URBAN

U R B A N
FASHION. FOOTBALL. FILM.

Fashion
We celebrated the top ten fashion
trends over the past decade, as
well as our personal opinion on the
best dressed from the red carpet
at the recent National Television
Awards in London.
- Tengku Asila and Bethan Cooper
Football
I talked about the top ten football
grounds ranking the best and worst
based on my experience plus an
exclusive interview with Amber, a
member of the Barmy Army, the
Manchester United’s women’s team
fan group.
- Matt Johnson
Film
I looked back at the top ten films
of the last decade, in addition to
my personal review of some of the
must watch urban films such as
Parasite and Uncut Gems.
- Joel Sharples

CONTENT
National Televison Awards 2020: Best Dressed
6
Top 10 fashion trends in the last decade
10-12
Exclusive: Interview with Amber from Barmy Army
19
Top 10 best to worst football grounds
21-23
Top 10 films over the last decade
26-28
Must watch urban films
29-30

F a s h i o n
Photo by: Beth Cooper

Photo by: Asila Tengku

national television awards 2020: best
dressed celebrities on the red carpet
Love Island star Maura Higgins dazzled her fans as she
made her way down the red carpet in her beautiful translucent
dress with a sheer lilac overlay, finished off with
the delicate purple feathers lining the edge of her sleeves.
The dress glistened in the camera lights, accompanied by a
sleek low ponytail, and dramatic eye makeup. The perfect
way to stand out from the rest of the TV stars.
Photo by Maura Higgins on Instagram
Former TOWIE star Jess Wright, successfully took the
task of a little black dress and made it better. A simple all
black dress has never looked so amazing, the glittering
material made it feel more elegant, with the stomach cut
out and daring high leg slit allowing the dress to be all
that more unique and flattering to her figure. She paired
her dress with lace up heels to finish the outfit. Jess
also wore it strongly with a powerful high ponytail and a
bronzed makeup look with a heavy smoky eye, allowing
her to give that daggering red carpet look.
Photo by Jess Wright on Instagram
TV presenter Holly Willoughby has had years of NTA
outfits to prepare, but in 2020 it was by far her best yet!
She collected her award alongside Phillip Schofield in the
most elegantly beautiful strapless ballgown, which left
her looking like a real-life fairytale. Holly clearly knew
she wanted a jaw dropping moment for all her fans, as
her silky pink dress with a light grey underlaying skirt was
made and designed especially for the occasion, by Peter
Langer. To keep all attention on the dress, Holly’s hair
and makeup was very minimalistic and natural, leaving
all eyes on arguably one of the most stunning dresses
ever seen at the National Television Awards.
Photo by Holly Willoughby on Instagram
6

Photo by: Beth Cooper

STREET STYLE TITLE

Photo by: Asila Tengku

TOP 10 FASHION TRENDS
As we say goodbye to the last decade, let’s take a walk-through memory
lane and see the hottest trends throughout the 2010’s.
1
First up we have the trend loved by all, athleisure.
This particular trend can be seen on a bunch
of celebrities such as Gigi Hadid, Rihanna and
Selena Gomez. Somehow in the last decade, people
loved living in sweats and gym clothes even if it’s
not for the gym. I guess their motto was “comfort
but make it fashion”.
Photo by Harry Cunningham on Unsplash
Next, we have cropped tops. There are some who
disagree with this particular trend, but we all know
everyone can rock it. From plus size to petites, it
fits all. Cropped tops have been around for a while
and it had some backlash especially from parents,
but it can be seen now that everyone’s rocking the
cropped look.
2
Photo by Sonnie Hiles on Unsplash
3
We then go to my personal favourite, oversized
clothing. This trend can be seen worn by many celebrities
such as Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish and even
Ariana Grande. These celebrities usually style it
with sweatpants or biker shorts. Oversized clothing
used to be more for the vintage feel or the “stealing
from my boyfriend’s closet” look but now oversized
clothing is a style on its own. Some style this oversized
clothing with layers and others go for a more
casual look by pairing it with jeans or shorts.
Photo by Oladimeji Odunsi on Unsplash
10

