Month: October 2012

Review: SKYFALL

[no spoilers]

It’s been five months since I first blogged about Bond’s latest outing and back then I said the following:

‘Already this looks like quite possibly the most gorgeous Bond film to date… with the tonality of Craig and the emotive & visual depth of Mendes, the third of this generation’s Bond is set to be the best one yet.’

Having just got home from catching up with Bond at London’s BFI IMAX I am ridiculously happy to report that I was 100% correct with my prediction:

SKYFALL is magnificent.

Historically, I like to keep my film reviews spoiler free. This review is no exception; there’ll be no giveaways here.

So, where do I begin? With Bond, of course.

Daniel Craig is perfect.

On form, settled in and completely existing within James Bond, when people cross him and damage the things that matter to him most, you feel his anger and his vengeful determination. The darkness (that must exist for Bond to be true) is present, but coloured with a dark humour. A flash of a wink, a half-smile – this is the 007 that has been stirring underneath Fleming’s pages since he was first committed to paper back in 1958.

It’s true: Bond has never been better.

For this to work however, our excellent hero needs an equally brilliant villain – and in Javier Bardem’s ‘Silva’, we have just that. Flirtatious, dangerous, enigmatic, and bizarrely sexually charged, Bardem delivers a performance that is reminiscent of Christopher Walken as Max Zorin (in 1985’s View to a Kill).

At first I thought it was the hair, but not so. With Silva there’s that same sense of wild destruction, that flair for the theatrical, that reminds me of Walken so. And yet, whilst Bardem never reaches the sinister heights of his career-defining turn in No Country For Old Men, the character of Silva doesn’t really demand it. He’s cunning, meticulous and driven – and a superb foil for our lead protagonist.

However if this film was ever to be defined as a two-hander, it would not be Bardem who would take the co-starring role next to Craig. No no. That role would go to Dame Judi Dench: giving us (and Bond) the most active and versatile ‘M’ we’ve ever seen – allowing her professional veneer to only just cover the maternal pride and instinct she hides throughout, Dench excels as the head of British intelligence.

In fact, I would go so far to say that SKYFALL is more about Bond’s relationship with M than it has ever been (in more ways than one).

As is standard procedure, the supporting characters are also given their fair share of the limelight. Ben Whishaw as Bond’s new Quartermaster plays it with just the right amount of humour that is fitting for the role (ie: not too much, with a distinct air of competence and respect for what is his domain and what is not). I look forward to where this goes, much.

Ralph Fiennes is surprisingly good as governmental envoy Gareth Mallory, as is Naomie Harris as Bond’s agent support, Eve. However, I think a special mention should go to Rory Kinnear, whose ‘Tanner’ is understated, under-played and every bit as believable as he should be.

Which brings us to Mendes. Sam Mendes. It has to be said:

Bond is beautiful.

Several times throughout I audibly gasped at the images thrown in front of me. From the rooftops of Istanbul through to the casinos of Macau, the splendour of Skyfall really has to be seen on the BIG screen to be appreciated (I mean it, if you can see it at the/an IMAX then do so), a fist fight in front of an electric jellyfish is a stand out.

As I type, I’m listening to the Skyfall OST on Spotify and being reminded of just how awesome and lifting it is. Reflecting backwards, and at the same time springing forward – the score is as every bit a celebration of 50 years of Bond as the film.

Visiting the world of Bond through the eyes (and ears) of Mendes is a gift. I said it before and I’ll say it again: the colours, the composition; all of it is just so visually sumptuous you can’t help but be drawn to this film.

It enraptures and snares, it casts all of what you know aside and starts again all over without fear and without folly.

This is not the Bond you used to know, but in a way – it’s the Bond you’ve always known.

Skyfall is incredible.

When the final credits roll, you’ll wonder how the 50 years of Bond on film have passed so quickly and yet you’re left kind of knowing exactly how the next 50 years are going to roll.

Well done, 007.

 

Very well done indeed.

