The Kingdom

This is a film that is designed to highlight some of the realities of the oil industry particularly in Suadi Arabia. It begins by showing statistics of the worlds oil production and consumption and shows just what an alarming amount the United states uses in comparison to the rest of the world thus setting the political background to the film. It then cuts to a baseball game being played in one of the oil company controlled westernised areas of Saudi Arabia where oil workers from America live under American law and don't have to conform to the general islamic based laws. You don't learn much else about the worlds oil industry but these few pieces do help you to understand some of the American senators decision.

From this point onwards things go downhill. There is a terrorist attack on one of the compounds in which many Americans are killed. There is then a secondary attack on the rescue workers in which an FBI agent is killed. This sparks the FBI into action and they are itching to get to Saudi Arabia in order to carry out an investigation and bring the perpetrator to justice.

This film is not as bad as I expected it to be, but I have to say it is not one of the greatest ever made. Its a good watch if all you looking for is a bit of violence and some political tension but it never gets any deeper than that it doesn't really deal with any of the statistic shown at the beginning of the film and is basically an excuse for some violence. I suggest watching it is your bored and have nothing better to do otherwise don't waste your time.

Falling Water

Falling Water is a house built by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935. It is incredibly ahead of its time and is built over a water fall hence the name. The strong lines and jutting concrete produce a powerful image in contrast to the water below and the surrounding forest. There cannot be any other building like this, so perfectly placed and aligned as to blend in with nature whilst being so strong and brutally designed.

The Hitchhikers Guide Quadrilogy

The Hitchhikers Guide to the galaxy is an amazingly well written well thought out story comprising of four books in total. I have read all the books and they are some of my favorites. It is for this reason I was terribly excited when I heard that they were making a film. I had hoped that it would be as good as the film transfer from of the Lord of the Rings books but I was sadly mistaken.

The film left me feeling empty and betrayed by a film industry that is obsessed with making money of their loyal fans. What they had done was try to compress the books into one film, where they should have made four separate films. a lot of the story was wrong and cut up and even the well descibed space ship was turned into a ball (in the book it was described as looking like a sleek trainer). It is for this reason that I am now wary of seeing films adapted from books as they tend to damage the memories of what you have read.

If you have seen the film I urge you to read the books as you will see what you missed out on in the cinema, and possibly feel how I feel.

Blade Runner

Blade runner is a film directed by Ridley Scott and staring Harrison Ford. I have many problems with this film and to this day have never got to the end, dispite having tried on a number of occasions. The Screenplay is very slow and sedate nothing like what the title makes you envisage, and this is probably the reason I get bored with it, even though the story is about artificial superhumans it just doesnt do anything for me.

It was released in 1982 and has been heralded as an all time great movie. Unfortuanetly I disagree but perhaps I will eventually get round to watching the end of the film.

Athough I don't like the film much for its storytelling it is remarkably ahead of its time in terms of vision and special effects. It manages to dipict a vast city stretching on into the distance and I can only assume around the world, and high into the atmosphere. The city is made mainly of large glass buildings with add billboards dipicting some familiar names and even the garbage vehicles are extremely futuristic and well thought out.

I guess I cannot say all bad things about this film afterall. I do like this films version of the future but I just don't like the part it is telling me.

The Gun Seller

The Gun seller is a book That I read whilst on holiday when I was about 12 Years old. Back then I did not notice who it was written by and it is only recently that I discovered that it was Hugh Laurie.

The book is about Thomas Lang an ex-army mercinary living in London. After being approached with a job offer in which he must assassinate a business man Thomas tries to warn the target and ends up getting involved with an arms dealer. The arms dealer needs lang to help with some advertising that invloves a terrirst attack but Lang doesnt go along with the plan and tries to stop it.

I really enjoyed this book and have read it several times, its fairly fast pace and well written. Its a real boys book because of the subject though, so if you dont like guns and helicopters dont bother reading it.

The 2012 olympic logo

The Olympic logo chosen for the 2012 Olympic games in London has always been one of my most hated designs, especially considering some of the other far superior ones that I have seen. It certainly is not the worst design that I have ever seen but the reason I hate it so much is that it is for something so prestigious and well funded you would have thought that someone would have been able to do better.

