Five things on Friday #30

Things of note for the week ending July 27th, 2012

1. The Olympics!

London 2012 kicks off TODAY and it’s going to be AMAZING.

And, while I don’t actually have any tickets to see any events (yet), I am in London and determined to have an awesome time.

Reading any of the press around and about this fair city [and its inhabitants] over the past few weeks will reveal that there are (still) so many naysayers and I am extremely proud to say: I am not one of them.

The next four weeks will see some fantastic human sporting achievements and I am SO up for this. The talent on show will be incredible and, what’s more – whether you’re walking the street, cabbing across town or simply traversing the Underground - everywhere you can just feel London filling up and it’s brilliant.

I am so in love with London right now…

Yes there’s a lot of people around and yes it’s going to be difficult, but the buzz and the excitement and the sheer joy of it all far, far outweighs all of that.

So here’s to the Olympic Games 2012: best of luck to all competitors, from all countries.

And best of luck to London, you’re looking great right now and you’ve got so much to shout about.

Buckle up and, of course: Bring. It. On.

——-

2. Lego Relativity

Background (plus more photos) and of course, the original work. Nicely done.

——–

3. Decent Cinema Advertising (at last)
Thanks to advances in digital technology advertisers can now schedule against films by the day, as opposed to by the week. What this means is more relevant content, being served up to the right amount of eyeballs.

Why this might not be that exciting for some, there are some brands that are rubbing their hands with glee over the amount of freedom and creative opportunities that’ll come with this ‘upgrade’. I for one, as a paying cinema-goer, welcome the change and look forward to better cinema advertising.

Because right now, most of it sucks.

– source, Marketing Week

——

4. Google Ripples
I upgraded my Google Nexus S to the latest version of Android – aka ‘Jellybean – recently and that, combined with the newly refreshed G+ app for iPad, has made me start getting into Google+ properly.

It’s still fairly quiet (in my circles of friends at least) but it’s growing. My G+ profile is where you can find me (and is also linked at the top right of this page) and, from now on, all future blog posts will have a ‘G+1’ button at the end – so if you like it, you can ‘plus one’ it. Damn they need some new nomenclature…

Anyway, all of that aside one of the coolest things about Google+ is the way that you can track the way content travels around using Google ‘Ripples’. This past week, to test it out, I put up an old photo from my trip to Wyoming and encouraged folk to share it to see what ripples we could create.

The output so far looks a little bit like this –

Data visualisation rocks. If you’re interested in helping with this experiment then please publicly re-share the Google+ post and, once that’s done, you’ll show up in the Ripples too!

———

5. The view from the International Space Station
…is breath-taking. Hit ‘HD’, then play full-screen. This will blow you away.

via

———

Have a great weekend folks,

Whatley out.

Trimming in Public – Part 4

Cleaning out my RSS, ten feeds at a time –

Background + parts 1, 2 and 3 also available.

Shall we?

Anssi Mäkelä
Ex-client, but still a mate. Anssi hasn’t blogged in so long that his URL is now up for sale. We’re friends on Facebook, so what the hell?
Decision: Remove

atmaspheric | endeavor
Jonathan Greene is a) a great guy b) a smart chap and c) head of super smart stuff at R/GA NY. All of these things (especially ‘a’), make this one an easy choice.
Decision: Keep

AustinTranslation
A relative newcomer to the RSS reader, Austin Madison is an animator at Pixar and his blog is a BLAST. Case in point, this recent post about a Batman-related sketch game he played with a friend.

The output is awesome –

Decision: Keep

Babbling VC
I can’t remember how or why I came across Paul Jozefak, I think he was of SpinVox’s first German users and we got chatting over Twitter one day. Anyway, as the title suggests, Paul is a venture capitalist based in Hamburg and his blog is a great insight into the world of funding start ups. I like it, and I like him.
Decision: Keep

Bastian Lehmann
I used to work with Basti at Refresh Mobile, about six years ago(!!!), and we’ve always had a decent admiration for each other’s hair-brained approach to creativity and ideas… These days he’s working his backside off over in San Francisco, as founder and CEO of awesome quick delivery service, Postmates. Basti’s never been a big blogger, so it’s no surprise that his site is no longer active. Ah well, I’ll just stalk him on Twitter instead.
Decision: Remove

