Archive for Movies

Logorama Wins Best Animated Short Oscar – and Rightly So

// March 8th, 2010 // No Comments » // Design, Movies

Watch the full 16 minute version below. Be aware there is some NSFW language.

Visit the creator’s site H5 or the Logorama site itself.

Did Ian Simpson Watch 1984 Before Designing The Beetham Tower?

// March 8th, 2010 // No Comments » // Design, Movies

Manchester’s Beetham Tower is a building that I love.  I know many of the City’s inhabitants aren’t fans, but I love the sharp impact that it has on our skyline.  Without wanting to sound too Kevin McCloud, the juxtaposition of this huge ultra-modern shard of glass rising up from the red brick, industrial revolution buildings is stark and impressive.  As a former resident I may be slightly biased, but still – it’s a great building in my opinion.

Anyway, whilst watching the movie adaptation of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four I couldn’t help but notice what appears to be a clear render of the tower through Winston’s apartment.  It is especially clear at the point where Winston and Julia are arrested.

Manchester's Beetham Tower in the film 1984

Is Ian Simpson a fan of the 1984 film Nineteen Eighty-Four?  I think so.

Beetham Tower Image by David F Morton from Flickr

Another Short Post – Revisiting Nathan Barley

// August 22nd, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Design, General, Movies

Nathan Barley - Sugar Ape Magazine coverSo, I’ve just spent a couple of days working freelance on-site for a “trendy” London (Shoreditch) design agency and for some reason I was reminded of the brief glimmer of brilliance that was the TV series: Nathan Barley.

I’m not saying who I it was that I was working for that reminded me of Nathan Barley and “Sugar Ape” in particular; because that would do them a great disservice. In all honesty they were an outstanding agency, with a sterling client list and a lot of talented creative people on their staff. But something in that office, little things here and there screamed “Sugar Ape” to me.  Perhaps it was the background ping-pong, maybe something else; what I can say though is that at least there were no games of “cock, muff, bumhole” going on – that I could see anyway.

Anyway, it was the perfect excuse/reminder for me to go home and revisit this great series. Watching it again I still find it funny, and even more relevant today than it was in 2005. I even had trouble working out whether your typical “new-media-hipster” saw the series and adopted the attitude and mannerisms in an “oh-so-cool” ironic fashion or whether it was just a genuine parody of it’s time and people haven’t changed that much. Either way it strikes a chord and makes me laugh.

It’s yet another true gem from Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris – everything they touch seems to turn to laughter. So if you haven’t seen this series yet then please go out and acquire the DVD, it’s funny, incisive and daft and therefore worth a few hours of anybodies time.

Knowing This Might Save Two Hours of Your Life

// April 3rd, 2009 // No Comments » // General, Movies

No-Ing

Perhaps it was naive of me to expect a great experience from a recent Nicolas Cage movie but I recently had a couple of spare hours and decided to nip across the road to the cinema and watch “Knowing“. Being something of a ironic Nic Cage fan, I thought it would be worth seeing. Especially as I am something of a sucker for Sci-Fi blockbusters like Minority Report and (from the same director) I-Robot.

Anyway barely ten minutes of the movie had passed before the mistake of seeing this movie hit me in the face with a nauseating schmaltzy scene involving Cage and his on-screen son. I pretty much got up there and then it was that sickly. If you have a strong stomach, you can see a poor quality (not by my hand) clip below.

Now, if you had the guts to watch that I think you will know what I am talking about. Basically the audience is being subjected to an intoxicating level of condescension and unnecessary (in a film like this) family cheese. The makers are assuming that you are too thick to have realised already that Cage’s wife has passed away leaving him in an agnostic state, believing only in science, whereas his young nipper still has his faith and is pissed at his Dad because he doesn’t really buy-it anymore. That is without even mentioning the ridiculous and unlikely special handshake.

I’ll not go into the significance of the spiritual undertones of the scene in case you still feel compelled to watch the movie (admittedly the gratuitous special effects are worthy of a watch). But rest assured the rest of the movie continues to feed you with the cinematic equivalent of MacDonalds-esque stupid-food. At every turn and plot development you have to suffer redundant plot devices that merely add to the running time rather than story development.

It all ends with a somewhat preposterous conclusion that “cleverly” [sic] attempts to be scientific whilst also catering for those of a religious disposition. I gather it is supposed to leave you in a state of wonder over which of the two is the correct moral compass for your life, instead I was merely left wondering how I was going to keep my lunch down.

Saying all that though, if you do like the odd Hollywood effects-fest and a bit of sci-fi then please don’t let me put you off watching it. It’s not the worst movie I’ve ever seen, if you can handle the cheese then you might enjoy it.

Recommended Reading:
IMDB Message Board for Knowing (SPOLIERS)
Rotten Tomatoes Review (SPOILERS)