OVER THE LAST DECADE
4
Text on clothing also known as logomania is another
trend that has been a hit in the past decade.
Brands such as Off White and Supreme use this in
many of their clothing. These brands use their logo
or name as the selling point of the clothing item.
However, logomania does not just focus on big
texts, there are some designs that still has the logo
of the brand but in smaller fonts.
Photo by Justin Chrn on Unsplash
Fashion sneakers such as Dior, Gucci, Fila and
Alexander McQueen also showed their debut in
the last decade. Even though they did not appear
towards the end of the decade, their impact is still
seen among multiple social media influencers as
well as celebrities. These fashion sneakers have two
distinct looks, one of which is bulky and another
one is just like any other sneaker. These fashion
sneakers are called fashion sneakers mainly because
of the brand that produces the shoe.
Photo by Sonnie Hiles on Unsplash
5
6
In the last decade we can see a lot of Muslim models
and influencers surfacing social media platforms.
Models such as Halima Aden has taken the model
industry by storm. Singer-songwriter, Yuna has also
been showing to the world that modest clothing is
the way to go. Modest clothing used to be plain
and boring but over the last decade it has evolved
into something more than just long sleeves and
long skirts. Many brands have also provided modest
clothing choices for their customers like Nike, H&M,
DKNY and Uniqlo. In 2017, modest fashion made its
way on the first London Modest Fashion Week where
40 designers from across the globe created designs
of turbans, hijabs and full-body length dresses.
Overall, this particular trend has been accepted by
all regardless of their beliefs and religion.
Photo by Alexi Romano on Unsplash
11

7
Another trend is layering their clothes. This is
commonly seen in South Korean street fashion as they
like to layer their clothing. It may either be a t-shirt
layered with a collared shirt as well as a jacket or
something more formal such as a dress accompanied
with a long coat. Malaysian influencers also choose to
layer their clothes with more light and breezy clothing
as compared to the South Koreans as the climate is
different. We can also see a bunch of influencers and
celebrities in the Western region choose to style their
outfits this way. It is another way to not make the
outfit look plain but with minimal effort.
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash
The next trend has been around for a while but
still seems to be a crowd favourite, the everlasting
ripped jeans. Ripped jeans can be worn with anything.
It can be more casual by just pairing it with
a graphic tee or to dress it up with a short dress.
Whatever the style you are going for, you can never
go wrong with ripped jeans. Now even modest women
wear ripped jeans by wearing tights underneath
the jeans just for that ripped effect.
8
Photo by Caique Si-lva on Unsplash
9
Another jean trend are the mom jeans. Unlike
ripped jeans, mom jeans are more the casual look
as it is not as fitting. However, unlike its name,
this particular item is not just for the moms. Many
social media influencers choose to wear mom jeans
and style it up.
Photo by Ryan Jacobson on Unsplash
Lastly, we can see a common trend used especially
by celebrities, tiny sunglasses. This particular
trend did not debut until the end of the decade but
similar to the fashion sneakers it took the fashion
world by storm. Celebrities like Millie Bobbi Brown,
Bella Hadid, Kim Kardashian and Beyoncè uses tiny
sunglasses to add more class to their outfits. After
looking at these celebrities, you can see that even
with a small accessory it can elevate the whole
outfit.
10
Photo by Ilya Mirnyy on Unsplash 12

Photo by: Beth Cooper
and Asila Tengku
Top: ASOS (£18)
Jacket: ASOS (£48)
Skirt: ASOS (£22)

Top: ASOS (£30)
Trousers: In The Style (£20)
Shoes: ASOS (£14)
Photos by: Beth Cooper and Asila Tengku

Dress: ASOS (£35)
Necklace: ASOS (£6.50)
Shoes: Dr Martens (£139)
Trousers: ASOS (£32)
Photos by: Beth Cooper and Asila Tengku

