Kieran Watkins at Digital Spy

I was lucky enough to spend two weeks at Digital Spy during April and early May on a work placement.

The entertainment news website, based in London, offers exclusive content and news on sections including film, television, music and gaming, along with videos and pictures.

I was very lucky to gain a two week placement with their team, and over the course of ten days wrote up more than 70 articles.

One of my articles, on two Nasa Rovers which 'accidentally' drew a penis on Mars, was shared nearly 2,000 times on social networks including Twitter and Facebook, with Digital Spy's story featured on the US satirical show, The Colbert Report.

You can find a link to all my articles here.

Special thanks to Ben Lee from the Digital Spy team for organising my placement. I hope to return to the website next year.

Review of the Week: Soho

This weeks Review for the Week is asking you to get out of the house and experience culture, fine food and the bright lights of London town. In particular, the jazzy, tourist London landmark of Soho.

Having never ventured to London’s ‘red-light district’, I was bursting at the seams to go and experience what all the fuss was about. I’d heard many a wild rumour regarding a night out at Soho, so meeting with friends for a meal and a few drinks sounded like the perfect way to tickle my taste buds with the sights and sounds of what Soho has to offer.

The best way to start your evening in Soho is to get there early for a meal in one of the many restaurants. From London’s very own Chinatown to gorgeous bistro’s and American themed diners, the area offers a variety to wet the appetite for any tourist. I met friends at the cheap but cheerful Bistro 1, which had a nice cosy feel about it. The food, £10.99 for two courses, was a fantastic price for Soho, but be warned, the quality matches the price.

After drinks, book into a showing at one of the various theatre’s in the district. Current shows include Singing in the Rain at the Palace Theatre or Jersey Boys at the Prince Edward Theatre. If you’ve never experienced a West End show, then what better way to kick off a fantastic evening then catch one of these award-winning performances.

After the show, you’ll find Soho teaming with people as the atmosphere intensifies as you near midnight. This is the perfect opportunity to socialise with your friends, work colleagues or indeed the locals at one of the many bars or pubs lining Soho. Grab a cocktail, pint or glass of wine and sit and admire the world go by. I’d recommend the Pornstar cocktail, available from various bars, which comes with its own shot of Champagne. Look for the places with the cheaper prices, although you’ll find many of the bars offering deals on selected drinks.

To round off the night, you have to visit one of the swanky clubs Soho has to offer. From jazz and blues at Ronnie Scott’s to cheesy pop at G.A.Y, the atmosphere is intense as revellers flock to the dance floor. Here you’ll also find the odd celebrity performing, and there’s often many ticket promoters outside offering discounts to get in. Get there early if you wish to avoid the queues.

Of course, Soho like much of the city never sleeps and during the day you’ll find plenty of café’s, record shops and the odd sex shop catering for your individual needs. Just make sure you bring plenty of money to really enjoy the day.

Even if you go in the day, Soho still has lots to offer. From it’s religious backgrounds to it’s mark as the ‘Gay centre’ for Londoners, it’s certainly the place to go for a day or night out in the capital city.

5/5 stars

Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia

100 year anniversary of the sinking of Titanic: my dedication

100 years ago last weekend, a moment in history was chronicled for the death of over 1,500 people. RMS Titanic, the White Star Line ship hailed as 'Unsinkable' sunk to the murky depths of the Atlantic on the 15th April 1912 after hitting an iceberg in the early hours of the morning. It left a legacy for the shipping industry, and touching the hearts of mankind across the globe.

It's a story which, 100 years on, is not forgotten. All the various, glamorous TV and film productions, the sparkling new museums and galleries and the hundreds of tales of those on board the ship have collectively helped to inform the world of the tragedy and the disaster.

Yet it amazes me that people are so sick and tired of the Titanic. To a degree I suppose, the story has been used time and time again for the benefit of TV and movie productions. The much-hyped Titanic series on ITV was a case of this, which despite using the tales of love portrayed so fantastically in the 1997 James Cameron film, failed to deliver anything remotely significant or compelling to the public, suggesting fans of the Titanic do tire of the publicity and narrativization of the tragedy.

