By Eleanor Klein. We had the pleasure of chatting with British entrepreneur James Warwick today…
How did you get into the vodka business?
I used to work in financial advisory and investments in Warsaw, I had always dreamed of running my own bar, so one day I decided to take the risk and do this.
After a successful launch and initial few months I was approached to sell my shares in the venue. The offer was great so I agreed to do this, after a short time off travelling i decided to invest into starting fb my own premium vodka brand; Illuminati Vodka.
The brand has been really successful since launch, I was selling in the best venues in Warsaw, replacing the likes of Belvedere and Grey Goose.
What are your plans for the future with the brand?
Since the coronavirus crisis I have made the decision to relaunch the brand into much more lucrative markets, but keeping it as an ultra exclusive brand. I am about to launch Elite private parties hosted by Illuminati Vodka in Marbella, New York and Miami. I am also working on a new line of vodka and a range of energy drinks, including a pre mixed vodka energy drink.
You are very into fitness, how does this go alongside owning a vodka brand and hosting events?
I actually drink very rarely these days, I do believe in moderation so I will workout and diet a lot, and then let myself have fun on special occasions. I find you value your free time more when you have a disciplined structure, and maintaining this balance is key to productivity and success
How often do you work out?
I work out 6 days a week, with a mixture of weightlifting and cardio.
What is your diet like?
At the moment because it is summer I eat very clean with a structured diet plan, i have a cheat meal once a week. When I am not trying to keep my fat as low then i am eating a cheat meal every other day or sometimes more! Again life is about moderation and letting yourself appreciate things.
By Alex Purnell. A slow-burning, medium-length film, Day Release (FREIGANG) is silently deafening, telling the story of a young single mother out on day release from prison, it reeks of melancholy as the world seemingly crumbles around our protagonist as we watch, unable to intervene. Kathi (Anna Suk) leaves the confounds of her cell only to find her 3-year old son Christopher (Christopher Legedza) being neglected by her mother, locked in a room to watch TV while his grandmother sleeps. Upon finding out, Kathi takes her son out for the day, with expectations to meet the toddler’s father.
The devastating reality of Day Release is Kathi’s inability to work any of her issues out, due to her limited time. A myriad of unsolvable problems piling upon the single mother keep manifesting, leading to a catastrophic, tear-jerking crescendo where nothing but a single obstacle is fixed, and all is still in turmoil.
This has a lot to do with actor Anna Suk’s award-winning performance as Kathi, seemingly always on the brink of breaking down, but staying resilient for the sake of her son.
Day Release is quiet. Only exploding in sound during key parts that flow throughout the film. This is true not only with sound but in regards to its visuals and camera, everything feels stationary, like a moment in time, and as the clock slowly ticks down on Kathi’s free day, we as the audience are constantly made aware that for Kathi the world will and has moved on while she is locked up. Even out of prison, we sympathise with Kathi’s social-economic crisis as she is a prisoner to her own poverty.
The grey-overtones of the film supplement the bleak theme of Day Release, the dulled colour palette seemingly representing a dreary winters day radiates the energy of the drama, purposely slow and saturated.
Though, Day Release does seemingly overstay its welcome. With a daring length of 34 minutes, its sluggish pace feels more appropriate for a feature-length film, though its plot fits perfectly within a short-film scale causing Day Release to feel like a somewhat cumbersome viewing.
Despite this, this German indie-flick has a great amount of weight to it, a full-on assault of heartache, its a long, internal scream of a woman who has been left out in the cold.
The decade following the moon-landing, as well as Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, saw a monumental spike of 70’s Sci-Fi cinema, the inspiration of the space-race created a new frontier for film, and we were left with a treasure trove of great, and uh, not so great Sci-Fi classics.
From Ridley Scott’s extraterrestrial horror Alien to George Lucas’s Star Wars, the humble beginnings of a Sci-Fi phenomenon so great that it has spanned generations and is still entertaining audiences, new and old, to this day.
Here are 5 prominent 70’s Sci-Fi picks you may, or may not, have missed.
Dark Star – 1974
“What a beautiful way to die; as a falling star.”
Dark Star – 1974
Dark Star’s brilliance is in its low-budget chaos. John Carpenters debut feature film, Dark Star is a blatant spoof of 2001: A Space Odyssey. An absurd comedy complete with a beach-ball alien and a sentient bomb with an identity crisis, where a team of astronauts whose job it is to destroy unstable planet are hit with a myriad of problems after their ship, ‘Dark Star’ is stuck by electromagnetic energy during a storm.
The comedy doesn’t just come from the goofy, whilst surprisingly impressive, practical effects and costume’s, but instead the crew’s very human interactions and ways of keeping sane whilst on their 20+ year scouting expedition.