BBH Labs
This is one of those blogs that doesn’t publish often but, when it does, it pushes and challenges my own thinking virtually every single time. I can’t recommend it enough. Basically, if you’re not reading this, then you’re an idiot. The end.
Decision: Keep

Be Inspired
The blog of Mediavest’s EVP, Steven Wolfe Pereira, I literally have no idea whether to keep it or not. He’s nuts. Like proper mad as a box of frogs nuts. Mediaczar put me onto him yonks ago; some of his stuff I read, some of his stuff I skip over and never look back. Actually, the really good stuff is actually bloody great. So…
Decision: Keep 

Ben Ayers
I’ve known Ben through ‘the industry’ for fair few years now, first when he was doing social at ITV and now, as head of social media at Carat. He’s a good chap, but for some reason his blog no longer works. Rubbish. Sort it out Ben!
Decision: Remove 

BennyCrime
Quite literally the best video blog I subscribe to.
Quite possibly the only video blog I subscribe to.
Quite definitely the best video blog in the world.
The end.
Decision: Keep 

Ben’s Posterous Blog
The posterous blog of one Ben Smith. Mobile-blogger (currently one third of the 361 Degrees Podcast), smart chap and long-time friend of mine, Ben’s blog is one of those things that I subscribe to and then kind of forget about [he doesn’t post that often – not here at least] but then get pleasantly surprised again when new content appears. Case in point, this rather blog post about London 2012. Check it.
Decision: Keep 

 

Part 4 is in the bag, part 5 when I get ’round to it.

Whatley out.

 

 

Five things on Friday #29

Things of note for the week ending July 20th, 2012

Breakfast @ F&G

1. Foxcroft & Ginger
…is one of my favourite places in London, the girl reviewed it recently (with input from me) and in doing so, reminded me that I need to create my own Soho post (in fact, I think I might have one drafted somewhere already). In the meantime, check out this Foursquare list that might be of use to you if you ever find yourself that way.

But yeah, be you at Boxpark or Berwick St, @foxanginger is for you.

2. The Nexus 7
I don’t have one (I’m an iPad 2 owner), however everything I’m reading says that it’s actually really bloody good. Not bad for £150 either. Even though it doesn’t have room for a SIM card (deal breaker for me), getting this kind of write-up for a long-famed Apple fan is a BIG deal.

For me, the key is the size. Again, I was skeptical at first, but for many situations, I’ve come to love the 7-inch frame. The iPad is brilliant when you’re sitting on a couch or camped out in a coffee shop. In my view, the 9.7-inch iPad is slowly but surely becoming a laptop replacement. I expect this to continue. But a 7-inch tablet is different. The iPad is clunky to read in bed, for example. The Nexus 7 is perfect for that.

Go read.

3. Item 47
I’ve written before about expanding the universe and while this isn’t exactly trans-media, this (unique?) kind of approach to film-making gets me very excited about Marvel indeed.

Item 47 is a ten minute short that takes place right after Avengers; it’s not exactly a spoiler to say that the aftermath of the end battle leaves New York in a bit of a mess and, well, some stuff gets left behind. Namely, item 47 (seen above). There’s a one minute short over on Screenrant, but the full feature will come with the Avengers home release later this year.

Outside of this general awesomeness, I really like what Marvel are doing here. They’ve already mentioned their intention to release similar shorts, or ‘one shots’, that connect their different films (Item 47 isn’t their first), and this cross-pollination is just cool. More please. Like Pixar, in fact.

Thanks.

4. Blog Topics
This could be a whole blog post in itself (and we’ll come back to why – and it still may yet) however, for those that are looking for things to write about, then you might want to sign up for Chris Brogan’s blog topic kick-starter project.

