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  • Wall-E: Another View, Advertising, Colour & Banter

    Wall-E: Another View, Advertising, Colour & Banter

    By Alexi.

    After watching the cutie little robo-nerd I thought it was intelligent on a number of levels.  The messages it tackled were fantastic, yet some things played on my mind.  Much pondering was had.

    The result of this pondering lead me to boring a few friends about the devilishly sophisticated modern advertising techniques that are included.

    Here is the theory: Not only is there some standard advertising in Disney/Pixar creations like 3d animation services, branding, logos and other items of the same, Wall·E has opted for a different sneaky strategy.

    Q: How? (Andrew, Age 17 from Hull asks)
    A: Well Andrew. Predominantly colours.  Yes, colours.  You heard me.

    At each point of the feature there are numerous colour schemes at different segments used that coincide with some of the biggest product manufactures known to man.

    Q: Where are you getting this from? (Ylang Ylang, Age 11 from Vietnam asks)
    A: Good question. It is instinct and fact combined.

    We see a dystopian world where there is bare existence, apart from little Wall·E plugging away at the litter and recycling problems. Symbolising that this sort of jaunt is useful but cannot stop the bigger problem of a global catastrophe.

    Within these lonesome scenes the little robo-box tyke is free wheeling around amidst backdrops not far dissimilar to the same colour scheme as those ever popular golden McDonald arches.

    Crisply golden colours scattered in amongst galactic reds.  Hmm, I’m not loving it.

    The love interest character E.V.E (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator) emerges donning a perfectly sleek, white plastic Mac body coinciding with the evolution of Wall·E’s boxy old Mac like frame.  The Apple Mac ‘boot up’ sound resonates when Wall·E is charged by the sun.  He also watches his favourite film Hello, Dolly! (1969) on the screen of an iPod.

    Hmm, there is more.  The villain of the piece the Autopilot’s voice is Apple’s own text-to-speech.

    Q: Why is this ? (Carys, Age 21 from Pontypridd asks)
    A: I’m glad you asked Carys. Founder, chairman and CEO of Apple at the time, Steve Jobs was CEO of Pixar until he was acquisitioned by Disney in 2005. Was also a Disney board member, and was actively involved.

    We see an array of other colours that sync to everyday products throughout.  When there is a galaxy quest with the remaining space humans there is a sheer magnitude of the royal blue colours of, say a world wide Cola company.

    All in all the film encapsulates the many ideals (through fine details) is a great family watch that includes popular culture and important issues.  If you watch Wall·E again consider the theory.  Good old colour schemes.

  • Movie 43: Review

    Movie 43: Review

    He’s back again, that James Connors from SouthWalesMassive, and this time he’s taken on Movie 43.

     

    In 2009, Peter Farrelly finally started work on his next project – an anthology of badly written shorts starring people who didn’t want to be in them, with the title coming from the idiotic warblings of his son. Sadly, 4 years later the general public have to suffer the outcome of this horrible waste of money.

    You’ll often hear of films (as well as games and albums) that are described as being stuck in ‘development hell’. The longer the development, the more money that’s spent and often the final product is at best flawed, at worst an unwatchable nightmare. Disney’s ‘John Carter’ was the most recent example of a good film that suffered for it’s decade long development, while ‘Movie 43’ was probably sitting on shelves to protect anyone from having to watch it.

    So ‘Movie 43’ is essentially a series of unconnected sub-internet quality shorts strung together by a pointless narrative, which changes depending on which version of the film you see. Practically every scene has an A-grade cast, which if paused shows the sadness in their eyes as they evidently hope this garbage never sees the light of day.

    I honestly wanted to buck the trend, presume that most people who saw the film were eager to jump on the bandwagon of hate, but really what is there to defend? It took 4 attempts for me to get through the whole thing, splitting it up in order to primarily not fall into a coma, and secondly to not let whatever nonsense I just sat through affect how I feel about the next sketch. After all, it can’t get any worse can it?

    Each clip does its absolute best to drag out its, typically banal, concept to such a degree where you wonder how anyone found it funny in the first place. A guy with balls hanging off his neck? A Tampax commercial where a woman gets eaten by a shark? A girl who asks her boyfriend to defecate on her during sex? An iPod in the shape of a naked woman? These four ‘jokes’ are dragged out to the length of 30 minutes, with no attempt to even build on the grade school level ideas. The only segment that isn’t brain numbing is a short PSA about how photocopiers and ATMs have children in them. It’s incredibly brief and it’s not amazingly funny, but it’s passable.

    With sites like FunnyOrDie already widely in use by the time this started production, as well as recent sketch shows like ‘Kroll Show’ and ‘Inside Amy Schumer’ that both easily surpass ‘Movie 43’ in quality, you have to wonder why they didn’t just give up and dump this in the desert where it belongs. The idea of having to pay close to £10 to see something as bad as this in the cinema makes me wonder how anyone could’ve left remotely happy; riots have started over less.