The writer of Dark Star, the late Dan O’Bannon, went on to write Ridley Scott’s truly iconic Sci-Fi expanding on the idea of the beach-ball alien trapping the crew onboard the ship and adapting it into the terrifying ‘xenomorph’ alien.
Silent Running – 1972
Arguably one of the most influential on the list, Silent Running was the directorial debut of Douglas Trumball, who is best known as for is visual effects work on both Kubricks 2001: A Space Odyssey and Ridley Scotts 1982 film Blade Runner.
Silent Running – 1972
Silent Running follows Lowell (Bruce Dern) on Valley Forge, a large space-ship designed for carrying massive dome’s that harbour their own ecosystem. The Earth has become desolate due to global warming, so these sanctuaries of nature are the only source of known vegetation left. After the ship obtains orders to destroy the domes, Lowell is forced to take matters into his own hands to stop the destruction of the last remnants of nature.
Though a spectacular idea, Silent Running’s plot arguably isn’t its strongest point. The story can quite simply be summed up as ‘Hippy in space murders his co-workers in an act of eco-terrorism and then mopes around feeling lonely’, but that’s not the point. Silent Running’s appeal comes from its intricate set design and special effects, beautifully done by Trumball, and the use of the three ‘Drone’ characters are widely accepted as a main source of inspiration for Star Wars’ droids, specifically R2-D2 and other “Astromech” robots.
Fantastic Planet (La Planète Sauvage) – 1973
Upon an alien world, French director René Laloux takes us on a psychedelic voyage, following the human-esque Oms on their desperate attempt to escape the clutches of their all intelligent masters. The Oms are nothing but simple-minded pets to their giant, blue humanoid oppressors, known as the Draags. That is until a young Om learns how to harness Draag technology and educate himself, escaping the clutches of his overlords and delving deep into the chaotic world of Fantastic Planet.
Fantastic Planet (La Planète Sauvage) – 1973
It’s bizarre dream-like landscapes, nightmarish creatures and intriguing plot tell the tale of revolution through the means of mass education.
Fantastic Planet is a feast for the eyes, its breathtaking animated visuals are only second to its unique story and strong, prolific statements against racism and classism.
Rollerball – 1975
Not to be confused with the hideous 2002 remake, Rollerball is a brutal velodrome ride, following an athlete who is so good at his own game, the game tries to ruin him. In the history of fictitious sports, Rollerball is one of the stupidest, whilst being one of the most feasible. A combination of roller-hockey, rugby and speedskating with a motorsport twist, the spectacle of Rollerball as a sport is the key appeal, backed by an intentionally vague plot of evil mega-corporations who now run the world and use the sport for shadowy political purposes.
Rollerball – 1975
But this film makes the list because of its enjoyability factor, not because it seems to be written by a 14-year-old who just read George Orwells 1984. The film greatly benefits by focusing much more on the sport itself, rather than the mysterious corporations pulling the strings. It tells the story of legendary Rollerball player, Jonathan E. (James Caan) as he revolts against the corporations as they attempt to stop him playing by any means possible.
Westworld – 1976
Another film that’s recently been remade, though this time into a gritty HBO series.
Westworld – 1976
The original is a brilliant piece of fiction, one that takes it’s wacky idea and makes use of its oddity. We follow Peter Martin (Richard Benjamin) and his friend John Blane (James Brolin) as they head off to a futuristic amusement park where you can fulfil your historical fantasies, whether it be living out your dream life as a gunslinging cowboy, or maybe even as a knight in medieval Europe.
With hyper-realistic human-like robots tending to your every (and I mean every) desire, the two head off to Westworld, where they pretend to be Clint Eastwood, chewing on cigars, pulling cyborg girls and getting into bar brawls. Unknowingly, though, a strange anomaly starts affecting the life-like robots, causing them to start brutally murdering the guests. One gunslinging cyborg has it out for the two play-pretend cowboys and starts mercilessly hunting them down, as a game of cat-and-mouse persues between man and machine.
Movies About Pets: Film Versus Reality. By Frankie Wallace.
About 85 million families in the U.S. have a pet of some kind. It might be a dog, cat, fish, hamster, or parrot. Pets are often considered to be a part of the family. In fact, 66% of pet owners opt to give their dogs human names. So, it’s no wonder Hollywood has cashed in for years by featuring domesticated animals in movies. From classics like Lassie to animated takes like The Secret Life of Pets, the big screen hasn’t shied away from tugging at people’s heartstrings and funny bones alike when using pets in movies.
Just as some movies tend to romanticize things like relationships and romance, families, babies, and even action, pets on film can often feel a little less realistic than they do in everyday life.
So, how are movies about pets different from reality? What should you be focusing on with your own pets, and how does real life compare to the movies?