I’m lucky enough to have met Chris a couple of times now and he’s always been engaging and generous with his expertise. The titles of each of these email ‘modules’ has got me interested enough, take a look –

  • BTMC00 – Welcome letter
  • BTMCB0 – Bonuses – and the Tech / Reading List
  • BTMC01 – Your Promise to Readers
  • BTMC02 – Building Strong Habits
  • BTMC03 – The Magazine Building Crash Course
  • BTMCB1 – Interview with XXXX (it’s a secret!)
  • BTMC04 – Procrastination and Discipline
  • BTMC05 – Breaking Down What Works
  • BTMC06 – Topic Hunting
  • BTMC07 – How to Conduct an Interview
  • BTMCB2 – Interview with XXXX (it’s a secret!)
  • BTMC08 – The Conversational Tone
  • BTMC09 – Make Your Own Editorial Calendar
  • BTMC10 – Sprinting, Marathons, and the Awkwards
  • BTMC11 – Video, Audio, Photos, and more
  • BTMC12 – Money and the Blog
  • BTMC13 – A Blogger’s Media Plan
  • BTMCB3 – Interview with XXXX (it’s a secret!)
  • BTMC14 – Fastblogging
  • BTMC15 – Secrets I Have Learned
  • BTMC16 – Blogging Versus Book Writing
  • BTMCB4 – XXXX (it’s a secret, but really really fun!)

As I said, even if you’re just starting out and don’t have the £/$/€ to invest, those titles are a good thought starter for anyone. Nice work Chris!

5. Batman
This section was going to be about a whole host of Bat-related stuff that I’ve been up to this past week, but with the recent sad events in Colorado, it seems somewhat crass to be all excited about Batman right now.

I’ll save it all up for another day and instead, hand over to the The Dark Knight Rises director to take a moment to remember the innocent lives that were lost in this horrible, horrible way.

——————

“Speaking on behalf of the cast and crew of The Dark Knight Rises, I would like to express our profound sorrow at the senseless tragedy that has befallen the entire Aurora community.

I would not presume to know anything about the victims of the shooting but that they were there last night to watch a movie. I believe movies are one of the great American art forms and the shared experience of watching a story unfold on screen is an important and joyful pastime.

The movie theatre is my home, and the idea that someone would violate that innocent and hopeful place in such an unbearably savage way is devastating to me.

Nothing any of us can say could ever adequately express our feelings for the innocent victims of this appalling crime, but our thoughts are with them and their families.”

– Christopher Nolan, July 2012

 

 

Review: Dark Knight Rises

No spoilers…

Dark Knight Rises Mondo Wallpaper

It’s here.

It’s finally effing here.

And it is EPIC.

There have been nay-sayers, there have been fanboys – cough – but throughout there has always been Nolan. Enduring Nolan. Amazing Nolan. Nolan and his unflinching commitment to delivering the best telling of the Batman story he could could possibly tell.

I am here to tell you that he delivers against that commitment.

Deftly wrapping up all the threads that were laid in Begins and TDK, Rises is a film of EPIC proportions. It’s Nolan and Bale, obviously, but there’s newcomers like Tom Hardy, Marion Cotilliard and Joseph Gordon-Levitt too, each splashing the film with their own shades of Inception…  but ultimately, this is Bane’s film.



Tom Hardy is excellent in DKR; knowing, knowledgable, physical – he owns the screen whenever he appears. Another great addition to the cast, somewhat surprisingly, is Anne Hathaway. I don’t know why, but I had my doubts about her role as Selina Kyle’s cat burglar from the moment her casting was first announced but, honestly? She’s ace. Returning to Hardy briefly before moving on, I’m happy to report that the issues with his voice (that were first reported after the 7min preview back in December), have been fixed and the character of Bane oozes through Hardy with animalistic strength and menacing determination.

Remember, for the Dark Knight to rise, first he must fall. And fall he does – in spectacular fashion. In Bane, Batman truly has met his match.

This isn’t the Batman that you’ve got to know through the previous two films, mind. First in story: time has passed [eight years in fact] and a lot has happened. Before Bale dons the cowl in this final chapter, we’re made all too aware of the damage that leading the kind of life Bruce Wayne leads can have. Second, in tone: the 160+ mins are of a completely different breed than what’s come before. Nolan has grown both as a director and storyteller and we, the audience, get a much more mature and visceral cinema experience because of it.

But let’s be clear, Dark Knight Rises is a film of endings. Not in a LOTR: Return of the King ‘lets-end-the-film-five-times-over-the-course-of-an-hour’ kind of way, but in a closing of chapters, tying up of loose ends and the release of deep, set tension and pain way. Whatever Warner Bros do with the Batman licence next, it won’t be a part of this universe, that’s for certain.