Dress: ASOS (£95)
Photo by: Beth Cooper

Photos by: Beth Cooper and Asila Tengku

Football

Exclusive: amber from the barmy army talks
about her experience during away days
Manchester United women’s fan group
the Barmy Army has grown massively in
less than two years. Matt Johnson speaks
to Barmy Army member, Amber Ricketts
about her experiences of away days.
How long have you been regularly going
to games for?
I have been a season ticket holder for
Manchester United’s men’s team since
2012. Since the women’s team formed I
have been going to as many games as I
can.
What made you join the Barmy Army?
The boss, Natalie Burrell, asked if I would
like to join her and the Barmy Army on
an away trip to Reading in the FA Cup
last season and from that trip I made
amazing friends and I have established
myself as part of the family.
What do you enjoy most about away
days?
I love the noise and the atmosphere we
create. I love the fact I am walking past
Chelsea, Spurs and Liverpool fans with a
United shirt on. We are loud, proud and
we leave our mark.
Which have been your least favourite
away days?
The loss against West Ham was the
worst. Everyone was so deflated on the
coach ride coming home. We lost because
of our own naivety and amateur
mistakes. Thankfully, the Chelsea versus
Everton game was called off thus making
it the perfect chance to get our name
imprinted on that fourth spot.
Are there any grounds that you are
looking forward to visit?
Tranmere, because it is where Liverpool
play and I am desperate for a Liverpool
away game. Arsenal’s ground at Boreham
Wood is also in my top list because I have
heard plenty of good reviews about it. To
be honest, I am looking forward to visiting
all of the grounds where Manchester
United women are set to play.
If you would like to find out more about
the Barmy Army, you can follow them on
Twitter and Instagram @barmyarmymuwfc.
For away travel, follow @BarmyArmy-
TRAVEL on Twitter
Which away days have you particularly
enjoyed?
I know we lost, but Reading away was
a great time mainly because I felt like I
belonged to that group of people. Spurs
away in the Championship last year was
pretty good because of the amount of
goals we scored.
Photo by Barmy Army
19

20% off for all UA92 Students

matt’s top 10 football grounds
I have been to a number of football matches which resulted to me visiting different stadiums. So, here is
my personally curated list for my top 10 football grounds ranking it from the best to the worst.
1
Leigh Sport Village, Leigh
Wembley Stadium, London
The national stadium and the largest ground in the UK,
with a total capacity of 90,000. As you would expect from a
ground of this size, it is very impressive with its arch over
the roof standing out over the skyline. A feature like that
is certainly a useful reference point when walking to the
ground from the station. I visited to watch England take on
Denmark in a friendly ahead of the 2014 World Cup having
won the tickets in a social media competition organised by
a bookmaker. The fairly muted atmosphere and flat performance
seemingly a sign of things to come that summer!
Although the game wasn’t the best in terms of quality and
intensity, possibly due to it being a friendly rather than a
competitive match, I enjoyed the experience. Despite the
size of the ground and crowd, I was able to get in and out of
the ground quickly and safely thanks to efficient stewarding.
Given the experience I had, I would definitely be keen to
go back again one day, hopefully for a cup final involving
United.
3
Etihad Stadium, Manchester
Leigh Sports Village, Leigh
The home ground of Manchester United Women, which I
have now visited 9 times, is probably influenced by sentiment
as I already have a number of great memories there,
but there is a lot to like about the stadium. The ground is
shared with Leigh Centurions Rugby League club and the
pitch is always in excellent quality. I would go as far as to
say that of all of the Women’s Super League grounds I have
been to so far, Leigh Sports Village has the best quality
pitch. With the way the ground is laid out, it only takes a
few minutes to enter and get to my seat once the gates are
open. Without doubt the highlight so far has been at the end
of last season when we lifted the Women’s Championship
trophy at the end of our debut season after the club was
reformed.
2
Wembley Stadium, London
Etihad Stadium, Manchester
Manchester United’s first ever Women’s Super League
game was a local derby against Manchester City. This game
was moved from City Women’s usual home of the Academy
Stadium to the men’s ground as the FA looked to capitalise
on the growing popularity of the game in the wake of the
Women’s World Cup. I had only moved to Manchester the
previous day so I was not familiar with the area and had not
used the trams too often, but I managed to find my way to
the ground without too many problems. It certainly helped
that I was going to the game as part of an organised, independent
fans group. Despite the result not going our way,
the away fans were in full voice throughout as they have
become well known for and were responsible for generating
the vast majority of the atmosphere. A then league record
crowd of 31,000 was definitely encouraging.
21