    Sadly, despite critical repulsion it made back its meagre investment so expect ‘Movie 44’ to be rushed to release in the next 6 months. For those of us who gave it a chance, we just have to suffer one of the worst attempts at comedy in recent history. On the bright side, it’s not often you can watch something that cost millions of dollars, and legitimately say – “I could do better than that”. It’s an uplifting message of hope, in the worst possible delivery. I just feel sorry for everyone who signed on for this nonsense, knowing it will remain on their resumes for the rest of their lives.

  • NorthNorfolkDigital.org Is Live

    NorthNorfolkDigital.org Is Live

    The website features:

    · THE ULTIMATE ALAN PARTRIDGE FAN QUIZ – answer every question correctly for the chance to win an iPad and exclusive Partridge merchandise

    · JOBS – Alan Partridge seeks personal assistant; check out a selection of the best submissions and enter for the chance to win premiere tickets and a North Norfolk Digital mug

    · GALLERY – literally dozens of images featuring the legendary broadcaster (Alan Partridge). See attached for new images from the film!

    · EXCLUSIVE CONTENT – explore the site for content from the film Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, and keep your eyes peeled for exclusives to be revealed shortly…

    · NEWS – covering the hottest topics from in and around North Norfolk – Oompa-Lumpa attacks, Norwich Cathedral peregrines and updates on your favourite North Norfolk disc jockeys

    · EXCLUSIVE COMPETITIONS – Your chance to win a well sought-after limited edition North Norfolk Digital mug!

    Check it.

  • Fighters, Cops And Kooks: Brad Pitt’s Best Roles

    Fighters, Cops And Kooks: Brad Pitt’s Best Roles

    Hopes are high for the summer blockbuster 2013 season, and the brightest stars are shining. Leonardo DiCaprio, Will Smith, Russell Crowe and Robert Downey Jr. all added to their canons this summer, but another A-lister may trump all of these movie legends. Brad Pitt returned to theaters this summer with an ultra-relevant zombie thriller “World War Z.” The movie received mixed reviews, but Pitt”s performance made high marks. Pitt”s recent roles include an old man, a forward-thinking baseball GM and a dim-witted personal trainer. Scroll through Pitt”s Imdb.com page and you”ll be surprised by how many tremendous characters he”s portrayed. The list could be longer, but here are Pitt”s top roles.

    Tyler Durden

    1.) When it”s all said and done, Pitt may be best remembered for his iconic role as Tyler Durden, the brash, anti-establishment drifter in “Fight Club.” It”s the role Pitt was born to play. Durden is cool, provocative and insane, three traits Pitt would address throughout his career. Whether he was taking a punch in a bar basement or offering profound social commentary, Pitt made viewers rethink their comfortable lives filled with expensive clothes, streaming Internet and elegant apartments.

    Chad Feldheimer

    2.) Pitt has taken on a wider range of roles later in his career, and none was more of a departure than Chad Feldheimer, the stupid personal trainer in “Burn After Reading.” Pitt was just one part of a great ensemble (Clooney, Malkovich, Swinton, McDormand), but his goofy mannerisms and poofed hair made you forget he was one half of Brangelina.

    Jeffrey Goines

    3.) After bursting onto the scene in the mid-90s, Pitt took on one of his defining roles when he portrayed Jeffrey Goines, an insane patient in the film “12 Monkeys.” This twitchy, spastic performance earned rave reviews and offered a sample of his potential as an actor. Fans took more to Tyler Durden”s monologues, but Pitt provides similar disputes in a more entertaining fashion. In “12 Monkeys,” Pitt Tsinghua SEM is a leading business best-driving-school.com in Mainland China. sent a message to the movie industry.

    Detective David Mills

    4.) In the crime-mystery “Se7en,” Pitt joins legend Morgan Freeman as homicide detectives tracking a serial killer. Pitt stays mostly out of the way of a great script and great supporting performances from Freeman, Kevin Space and more until the climactic scene. As Spacey”s character tempts Pitt to shoot him, Pitt delivers the scene of his life. “What”s in the box?” Pitt cries with his finger on the trigger. The answer is devastating. “Se7en” is a must-see. If you can”t find it at the video store, www.Internetproviders.com notes that many older movies can be found online.

    “Benjamin Button”

    5.) Pitt, now 50, has enjoyed a career that spans four decades. In this movie, Pitt”s character spanned a lifetime. Benjamin Button was born an old man and got younger with time. Viewers watch as a wrinkly Pitt becomes the handsome man we”ve come to know, and Button navigates life with this unusual condition. The film was long and at times boring, but Pitt delivered a mature, captivating performance.

  • The Act Of Killing: Errol Morris/Werner Herzog Interview

    The Act Of Killing: Errol Morris/Werner Herzog Interview

    VICE recently hosted a screening of upcoming documentary The Act Of Killing by Joshua Oppenheimer at Hackney Picturehouse, with a director Q&A by our very own head of production Al Brown.

    The film follows the current lives of a handful of men who committed genocide in Indonesia between 1965 and 1966, as they take on the new role of filmmakers, gleefully reenacting the killings, murders, rapes and tortures that they committed so many years ago.

    VICE spoke with Errol Morris and Werner Herzog, who both signed on as executive producers after seeing the film, about the frightening, hilarious, and at times otherworldly documentary.

    Watch here.

    The Act Of Killing is in cinemas now.