A Beginner’s Guide to Media and Journalism

Disclaimer: I hope you all realise that the clickbait is absolutely oozing out of the screen at you right now for that title. (But there is a LOW-KEY smidge of honesty!) (Photo was created and edited by me Karen’s!)   Let’s talk about Greggs. I’m a lover not a hater, and what I can absolutely assure you is that when I woke up this morning, I did not envision myself ending the evening with an urge to slander all English Greggs franchises- but plans change and here I am.   So there I was, this afternoon… I’d just arrived into Manchester and was excited for the week ahead. I’d browsed the area of my iPhone maps app and stumbled across Greggs, a mere 10 minute walk away. Off I trotted with a smile on my face and what was thrown in my face as I walked into the door? NO CORNED BEEF PASTY’S! I stood there stunned and gave Greggs a benefit of the doubt. Maybe they just didn’t bother with the little name tags they usually have when promoting their products; Maybe, just maybe, they were still 5

Released in 1990, Goodfellas follows Henry Hill as he tackles life in the mob, his relationship with his wife, Karen, and his rollercoaster adventures in and out of jail with his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy Devito.   Firstly, I found Goodfellas extremely confusing. So much was happening throughout the 2 and a half hour movie that I didn’t know where to look half the time. Someone was either being shot or doing the shooting. I’m still unsure where these men were getting their money I won't lie. I know Paulie, (the main money man), had some incredible opportunity for the three main characters of the movie, but their stacks of cash appeared from nowhere half the time.    Now lets take a second to appreciate the cast- Robert Deniro as Jimmy, Joe pesci as Tommy, and Ray Liotta as narrator Henry. Another honourable mention is the mother of the director Martin Scorsese; Catherine who played Tommys' hilarious mother! If someone mentions a classic movie with gangs, violence, gam

Released in May 1992, ‘Basic Instinct’ starring Michael Douglas as Nick Curran and Sharon Stone as Catherine Tramell might possibly be my new favourite movie ever!  I just can’t explain my admiration and love for this classic. The casting was top tier and the entire movie plot was honourable, entertaining, dramatic and was quite literally full of raw sex appeal.  I was warned before watching Basic Instinct that it was basically porn and there wasn’t much to it other than that, but excluding the uncovered body parts and other romantic shenanigans, I thought the entire plot of the movie was just mesmerising and I was rooting for the police’s suspect, Catherine Tramell for the entire movie. I think the actress and her character is now my forever girl crush.  It sounds absolutely mental saying this, but Catherine Tramell has the intelligence, looks and style, wittiness and cunningness that I aspire to have. She is my new role model, (without the murderer aspect of her personality, of cours

Released in May 1986, Top Gun is an American action drama movie that follows Maverick (Tom Cruise), as he trains at the ‘Top Gun Naval Fighter Weapons School’ and struggles to fit in with the other pilots. Maverick competes for the chance to be ‘Top Gun’ in his class whilst enjoying the presence of his female flight instructor, Charlie.  First of all, what I need to get off my chest is how attractive Tom Cruise is in this movie! Maverick’s cool, mysterious vibe completely works for Cruise. Can you believe the actor will be 60 in July!! It’s mind blowing and I need to know what moisturiser he’s using!  I won’t lie, I got second hand embarrassment at the beginning of the movie for Maverick as he worked to woo Charlie at the bar with the help of his best friend, Goose. The idea of men randomly singing in your face is petrifying so I don’t know why they thought it would work in this situation. Surprisingly it did, but that wasn’t real life was it so I mustn’t knock it.  Fun fact time: Tom

