Nostalgic News

5 YEARS AGO 10 YEARS AGO

LEMONADE Becky Davies

THOR Louise Chase

To say that Lemonade was anything other than revolutionary feels like an understatement. This album, released with no prior notice, was accompanied by a sixty-five minute film divided into 11 chapters: Intuition”, “Denial”, “Anger”, “Apathy”, “Emptiness”, “Accountability”, “Reformation”, “Forgiveness”, “Resurrection”, “Hope”, and “Redemption”. It encompasses themes of feminism, race, family and infidelity - with the whole world infamously becoming detectives and trying to work out who exactly ‘Becky with the good hair’ is, and what happened between her and Jay-Z - and ranges across a multitude of genres from country to gospel to R&B. Lemonade has gone down in history as Beyoncé’s best album for many reasons, and it isn’t difficult to see why. From her incredibly empowering collaborations such as ‘Don’t Hurt Yourself’ with Jack White and ‘Freedom’ featuring Kendrick Lamar to her impeccable vocals on heartfelt ballads like ‘Pray You Catch Me’, ‘All Night Long’ and ‘Sandcastles’, this album embodies strength. It also cements Beyonce’s position as one of the greatest innovators in the music industry and is credited as reviving the album format after such a long time being dominated by singles and streaming, as well as for reinventing the themes of storytelling and breakups in modern music. Back when the MCU was still in its infancy, and before we had The Avengers as one collaborating team, we had Asgard. In 2011, the first of the Thor films (directed in this instance by Kenneth Branagh) was released, introducing Chris Hemsworth as the titular God of Thunder, and Tom Hiddleston’s Loki amongst others. “Magic is just science that we don’t understand yet” - and just how right they were. Thor saw the Marvel Cinematic Universe take a leap into the realm of gods and far away from Billionaires and World War Two. As with Guardians of the Galaxy in Phase Two, Thor changed the status quo of the MCU. Ten years and still credit Thor as the film which got me into the franchise, and as the last character origin movie before Avengers Assemble in 2012, it placed the final building blocks in place for one of the most talked-about cinematic pieces that year.

15 YEARS AGO

WHO THE F*** ARE THE ARCTIC MONKEYS Georgie Holmes

Arctic Monkeys are most well known for iconic singles like ‘Fluorescent Adolescent’ and popular tracks from AM (2013). However, their second EP Who the Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys is something which every AM fan should listen to, as with just 5 tracks it satisfies every component of the band’s talent.‘Despair In the Department Lounge’ is the slowest of the EP, capturing the softness of Alex Turner’s voice, which is followed by equally soothing ‘No Buses’. The percussion in this track is perfect, and the song concludes in the most typical Arctic Monkeys fashion. Although each song is flawless, undoubtedly the best on the EP is the title track, which is impossible to listen to on any quiet volume. The guitar riffs which open are instantly intriguing, but it is the song’s break down that follows Turner’s call “bring on the backlash” which is what makes Who the Fuck Are Arctic Monkeys so memorable.

NOSTALGIC NEWS

15 YEARS AGO 20 YEARS AGO

KINKY BOOTS Katie Evans A KNIGHT’S TALE Louise Chase

In all the glamour and beauty it still holds to this day, it’s crazy to think that Julian Jarrold’s Kinky Boots, based on the true story of a Northampton shoe-making factory, turns 15 years old today. The film is an incredible journey of love and friendship, with excitement and passion that makes you want to get up and dance; it’s no surprise the film inspired a musical now into its 9th year travelling around the globe. Fronted by the brilliant Joel Edgerton as business-owner Charlie, Kinky Boots proves the importance of unlikely friendships and unexpected inspirations. Chiwetel Ejiofor as drag queen performer Lola isn’t exactly what you expect from your average film viewing, however, it’s one of most scene-stealing performances in all of cinema. Lola lights up the room with her ‘kinky boots’ and amazing tunes, with ‘Whatever Lola Wants’ and ‘Yes Sir I Can Boogie’ being the ultimate feel-good songs. I want to visit the Kinky Boots Factory just to meet Lola. In a period of time where cinema had an assortment of anachronistic historical films released in close proximity, A Knight’s Tale still stands out among them. Whether it’s the acting from a cast including Heath Ledger and Paul Bettany, or the glorious use of Queen’s “We Will Rock You” in an iconic crowd shot, the film is memorable. Inspired by Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and aside from that, the film is just a bundle of chaos and jotusting and Heath Ledger trying to improve his stars. It definitely does not resemble the original tale, nor the historical setting - think of it as a spiritual inspiration with nods here and there by having Chaucer himself as a character. That being said, blacksmith Kate is perhaps my favourite character out of the ensemble, but Rufus Sewell does make an excellent antagonist. One of the commentary tracks even calls it “rocky but with jousting” and once you look at A Knight’s Tale that way, I doubt you’ll be able to unsee it.

20 YEARS AGO

BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY Becky Davies

Bridget Jones’s Diary is a cult classic film for many reasons. It is adapted from Helen Fielding’s novel of the same name, which is widely credited as kickstarting the chicklit genre we’ve grown to know and love. It stars Reneé Zellweger in the titular role, with an English accent so good that many people today still don’t realise it was fake, alongside Hugh Grant as womanising publisher Daniel Cleaver and Colin Firth as his rival, human rights lawyer Mark Darcy. But most of all, we have taken Bridget Jones into our hearts because she is relatable. Moments such as when she sits in her pyjamas singing along to Celine Dion’s ‘All By Myself’, her embarrassing entrance into the tarts and vicars party when she didn’t get the memo that the dress code had changed, and her accidentally using blue string in soup encapsulate how perfectly imperfect she is. Bridget’s status as a British pop culture icon wasn’t the only thing to come out of this film. Zellweger was nominated for an Academy Award for her role, and the film was also nominated at the BAFTAs and the Golden Globes. And twenty years on, we still love her - just as she is.