Dr. Easy

Dr. Easy is a short film developed and financed by Film4 and produced by Ally Gipps for Warp Films. It was directed and written by Jason Groves, Chris Harding and Richard Kenworthy of Shynola. It stars Michael (Tom Hollander) alongside a robot with a medical degree, voiced by Geraldine James. A broken man in possession of a gun and unable to speak due to a severe wound to his mouth, Michael is surrounded by armed police. Can the robot save him? 

Film4 states that the short is based on Matthew De Abaitua's novel The Red Men, 'set against a pervasive and Orwellian vision of contemporary society: surveillance, automation, biotechnology, and their implications for our humanity'. Plans are in motion to create a longer feature of the novel: TheRedMenMovie.  

Dr. Easy gives little indication as to the circumstances leading to Michael's predicament, however it becomes clear that this is not the main subject of the film. To prove this, the robot seems disinterested of the causes, eager only to make sure that Michael receives appropriate medical attention for his injuries. More C3PO than R2-S2, the visually unisex robot has a soothing feminine voice, that is used to persistently reassure Michael while simultaneously profiling him for the police operatives. 

I won't give away the whole plot in case you were interested in having a look at the film, but it does leave you wondering about the suggestive name 'Easy'. It may be leading us to contemplate whether robot interception can be considered an efficient and 'easy' mode of dealing with threatening situations, or whether it is an inhumane method that is limited in physical and emotional capacities. Similarly, are humans able to empathise and respond to robots or would we merely dismiss them as processing data into false compassion? Ignoring costs and possible technological boundaries, could robot doctors truly be viable in a modern day society, potentially saving the lives of members of the armed forces? Personally, it appeared to me that Dr. Easy is genuinely concerned for Michael's well-being. While it may be programmed to follow a specific script or orders, the autonomous actions and speech of the robot indicate a personality. In addition it is really interesting that Michael himself is unable to verbally communicate, rendering him into a mechanical objects of sorts. He resorts to using his human essence: blood, in order to convey his thoughts. 

Do post any comments you have regarding the film or topics if you have seen anything related. The short can be watched here, with the provocative site title: 

www.created-to-help-you.com

I was also curious about the robot itself, speculating at first whether the production company had actually made use of a real-life physical robot. Not too much of a stretch considering all of the incredible developments in robot technology of late, particularly in Japan and Taiwan. Unfortunately this was not the case with the film, however the CGI work is still very impressive:

Orange is the New Black

Orange is the new black? It's not a radical reinvention of our perceptions of colour choices, but it does invite us to reinvent the way we perceive other people and our life decisions. 

Created by Jenji Kohan, the American comedy-drama series first hit Netflix about a year ago in July 2013, but has only reached the radar of the majority of UK audiences around now. It is the latest new series that has got my friends displaying positive nods of approval or jovial enthusiasm.  

The series stars Piper Chapman (played by newcomer actress Taylor Schilling) as a bisexual woman who is sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for transporting drug money for her former girlfriend (Laura Pepon of That 70's Show). This offence occurred ten years before the series and since then she had committed to a middle-class suburban life in New York with her fiancé (played by Jason Biggs of American Pie fame). The episodes follow her struggle to accustom to life in prison alongside a vibrant range of female inmates, including her former drug-dealer lover and prison guards with questionable morals. 

From the outset, it's easy to see the appeal of the series and why it's got tongues wagging. Not least because, it's clear that the program is going to feature a lot of tongue wagging... Full nudity, hot lesbian/bi sexual tension and compromising positions proliferate the pilot episode, setting the steaminess expectations for the rest of the series at dizzying levels. Not one to sit down and watch with parents or children!

A series can be pretty vacuous and transparent however if sex is all its selling. OITNB is about much more than that, with strong female characters that each have a unique identity and a vivid emotional back-story, brought to life through an intriguing flashback structure. In the second episode for example, we learn just why 'Red' is so defensive about her cooking and that even a tough cookie has a doughy centre. 

There's also a true heart to this compelling series as it's based on the memoir Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison by Piper Kerman, who spent a year in prison battling to preserve her individuality in the face of a grey, impersonal bureaucracy and the constant reminders of their powerlessness in prison. In addition, it features a real and spectacular transgendered actress rather than a guy in a wig.

Personally I'll never suit jumpsuit orange, it just doesn't go with my skin tone. Orange is the New Black is however perfectly suited to filling my free hours with thought-provoking and humorous content, and I am eagerly awaiting watching the third episode and onwards to the third season!

Kat's back

Hi!