 

 

Five things on Friday #43

Things of note for the week ending October 26th, 2012

1. Worlds above the clouds
The above image is taken from a gorgeous photoset entitled ‘Magical Worlds Exist Just Above the Clouds’. And the whole set made me smile. So I hope you like it.

2. Batman 16
I’m behind a bit on Batman at the moment, but it has to be said – this latest cover is CREEPY AS HELL, and hella awesome for it.

via

3. Piano
Bonus friend action this week with a surprise visit by two buddies from overseas, Rob Keyes from Screenrant and Ryan Penagos from Marvel. They were over doing some TOP SECRET reporting on [REDACTED] and I went and met them (and Ryan’s awesome colleague Marc) for a good few beers at the end of their day.

Our destination? Piano.

Man I forgot how good that place is. You should go.

4. The Lumia 920 on AT&T
I really really like this ad. Not because it’s AT&T and not really because it’s the first TVC for the Nokia 920 either. I just think, for a 30 second spot, it tells a story of our time in an excellent fashion. So, yeah –

5. The London Transmedia Fest 2012
Anyone following me on Twitter on Friday would’ve seen a whole bunch of tweets using the #LTF2012 hashtag. Well, the London Transmedia Fest 2012 was the reason why. Some highlights –

And finally, my favourite speaker of the day was Pat Cadigan. Pat told a wonderful story about how the times in her life when she had nearly died. It was brilliant, captivating and just… delightful.

Favourite quote?

“Children are magical… Where do all the mediocre adults come from?”

—

Bonuses this week comes in the form of just a bunch of other stuff I’m reading –

– I really enjoyed this Louis CK / SNL article

– The wrong election date is on some Spanish-language voting forms

– Ghostbusters 3 has finally been given the green light, here’s the timeline

– Italy’s most famous drowned town (is there a top ten?)

– What is Drop 7?

– a breathtaking poem, ‘Sheep‘

—

Whatley out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Five things on Friday #42

Things of note for the week ending October 19th, 2012

1. Antartica like you’ve never seen it before
This is the story of a LocalWiki project named ‘Open Antarctica‘. Yes that’s right, not only is there internet in Antarctica but there’s also a LocalWiki project too! It’s a great story and some of the photography is just stunning. Go check it out.

2. I share my body with 20 personalities
This is incredible.

‘The meetings came and went very quickly, like so much of my life. I was sure Valerie said she worked in fifty-minute blocks, but I barely seemed to arrive before I was home again. The conversations while I was there seemed the weird end of bizarre, as well. I didn’t really know what the therapists’ agenda was, but I quickly got the feeling they were trying to nudge me down a particular path. I couldn’t put my finger on it, so one day Valerie came out and said it.

According to her I shared my body with dozens of other people.’

AND

“No, it’s not like that,” Dr Hale said. “You are not here all the time. Other people take control of your body. They have their own separate lives, just as you do.”
–
Ridiculous as it all sounded, I couldn’t help asking questions.
–
“So where do I go then?”
–
He shrugged. “It’s as if you go to sleep.”
–
“Why don’t I fall over then?”
–
“Because someone else is awake and keeping the body going.”

—-

The above is taken from an excerpt from ‘All of Me‘ published on The Atlantic earlier this week. I read it, cried a little, then I bought the book.

I reckon you’ll do the same.

3. Best Skyfall tie up yet?
This, from Coke Zero, is kind of awesome

Nice.

4. New Global Pages on Facebook
This is a bit work-based, so if you’re not in the industry you might want to skip straight to number five. However, if you are and you want to know what Facebook are doing to help brands with global and local presences, then AnalogFolk have a decent breakdown.

5. Bodyform
You’ve probably been on some kind of media blackout if you haven’t seen the Bodyform Responds video yet, and while the content is quite brilliant, the conversations that have spun out afterward are considerably much more interesting. From the creative minds of Carat and Rubber Republic it’s been seen as brilliance by some, unauthentic by others and – in some corners – the first proof of the fallacy of social media.

