Coming to a cinema near you this month are a multitude of major studio tentpoles.
‘Dark Phoenix’ rises onto screens on 5 June 2019 as the twelfth instalment of the X-Men film series with an expansive ensemble cast including Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs), Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty), James McAvoy (Split), Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), Nicholas Hoult (The Favourite) and Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones television series) among many others. It is the first film in a planned trilogy adapted from The Dark Pheonix Saga so expect more sequels on this particular story.
Arriving on 14 June 2019 is ‘Men In Black: International’, a spin-off to the main trilogy, with Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Tessa Thompson (Thor: Ragnarok) in the leading roles.
‘Toy Story 4’ will be released on 21 June 2019 although you can see it sooner than that in Edinburgh during the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Tom Hanks (Philadelphia) and Tim Allen (Home Improvement television series) reprise their iconic voice roles of Sheriff Woodie and Buzz Lightyear, respectively, for the fourth entry of this animated film series, beloved by critics and audiences alike, that has already grossed almost $2 billion worldwide.
Written by Richard Curtis (Notting Hill) and directed by Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire), ‘Yesterday’ opens on 28 June 2019 with Himesh Patel (EastEnders television series) as a musician who takes credit for writing and performing The Beatles’ music after waking from an accident to find he is the only person that knows who they are. Lily James (Cinderella), Kate McKinnon (Ghostbusters) and Ed Sheeran also feature in this musical comedy.
In Scotland I attended Dunfermline High School from 2010 to 2016 and Edinburgh Napier University from 2016 to 2020, emerging with two Advanced Higher and five Higher qualifications from the former and graduating with an undergraduate bachelor of arts honours degree in journalism from the latter. After two years away from further education due to the coronavirus pandemic, I'm going to be studying the MFA Photography course at York St John University in England from 2022 to 2024. I've achieved The Duke of Edinburgh’s (Bronze) Award and received grade five level certification for electronic keyboard from Trinity College London. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, writing, watching television series, listening to music and going to the cinema as well as catching up with friends, travelling by railway and hostelling overnight and overindulging in food and drinks in a pub or restaurant then having to go to the gym to burn it all off again.
By studying journalism and photography, my aim of practicing photojournalism professionally will hopefully be once step closer. Both are partial artforms requiring the rest of the work to be undertaken by the audience, the specialism of photojournalism, however, providing each of its two parts with greater context. Exploring photographic techniques (aerial, timelapse, editing) through a variety of journalistic styles (features, poetry, songwriting) will allow me to develop my portfolio, hone my camera skillset and narrow my focus further in anticipation of working life. Without a global pandemic to deal with this time. Fingers crossed.
