Ad of the Week

So, it's nearly the Super Bowl, and of course, nearly time for the halftime adverts. So this week I've chosen, you guessed it, a Super Bowl advert! This offering is from Jaguar, created by Spark 44, and personally I think it's great. Car adverts so often bore me half to death, they're all the same! And while this one doesn't stray away from the analogy angle so many car adverts take, it does it really well.

We're in the age of the anti-hero, these days the baddies in films are often more popular than the goodies, and with the likes of Benedict Cumberbatch, and Tom Hiddleston (who features in the ad) getting a lot of love in the States, it's no coincidence that this advert has come about now. It's certainly very clever, very well done, and if I'm honest I would 100% go and see a film with Tom Hiddleston, Ben Kingsley and Mark Strong all playing those classic British villains. The only thing, however, is that the car it's actually advertising gets a little lost. Apparently it's the F-type coupe, which I had to look up myself! Still, I suppose if you know it's for Jaguar, that's probably enough!

What I'm Watching

1. American Horror Story Coven

I've been loving this season of American Horror Story! The season finale this week will hopefully tie up some loose ends and we'll find out who the next Supreme is.

2. Brooklyn Nine-Nine

We're only two episodes into [Golden Globe winning] Brooklyn Nine-Nine in the UK but so far so good!

3. The Taste

I love a competitive cooking show. While I was in Munich in December I saw the very last episode of the German version and was fairly intrigued so when the UK version started I was obviously going to be watching!

4. New Girl

I've been watching New Girl since the beginning. It's not for everyone, but it's a great half an hour of quick wit and really good characters!

5. 8 Out of 10 Cats does Countdown

It's a concept that might be very British, but Countdown made funny? Genius! It's not so much about the letters and numbers but the gimmicks and the jokes, I think it's even funnier than 8 Out of 10 Cats on it's own!

Happy birthday Mac

I have always used Macs so it's only fitting I do a little post for them on their 30th birthday.

There's a lovely video on Apple's website that shows how Macs are used. I'm very proud to have always been a Mac user, and I'm sure I always will be. 

Ad of the Week

This week I thought I would choose a little bit of a serious Ad of the Week. I've chosen the #TimeToTalk campaign by Time To Change, an organisation run by charities Mind and Rethink. Mental health is an issue that does affect people I know so it's really nice to see a proper ad for it being shown on TV (I can't find the TV ad online anywhere though).

The idea behind the campaign is super simple, all it says is that if you know someone who has mental health issues, you should talk to them. Easy as that. Ask them how they are, the same as you would with someone who has a physical illness. It's simple, effective, plays on an emotional selling point, which I always think works great, and it raises awareness for something so often stigmatised that really shouldn't be. 

I'm happy to see adverts like this, it doesn't guilt you, it simply informs you on ways you can help someone who is suffering from mental illness, which is a good message to give.

http://www.time-to-change.org.uk

Review - The Wolf of Wall Street

Sex. Drugs. Money. If I had to describe Martin Scorsese's new film in three words, they'd be the most obvious. But it is so much more than that. The film tells the story of Jordan Belfort, a stockbroker on Wall Street in the late '80s/early '90s. Belfort is ruthlessly played by Leonardo DiCaprio, a performance I feel would very much deserve the Oscar if he were to win.

The film follows Belfort as he goes from young, naive, first time broker, to discovering the not-so-glamorous world of penny stocks, and then setting up his own firm with the help of Donnie (Jonah Hill). The pair, along with Belfort's friends, set up Stratton Oakmont, in an attempt to target the richest 1% of America. As Stratton gains more money, the debauchery gets more extreme.

The cast cannot be faulted at all, every single member of the main cast gives a brilliant performance. DiCaprio is, of course, the stand out. The way he can go from charming to violent, sober to incredibly high, it builds a lot of dimensions, his character reminded me of Christian Bale's Patrick Bateman (American Psycho) only without the murders, but definitely on that same psychopathic scale. Margot Robbie also gave a brilliant performance as Naomi, Belfort's wife, and as this was her first major Hollywood role I can see a very, very, bright future for her.

The film does not attempt to glamorise Belfort's world, and while I don't know anything about the real Jordan Belfort, it seemed obviously overexaggerated for the purposes of entertainment (the fact he takes so many drugs and is never once seen to have a proper overdose, let alone even a nose bleed at any point, proves it's hardly realistic), but there's nothing wrong with that. It is massively entertaining. It is a long film, at three hours, but it doesn't feel so long, it all works and there weren't points I found myself wondering what time it was.

I would definitely recommend it.

Review - Transgender Dysphoria Blues - Against Me!

If you are up to speed on the world of punk rock, or rock in general, then you should know about Laura Jane Grace. If, however, you don't, let me very quickly fill you in. In 2012, the lead singer of Against Me! came out publicly as being transgender (male to female transition), she has been given a huge amount of support since and rightly so.

That little bit of background is needed when listening to Against Me!'s latest, Transgender Dysphoria Blues. The record is a frank and open look at being transgender, lyrics such as "You want them to notice the ragged ends of your summer dress, you want them to see you like they see any other girl. They just see a faggot." from the album's title track open the record as in your face as it gets, and that is exactly what Grace set out to do. Fans of Against Me! will recognise those classic punchy beats and catchy hooks, the opening tracks Transgender Dysphoria Blues, True Trans Soul Rebel and Unconditional Love are definitely ones to be sung at the top of your lungs with your friends.

The fourth track on the album, Drinking With The Jocks, is the song I imagine Grace may have meant when she said "However fierce our band was in the past, imagine me, six-foot-two, in heels, fucking screaming into someone's face", it might be under 2 minutes long but it really does pack one helluva punch.

The album isn't all so in your face though, the almost ironically titled FUCKMYLIFE666 brings the album to a calmer pace, and it contains some of the most powerful lyrics on the album, "No more troubled sleep, there's a brave new world that's raging inside of me". The last few songs on the album take this slower pace, particularly Two Coffins, but the frank lyrics never cease. Apart from being a solid record of catchy lyrics and some very in-your-face songs, it is also a very honest and incredibly personal record, and at the same time it is so empowering not just for the transgender community, but for everyone regardless of their orientation. 

If Against Me!'s new album teaches us anything, it's that you have to be honest with who you are and love yourself, regardless of what anyone else thinks, and let's face it, that's probably the most punk thing you can do.

Ad of the Week

This week's ad is a little different. It's the trailer for Game of Thrones season 4.

I chose it because it's great to see something get so much hype and buzz about it, it got shared around loads the day it came out and that's just the trailer! Trailers get overlooked in terms of advertising but they are pretty crucial really. I am looking forward to this new season of Game of Thrones a lot, they get better as they go on I think, and this trailer is perfect at giving just the right amount away for people like me who have not read the books!