Tenby’s Brandon Williams has joined the group of Torch Theatre Community Reviewers.

Brandon is a keen Torch supporter and has already written a review on the independent film ‘Parasite’. He’s now looking forward to reviewing many more.

A past pupil of Ysgol Greenhill School, Brandon studied a degree in Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, and is now a freelance writer concentrating on sports journalism, mainly football.

Always interested in films, his first interest in movie reviews came through YouTube, where critics like Mark Kermode would share opinions on the latest releases.

“Mark Kermode’s reviews were some of the first I remember watching regularly on YouTube, which came from and led me to find other channels that review films and critique media. As I worked through my degree, I became more interested in doing that myself,” explained Brandon.

After spending his teenage years watching mostly comedy films and classics, Brandon has been primarily drawn to movies that touch on social and political themes in recent times.

He added: “Some favourites of mine that I have watched recently are Children of Men, Divine Intervention, and Do the Right Thing. Those all kind of fall under a social drama category in some form. I have also tried to improve my tolerance for horror in recent years after avoiding the genre for so long!”

Of Parasite, which was screened at the Torch in March, Brandon wrote: “Parasite is a film that not only remains remarkable upon repeat viewing, but, with its hefty social commentary, has become even more relevant in a post-pandemic, cost of living crisis world, where wealth has become more concentrated and economic stability for middle and working class people is increasingly scarce.

“It is also stark viewing in light of South Korea’s recent medical and political crises – both of which contributed to President Yoon Suk Yeol briefly declaring martial law last December. Moreover, the Banjiha flats have been phased out after multiple deaths in 2022 due to flooding in the capital. Though, as Bong shows, one family’s home-destroying rainstorm is another family’s ruined camping trip.

“…It’s a film that, while essential viewing on its release, has only grown in strength through the years and will likely continue to do so.”

Now Brandon is looking forward to the wide array of films on offer at the Torch over the next few months:

“I am relatively new to this, so I’m going to focus on improving my critical voice and perspective. I find reviewing very similar to writing football match reports. I have like a ‘reviewer/reporting mode’, where I perhaps scrutinise things a tad more than I would if I were watching casually. That being said, I think we all subconsciously analyse the stuff we watch to some extent. The challenge with reviewing is being able to express my thoughts in an honest and engaging fashion. I’m looking forward to discovering how to do this in my own way and developing as a reviewer with the Torch’s encouragement.”