Amex Community Stadium, Brighton
4
Visited the grounnd twice when I lived on the South Coast. I
was also based there when I volunteered at the 2015 Rugby
World Cup. Getting into the ground could not be easier,
as Falmer station is located right next to the ground with a
connecting bridge. It is also easy to navigate your way around
the ground with friendly staff happy to help. Overall my
experience on both visits to the ground for matches was a
very positive one. If the opportunity to attend a match there
came up again in the future, I would definitely be keen to do
so.The Amex has been chosen as one of the venues for UEFA
Women’s Euro 2021, which will be staged in England next
summer. Among the games there will be England’s second
group match on Monday 12 July and the first of the quarter
finals on Wednesday 21 July.
5
Proact Stadium, Chesterfield
The Hive Stadium, Barnet
Having been promoted from the Women’s Championship
together, United and Tottenham faced each other again in
the Women’s Super League in what was my first proper away
trip as a member of fans group the Barmy Army. The ground
was certainly a major upgrade on Cheshunt and although we
were placed in one of the stands rather than in the terrace
behind a goal, we still had an excellent view of the pitch
for the entirety of the game. Not only was the ground much
better, but the pitch was also of a significantly better quality
which allowed for a better standard of football and the
passing style which United are known for. The pitch quality
is particularly impressive considering Tottenham are one of
three clubs who use the same ground for home matches.
7
Amex Community Stadium, Brighton
Proact Stadium, Chesterfield
An away day with a difference. That day we were due to travel
to Prenton Park to watch United Women against Liverpool,
however the game was called off while we were on the train.
As two Manchester United players were on loan at Sheffield
United we decided to go along to support them instead. Two
members of the Barmy Army have attended several Sheffield
United games to watch our on loan players so the staff knew
us well, although I don’t think a lot of the fans knew quite
what to make of our chanting, we certainly got a few strange
looks! We were also able to hang our banner for Mollie
Green, who was making her debut after being loaned out
to Sheffield United. As you would expect from the top two
sides in the division who are vying for promotion, the game
was close throughout with Aston Villa edging the win with a
second half goal. Not the away day we had been expecting
to have, but still very enjoyable.
6
The Hive Stadium, Barnet
Peninsula Stadium, Salford
Visited to watch Salford City, the club co-owned by Manchester
United’s famous Class of 92, who also founded UA92. Ironically,
one of my classmates and a personal friend were both in the away
end! Since the Class of 92’s takeover, when the club was in English
football’s eighth tier, the ground has been redeveloped and
the benefits of that are clear to see with a good quality ground
and pitch, which stood up well despite torrential rain during the
second half. Staff were also very helpful in ensuring I got to the
correct turnstile in accordance with where my ticket was. The day
before the match, the club tweeted information about how to
get to the ground which definitely helped for a first time visitor.
Overall a very positive experience and I am already making plans
to visit again later on in the season.
Peninsula Stadium, Salford
22