  Released in 1970, The Aristocats is my first animated classic film review.  The Disney movie follows a Parisian cat and her three kittens as they are kidnapped and left in an estranged location and struggle to adventure home. Along the way they familiarise themselves with stray alley cat Thomas O’Malley who helps teach these indoor felines the ropes of an outdoor lifestyle. FUN FACT: According to IMBD, “The Aristocats was inspired by the true story of a Parisian family of cats, circa 1910, that inherited a fabulous fortune”, and yet here I am- a human, waiting for my next student loan to grace my bank account!   If you’re an avid reader of my reviews you’ll be pleased to know that I am actually familiar with this classic and it is in fact, one of my favourite Disney movies ever! I know it may come as a surprise but when it comes to talking animals having a little sing song, nothing can get past me!   Who’s your favourite kitten? Berlioz, Marie, or Toulouse? I feel like if it’s Marie

Released in 1995, Braveheart has stolen the hearts of every non-English person of the United Kingdom.    Up until Monday evening, I think I was just about the only person who hadn’t seen this movie, where William Wallace led the country of Scotland to rebel against the cruel rulings of King Edward I of England. Legend has it, Wallace is still screaming ‘FREEDOM’ now!   I had mixed emotions about this movie at first, I absolutely loved the entire movie until the end… Where it felt as though I had wasted 2 hours and 45 minutes of my life as Wallace lay headless on what was basically a chopping board- that is until I was told it was based on a true story! Let me tell you, it was as if I finally put my prescription glasses on and could finally see the movie for what it was!   I’d like to give a round of applause to Mel Gibson, the most American man ever, for portraying the character of William himself and even directing and producing the movie! He sure makes a better Scot than Mike Myers w

This weekend I had the pleasure of watching the 1985 masterpiece, ‘The Goonies’. With the screenplay written by Chris Columbus and Steven Spielberg and the distribution by ‘Warner Bros’, what else could we expect other than greatness?   The Movie follows The Goonies, a group of kids on a quest to find the treasure of One-Eyed Willy, on the day where notorious criminals break out of Prison. We see the likes of Sean Astin and Corey Feldman do what they do best as child stars and create a classic, that even us younger generation is familiar with.    The first thing I must mention is, what a cast! How funny is it seeing the likes of Sam of ‘Lord of the Rings’, (Sean Astin), Thanos of ‘Avengers: Endgame’, (Josh Brolin) and Teddy of ‘Stand by Me’ (Corey Feldman) run around an underground tunnel together looking for a pirates treasure! The 80’s era is quite literally the Feldman era, who starred in almost every teen movie: ‘Gremlins’, ‘The Lost Boys’, ‘Dream a little Dream’, ‘The Burbs’ and ‘

Music 20 years ago is certainly very different to music today.  Today, radio consists of Aitch and Ardee and other names that aren’t actually names. I thought I’d have a dive into music 20 years ago to see what people were loving in 2002.  From the week beginning 7th of April to the 13th, the top 10 of the 'TOP 100' songs were ranked, and in my opinion, they were ranked incorrectly. Yes, music is very very different today, but I’m giving my honest opinion on what order I think the top 10 should have been arranged. These views are of course my own, but they should be yours too if we’re discussing taste and culture. Without further ado, let’s get into how the top 10 list should’ve been ordered!  1. How You Remind Me (Nickelback)  This song is an absolute classic. Here in 2022, we’re still screaming it at the top of our lungs in the alternative clubs and loving every second of it. It’ll go down in history as a banger. No ifs, buts or maybes, this is number 1. This song was ranked

‘Tommy’ (1975) was very interesting to say the least.   All I can really advise is that if you haven’t seen it yet, weigh out your options, and if you have, how are you feeling now?  Listen, it’s not the worst movie in the world and I totally appreciated various songs from the soundtrack and do not get me started on the visuals! They were absolutely phenomenal at times, but, I was just so lost throughout. I was mesmerised and enthralled to my screen yet I had not one single clue what was going on during the entire hour and 50 minutes I watched for.  The vibrant colours were utterly mesmerising, and as much as I didn’t want to continue watching, the bright colours of the sets and the characters outfits kept me sat put, with my mouth wide open catching flies. It was like I was hallucinating because every scene had the most obscure and absurd props and scenarios that I couldn’t help but be confused the entire time. It felt to me like every scene was a different horror movie with torturous