Gursimran Hans

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I currently primarily write film reviews for The Howl, the student publication media at City. Two creative pieces of mine were featured in the first print edition, here you can find all the online work I've produced for them. 

The Howl •

Film Review: Ghost Stories

Ghost Stories tells the story of Professor Phillip Goodman (Andy Nyman), who is called upon by his old mentor Charles Cameron (Leonard Byrne) who has been missing for 15 years. Goodman is a sceptical paranormalist and is presented with three cases, which Cameron believes proves the existence of paranormal spirits. He begs Goodman to prove him wrong. The professor thus explores the cases of a night-watchman (Toby Whitehouse) during a night at a former women’s “nuthouse”, a young student (Alex L
The Howl •

Film Review: Ready Player One

Steven Spielberg directed Ready Player One, based on Ernest Cline’s 2011 novel is a must-see film. It tells the story of Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan), growing up in the slacks of Columbus, Ohio, now a grotty concrete jungle in the 2045. Wade escapes to the OASIS, as do much of the world’s population to play in a virtual reality game where the possibilities are endless. Wade’s best friend, H, he only knows through the game. The game’s creator John Halliday (Mark Rylance) left an Easter Egg before
The Howl •

Film Review: Game Night

Game Night is a fantastic fast paced black comedy that tells the story of Max (Jason Bateman) and his wife Annie (Rachel McAdams), a competitive couple on a mission to finally beat Brooks, Max’s older brother (Kyle Chandler) during a high stakes murder mystery. Accompanying them is another competitive couple, Kevin (Lamorne Morris) and Michelle (Kylie Bunbury) as well as Ryan (Billy Magnussen), a more jack the lad type character and his partner for the night, Sarah (Sharon Horgan). Directed by
The Howl •

Varsity report #ultraslife

Everything written below is completely true and definitely 100% matches reality. This was the big day, the moment that we’d been waiting for a whole year. Varsity – a must see event for any proper ultra, a day full of sports, going hammer and tong with another university – in this case, Kingston. My first opponent, if you will, of the day was CitySport’s barriers. Neither of the small silver gates would let me in. I wondered if I was under some sort of banning order. Turns out, I had to sign
The Howl •

SU elections: 17% turnout and 67% of them were British students

Congratulations to everybody who ran for the SU elections 2018, and great job to everybody who voted! 3545 students voted in the week long election, according to the SU’s own statistics, 20686 were eligible to vote, this gives a voter turnout of 17%. Edward Armitage : Sports Officer Fatema Dhanani : Raising and Giving Officer Danil Kocherga : International Students’ Officer Annette Yunus Pendrey : Ethics and Environmental Officer Maxime Comminge : LGBT Officer Tarah Ouegnin : Women’s
The Howl •

Film review: Lara Croft, Tomb Raider

Lara Croft tells the story of how the titular character (Alicia Vikander) journeys to the island of Yamatai, in the Devil’s Sea to find out what happened to her father (Dominic West) seven years ago. Tomb Raider is bought into the millennial age with a dramatic bike race across Shoreditch as the young Croft comes of age. Vikander does a stunning job. Croft is not a caricature as she has often been accused off. She’s a complex, likeable character in her own right. Brave and tough, but her inexpe
The Howl •

Meet vice-presidential candidate Zohra Bouchamaoui

As part of The Howl’s coverage of the student elections, we have offered interview opportunities for every single candidate. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a date and time to speak to Zohra Bouchamaoui, who is standing for Vice-President for Education. The only way to speak to her before polling closes was to send her the questions and wait for her responses. The responses from the second year Investment and Financial Risk Management student are below: Why are you running to be VP for educat
The Howl •

Meet presidential candidate Kristina Perelygina

Inclusivity, diversity and community are the buzzwords for Financial Economics postgrad student Kristina Perelygina, who is in the running to become President of the student union. An international student, who did her undergraduate degree in International Political Economy at City, she is hoping to use her experience to aid her in the role she is attempting to win. Perelygina was not aware of the existence of the student union until her third year and this has influenced her decision to run: “
The Howl •

SU president puzzled by 0 incidents of sexual harassment at City

Following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request from The Howl, it has been revealed there were no reports of sexual misconduct at City university during the 2016-17 academic year. The request was made after revelations in the press that Cambridge University had received 173 anonymous reports from staff and students in the nine months since setting up a new online form in May 2017. An investigation from The Guardian last March found “epidemic” levels of sexual harassment at British universitie
The Howl •

Film Review: Battle of Algiers

Gillo Pontecorvo’s Battle of Algiers is a stunning example of a director at the height of his success. The Italian, who died in 2006, had his 1966 film screened at the Barbican over October. The film tells the story of the Front de Libération Nationale (FLN) in their fight with the French Army in Algeria’s war for independence, specifically focusing on the battle for the capital city, Algiers. The film was for many years censored in France, due to both the government and the pressure from far-
The Howl •

Film review: Going in Style

Going in Style tells the story of Joe (Michael Caine), Willie (Morgan Freeman) and Albert (Alan Arkin). Three old age pensioners who are living out their zenith of their life in Williamsburg. Joe lives with his wife (Maria Dizzia) and his granddaughter (Joey King) while Willie, who has renal failure lives across the street with Albert. A visit to Joe’s bank reveals that his pension and mortgage is practically gone after shading dealings from banker Chuck Lofton (Josh Pais). A bank robbery ensu
The Howl •

Film review: The Handmaiden

Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden is a tale of sex, betrayal, manipulation and greed. Set in Japanese occupied Korea, with dialogue in Japanese and Korean, the story is inspired by the novel The Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. The story focuses on the life of Izumi Hadeko (Kim Min-hee). Hadeko stands to inherit a large inheritance and thus her uncle (Cho Jin-woong) is grooming her for marriage, following the death of his wife and Hadeko’s parents. Uncle Kouzuki is a sexual deviant and a collector
The Howl •

Film Review: The Fate of The Furious

The first thought I had when watching The Fate of The Furious, the fifth installment of the Fast and Furious franchise is will this be more of the same or is there something new to add to the table? At the beginning, it did seem same old, same old and sillier. Dom Torreto (Vin Diesel) begins the film with a drag race in Cuba. The race involves a car without a chassis. A motorcycle being thrown at a car, and a car bursting into flames and diving into the ocean. At the same time, nobody from the
The Howl •

Film Review: Millennium Mambo

Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s Millennium Mambo is a film as obscure as it is thrilling. Screened as part of the Barbican Centre’s Chronic Youth Film Festival, the Taiwanese film tells the story of Vicky (Shu Qi) and her life in Taipei at the beginning of the 2st Century. Vicky’s life revolves around late nights at the club with her controlling boyfriend Hao-Hao (Tuan Chun-hao) and the mundane mornings that follow. Hao-Hao is controlling, he made her oversleep and miss her last high school exam fearing th
The Howl •

Movie Review: John Wick, Chapter 2.

In 2014, John Wick’s car was stolen and his puppy Daisy was murdered, he then went on to kill around hundred people. You’d think that would be enough for him, but it appears it wasn’t. He’s got a new dog and he’s back for me. The action thriller John Wick: Chapter 2 starts with a high speed car chase around New York City and it starts as it continues with fast paced scenes full of visually aesthetic fights. Keanu Reeves plays the title character. John, a retired assassin, still emotionally bro

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