8
Cherry Red Records Stadium, Wimbledon
Merseyrail Community Stadium, Southport
A Continental Tyres League Cup clash which saw United
come up against former Assistant Manager Willie Kirk, something
which was the subject of a few humourous chants once
United were in the lead. When we arrived at the ground the
stewards decided to open up one of the terraces for us, so
just like at Cheshunt we were behind one of the goals. There
is a reasonable distance between the pitch and the terrace
so we had an excellent view, but safety was still paramount.
The ground is fairly easy to access, as it is a fairly short walk
from the nearest train station. This helped us as usually
for long away days we book two coaches, so being able to
get the train meant we were able to save some money on
transport. Much like Tottenham, Everton have since moved
grounds. When we visit them in the Women’s Super League
in February, the game is due to take place at their new
ground at Walton Hall Park.
10
Chestnut Stadium, London
Cherry Red Records Stadium, Wimbledon
This was an away day which certainly brought mixed feelings.
On the positive side, we were once again placed
behind one of the goals- to be precise, the goal where
Chelsea’s goalkeepers were warming up! We were also even
closer to the pitch than at Cheshunt or Southport. Unfortunately,
there were a number of negatives. On the pitch,
United were beaten after Chelsea were awarded a hugely
controversial penalty during the second half, which after
being converted proved to be the only goal of a tight game
where a draw would probably have been a fair result. Off
the pitch, there was a row with stewards over the flags we
hang on one of the stands. We have done this at every game
both before and since without any problems. Considering
that men’s side AFC Wimbledon are currently in the third
tier, the ground is of a very good quality. However, due to
what was mentioned above my overall experience was not a
positive one.
9
Merseyrail Community Stadium, Southport
Cheshunt Stadium, London
The first women’s game I attended was the top of the table
clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United
in the Women’s Championship. I’d got to know a few match
going fans through social media beforehand and we were
placed in the terrace behind one of the goals, which certainly
helped us generate the kind of atmosphere we have
become known for. Overall the game was very enjoyable,
with United comfortably winning after being given the lead
in just the second minute through midfielder, now captain
Katie Zelem. It was also nice to be able to talk to the players
and get selfies with some of them after the game, something
which rarely happens in the men’s game these days.
The ground unfortunately was not the best with the pitch in
poor condition, so it was no surprise that Tottenham moved
following their promotion to the Women’s Super League at
the end of the season.
23

F I L M

2
Moonlight (2017)
Photo by Joel Sharples
Moonlight is a timeless coming of age story that centralises
around a young black man named Chiron. The plot
itself although sometimes a little harrowing is beautifully
told by Barry Jenkins, it follows the main character
through three periods of his lifetime and the struggles
he faced from youth to adulthood whilst all the time
wrestling with his sexuality,the strongest performance
in my opinion comes from supporting actor Mahershala
Ali who plays a local drug dealer named Juan, he does
not appear in the whole movie but continues to shape
Chirons life right to the very end. The movie picked
up three Oscars which were Academy Award for Best
Picture, Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting
Role for Mahershala Ali and Academy Award for Best
writing Adapted Screenplay for Barry Jenkins and Tarell
Alvin Mcraney.
3
TOP 10 films OVER
The 2010s have been a great decade for film, whether it be big blockbuster superhero movies to small indie film
revolutionary filmmaking. Special effects have progressed to a new level with films like Avatar and the Avengers
box office. The rise of Streaming websites such as Netflix, Amazon and many more have provided people with en
ent genres. So, here is a list of Urban’s top 10 films of the decade chosen personally by Joel Sharples.
1
Inception (2010)
Photo by the offical website
Christopher Nolan has had a great decade with pretty
much a clean sweep of amazing movies, but for me
the best one is undoubtedly Inception. Inception is
a complex Sci-fi movie and may take more than one
viewing to fully take in what you’ve just witnessed. The
innovation in the movie is brilliant and really cemented
Nolan as a genius in filmmaking even gave us a preview
of what will come from him in future films such as
Interstellar and Dunkirk, which both could have easily
made this list. The visual effects are so appealing and
utterly mind bending, especially in the Hallway zero
gravity scene. This dream heist movie is packed with
brilliant performances from its blockbuster cast and for
me Inception is the best film of the 2010s.
Spider-Man: into the Spider-verse (2018)
Photo by the official website
There have been many huge block-buster Superhero
movies in the decade, the best of the lot however has
come in Chris Miller and Phil Lords animated Spider-Man
movie, which was far from the original Peter Parker movies
we have seen time and time again. Although Peter Parker
is featured, this time it tells the origin story of a new web
slinger named Miles Morales, who is joined by a host of
other Spider-men and women from different universes,
it is a visually beautiful and hilarious movie which is also
packed with many emotional moments that all come together
to create what is easily the closest iteration we have
ever had to an actual comic book on screen. Spider-man:
into the Spider-verse also picked up an Academy Award
for Best Animated Feature Film in 2019 and many more
prestigious award for this animated masterpiece.
26