The Benefits of Owning a Pet
One thing most movies get right when it comes to pet ownership is how much of a loyal companion a dog, cat, or any domesticated animal can be. Some of the most popular movies that show the companionship between a pet and their owner(s) include:
The bond between pets and their owners is something many people can relate to. In the movies, seeing that kind of bond can be extremely sentimental and make you feel a variety of emotions. But, owning a pet is actually more beneficial to your mental and physical health than just having a healthy bond.
Owning a pet can go a long way when it comes to preventative health. If you’re trying to take active steps to stay healthy and you’re working with a nurse or other healthcare professional to determine what you can do, get some information about how a pet might be a “prescription” for certain physical and mental health issues. Pets can reduce stress and anxiety levels, boost your mood and energy, and encourage you to be more active and get more exercise each day. So, if you find yourself tearing up over the bond between a pet and their owner in movies, it could be due to the fact that your own pet has done more for you than you may even realize.
Real-Life Dangers
Many times, the plot surrounding pets in movies dives into some kind of dangerous situation. If you’ve ever seen the 1993 movie Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, you know all about the dangers and drama of dogs and cats on film! Most of the time, however, the dangers we see pets face on screen are more dramatic than the ones most domestic animals face on a regular basis.
Let’s be honest, how often is your dog going to go head-to-head with a bear (hopefully never!)?
Instead, some of the daily risks and dangers animals face at home include things like eating something they shouldn’t. For example, dogs can’t eat certain ‘human’ foods without the risk of getting incredibly sick, including some fruits and veggies like:
Onions
Garlic
Avocado
Grapes
Cherries
Currants
Other healthy fruits and veggies like bananas, apples, and carrots are great for your dogs and can be a part of their healthy, balanced diets.
Household cleaners, poisons, and even things like small pieces of toys or clothes can also be harmful to dogs at home. Keeping your home well maintained, clean, and keeping things out of reach of your pets can help to keep them safe from these everyday dangers. By keeping your pets safe from these harmful foods and products, you’ll be less likely to make frequent trips to the vet! Any pet owner knows that it can get expensive quickly unless you invest in pet insurance. Additionally, no one wants to see their four-legged friend sick or in pain. Be diligent about the things you allow your pet to eat or get into.
The Lighter Side of Pet Ownership
Some of the best movies about pets show how funny, curious, and heartwarming they can really be. Even documentaries like Through a Dog’s Eyes, about the training of service dogs from puppyhood, can lift anyone’s spirits.
While movies can sometimes take the comedy to extremes with pets, there are many things they get right. Who hasn’t looked on in horror while their dog shakes off mud in the house, like in the 1992 movie Beethoven? And, we’ve all seen movies where something as simple as giving a dog a bath can be a comedic performance on its own.
Yes, movies can take things a little too far in those comedic scenes, but if you’ve ever given your own dog (or cat!) a bath, you know it’s not always easy and can lead to some laughs and even a little bit of frustration. Of course, the movies also don’t show the hairy, clogged drain that can typically become a problem after giving your furry friend a bath, and they certainly don’t offer ways to block the drain so it doesn’t get clogged in the first place.
Movies about pets definitely show glimpses of reality. But, they’re designed to make us laugh, cry, or sit on the edge of our seats. While they may not always be entirely realistic, there are certainly ways in which pet owners can relate to some of the things the fur babies on-screen are dealing with or causing their owners to go through.
By Alex Purnell. A genuinely disturbing feast of a film, Hungry Joe sticks with you well after you have stopped watching with its ghastly visuals and consistent, torturous sounds.
Inspired by Tarrare, a 17th-century man who ate anything and everything he could get his hands on, Hungry Joe follows the mother of a monstrous eater, who’s insatiable appetite grows so uncontrollable that it starts seriously affecting those around him.
The short, running in at 20 minutes, is grotesquely engaging, whilst also being unforgivably vile with its obscene, albeit sometimes obnoxious, sound effects that are so invasive that one might think you have somehow ended up in someone’s mouth whilst they squelch and chomp down on some unidentifiable food.
To complement this main course is a side of grizzly practical effects and gruesome props that are sparsely scattered to create a haunting visual element that worms its way into the viewers head.
Andrew Greaves, who plays the lead of Joe, is sinfully brilliant at doing his job of putting me off my breakfast. I found myself grimacing whilst viewing Greaves shovel mouthful upon mouthful of compressed, mushy food into his face with no expense for cleanliness.
This particular scene of Joe and his mother at the dinner table is executed beautifully, causing the audience to feel sympathetic towards Joe and his obvious eating problem. His mother watches on at her abomination of a child with such disgust, as he devours the slush in front of him like a junkie finally getting his fix.
Hungry Joe is an obscenely clever film, skillfully paced with just enough gore and grossness to make it chilling, though not too much to push it over the top.
If you have a strong stomach, I would recommend giving Hungry Joe a watch. The short has strong, disturbing visuals, nightmarish in a verminous way that can make it somewhat of a challenge to get through depending on your tolerance.
