howard MayesNo Comments

Back to Black: Not Just Fans, Amy Winehouse Biopic Divides Critics as Well

Breaking News, Celebrity, Culture, Entertainment, Explainers

(art by JCX/@jcxdesigns) The new Amy Winehouse biopic premiered last night in Leicester Square, receiving lukewarm reviews from critics. While Marisa Abela’s performance as Winehouse was widely praised, many had issue with the script, as well as the portrayals of Winehouse’s father and ex-husband. Reviews of the film varied but primarily leant in a negative direction, with The Daily Mail and The Evening Standard both giving it one-star reviews. In a two-star review The Independent called it a “sanitised biopic” and said the portrayal of Winehouse’s ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil is “a mix of Heathcliff, Sid Vicious and Mary bloody Poppins.” However director Sam Taylor-Johnson had previously stated that “We had to understand why Amy fell in love with him, so it wasn't about maki

Apr82024 by Shaurya ThapaNo Comments

Why is Amy Winehouse Biopic Back to Black dividing fans?

Breaking News, Culture, Entertainment, Music

(photo-Sowmya Singhdeo) Back to Black will be the first biopic dedicated to Amy Winehouse but her admirers have certain fears about the representation of a singer who was exposed to exploitative media for most of her stardom. Thirteen years after Amy Winehouse’s passing, the late multi-Grammy winner gets the biopic treatment with Sam Taylor-Johnson’s Back to Black which gears up for its premiere today (Monday) at Odeon Luxe, Leicester Square. With the musical drama eyeing an April 12 wide release, the movie follows the footsteps of Bob Marley: One Love as the next big music biopic of 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYzIOBwyhIU The Camden native already had her life chronicled in Asif Kapadia’s Oscar-winning 2015 documentary Amy. But Back to Black, named in honour of Wi

Dec122023 by Shaurya ThapaNo Comments

Ballet classic The Red Shoes comes alive at BFI exhibition

Art, Breaking News, Culture, Entertainment, Explainers, Film

BFI celebrates the 1948 ballet romance classic The Red Shoes with a free-for-all exhibition (photos-Shaurya Thapa) The 1948 British drama The Red Shoes gets a vibrant retrospective at the British Film Institute Southbank Centre with an exhibition celebrating the many talents involved in the ballet-centric tragiromance. "Don’t forget, a great impression of simplicity can only be achieved by great agony of body and spirit." says Boris Lermentov, the tough-as-nails impresario behind a majestic ballet production in The Red Shoes. Perhaps this piece of dialogue sums up the very essence of the 1948 film helmed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, the directing/writing duo also known as The Archers. https://www.tiktok.com/@shaurya_thapa/video/7311730139388300545?_r=1&_t=8i7

Mirror, mirror on the stage: Harrow Arts Centre presents a must-see Snow White pantomime

Art, Breaking News, children, Christmas, Culture, Explainers, Harrow, Music

Credit: Somya Singhdeo Christmas is just around the corner, and families are looking for ideas on how to spend quality time together. Well, look no further because a new Snow White play at Harrow Arts Centre has you covered. The award-winning Immersion Theatre production of Snow White debuted this Saturday, December 9th. Matthew Wright, the programme manager at Harrow Arts Centre, said: “It is an adaptation of the traditional story of Snow White and includes all of the pantomime features you come to expect from pantomime. It includes many pop songs and is just good family fun.” Credit: Agne Galdikaite When asked about the audience of the play, Wright said: “The main audience is local community groups, schools and families. It is a family production, but everyo

Dec112023 by Shaurya ThapaNo Comments

Golden Globes 2024 Nominations: Barbenheimer, Taylor Swift and two new categories

Art, Breaking News, Celebrity, Culture, Entertainment, Explainers, Film

(photos- IMDb, cover design edited by Shaurya Thapa, background image designed by Shaurya Thapa via DALL-E) Nominations for the 81st Golden Globes were announced today, honouring the best of 2023 movies and TV shows. The nominee list featured expected favourites like Oppenheimer and Killers of the Flower Moon as well as surprise picks like non-English features like Past Lives and Anatomy of a Fall making it for Best Picture. Stand-up comedian and actor Cedric the Entertainer and That 70's Show star Wilmer Valderrama announced the nominees via a CBS livecast on Golden Globe's official YouTube channel. This ceremony also introduced three new categories: Cinematic and Box-Office Achievement, and Best Stand-Up Comedian on Television. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrhXU2-eoXw ...