But let's not forget what really happened. It's not about a love story, it's about a legacy. A ship carrying people of all classes and all races, an epitome of the past that shocked onlookers at the time. Even today, with tragedies such as the recent Costa Concordia, the shock and pain of disasters at sea still strikes a chord with audiences across the globe.

So despite the numerous marketing and advertising opportunities, let us not forget the real story of the Titanic. I hope, that in another 100 years, it will still lie on the bed of the Atlantic, and will still retain the shock and devastation that it has carried over the last 100 years.

If you watch anything, this fantastic clip from National Geographic uses CGI to re-imagine how the Titanic sank. Pretty impressive.

This post is a dedication to the tragedy of what happened on the 15th April 1912. A dedication to the lives lost, the families who suffered and to the legacy of RMS Titanic.

Pictures Courtesy of Wikipedia

Review of the Week: The Cabin in the Woods (Film)

Horror films are generally a no-go area with me. All the blood, the jumping out of my seat and into the lap of the person next to me, the surprises and the endless nightmares; yeah, that's not really my cup of tea. But in recent months, surrounded by friends who find going out to abandoned golf courses and play parks at midnight on a cold evening a doddle, my repertoire of films has moved from comedies to more darker material.

Which is why I was interested in the Cabin in the Woods.  Directed by Drew Goddard, who has penned hits such as Lost and Alias,  reviews have  generally been positive for the horror film. It  features a cast that includes rising star Chris Hemsworth and sci-fi Queen Sigourney Weaver, amongst others. Presumably ticking all the right boxes, I thought I would pluck up the courage, grow a pair and watch it on the big screen.

The film, following five friends who set out for a weekend vacation in the middle of a quiet and presumably deserted wood, uses a tried and tested narrative which is pretty predictable from the on-set. You know there's going to be something lurking in those woods, you know the characters are going to die etc. You don't need to be Sherlock to work this one out. So far, I'm unimpressed.

But within this narrative lies a complex and secretive sub-plot, where technicians at a secret office are monitoring the activities of the five students.

What proves quite confusing at times turns into a compelling and slightly bewildering scenario which sees the technicians using the five characters as puppets, controlling them and trying to 'set up' their deaths by tempting them into choosing their own fate. The female protagonist Dana, portrayed by the excellent Kristen Connolly, ultimately chooses the fate of the five by reading an extract from a diary about a family of zombies who rise from the dead.

So what happens next? Well, one by one, each character is presumably murdered by the family of zombies, whilst the technicians look on, hoping that eventually all four will die, leaving Dana to choose her own fate.

As usual with horror films, the killing of each character is both nasty and monotonous, leaving you squirming in your seat as various metal implements are used against each character for what seems an age. It's not pleasant, but it certainly reaffirms the horror genre.

As the film reaches a climax, with all four character presumably dead, we're left with a nail-biting scene between Dana and one of the zombies, whilst the security staff cheer at completing the task of eliminating all four of the students, which it later transpires was to prevent "The Ancient Ones", a group of gods, from uprising and destroying Earth and mankind. Bizarre right?

Well, just as the champagne bottles burst open, a moment of equilibrium puts a spanner in the works, as one of the four, Marty played by the quite amusing Fran Kranz, turns up and helps kill off the remaining zombies. Despite being 'stoned' throughout most of the plot, he works out what most of the audience had failed to understand, and together with Dana, decide to hunt down the security staff who are behind the operation.

The plot thickens, with a whole collection of gruesome characters turning up as the mystery behind the 'Gods' and the 'Security team' unravels into a seemingly endless pool of blood, sweat and more blood. Towards the end, Sigourney Weaver turns up in a brisk cameo to smooth out any misunderstanding that the characters, or indeed the audience has, before Mother Earth is destroyed by the spirits.

It sounds pretty bizarre, and to tell you the truth, the whole thing was. I came out of the cinema wondering what on earth had just happened over the last 95 minutes. The film is definitely quirky, in the respect that the storyline is so twisted and odd that it probably takes at least two sittings to understand what's going on. But it's no Inception, it did keep my interest throughout with its mixture of tension and horror, although I didn't quite jump out of my seat.

It's a film that leaves you confused, but it's one that will keep you talking. Like the recent Paranormal Activity, you're either going to love it or hate it, but to truly grasp the wicked storyline behind it, you really need to watch it!