There are niggles, few, but most can be plastered over by the sheer courage of the director’s vision to create such an epic conclusion to this trilogy.

When the credits rolled, I cheered and applauded as the final pay off comes together, perfectlty.

See it.

Immediately.

You’re gonna love it…

 

 

Review: The Amazing Spider-Man

Or how 21 Jump Street ruined everything…

I first blogged about The Amazing Spider-Man (TASM) back in May and while I wasn’t overly stoked about it, it still looked set to be a fairly good stab at rebooting the franchise.

Yes, we all know it’s only been five years since we last saw Spidey grace the big screen (the poorly-received Spider-Man 3 not  giving Toby McGuire the best of send-offs)

Sony decided to waive Spider-Man 4 and move straight into a retelling of the radioactive arachnid  him goodbye in the poorly-received Spider-Man 3) and while we may not be ready… Nope, start over…

And whilst I still maintain Spidey 2 was the best of that trilogy (and arguably one of the best superhero movies ever made), Spider-Man 4 never appeared and instead, well… instead we get this

 YAWN YAWN YAWN YAWN YAWN YAWN

Let’s cut to the chase:

The Amazing Spider-Man (TASM) doesn’t tell us anything new and, while it does present us with a fresh (and quite capable) Peter Parker, the film is poorly directed, the villain poorly executed, and overall – the cast struggle with a mis-firing plot that doesn’t really ever deliver; especially when *previously seen* parts of the film [ie: in trailers, teasers etc] have actually been removed from the final cut.

And here’s the kicker: the more I think about it the more I realise the one over-riding thing that killed TASM for me.

Ready?

21 Jump Street

With me? No? OK, I’ll try it a different way.

21 Jump Street RUINED The Amazing Spider-Man

…and I’ll tell you how

24hrs before I went to see TASM, I sat down with the girl and decided to give the Channing Tatum/Jonah Hill cops-as-students, TV-to-film re-make, comedy vehicle a go.

AND IT WAS GREAT.

Brilliant in fact. So surprisingly funny/hilarious that the GF and I were both actually quite stunned at how bloody good it was.

Bear with me, this is actually going somewhere…

Here’s the rub [minor spoilers ahead], the plot of 21 Jump Street centres around a couple of cops being sent back to school to uncover a suspected drugs ring. However, one of the key parts of said tale is that our heroes actually used to be at school together. one of them (Tatum) was the atypical high school jock and popular kid and the other (Hill) was johnny-no-mates geek who hung around with nerds and basically failed in all things female related.

So far, so what… well, that first part – of the two being at High School together – is set in 2007. Five years later, they’ve become cops, made friends [with each other] and are assigned this undercover gig. Except, something has happened.

GLEE has happened.

Thanks to the super-popular American musical/comedy/drama (dramusedy?) American TV series, roles have been reversed:

Geek is cool.

It’s a great plot point in 21 Jump Street and yet it creates a HUGE plot hole in The Amazing Spider-Man. Geeks are cool. Ergo, Peter Parker is cool. Especially if your Peter Parker looks just like the hugely not unattractive Andrew Garfield. It just doesn’t add up. Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone) fancies him, and rightly so – but you kinda think that she would whether he got bit by a radioactive spider or not.

That aside, the two do have a sparky relationship and there’s obviously a decent chemistry. However, that’s about all I can find that’s good about TASM I’m afraid.

The film’s villain, the woefully mis-cast Rhys Ifans as Dr Curt Connors – aka The Lizard – is clumsily realised and comes across as a bad amalgamation of previous Spider-Man bad guys, Green Goblin and Dr Octopus (whilst never actually managing to get near either when it comes to actual menace).

Also, while we’re on the subject: WHAT’S WRONG WITH THESE PICTURES?

Yes. One is of a mutated lizard man and one is a of man in a lizard suit.

Guess which one they use in the film?

