Wednesday 23 January 2013

Bored to Death Movie

I couldn't believe they cancelled this show. Somehow the star names were not drawing in the viewers.

Apparently writer Jonathan Ames is working on a script for the film at the moment.

This had to be one of the most middle class shows ever. It was also one of the funniest.



My Favourite Book









My girlfriend lent me
 this book when we 
were first together. 

ObamaCares

Hillary Clinton originally coined the phrase ObamaCare and the Republican's seized the chance to pick her slogan up and spin it into a negative

They used it to create negative connotations about the President's healthcare reform.

I strongly feel that Obama should have picked up on how good the phrase ObamaCare sounds and used it to highlight his initiatives with the slogan 'ObamaCares'.

Using the iconic image of Obama made by graffiti artist Shepard Fairey, I highlighted some of the positives of President Obamas healthcare reform and teamed it with my slogan 'ObamaCares'. The end result is effective as well as being a positive spin on the opposing parties negative term.


Silver Linings Playbook


Mental health has been the focus of many films both good and bad. In Silver Linings Playbook mental health issues are everywhere but at no point was this a film where this subject was the central plot. Silver Linings Playbook is at heart a film about people who just so happen to be severely depressed, bi-polar or suffer with ocd. The film  makes a point of showing not all mental illness is diagnosed and it is something that is affecting more and more people in everyday life.

On synopsis alone you would struggle to link this film with David O. Russell's last 'The Fighter' but both films are linked by family and the struggles with or without them as well as Russell getting phenomenal performances from his ensemble casts.
Bradley Cooper was not a name you expected to see academy award nominee next to anytime soon but he delivers a beautiful performance here that is measured but not too calculated. A lot of the plaudits have gone to Jennifer Lawrence for yet another star making performance but we all knew she was of good pedigree and wouldn't expect anything less from her at the moment. Robert De Niro delivers his first great performance since Jackie Brown and Jackie Weaver shows her range with a performance  as a mother who is the polar opposite of her character in Animal Kingdom.

The film is genuinely funny and some people don't feel comfortable because of this, they perceive us to be laughing at the characters but we are simply laughing at the awkwardness, the inappropriateness and we are laughing along with them. The exchanges between the two leads show great chemistry and its little wonder they are both starring opposite each other again in Susanne Bier's latest feature Serena.

The film is delicate, thoughtful and heartfelt. Three words that if you have watched the infamous 'I Heart Huckabees' outtake on Youtube or have heard the story about George Clooney hitting him, you would not associate with David O. Russell which for me just goes to prove what an exceptional Directer he is. He has consistently produced good movies, came back when everybody thought he was out, coaxed oscar nominated performances out of otherwise average actors and turns what could have been a standard romcom (SLP)/sports movie (the fighter) dealt with subjects that could risk being insensitive or cliche mental illness/drugs and turned them into well written, well acted and perfectly paced movies. 



Saturday 19 January 2013

A$AP Rocky

I caught a couple of songs of A$AP Rocky when he performed at Primavera festival. You could see he had a star quality and the liveloveASAP mixtape increased the hype. Finally his album has come out. Good but not great. Although lyrically he may not be pushing boundaries, i still want to listen to what he says. The two best tracks both have Kendrick Lamar on them and although he doesn't embarrass his contemporaries he does show why he is the best new rapper at the moment.









What I'm listening to at the moment


70s feel



80s feel

 


90s feel

 

Food for thought


Kid Gl_tchy

Check out more of these chopped and screwed images on his tumblr...

Kid Gl_tchy



Friday 18 January 2013

Spring Breakers Trailer


Harmony Korine's new film, his most commercial to date is about four girls who rob a diner so they can pay for their spring vacation.

The films getting a lot of love from festivals and it may elevate Korine to the next level as a director, what it won't do however is help shake off the enfant terrible tag that has stuck with him so far in his career.

His choice in casting is...provocative? Tongue in cheek? Ingenious? I'm not sure but casting Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens as two of the main characters in film where drugs, violence and nudity are the norm will certainly attract attention as well as maybe alienate some of the former teen stars fans.

What I can't get out of my head is the idea that Justin Bieber and Harmony Korine may have actually hung out!

The new trailer has hit the internet. Check it out below...