So it's been a long time since I've written a blog on here; I've been dabbling a bit with other websites and blogs and completing university, but now that I've graduated I'm going to reinvest in this blog and submit more interesting articles for you to read.

In particular there will be a stronger emphasis on writing reviews of film and television shows - I go to the cinema so often it would be a shame to see those couple of hours spent watching a film not last into something more.

Stay tuned!

Kimchee // Korea

The other day I went to Kimchee: a Korean restaurant in Holborn.

Despite having eaten at numerous Asian restaurants in my lifetime and tasted a variety of oriental foods, I'm pretty sure that Korean cuisine was still a new taste experience for me.

Admittedly I don't know much about Korea at all - besides bits and bobs about Kim Jong-Il and Gangnam Style... which is a pretty eclectic combination.

ph: kimchee.uk.com

The restaurant has a stylish setting with an open plan kitchen so that you can see your food being prepared, and long dark wooden tables which contribute to a lively atmosphere and community feel.

I would suggest coming early to the restaurant, particularly if you're a large group as spaces will fill up quickly and you may have a wait otherwise.

To start off, my friend and I ordered a sweet and sour prawn starter,

Followed by one order of pork bulgogi, and one chicken bulgogi, with accompanying rice,

And a special-made chestnut ice cream to finish.

The starter is a bit bigger than expected, but no complaints there! The prawns were delicious. Unfortunately for me my friend ended up hogging them so I didn't get to have too many.

I'd never had bulgogi before, but it was beautiful.

The meat is full of flavour with a bit of a spicy punch, and it comes with an extra optional fruity and spicy sauce which is also lovely and adds even more to the taste.

The chestnut ice-cream was also new for me. It was very nice and a good way to refresh and cleanse your mouth after the hot flavours beforehand.

The dishes were served quite artistically on special wooden plate / box and a pot for the rice.

Those kind of touches just help to add even more to the experience, especially as for me food is not only a means to stop a rumbly stomach but also an enjoyable pastime.

And even though I keep desperately trying to persuade myself to stick to a diet, food will still always be better than how thin feels. 

It seems like some people on Tripadvisor didn't enjoy Kimchee like I did. 

Oh well, I say give it a go anyway - particularly if, like me, you haven't tried Korean food before.

It is a must to try anything new you come across!

After all, (and I'm sorry to be one of those douches but...) #YOLO

Pork bulgogi

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I'm continuing to make some changes to the site - working on improving the design and layout so stay tuned! Also starting to think about advertising and using social media platforms.

Basically, I'll do anything to avoid doing any real and boring essay work...

Pentatonix

I recently discovered the band Pentatonix - they're an a capella group of five vocalists originating from Texas, who found fame and popularity for their music after winning the third season of an American singing contest: The Sing-Off in 2011. 

The members are:

Scott Hoying - identifiable by his height and strong jaw line, Scott appears to be one of the best singers of the group, with a very nice tone to his voice.

Kirstie Maldonado - the only female of the group, she certainly holds her own amongst the guys and her voice is an essential component to the band's harmonies.

Mitch Grassi - at 20 he is the youngest member and has an impressively high range for a guy.

Avi Kaplan - from the videos he seems to have a smaller musical role in the band, though he simultaneously may be one of the more popular band members - maybe because of his bass beatboxing or the fact that he looks a bit like Dave Grohl from the Foo Fighters.

Kevin Olusola - brings the cool factor and is just a bit of a legend. He gives the a capella band the backing music with his unique blend of dynamic beatboxing and occasional cello music. He graduated from Yale no less.

The quintet derives its influences from pop, electro, dubstep, hip-hop and reggae. Their songs consist of fresh covers of well-known tracks in a style reminiscent of Glee - indeed the band first got going in an attempt to win a competition to meet the cast of Glee. The music videos themselves are a bit cheesy; there's little arty filming, most of the time it's simply the five musicians standing together and singing rather intensely to the camera - Avi's facial expressions in these are pretty funny - followed by a friendly thank you chat to their viewers. However, their styling and fresh a capella style helps to refine the cute cheesiness. 

This is one of my favourites from Pentatonix, as it's a cover of a song I really like and also features the talented Lindsey Stirling:

This vid shows off Pentatonix's angelic voices:

Pause at 0:50 for an example of an amusing Avi Kaplan face.. I can understand why some people think he looks like Howard Wolowitz from The Big Bang Theory.

And Kevin on his own, because I just love the combination of a classical instrument and urban beatboxing - I never thought much of the cello before as it didn't seem capable of many nice melodies but he shows a varieties of ways in which it can be played:

This makes me want to get out my violin and start playing it again.