From magenta velvet to Oompa-Loompa: Inside the glamorous Wonka premiere

Art, Breaking News, Celebrity, Culture, Entertainment, Film

The world premiere of Wonka was hosted at the Royal Festival Hall in central London on Tuesday. The world premiere of Wonka in London. Picture credit: Yasmin Call Me By Your Name actor, Timothee Chalamet, 27, who plays the movie’s titular character, attended the premiere bare-chested, wearing a magenta velvet-look suit. Oscar-winner Olivia Colman, who plays Mrs Scrubbit in the movie, and Horrible Histories actor Matthew Baynton, who stars as Fickelgruber in the film, were seen interacting with fans, clicking selfies and signing autographs. Also at the premiere were actor and comedian Matt Lucas, who plays Prodnose in the upcoming movie, and Mr Bean star Rowan Atkinson, who potrays a priest in the film. Comic actor Simon Farnaby, who wrote the screenplay for Wonka alongside

Creative Sanctuary or A Captive Zoo

Art, Culture, Explainers

In London’s art scene, there's a clash between tradition and the quest for publicity. Big-name museums in the city are no longer serene havens for art appreciation, they resemble chaotic stock exchange floors, thanks to visitors more interested in selfies than the masterpieces on display. Has the value of art taken a backseat to the pursuit of online validation? Enter West London, an unexpected haven tucked between regular shops and residential streets. Here, unassuming galleries are doing things differently. They're not chasing global recognition, instead, they focus on providing a platform for local talent through community-focused shows. It's a stark contrast to the big names in London, where the focus on promotional spectacles risks overshadowing the essence of art. For t

Nov282023 by Agne GaldikaiteNo Comments

Beyond the surface: The Cult of Beauty exhibition explores the depths of beauty standards

Art, Breaking News, Culture, Explainers, Galleries, London

Masks. The Cult of Beauty. Photograph by Malavika Pradeep Reminiscing our recent visit to The Cult of Beauty exhibition in Wellcome Collection London, we saw the dialogue between beauty, age, gender, race and status through history in more that 200 artworks. To get the whole picture, let's explore the background of these artworks. Beauty standards in different eras With the first object of the Bust of Queen Nefertiti greeting exhibition visitors, the Wellcome collection says that her full honorific name, Neferneferuaten-Nefertiti, translates to "Beautiful are the beauties of Aten: The beautiful one has come". Nefertiti. The Cult of Beauty. Photograph by Malavika Pradeep According to National Geographic, beauty standards changed dramatically when N...

Nov282023 by Aarna RajNo Comments

Stay in the loop: Your essential guide to understanding Gen Z’s ever-evolving internet lingo

Breaking News, Culture, Explainers, Explainers, Social media

Internet Culture, Social Media Credits: Tracy Le Blanc / Pexels Internet lingo can be complicated to keep track of, so here’s a quick and updated overview of some of the most recent slang. GenZ people are born between 1997 and 2012 and their internet-driven vocabulary keeps evolving. Roman Empire It started off as a simple question over TikTok where women ask men how often they think about the Roman Empire. The answers in these viral videos revealed a shocking frequency which then led to a wider discussion on all social media platforms. Men in these videos claimed to think about it every day or at least three to four times a week. https://www.tiktok.com/@hannahkbrown/video/7278841701047799070?_r=1&_t=8hjnPV4iZBh @hannahkbrown on TikTok The term "R

Nov282023 by Greg NealeNo Comments

Notes from a life in music

Art, Breaking News, Explainers

Credit: Val Wilmer At 81, the London photographer Val Wilmer is taking fewer pictures these days – but with a lifetime’s portfolio like hers, there’s plenty to enjoy, Greg Neale writes. As a young woman fascinated by music, she photographed artists such as the Beatles, Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix at the beginning of their careers. But her abiding interest has been for jazz and blues, and she has photographed almost every name of note in the genres – starting with a portrait of Louis Armstrong taken when she was just 15. Her new book, Deep Blues, is published by Café Royal Books and features artists from Aretha Franklin to Muddy Waters. Some are informal – the guitarist Johnny Embry (top) plays in a Chicago street – others, such as Miles Davis (bottom) in 1968