Wednesday 16 January 2013

Hoop Dreams

I just watched this 1991 documentary about two kids from Chicago as they play their way through high school with the hope of ending up in the NBA.

What's scary is the way in which one of the characters, William, grows so disillusioned by the sport because of his experiences during high school. He describes it as a job and says if he quit there and then he wouldn't care.

William gets funding for his education, a donor pays his tuition, meaning that this inner city kid can attend a prestigious school in the suburbs.

Unfortunately this isn't the case for Arthur who only gets partial help with his tuition. His parents fall behind on payments as Arthur is forced to attend his local school.

William seems to be more focused and we assume everything will work out for him. We are left to worry more about Arthur who under performs academically and has a turbulent home life (although his mother is a strong and grounded figure, the scene with her graduation was one of genuine joy).
Two scenes stand out for me. The first, near the beginning of the film where Arthur is in the playground showing off his natural basketball talent while in the background his dad is trying to buy drugs.
The second, now older Arthur and his dad Bo play a game of 1 on 1 in which you see just how fractured their relationship has become.



Who Next Nike campaign

The idea behind this campaign was to humanise our sports idols. 

By showing just their first names in front of a playing surface that could be found in any city, it reminds us that these people are just people. 

For example in the basketball advert i have created below, the first name is Michael. Because the brand 'Michael Jordan' is so closely linked to Nike you know straight away who the advert is referring to even though we all know someone called Michael. 

The 'Who Next' slogan is almost challenging the consumer to become the next great sports person.






Tuesday 15 January 2013

Ronaldo Ballon d'Or Nike Advert

Many believe Ronaldo would be hailed as the worlds greatest player if it were not for a certain Argentinian. 

Nike would not agree with this, with Leo Messi pledging his allegiance to Adidas they have featured Ronaldo heavily in their football adverts over the last couple of years.
Again this year the Ballon d'Or was handed to Messi. With all the individual awards going to the Barcelona forward it would be easy to forget just how impactful Ronaldo has been.

I have created an advert that Nike could use to remind us what Ronaldo does best.


Coca Cola obesity advert

Coca Cola have released an advert to help fight obesity. Or have they? Is it a damage limitation exercise as some people have argued? Have a watch on the guardians website...

Coca Cola Advert

I feel the advert is as good as we could ever hope for. This is an advert paid for by a company, not the health service. They couldn't come out and say don't drink Coke.
As most people know you can enjoy a fizzy drink as long as its in moderation and what the advert claims, you need to burn off more calories than you intake or you will get fat, is a fact.
I think people are too quick to attack the big multi national companies whenever they get the chance. There are plenty of things to moan about when it comes to Coca Cola, i don't think this advert is one of them

Crystal Fairy

Michael Cera taking a slightly new direction. Looks good.

Crystal Fairy



Celeste and Jesse forever


Celeste and Jesse. We assume a happily married couple, that is until we are hit with the bombshell that they are actually getting divorced. The reason they have broken up is never explained really and that is a fundamental problem with the film. They are obviously still in love and live in a world of in jokes so it must have been something pretty earth shattering to split the lovebirds up...or not, we will not know.

 I came away from the film wanting more, i wanted to be more affected by what i witnessed on screen. This is a film about heartbreak, i wanted it to push me, to make me cry. It didn't, it left me a little numb.

This is Rashida Jones's first script and she has crafted some excellent scenes and a couple of good characters, she obviously has a good sense of humour and the light comedic tone in parts of the film were handled very well. The cinematography is great and there is a real 'indie' aesthetic which is just as evenly matched by the fantastic soundtrack.

The supporting characters were a little one dimensional but played their part to move the film forward, all except Emma Roberts character who was given far too much screen time and part of the storyline. It worked better when she was an obvious dig at Ke$ha.

The film is not totally without merit and it held my attention throughout. I believe that Rashida Jones is someone who will learn from the experience and i believe her next script will be an improvement and is something i look forward to.

The film is worth a watch if not just for Celeste's breakdown.


top 10 fIlms of the year

shut up and play the hits












looper














2 days in New York















intouchables














killing them softly














the raid













the master













moonrise kingdom













beasts of the southern wild














martha marcy may marlene














My motivation

why I'm doing this...