How do you feel about it? Is it just a bit of fun and a fairly tongue-in-cheek response to a comedy video?
Or is it just another salty mess in the never-ending daisy chain of advertising?

You tell me.

—-

Bonuses this week are a bunch of videos that people have sent me; James Cordon, being funny for Sight Savers; the Duracell bunny made out of recycled batteries and LEDs, made out of LEDs; and Coffee, made the small way.

Til next time.

 

Five things on Friday #41

Things of note for the week ending October 12th, 2012

Untitled

1. Awesome birdhouses
From the stylish to the down right scary, these incredible birdhouses have been made specifically to raise money for charity (which is doubly awesome). The whole set is quite fantastic and the one I’ve used above does nothing to illustrate how artistic the creators get…  it just really makes me laugh.

via

2. Blogger Engagement
A good piece of blogger engagement goes a long way. This is not news admittedly and there’s probably enough in this to warrant another blog post for another day (note to self: start this draft). But for now, let’s talk about some great pieces that have happened lately.

First, from the lovely chaps looking after social media for Tsingtao Beer. I’m not a huge Tsingtao drinker but, after some great banter with the aforementioned digital team – I know I’m going to order it next time I’m out for Chinese, certainly. I’m also going to vote* in the Tsingtao Beer ‘Legacy of Taste‘ competition, which is the search to find Britain’s favourite Chinese restaurant. You should vote too.

Second, Motorola announced their brand new Motorola RAZR i the other week and, in all fairness, I rarely take notice of anything Motorola do as I’ve never used any of their devices and it’s not a brand that’s ever interested me. However, after a delightful email from their representatives here in Europe, not only have I LIKED THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE but I’ve also mentioned the phone a couple of times on the podcast AND I’m also looking forward to actually getting my hands on one and having a play.

That’s all down to decent blogger engagement.

Look, I know this all sounds incredibly pompous but I collect blogger engagement. When I was engagement director at the ‘heads I made it my job to constantly review with the way we engaged with different communities; I have given entire presentations (internally, of course) based around bad engagement copy. It’s a habit I’ve kept since leaving and well, blogger engagement done well should be applauded more often.

So, Christine at Edelman and Tom/Robbie at McCann, if you’re reading this – good work.

3. BMX Boy
This is four year old Malcolm, out BMX-ing/Mountain-biking with his dad. It’s nine minutes of smiling from ear to ear.

My dad and I used to go scrambling around tracks like that. I miss it.

4. The Mayor of Mars
The Mars Curiosity Rover is using Foursquare to track its progress across that reddest of planets and, just last week, it became the Mayor of the Gale Crater.

I love love love the way that the team at NASA are using social media tor drive interest around this most awesome of human exploratory missions. And big up to the Foursquare team who are helping them do just that. Well done.

5. Stupid stuff
My girlfriend sent me this during the week and for some reason it makes me crack up just looking at it/him –

I’m laughing right now. Hahahaha… the artist behind this masterpiece is one Natalie Dee.

Go seek her out.

—

Bonuses this week: a 15min speech from the Australian Prime Minister labelling the leader of the opposition a hyprocritcal misogynist is absolutely fantastic (seriously, watch it); a blog post entitled ‘the most interesting underpants in London‘ really does live up to its name; and finally, this is probably the best volcano video you’ve ever seen – hit HD, make it full screen and ENJOY.

 

*If you’re interested, Royal China got my vote. 

Lumia 800 spotted in The Wolverine?

Yeah, I think so –

Wolverine 2, aka ‘The Wolverine‘, is coming / rising soon. Filming is underway right now and slowly but surely set photos are leaking their way onto the internet. So far, we’ve only seen snaps of our eponymous hero but today, we got a peek at the two main villains he’ll be facing up against: Silver Samurai and Viper.

The really interesting thing is that the latter of the two has been spotted sporting what seems to be the Nokia Lumia 800.

Take a look –

That certainly looks like a Cyan(?) Lumia 800 to me. The flash is in the wrong place to be anything else.

