Sunday, 14 October 2007

Death Proof by Quentin Tarantino

A Failed Experiment?

Being a huge fan of Pulp Ficion and Kill Bill, I was expecting something miraculous. It pains me to say, but this is a disaster of a film! With impressive photography and effects work, this should have been a masterpiece.

The film is about Stuntman Mike (Russell) who is a scarred, weathered man picking up girls in his stunt car before subjecting them to a series of terrifying death ordeals. The car is only ‘Death Proof’ for the driver.

In the first half, Austin’s hottest DJ, Jungle Julia (Poitier) unwinds with two of her closest friends, Shanna and Arlene. The girls party from Guero’s to the Texas Chili Parlor - they seemingly charm Stuntman Mike only to end up in a mangled mess.

The second half consists of chat scenes with four new girls (Dawson, Bell, Thoms, Winstead) followed by carnage on the road, only this time, two of the girls happen to be stunt drivers themselves, giving as good as they get.

Although it is visually stunning in its 70s inspired pop culture, I was disappointed that the plot did not thicken. Tarantino tried too hard with the dialogue scenes and it was a million miles away from the heights of his previous work. Not nearly the caliber of Pulp Fiction - I really wanted to love it.

Thursday, 11 October 2007

Retro Bride

What’s old is new again...

Brides to be, why would you sport something new and mass produced when you can find one of a kind?

Shopping in Shoreditch could be the antidote to finding your signiture wedding dress. Choose your favourite era, whether it be 1920s flapper, mod '60s or all out rockabilly.

Browsing around Beyond Retro, a girl is spotted paying £35 for a vintage wedding dress. This eccentric, off-white dress with gigantic ruffles is one girl’s dream dress. With stunning red lipstick, vamped-up eyes and a killer hairdo, this look will undoubtedly put a little drama into her wedding day.

Thursday, 4 October 2007

Girls websites criticised for ‘lad mag’ tactics -the Daily Telegraph, Wed Sept 19

Websites aimed at girls from the age of 10 are asking them to rate their bodies.
Bliss website is asking girls between the ages 14-17 to rate themselves in the feature ‘How sexy am I’, ranging from ‘beautiful’ and ‘ewww’. Similarly, Mizz website, owned by the same company as Bliss targets girls between 10-14. Gary Cleland discusses how these websites are conveying messages to young girls by using rating methods in the same way that Nuts use rating programs such as ‘Rate my breasts’.

What interests me is the way that the media contradicts itself on all different levels. LFW have introduced a ban on under 16s, through fears of exploitation and eating disorders, yet Mizz and Bliss are undermining this rule. Women in journalism (WIJ) are attempting to change the perception of women in the media. And OK, I am not sure that all women are wanting to be perceived differently than they are but at least they are old enough to decide for themselves - naive teenagers are being told how they should look by their fave mags, and as young as 10, of course they will believe the media.

What baffles me is the fact that the editorial features in these websites encourage teenage girls to be happy with the way they look. Seemingly, these teenage mags do not know what they want to do which is unfair and undoubtedly confusing to their target readers who are at their most vulnerable stage.