THE LAST DECADE
s and also animated. It really has been an evolution in
franchise being mainly cgi, culminating billions at the
dless possibilities to dive into the world of many differ-
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Photo by the official website
4
George Miller returns to his post-apocalyptic franchise
this time with Tom Hardy at the helm as Max himself.
This action packed film is overloaded with stunning
visuals and action from start to finish as we witness Imperator
Furiosa (Charlize Theron) attempts to save the
five wives who have been enslaved by the evil warlord
Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne), after the collapse of
civilisation, she is pursued by the warlord through the
wasteland in a thrilling convoy car chase. As she joins
alliances with Max to try and escape and get the slaves
to safety out of the clutches of evil. Although no Academy
Awards for directing or acting the film picked up 6
Oscars for the visuals and sound editing.
Wolf of Wall Street(2014)
Photo by Joel Sharples
Leonardo Dicaprio stars as the misogynistic, greedy
stockbroker Jordan Belfort in this biopic, which tells the
story of his rise and fall as he starts off as a penny stock
trader to a big time scammer on wall street, and who
better to bring this chaotic drug fuelled crime story to
the big screen than Martin Scorsese. Belfort starts out
employed as an underdog but is quickly enticed into
the world of drugs and prostitutes, his biggest lesson
he is taught is that any good stockbroker is only interested
in making money for themselves even if by illegal
gains, when Belfort loses his job after Black Monday
he takes another job before eventually setting up in
business himself along Donnie Azoff (Jonah Hill), for a
while it is everything he has ever dreamed of, the lavish
lifestyle he craved but eventually his world starts to
crumble when the powers start to catch up with what he
has gotten away with for so long.
5
Social Network (2010)
Photo by Joel Sharples
6
David Fincher directs the Social Network which is about the creation and evolution of the world’s most
popular social media platform Facebook, its packed with greed and betrayal as Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse
Eisenberg) goes from a Harvard student to multi billionaire but this does not come without repercussions,
as he cuts anyone who knows him out of his life due to his sheer narcissism, including the man who
helped him build this social empire Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield). He exploits all aspects of life in
every way he can for his own personal gain in this fictionalized biopic.
27