This is an image from one of Benetton's ad campaigns back in the 1990's. It came under fire because of its negative connotations in the united states, because black women once were forced to nurse white people's children whilst their own went hungry. I think this is a tremendous miscalculation from the People at Benetton and although it has never been released in the States or the UK it has damaged benettons image.

They did still use this image in campaigns in 77 countries.

The road to perdition

The Road to Perdition is a film adapted from a graphic novel, starring Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Tyler Hoechlin and Daniel Craig. Tom Hanks plays a body guard cross assassin for a crime syndicate, until he is forced to flee with his only remanining son after his wife and other son are killed by the syndicate. It is a tail of survival set during the great depression as the pair travel towards perdition in search of safety. It deals with the father son relationship and you watch them grow into friends throughout the film, while they evade and cause trouble for the syndicate along the way.

When I watched this film I was not expecting much. The name and the cover did not inspire me, however I'm glad I did as it is now one of my all time favourites.

"The Wind Singer" Part of the "Wind on Fire" Trilogy

"The Wind Singer" Is a book initially set in the fictional city of Aramanth. Aramanth is a large walled city which is divided into several rings and at the centre lies the "Windsinger". Each ring is coloured a different colour and has a certain level of prestige, and depending upon your status within society you get to live in the colour ring alocated to you buy the Examiners. Examiners are at the highest level of society and live in the white ring, right at the centre of the city. The story follows a brother and a sister as they struggle to deal with the opressive society and fight against it. Eventually the siblings have to escape the city through its sewer system in search of the voice of the windsinger.

I read this book a couple of years ago and the other two in the series, it is a thoroughly gripping read and escalates as you proceed through the trilogy. I strongly recommend trying it if your having trouble getting back into fiction as it compels you to read on in order to discover the many secrets it presents.

Worlds tallest bridge 2004

I first came across this bridge whilst watching the discovery channel and it was talking about the construction of this massive bridge. It is located in the south of France and is awe inspiringly large, even rising above low level clouds. The way it cuts across the valley is very beautiful and its ability to stand even though it is so thin give it an exiting look.

Damein Hurst - Shark

This is Damien Hurst's shark I saw it when I went to the Saatchi gallery in London on an art trip whilst at school. This image does not do it justice the sheer scale of the tank alone is astonishing and the shark inside is simply huge. Some people may frown upon this piece of art as cruel and it may be, but it is still a tremendous piece. The title of the original exhibition was "The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living" and this piece demonstrates that well.

The Bullring - Birmingham

I first went Birmingham at the beginning of the summer to see a friend who goes to Aston university. It is then that i saw the bullring shopping centre, it is an extremely ambitious piece of architecture that has been placed among some older 1950/60's buildings and it really stands out. Although the odd placing it really works as a building and really demonstrates the image Birmingham is trying to achieve. It is dynamic, surprising and impressive and really brings Birmingham into the 21st century.

Tigerland

I saw this film only 2 days ago and loved it. It reminded me of films like full metal jacket and other great American war/military films. It is set in 1960 America when they are at war in Vietnam and focuses on a private who is stuck in the army and will be off to Vietnam in a couple of weeks. He struggles with the idea and trys to find ways to get himself out of the army and along the way makes friends with someone who enlisted who feels it is his duty to fight for his country. I wont tell you any more for fear of ruining the film but i would recommend a watch especially if you are a fan of full metal jacket.

Georgia O'Keefe

I'm sure many of you have seen these before, i studied her art during my GCSE and A-level art courses. The main point of interest for me is the use of almost overpowering colours to create these amazing close-ups of flowers and the way that they look like they could be on fire with the brightness.

Buckminster Fuller Geodesic buildings

This is Buckminster fullers dome. It was created using a geodesic structure. I was introduced to these types of building last year in our design theory modules when we were looking at tiling and using a small inventory to create complex patterns. The reason this building is so great is because it does not conform to the standard idea of what a building should be, It breaks the rules. With its complex construction and mind boggling complexity it has to be one of the most inventive building in the world.