In the academic flurry of term, time for enjoying films is at a premium. Now, the summer unfolds three deadline-free months, offering an opportunity to spend time generously. From new releases to familiar classics, the options provided by cinemas, streaming services and long-ignored DVDs mean that even the rainiest afternoon needn’t be a waste of time.
Summer’s gift is the luxury of resetting our attention spans – rather than being delivered over a week of laptop dinners or eating into sleep, films can take up sofa-lounging summer evenings and afternoons. Three hours have never passed so quickly. “Even the rainiest afternoon needn’t be a waste of time” Having missed the cinematic release of during A-Level revision, I’ll admit that any subsequent urgency to watch Robert Pattinson’s turn as the vigilante was overwhelmed by an internet oversaturated with Nirvana’s ‘Something in the Way’.
It’s also almost three hours long – a daunting prospect for students like me, accustomed to the guilty pleasure of short-form entertainment (read, an Instagram reels addiction). This summer, I finally got around to it. Director Matt Reeves’ noir take on the franchise opens with the protagonist’s view of a murder, setting a dark tone befitting an adaption filmed and released during the pandemic.
Similarly, the disturbed Riddler mustering support from an online community of extremists blurs the lines between comic-book villain and real-world threat. It’s a visually .