Moving on, here are some other things that didn’t amaze me (whited out as they contain Spidey-spoilers)

  • Parker steals the webbing and then creates the shooters – SURELY someone at Oscorp would notice that this is missing (or at least, NOTICE IT in the streets) and basic police skills would track him down?
  • The whole thing with the cranes at the end? SERIOUSLY? I laughed out loud at this point
  • The Lizard releases some gas that turns the police into Lizards too, BUT WE NEVER SEE THEM
  • Mask on, mask off, mask on, mask off, mask on, mask off…
  • That bit, when the Lizard is chasing Spidey in school, and he *just happens* to discover the exact two chemicals required to create a make-shift bomb? Y’know, because stuff like that is just left laying around…  WHAT THE EFF?
  • I’m glad Dennis Leary’s character died, he wasn’t great – where’s JJJ?! 

In closing:

Whilst The Amazing Spider-Man isn’t that amazing, it isn’t actually that bad either. Yes, it’s too soon to reboot the franchise (obviously), but it does manage to lay enough ground for [hopefully] decent sequels. Sam Raimi’s original trilogy never really took itself too seriously and, while Garfield’s Spider-Man brings the wit, the rest of the film could do well to learn from his comedy timing.

In a year that sees quite possibly the two largest chapters in comic book film history come to a head (see Avengers and Dark Knight Rises), The Amazing Spider-Man really does struggle to stand tall amongst the crowd.

Here’s hoping future installments deliver on the early promise [that at least some of] the cast have shown.

Whatley out…

Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

No, it’s the new poster for Man of Steel!

New Man of Steel Poster

Via

The jury is still well and truly out for me on this one. No John Williams score, no reference to the originals (per the underrated Superman Returns); they’re starting from scratch and there’s only one of two ways this can go –

Up up and away, or death by Kryptonite.

Only time will tell.

 

 

Five things on Friday #28

Things of note for the week ending July 13th, 2012

1. Dior’s Autumn / Winter Show

Using one million flowers, the set for Christian Dior’s 2012 Couture show is simply breathtaking. Can you imagine the smell?

Wow.

2. Hair Prank of epic proportions
I caught this early last week and laughed my face off*. It starts slow, but the reactions are GOLD.
Enjoy.

Via

*I’m not sure what I find more funny: the reactions of his friends and family, or just the fact that the guy dreamed the idea up in the first place. Brilliant.

3. San Diego Comic-Con
The biggest, geekiest event is taking place right now and superhero/sci-fi/fantasy media news is flowing like no tomorrow. There’s been announcements about Ant-Man, discussions about Iron Man 3, sneak peeks of Man of Steel and a whole bunch of other interesting things to boot.

I read Screenrant to keep me up to date.
You should too.

In the meantime, enjoy this trailer for Wizard of Oz prequel: ‘Oz: the Great and the Powerful‘

I’m a big James Franco fan, and this – the story of how the Wizard of Oz came to be – just looks ace.

(In case you’re wondering, I’m yet to attend – but I’m sure as hell hoping to one day. Comic Con, that is. Not OZ; that’d be weird).

4. New Brothers Blue
Photographer, Norman Seeff, has released a whole set of previously unseen Blue Brothers photos that are just a delight to see (and read about).

—-

5. The best customer care story you’ll read this week.
I’ve shard this on Twitter already, but it’s so good, I just had to blog it.

I’m not going to write it up. Just click through and read about how the Ritz-Carlton really do go the extra mile…

It’s brilliant.

 

Bonuses: Ron Perlman has gone on record to say that he’d never make another Hellboy film because he hates the daily arduous make up process. Still, that didn’t stop him suiting up one last time for the Make a Wish Foundation (I welled up a little bit); Photojojo has the best email response team ever; and this week’s episode of The Voicemail includes a hilarious Finnish-to-English Google Translate error that caused mobile-rumours a plenty (listen from 17mins exactly). Amazing.

 

Whatley out.

 

Review: Following

Last week, Robbie managed to snag some tickets to see a couple of films at the British Film Institute (BFI). I’m fairly sure he told me at the time that it didn’t matter if we missed the first one, just don’t miss the second one. I’m also quite certain that Robbie also told me what made the second film so special, but for some reason it completely slipped my mind.

I was running late, after a project overran at the office, and so barely made it time. Following the usher’s light along the gangway, I quickly found my seat and found myself wondering how on Earth I’d never actually been to see anything at the BFI before (the cinema was gorgeous). Robbie was already sat down, and the film had just got going. I couldn’t remember what we were seeing, or even why we were seeing it.