Brace Yourself, Winter is Still Here

It's the end of March.

That means it's that exciting time for the first notes of warm weather,

 Budding flowers, sunshine spells, trips to the park...

But it seems that either Spring didn't get the memo

Or Mother Nature is going to have to file a missing season report.

I am sat in my room with a heater inches away from my feet.

It's warm inside, but it comes at a hefty price!

Back at uni, where basic heating is an extravagant luxury

We looked like eskimos, wrapped up in coats and ugg boots indoors,

Puffing out breaths into empty space to give the impression of an invisible cigar.

Spring where are you?!

Is this more evidence of that globalwarmingcrisis that people keep going on about?

Worryingly I'm hearing news that this may be the start of a future with only two seasons:

Freezing cold and a scorching summer.

What's more is that prolonged winter is making everything unattractive.

Trees are bare, the sky is forever an uninspiring foggy grey,

My skin is going from pale to paler. 

Making the best of the looong winter blues:

1. The best part of winter is Christmas, right? Well sadly it's too late for acquiring presents but eating some good December grub or watching holiday movies again could trick you into reclaiming the Christmas spirit and prolonging the 'most wonderful time of the year'.

2. Watch The Day After Tomorrow - you'll feel warmer by comparison.

3. Been struggling with a small fridge? Well now you can feel free to stock up on as many of your favourite foods and drinks as you want, and keep them nicely refrigerated on your window ledge.

4. Perfect excuse to cuddle up to someone for warmth ;)

5. Done right, jumpers and knitwear can be great style accessories that also serve to hide all likely weight-gain from tip no. 1.

Shetland ponies workin' it!

The Paperboy

Today I went to see The Paperboy. It wasn't my choice, but after hearing a couple of good reviews my company had decided that we should go see it, having fancied a change from the traditional churn of Hollywood blockbusters.

I was unaware of the film as I hadn't seen any adverts for it - and it seemed that most people hadn't either (or were choosing to ignore it), for the UK release date was only two weeks ago and already Empire cinema in Leicester square were placing us in their smallest screening room: a virtual attic with only 4 rows of seats. After watching the film, we weren't really surprised.

Shot in a cinéma vérité style, the plot of this film noir is as every bit grainy as the camera's picture quality. Based on a 1995 novel by American author Pete Dexter and directed by Lee Daniels, it stars Nicole Kidman as a 'blonde barbie doll', a deadly John Cusack, and Zac Efron and Matthew McConaughey as brothers, all living in a sweltering 1960s Florida. Despite the lack of publicity I'd seen, the film's cast alone should be bound to catch some attention I thought. However it may be the names alone that can hold on to said attention, at least for me, as the film is very slow-paced and it took patience in between the momentary Southern 'charms' and black humour to keep me sustained (not to mention I was unequipped with neither popcorn nor drink). 

Ward Jansen (McConaughey) and his uptight associate Yardley Acheman (David Oyelowo) are newspaper researchers investigating the case of Hillary van Wetter (Cusack), a prisoner on death row for the murder of a local asshole sheriff. From the start I'm not sure why exactly they're helping him, Wetter himself seems like an entirely disagreeable man perfectly capable of the murder, but I guess Acherman and Jansen are just trying to make a name for themselves in the printing press. Kidman plays Wetter's paramore Miss Charlotte Bless, a woman whose girlish manners do nothing to disguise her wild and unashamed sexuality. This is unleashed most fervently in the notable prison-visitation scene, a sort of humorous porno in which the camera boldly dives into Kidman's crotch as Bless aids Wetter and herself live up to his name, whilst neither the idle cast members nor the cinema audience know quite where to look.

I don't wish to give away too many annoying spoilers, so as a general summary the film overall just feels as though it takes place in an incessant pool of slow slime. The tedious and undesirable accumulation of full body sweat, everyday racism, rough sex, misogyny, urination, blood and guts, makes the filthy swamp itself appear as probably the purest aspect of the whole film's landscape. It simply makes you want to take a bath in all things clean, good and wholesome. 

Having dished the dirt though, I would say that Nicole Kidman does give a very sensual and skilled performance of her character which could be worth the watch. As does Macy Gray. The Paperboy also warmly invites its viewers to partake in the sexual objectification of the gorgeous Kidman and bulked-up Zac Efron (whose constant stripping to bare tighty-whites could be confused with a Calvin Klein ad). So there's a positive if you're into that kinda thing..