But why?

Nokia has previous when it comes to placement in superhero films (trust me, I know), and it works best when it’s actually part and parcel of the film’s storyline as opposed to being fudged in at the last minute. Fortunately it’s looking very much like the former here – which is ace.

However, all I’m left wondering is: why the Lumia 800 and not the Lumia 820, or the 920 for that matter?

If I were a bad-ass super villain, I don’t think I’d settle for WP7.8.

 

#justsayin

Trimming in Public – Part 5

Cleaning out my RSS, ten feeds at a time –

James Whatley / BW

Background.

Let’s do this –

blending the mix
The blog of northern digital/social specialist, Paul Fabretti – I think this may have been one of the first/earliest subscriptions back in the day and I’ve also had a the good fortune of getting to meet Paul from time to time too. He doesn’t blog that often (he’s a busy boy), but when he does – I always read it. If you’re into social media / digital and want to keep an eye on people doing things differently, Paul’s blog is one to read.
Decision: Keep 

Blog O HAI
I met Mark Burstiner at the Web 2.0 Expo in New York City about four years ago. We hit it off right away and basically had a blast the entire time we hung out. Back when I was ‘that Brit doing social media’, word got ’round pretty quick and a couple of days later, when Mark and I ran into each other again (this time at the Blog World Expo in Vegas) he made sure that I got to meet everyone and anyone he could introduce me to. From Gary V and Brett Petersel through Pistachio and Pete Cashmore, Mark intro’d me to them all - and it was awesome.

Back to the blogging bit – of late Mark has been working his ass off getting his (quite frankly, brilliant) gaming-based start up, ‘FTW‘,  off the ground so blogging hasn’t been his number one priority. Look, we chat enough over Twitter and Xbox mail as it is.
Decision: Remove

Brandflakes for Breakfast
Top five all time number one blogs to read for keeping up to date with the latest advertising, creative, innovation and online (viral) video. If you’re in the industry, you should be reading this. And if you’re launching something cool and you want the industry to know about, you should let these guys know too.
Decision: Keep

Brown Cardigan
There are a few things on this list that I have no explanation for. Brown Cardigan is one of them. It publishes far too much for my normal RSS reader liking, and by rights I should remove it. BUT… it’s everything that’s good and bad about the internet all together in one place and it’s where I go to LAUGH MY FACE OFF – and y’know what? I make no apologies for it. You have been warned. It’s staying because I LOVE LOVE LOVE the faces of the people on the tube in the mornings who happen to catch it over my shoulder.
Decision: Keep

Campaign Against Living Miserably
Suicide is the biggest killer of young men under 35 in the UK today. C.A.L.M. is a charity that’s been set up to help reduce that staggering statistic. Go. Read. Be inspired.
Decision: Keep

Chris Funderburg’s Place
I spoke about Chris back in part one. This blog isn’t around anymore, but the one in part one is. So that’s all decided then.
Decision: Remove

chrisbrogan.com
A great blogger and a great guy, if you’re thinking about doing anything blog related, be it business or personal, you could do a lot worse than spending a couple of days routing around in Chris’ archives. One of the good guys, I’ve always got time for Chris.
Decision: Keep

Ciaran’s Blog
God knows when Ciaran last blogged. It certainly wasn’t recently. I guess, being CTO of Skimlinks doesn’t allow for that kind of thing much these days. Damn shame. Still, lovely guy. Follow him on Twitter instead.
Decision: Remove

Colin Mercer On The Inter-Web
Used to work with Colin back at the ‘heads. He blogs fairly infrequently about Oxford Digital life and cricket. Two things that I don’t have much opinion on. If I’m being harsh on topics, I should remove… BUT he hasn’t blogged since June so that also weighs in against him too.
Decision: Remove

copy©**ts
A fairly NSFW blog setup for the sole purpose of naming and shaming advertising ‘creatives’ who serve up yesterday’s YouTube fodder as tomorrow’s ‘big idea’. Honestly, it has to be seen to be believed. I love it, and it really doesn’t publish enough.
Decision: Keep

 

Part 6 when I get ’round to it.