Marriage story (2019)
Photo by the official website
Get out (2017)
Photo by the official website
7
Jordan Peele’s directorial debut was a huge critical success
and has so many thrilling moments in this brilliant
Horror film, it features Daniel Kaluuya who portrays
an African-American man who is introduced into the
crazy world of his white girlfriend Allison williams, the
couple visits her family and took a turn for the worse.
With some great moments and performances, Get Out
really is a breath of fresh air in a genre that wasn’t too
hot at the time. Jordan Peele also used the film to show
a huge racism problem that still exists in the modern
world.
Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver star in this drama
about a couple going through a divorce and a bitter
custody battle for their child, with all the boundaries
that stand in the way of a couple that were once deeply
in love. Throughout the story you slowly see the respect
they originally had for each other starting to deteriorate,
Noah Baumbach puts together an emotional
script, which is brilliantly performed by the two leads
previously mentioned, especially in a scene where the
two start off with a formal conversation to eventually
antagonising each other into spilling out everything they
truly think about each other.
8
9
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Photo by Joel Sharples
The Raid (2012)
Photo by the official website
The Raid is a film that slips under the radar compared
to the mainstream action movies, but Welsh director
Gareth Evans has crafted together an action classic that
will hold up to any films in the action genre, thanks to
it perfectly choreographed fight scenes and its intense
claustrophobic style. The movie stars Iko Uwais as Rama
a policeman who is trapped in an apartment building
and has to fight his way through a magnitude of bad
guys to stay alive in whatever way possible, which
opens up for some gruesome scenes. It’s quite a simple
story but by the end of it will leave you as the viewer
feeling blown away.
Guardians of the Galaxy was the most surprising MCU
movie of the decade. The characters were all pretty
much unknown to the general audience, until director
James Gunn got his hands on them and transformed
them into some of the most popular characters in the
MCU. James Gunn changed the style compared to previous
Marvel films by adding comedy and emphasising
on an amazing soundtrack in this cosmic action movie.
This has influenced others to do this considering it was
a big part of Taika Waititi Thor Ragnarok and the Russo
brothers avengers films.It features a group anti hero’s
10
who come together to fight to save the Galaxy, despite
not liking each other they eventually create a great
chemistry as the film progresses. This amounts to some
hilarious scenes and also some emotional moments in
this amazing film. 28

joel’s fil
could ultimately decide his fate in the future.This decision
defines Howard as a person and how he ultimately leaves every
crucial decision in his life down to chance. Stalling Howard from
this is Nba player Kevin Garnett playing himself, who becomes
convinced that the stone will give him good luck on the basketball
court. So, Howard sees this as an opportunity to gain a
potential buyer. He then proceeds to loan him the gem hoping
that Garnett’s superstition will tempt him to buy it at the auction.
Also a duo of gangster henchmen, family issues and many
other obstacles of different severity that all culminate together
to create a whirlwind of a story.
UNCUT GEMS (2020)
Cast:
• Adam Sandler
• Julia Fox
• LaKeith Stanfield
• Idina Menzel
• Kevin Garnett
• Eric Bogosian
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Director: Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie
If you are expecting the usual goofy Adam Sandler norm then
forget this movie. This is a hide behind your hands, shouting at
the screen film which casts him in a totally different light and
more importantly as a serious actor.
He provides a career best performance which differentiates far
from any previous roles in his mainly comedy based past. This
exhilarating crime thriller sees him portray a New York jeweller
named Howard Ratner who owns a shop in the Manhattan Jewel
district. Howard is a hustler who consistently gets himself into
diabolical situations. This is due to his eagerness to be two steps
ahead of the people causing all the chaos in his life and always
looking for the next big score. These situations are all based
around an opum gem that he purchases with intent to auction
it off. The gem is valued at 1 million dollars, which he has been
quoted from a third party organisation. He takes a chance on
this quote even though his reliance on the profit off the gem
Previously, the film industry has been blessed with great sibling
directors and this looks to be the case with the Safdie brothers.
Who have masterfully created this story by providing the
audience with a constant overflow of stress and anxiousness
throughout the movie. As you follow Howard through this rollercoaster
journey and it also shares similarities to their previous
Netflix film Good Time, which also has the films main character
running frantically around New york getting himself into various
predicaments, due to his own bad life choices. Daniel Lopatins
provides a mesmerizing electric score to make you feel even
more anxious than you already are, you also have the mystery
of not knowing what is going to happen next which keeps you
alert and on the edge of your seat whilst viewing. It gives you
the conflicting feelings of one minute shouting at the screen
‘no don’t do that’ to next being on board with every decision he
makes, because even though it’s such a wild ride there seems to
be somehow logic and control behind each situation, thanks to
the great persuasive acting by Adam Sandler, this creates a love
hate relationship with Howard and leaves you not knowing how
you wish Howards story to end.
Without giving too much away, this is a must see movie especially
if you are a Sandler follower, if only to see him in a
completely different light from the likes of Grown Ups 2 and
Bedtime Stories. If you are an ardent fan and can not wait to see
the release of this film on Netflix on 31st January 2020 it is also
being shown at various cinemas across the UK now.
Photo by the official website
29

