Trial of the Chicago 7 – Review

Hi!

Trial of the Chicago 7 is a film that was released on Netflix on October 16th 2020 after they bought the distribution rights from Paramount due to the corona pandemic causing an inability for viewers to get to the film theatres resulting in studios losing money, resulting in some selling their films to streaming services, with this being one of the films Paramount sold. The film was made for $35 million and Netflix purchasing the rights for around $56 million. It has since gone on to earn critical acclaim and has been nominated for 5 Academy Awards. (Which is what led me to watching the film, can’t make my Oscar predictions without watching the films!). It is directed by Aaron Sorkin who also created the tv show The Newsroom that I recently finished and thoroughly enjoyed. It has been nominated for Best Picture, Cohen for Best Supporting Actor, Film Editing, Cinematography and Best Original Screenplay. I had a great time watching the film, as it is based on the true story that took place in 1968 regarding the same trial about a protest which took place resulting in riots in the city of Chicago. With there being a large diverse cast, a well-known director and a true story that it needed to live up too, the film had a lot riding on it, which is what led to Netflix being interested in making a deal for the rights in the first place. But what are its chance to win? In this current climate a lot of films have been pushed back, so when looking at the smaller market this year, is this why some have been nominated?

The Newsroom – Season 2 Review

Hi!

The Newsroom season 2 aired in 2013 on HBO and Sky Atlantic, the show has very high rated individual episodes on sites like IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, and I also hold a high opinion of the show. During quarantine I have watched a lot of tv, and this is the first show I can think of that has me watching episode after episode and I am strategically planning when I finish a season so I don’t have to wait long between writing this review and starting the next. After a strong 1st season which you can find reviewed here, I was slightly concerned about how the show could perform in its 2nd season as the format was no longer new to me and I wasn’t sure if it could continue to ‘shock’ or keep my interest. But thanks to a change in the overall narrative, the show moved around in time, with some aspects taking place in the future and then referencing back to the past so the viewer is always wondering what is happening this season and what the end goal is. With a lawyer questioning members of the news team regarding a story that they shared which appears to have been untrue. By sharing the story the news team became liable and the season is all about getting the entire story about what led to the news they broke and how it got past all of the checks that are in place. The show continues to surprise me in what can be made interesting to viewers and I am looking forward to seeing what the final 6 episodes has in store;

The Newsroom – Season 1 Review

Hi!

The Newsroom was a series on HBO and Sky Atlantic back in 2012, starring Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, Olivia Munn, John Gallagher Jr and Alison Pill. The series was written and created by Aaron Sorkin who as the image above says, assisted with West Wing and Social Network . When watching this show, it has a lot of parallels with the Suits series which makes sense considering if anyone asked me to describe The Newsroom in a sentence or less, I would say ‘Suits but in a newsroom setting rather than corporate law’. (So if you enjoyed Suits, you are likely to think this show is also great!). After a cable news anchor has a melt down at a college student following the question why is America the greatest country in the world, he has a new news team thrust upon him. They all begin to work together and get to know each other with the aim being to report the news ‘well’. (With this meaning a removal of focus on gossip and reality drama, instead working on the news that actually effects people). Over the course of the season, they all band together and have to overcome interesting obstacles while trying to do what they believe to be right. But with the show being set up the way that is, in showing how a newsroom would react to real news story, I have to try and break down the show a bit different to how I usually would;