3/5 stars

Picture Courtesy of Wikipedia

Review of the Week: Horrible Bosses

Ok, so I had my doubts, what with the dubious title leaving little to the imagination of what the plot line might be. But I was pleasantly surprised. Horrible Bosses, directed by Seth Gordon, was not horrible at all. In fact, I really, really enjoyed it!

Settling down between a friend and a mountain full of popcorn, I had originally agreed, or should I hastily admit, that I had intended to watch Bridesmaids with my female companion, so deciding on Horrible Bosses was what I call a risk. A risk worth taking though! The opening scene introduces three guys; Nick, Dale and Kurt (played by Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis respectively) at work, where their three bosses played by an ensemble cast featuring Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey and Colin Farrell. All three bosses make their lives in the workplace a living nightmare, be it for different reasons. In order to stop them from quitting and facing an antagonising ordeal going from place to place trying to find a job - perhaps the only realistic part of the film - they all agree to ‘kill’ their bosses and relieve themselves of the troublesome trio.

Right, so three people who try to kill their bosses. Who hasn’t contemplated that before, right? Obviously, in the land of Hollywood, these are not your usual bosses. Dave Harkin (Spacey) plays the role of the big-ego, money-loaded boss who manipulates Nick (Bateman) to such an extent that, ok, murder might be considered acceptable. Although Bateman adds little to the role, Spacey creates a rather chilling persona to his character, a menace who help creates the films highest tension stealer when he murders Bobby Pellitt (Colin Farrell), which puts a spanner in the films narrative to say the least.
Farrell also creates a unique persona, a drug and sex fuelled manager who apart from the money involved, has no intentions to succeed, much to Kurt’s (Sudeikis) anger. Farrel’s performance could be stronger., despite it being claimed the role of Bobby was formed on Farrell’s own requests, particularly the appearance. Although on further inspection, I would argue the character’s ‘Rock’n’Roll’ habits might be more similar to the real-life conquests of Farrell’s turbulent personal life.
Perhaps the biggest surprise was with the third boss, the sex-obsessed dentist, Dr Julia Harris, played by a shockingly good Jennifer Aniston. Not only is it one of the more amusing performances from Jennifer Aniston’s patchy repertoire, but all the sexual chemistry and aggression played out on screen as the sex-pest doctor creates one almighty laugh-out-loud scene, instigated by both actors equally. But like Farrell, she seems to be using her personal life, or should that be lack of one, to truly instigate a very different yet likeable character, who myself, and possibly many other men, would love to have as their boss!

The narrative counteracts tension with humour, and with the three main men offering an alternative to the ‘three musketeers’ typecast in recent films like The Hangover - where a few similarities can be made - ultimately the film provides a unique Black comedy. One actor to commend is Charlie Day. With his squeaky voice and lacklustre persona, his performance is putting him on course with Zach Galifianakis as the next best thing in American comedy. Although arguably, the supporting cast - that also includes Donald Sutherland and Jamie Foxx - initiated the biggest response in terms of humour from the audience.

Altogether, this quirky film may play on some stereotypical elements of recent American comedy, but what entails is a film full of surprises, amusement and bags of humour which unsurprisingly, has proved a box office hit and a must see film.

4/5 Stars.

Book Review: A Perfect Spy by John Le Carre

For a title that connotates action, adventure and drama of an exquisite level you would anticipate blood, sex and danger. But what is actually brought to the reader is a tale so perplexing, and at times boring, that deeming it ‘perfect’ would seem false and obscure from the reality that is churned out from chapter to chapter.

