Author: Jack Hollinshead

On Monday 12th November, comic-book writer and pop cultural icon Stan Lee sadly passed away at the age of 95. Adeptly known as ‘Stan The Man’, his most notable accolade is the creation of Marvel Comics, as well as many loved characters alongside Jack Kirby & Steve Ditko, including Spider-Man, X-Men, The Hulk, Fantastic 4, Black Panther, Doctor Strange and Daredevil, alongside contributing to Captain America, Iron Man, Thor and Ant-Man. What Lee seemed to do with all his publishing works, is provide a real sense of community and togetherness within his readers, who could relate to seemingly flawed and…

At the end of August, the English Football Association submitted their bid to host the Women’s European Championships in the summer of 2021. With the Lionesses reaching the semi-finals in last year’s competition and recently beating Wales in order to qualify for the 2019 World Cup, it only seems fitting that we get another chance at not only hosting a major tournament, but by getting over the line and winning in front of a hometown nation. Now that would be truly memorable and remarkable for players, staff and supporters alike. Now, what seems to be very promising for English fans,…

With all kinds of sports coming thick and fast during the Autumn and Winter months, here are a few fixtures to look out for from Freshers’ Week through to the end of November in case you want to head down to the pub or crowd around a laptop to watch and enjoy. September – December: Football; Live Champions League and Europa League Football Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings exclusively on BT Sport (televised fixtures and times TBC), with live Premier League, Championship and Scottish Premier League Football on Sky Sports and BT Sport (televised fixtures and times TBC) alongside the…

After playing in the final test of the 5-match series against India, in which England have already secured victory, opening batsman and former test captain Alastair Cook will retire from international test cricket. What an outstanding career this man has had, being without question one of, if not the best English batsmen in the modern era of test matches. His stats speak for themselves: most capped player with 161 test matches, a record 158 consecutive test appearances, centuries in both his first and last test match, the leading run-scorer for England, the youngest player to reach 12,000 test runs, a…

Ruth Plant: President Ruth is the chief officer of the Union and head of the Sabbatical Officer Team. As president, she is the chief representative of the Union to the University and the local community alongside local & national media, alongside being responsible for the coordination and drafting of the Union budget on behalf of the Board of Trustees and is the lead officer on matters relating to Union democracy and shall be responsible for upholding and interpreting the constitution. ruth.plant@undebbangor.com Gethin Morgan:UMCB President As President of the Welsh Student Union, it is Gethin’s responsibility to be responsible for its…

Bangor Women’s Football Club put on a stunning display at Bangor City’s training pitch as they demolished Aberystwyth 6-0. Following on from an equally fantastic performance at last years Varsity (an 8-0 victory), this group of women have really shown they are always ready for the annual competition. Bangor’s drive and passion was abundantly clear from beginning to end. They won every first ball and 50/50, while hunting down second balls. A great display from a talented team who passed the ball wonderfully and created space in all the right places so they could mount countless attacks and chances. Aberystwyth…

An emphatic and comprehensive performance from Bangor Universities Swimmers meant the overall point towards retaining the Varsity trophy was nothing short of secure. From start to finish, the men’s and women’s individual and team events were contested at the highest level and with great spirit, but a strong start combined with no slowing down ensured that the Dragons came away on top. Aberystwyth did all they could to obtain points, but Bangor just kept pushing through the gears to ensure they won almost every event in front of a packed stand. The performance was topped off by an annihilating cannon…

When you hear the name ‘Steven Spielberg’, closely followed by the words ‘new film’, your ears immediately begin to prick up and listen to what is being said about it. One of the most loved filmmakers over many generations, bringing us Jaws, Indiana Jones, E.T, Back To The Future, Jurassic Park; I could go on for the majority of this article. Despite all of his outlandish and mesmerising creations over the past few decades, Ready Player One has to be up there with one of the most imaginative. Ready Player One, based on the book by Ernest Cline of the…

By Arron Williams Neill Blomkamp is one of those directors that people don’t really know the name of. People are aware of his works, but unlike household names such as Christopher Nolan and Quentin Tarantino, no one really talks about him. It is safe to say that he has successfully kept under the radar. Now, don’t worry if you aren’t aware of who he is; Neill Blomkamp is a South African sci-fi film director who has only had three major cinema film releases. However, he is an incredibly active short-film director, but I will get onto that later. Blomkamp is…

Over the last few weeks, it seems that Disney have taken a stronghold on releasing teasers and trailers, with a trio of films that will undoubtedly please a vast audience throughout many generations. They did a marvellous job with the live action extravaganza of Beauty and the Beast last year, so the excitement will be higher than ever for the two remakes, and then the long awaited sequel to Wreck-It Ralph. Christopher Robin: The beloved Winnie the Pooh returns to the big screen in a live action, CGI film titled Christopher Robin. It stars Ewan McGregor as a grown up…

Marvel Studios have really hit their stride over the past decade. For 10 years, they have given us so many memorable moments, found a formula that has spanned across now 18 films, working more often than not, and made us wait until the end credits for a snippet of footage or absolutely nothing at all; they really do have the fans and audience members hook, line and sinker. 2018 is a big year for the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), as we finally get to see what has been building for those 10 years; Avengers: Infinity War. But before that, we…

by Arron Williams Are practical effects actually better than computer-generated imagery (CGI)? Most of you have probably heard the claim that practical effects are a thousand times better than CGI and that CGI ruins a film. Perhaps you heard such claims from friends, teachers, or even by a critic in response to whatever film is the target that week. I know I have come across this argument and debate countless times both in film classes and in the media. But just how much weight does this claim actually have? Is CGI a filmic disease bound to taint whatever it touches?…

There are many, many superlatives to describe, in my opinion, just how great this film is. One of the beautiful things about cinema, is its ability to engage you on a variety of levels, and The Shape Of Water certainly engages me on a wide range of those levels. It is very easy to see why it is being highly regarded by critics and why audience members enjoyed this visionary picture. This film is very good at taking you to another place whilst watching, and I almost felt like it was more of an experience. The story is set in…

The Darkest Hour is about former Prime Minister Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman) as he is appointed leader of the British government. However, he is thrown into the lions den, as he must balance the advancing Third Reich under Adolf Hitler and pressures from Parliament. The greatest compliment I can give Gary Oldman is that I forgot after the initial quarter of an hour that it was him. He is almost unrecognisable as Winston Churchill, and delivers a sublime performance that is so powerful and moving. His Oscar nominated makeup & costume team of Kazuhiro Tsuji (who Oldman coaxed out of…

Nick Park and Aardman Animations have clubbed together once again to bring us a stop-motion clay animation feature length film; Early Man. In recent memory, the computer based approach to this type of animated film has been used on movies such as Flushed Away, Arthur Christmas and The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!. But with Early Man, it headed back to the clay age, and the stone age, for its latest conquest. Early Man follows caveman Doug (Eddie Redmayne) who lives as part of a tribe in a remote valley. But when Lord Nooth (Tom Hiddleston) and his age…

A genre of film that has always proven to be a staple of cinemas over the years is musicals. From way back in the 1930s and 40s with The Wizard Of Oz and Meet Me In St. Louis, the trend carried on into the 50s and 60s with icons and greats like An American in Paris, Singing In The Rain, West Side Story, Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady and The Sound Of Music just to name a few. The 70s and 80s then brought us classics such as Grease, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Annie. Disney heightened their animated…