m review
PARASITE (2020)
Cast:
• Song Kang-Ho
• Lee Sun-Kyun
• Cho Yeo-Jeong
• Choi Wo-Sik
• Park So-Dam
Director: Bong Joon-Ho
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Parasite director Bong Joon Ho has in the past created films
about the different social classes and the difference between
them. Such as Snowpiercer for example, but Parasite is a huge
improvement on creating a story based around this because
it has no bias towards either class. In Bongs own thrilling way
he shows how both classes can be considered parasites in this
shocking thriller.
The beginning of the film we are introduced to the Kim family
which consist of parents Ki-taeck (Kang-Ho Song) and Chungsook
(Jang-Hye-jin) and their older children Ki-jung (Park
So-dam) and Ki-Woo (Choi-Woo-shik). They live in poverty,
struggling to make ends meet, daily scrounging for wi-fi signals
and using the free fumigation from outside to get rid of their
bug infestation creates an image of how hard the family’s life
is. Turns out it is not all bad though, when the son of the family
Ki-Woo receives an opportunity to imitate an English teacher
for the teenage daughter of the upper class Park family. The
Park family are polar opposites to the Kims, they reside in a
huge modernised mansion, the Dad of the family Donk Ik owns
an IT company, whilst his wife Yeon gyo stays at home looking
after their two children with assistance from their persistent
housekeeper. Eventually the two families worlds intertwine as
the Kim family one by one manage to deceive the Park family
and con their way to gain different roles in the house. Using
a perfectly plotted plan, which director Bong brilliantly puts
together using subtle comedy and impeccable plotting skills.
This makes you really begin to see how this lower class family
can be considered as parasites, using lies and criminal activities
to take advantage of the Park family. It is almost like a heist film
with similarities to Ocean’s Eleven but eventually you realise it
is may be going too well for the Kim family. Inevitably it ends
up emulating Reservoir Dogs in how quickly a perfect plan can
change for the worse. To completely shock you, Bong takes this
film and completely turns it on its head. He changes the genre
of the film you think you are watching to a completely different
style of movie and creates the perfect upstairs downstairs story
that he has been steering to since the beginning. Using the
social classes but in a thrilling way with a compelling story which
would be hard to talk about without giving away spoilers. He
finds a way of creating a balance between not knowing who
is the villain in the story, the Park family are oblivious to the
problems but in person are very nice to the Kim family. However,
behind their backs they talk badly of them in a really snobby
way, making the audience create opinions on who they think
is right or wrong. The cast are all stand outs, and each provide
their own individual presence in the film, such as great dark
comedy from Moon-Gwang and Da-hye and the ability to switch
emotions by Ki-Taek. In one scene he just uses his facial expression
to provide a powerful insight into how he is feeling during
a driving scene after his house has been affected by floods, but
has to put it behind him so he can get back to his goal of taking
advantage of the Park family by posing as a personal driver.
There really are no minor characters because the cast is so small
but each one plays such an influential part.
The end of the movie is haunting in ways I can not really explain
without spoiling too much. There are so many scenes that will
leave the viewer taking deep breaths out of fear of what might
unfold next in this masterpiece, Bong just surprises the audience
again and again leaving you gobsmacked and eventually
playing with your emotions by using hope. Eventually just destroying
every bit of hope you had for how you personally want
the movie to finish, but I guarantee you do not expect anything
coming your way. This is so happens to be the best way to go
into the film. Parasite will be in cinemas across the UK from 7th
February 2020.
Photo by the official website
30

URBAN
FASHION. FOOTBALL. FILM.
JAN 2020 | ISSUE 1
11234