Yes, there is a spy. And an interesting tangle of spy networks across the globe. Set in various European cities, thrown in with a British backdrop and the odd gun or mystery, it does have the elements for a proper crime tale. No doubt, the author has experience too, with over 70 years of writing to his name and the usual acclaims and accolades you would expect from a writer. Moreover, he is from Eton (Eton being the establishment of a younger James Bond - Carre knows his stuff!)
The main character, Magnus Pym, is a mysterious lone - ranger; caught up with many a heroine as his past unravels. His family and colleagues also provide substance and emotion; of love, of passion, of betrayal and death. Instead of car chases, suicide and gang culture beckoning from the print, we read into a book that is all about Pym’s childhood - letter’s to his son, before he commits suicide. Great, a ‘book within a book’. 701 pages of the past, with more secrets then the government expenses scandal! So what I imagined as a chase across the globe turns into a frightfully dull experience of ‘Who do you think you are?’ where the only action occurs at the end when Magnus decides enough is enough. Not a surprise to imagine I was thinking the same thing after this tiresome paperback!
So as I rushed through the chapters and repetitive back and forth into this spy’s story, all that revealed was a never ending flashback - a certain variation from the promising blurb at the back of the book, ‘revealing a life made up of secrets.’ The only secret I could make out was the fact I was getting two books for the price of one; the ‘This is your life’ family history added with a poor sense of crime and drama. Yes, there were parts of interest; the character of Jack Brotherhood carried most of the‘traditionalist’ spy virtues - many women, no sleep, a taking to Vodka. If the story were based on him, who at parts is seemingly easy to believe, it would have made the tale a pleasant and exciting journey from start to finish. But alas, this was not to be.
Perhaps John Le Carre tried to hard on focusing on a new type of spy - a more modern take on crime, although one would deem this hypocritical seeing as most of it was based on memoirs from the past! In future, I will stick to that certain familiar, if not stereotypical, portrayal of a ‘James Bond-esque’ spy drama that captivates the reader from cover to cover. A stereotype that for me, never fails to deliver. Thus bringing an essence of a truly‘perfect spy’ - which this book failed to deliver.

2/5 Stars

Picture Courtesy of Wikipedia

Other book review posts:

Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd

Skyfall: All the latest on the new James Bond Film

For James Bond fans, the last few months have been full of anticipation for the new film, Skyfall. At a glitzy press conference late last year, fans were finally told details around the latest film, to much applause and excitement. And with the first official photos released today, enthusiasm for the latest instalment in the long running franchise reached fever-pitch. Here is a previous post of all the details of the new film, along with the new photo.

With the end of Twilight this season, and Harry Potter all but an emotional scar on my memory, British cinema is in need of a new and revived film series to fill up the current gap left by some of the best blockbusters of the decade. Therefore, I was overly reassured and equally excited at the prospect of possibly the best film series of Britain, one so engrossed in our culture it is undoubtedly recognised by pretty much everyone. Need a few clues? Well the names Bond. ‘James Bond’.

Yes, everyone’s favourite agent will be hitting screens next year; and at its glossy press launch last week, there were more than a few shaken reporters - definitely NOT stirred - as details of the new film were announced.

Now if you are a Bond fan like me, you will be quick to point out that much of the press release was made public thanks to the rumour-mill going into over-drive a few weeks ago. The producers themselves even admitted the new title, the intriguingly named ‘Skyfall’, was “the worst-kept secret in London”. Skyfall has no distinct link to any of the Ian Fleming stories, the writer behind the famous spy, and is loosely linked to the most recent film in the series, Quantum of Solace. The suspense is already empowering!

However, if you look back even further, details were already emerging over the summer. Ralph Fiennes, Javier Bardem and Naomie Harries were all being linked to the new movie, the 23^rd in the mammoth series, by various newspapers and media outlets. Naomie

The new cast join the familiar furniture too; English gent Daniel Craig returns as James Bond, along with national treasure Judi Dench. With locations for filming spanning the world; rumoured to include Turkey, China, London and Scotland, it promises to be just as gritty and classy as its predecessors were.

Perhaps the ‘make or break’ of the film will be the new face sitting in the directors chair. Sam Mendes, who directed the critically claimed American Beauty, will be taking the reigns, along with James Bond producers Barbara Brocolli and Michael J.Wilson. Although Mendes was announced as director back in 2008, his role will be eagerly anticipated by fans of the franchise, who criticised the direction of Quantum of Solace by director Mark Foster.

A plot that promises to target the establishment itself and an estimated budget topping £125m; who knows what MI6 has to offer us. With filming already commencing, I would imagine sex, glamour, murder, suspense with a hit of British class is all on the agenda for the new movie. With just under a year to the world premiere in London, the whole world will have to wait patiently in content for the next instalment from one of our nations best serials. I for one cannot wait Mr Bond.

Picture taken from Digital Spy