 

Five things on Friday #40

Things of note for the week ending October 5th, 2012

1. The Penis Blouse

That’s a penis, on a blouse. Brought to you by those lovely people at ASOS. Spotted it a couple of days ago and within 24 hours it was all over the place. ASOS are clearly onto a winner; everyone loves a penis blouse.

2. Statigram
Statigram is a web interface for Instagram. Given that Instagram is mobile-only, this is actually quite a useful tool. What’s really useful however is the super-cool stats (see what they did there) it pulls out of your Instagram activity.

eg: my most popular pics

Lovely stuff. On Instagram? Go have a play.

3. Dog shirts
Exactly what is says on the tin.

I bought one of these for Robbie last week (it was his birthday, we don’t just buy each other gifts for no reason – well, we do but that’s not for now), AND THEY ARE AMAZING.

4. 4G Networks
At long last, 4G is scheduled to launch here in the UK on October 30th. Well I say networks I mean network (singular, not plural) this is because of a whole bunch of reasons most of which are covered off in this rather informative article on The Register as well as this week’s episode of The Voicemail (I may have had a rant).

In summary: 4G is coming from network this year, but from everyone else in 2013. Rubbish.

5. Choons
This is the best thing I’ve listened to all week.

_____

Bonuses this week: FIFA have somewhat incredibly re-badged and relaunched FIFA 12 as FIFA 13; this article about how Nokia keeps its maps up to date by using UPS and Fedex van delivery data is quite the eye-opener; and finally, Snoop Dogg is voting for Obama. Wanna know why?

– Whatley out.

Scottevest FTW

Meet Scott Jordan –

Scott Jordan - aka @scottevest

I was first introduced to Scott way back when I was just about to embark upon my Lucozade Energy Challenges…

No. Wait.

First you need to know what the hell a ‘Scottevest‘ is.

Well, the best way to describe it would be to call it ‘tech-enabled clothing’ for the tech-travelling geek. Imagine a really nice/well-made jacket for example, that can carry all of your tech.

You’re a blogger, geek, tech-head. You’re carrying an iPad, a phone (or three), a USB cable (or seven). You don’t want to carry a bag because you always carry a bag. Well, what if you didn’t have to? What if you could wear a jacket, or a fleece, or a pair of trousers that could carry all that for you - in comfort.

Well that’s Scottevest.

And it is awesome.

Example?

Let me get back to my story, back when I was about to embark upon my Lucozade trip of epicness, fellow video-blogging buddy Christian Payne – aka @Documentally – reached out to Scott and asked him to send me some stuff to use while I was away – ‘He’ll do something cool,’ he said. In return I told Christian I’d give Scott the rights to use any photography that I took while away…

And that’s exactly what I did.

Like a pro...

Sandboarding in Namibia, head to toe in Scottevest gear, natch.

Turns into: free photos of yours truly with any Scottevest purchase! 😉

Whatleydude, on a sandboard, wearing Scottevest

Throw in a bit of climbing, some mountain trekking and a spot of safari too, and you have yourself quite a nice selection of Scottevest-in-action poses!

Anyway, for the past three years Scott and I have been following each other on Twitter and last night was the first time we got a chance to meet… and what a genuinely nice guy he is! Filled with stories and laughter, he was a great host for a lovely evening of tech geekery and smart clothing (not a combination you hear every day).

Seriously, follow him on Twitter [and tell him I said hi] and perhaps, this Christmas, you might want to gift your favourite geek with some badass Scottevest gear for his/her tech.

Oh, and as a final FYI – for my fellow Brits – Scott was in town last night to tell both a) catch up with his UK friends and b) give us a sneak preview of new and upcoming products.

That blue shirt he’s wearing above is on my shopping list already and, when it launches, Scott’ll be putting everything on Amazon.co.uk too – making it all much easier to purchase.

Win!