Perfect.

Shot in the late 90s for a budget of around $6000(!!), Following is a feature film just over an hour in length. Our protagonist is a wannabe author who, as the title of the film suggests, as a rather dark habit of following people. Over the next 60mins or so, we find out what happens when someone follows you back…

Set in a world before mobile technology changed our collective lives, Following has a somewhat timeless feel to it that you can’t quite shake. It’s recent, but not too recent.. if you get my meaning? It doesn’t matter. What I’m saying it is: it feels old, when it isn’t really that old.

And that’s a good thing.

The acting is little am-dram (and actually reminded me quite considerably of a film I shot around the same time), and our leading man only seems to have one gear but… BUT… the pacing and storytelling are excellent. The film twists and turns and eventually, as each part of the story unfolds through a series of flashforwards and flashbacks, you realise where it’s been taking you all along. Nicely done.

But here’s the rub. When the credits rolled, the first thing I spotted was ‘Christopher Nolan‘ as writer/director…

‘Oh look,’ I said to Robbie ‘Nolan!’, he looked at me like an idiot and said ‘Yes, don’t you remember? That’s why we’re here,’ and THEN I remembered:

Following was written and directed none other than Christopher Nolan. It was his first feature in fact. Robbie had bagged us tickets to see a cinematic showing of one of my favourite director’s first films and I’d utterly forgot! It was an awesome surprise of immense proportions.

My brain started racing:wait, yes! the pacing, the jumping back and forth, the twists, the reveals, the characters… Christ, even a guy named ‘Cobb’… it’s all there!

One of my favourite, absolute favourite things about being so in love with film is the study of the fingerprints that each director leaves on their body of work, and how those prints grow over of time. Look closely and you begin to pick up tell-tale marks, sleight-of-hand moments, certain light & composition choices, word-play, directorial decisions that completely change the way you, the viewer, experience the art you’re consuming.

Being able to view creativity evolve over time is nothing short of exhilarating and – especially with an artist such as Nolan – diving into their earliest works is always the best place to start spotting where that vision, that passion, is at its most raw and purest form.

In this instance it is abundantly clear: without Following there would be no Memento, no Prestige, no Inception. In fact, as a precursor to Memento in-particular, Following could be viewed as a way into Nolan’s style of writing and directing.

And I love it for it.

Following isn’t a great film. It’s different, yes, but not excellent. However, as an insight into the early creative sparks of one of the greatest storytellers of our generation, it is unmissable.

 

Thanks Robbie, you made my night.

 

 

 

 

 

Five things on Friday #27

Things of note for the week ending July 6th, 2012

1. Stunning Ocean Waves
These are gorgeous and I could honestly sit and stare at them for hours. Dreams are made of this. Click through, gaze, hear the waves crash around you and… breathe.

2. The 3 White Lies Behind Instagram’s Lightning Speed
Instagram is a great service (I’ve blogged about it before) but this post, from Fast Company Design is a bloody fantastic read, a must-read in fact for anyone looking at mobile code and/or best-in-class some good examples of smart UX programming.

There’s some great insights here (three, to be precise) and, for someone who has spent some time in mobile app start-ups, it’s excellent to see/read about some of the lateral thinking behind one of my favourite social networks.

3. Conversations with my 12yr old self
Best bit of UGC I’ve seen on the internet this week. Bar none.

Yes, it’s gone an annoying ad on the front. But hey, that’s what happens when stuff goes big. Just watch it, and be amazed.

 4. Vodafone + BT Openzone access
If you have an iPad with Vodafone, apparently you get free access to a wealth BT Openzone WiFi hotspots all over the country.

The funny things, not many seem to be able to get it to work. Including me. This is a guest post over for Mobile Industry Review, go check it out.

5. Batman on a Pizza Hut
Exactly what it says on the tin. And I love it.

Exactly what it says on the tin

Via

Bonuses this week; Five things on Friday is on a Thursday in Qatar, thanks to my friend Tarek; additionally, this digital hipster has inspired others too; and – when things move to the next stage – this poster is going on every single wall I can find.

 

Until next time…