Esch Cafe

I have decided to go back and Blog about a print ad that I found. I found the ad in ads of the world and I gathered that it’s an advertisement for a smoking café, but it doesn’t seem clear to me.

The ad was created by the ad agency Giovanni + Draftfcb in Rio de Janeiro by the creative director & copywriter Felipe Gomes. He decided to go along the line with famous people that smoked. The copy says, “there’s nothing like a good and long whiff of smoke” but it just seems bland. They leave nothing up to you except confusion. I enjoy ads that leave it up to your imagination, that only take you 50 percent of the way while leaving the rest up to you.

I personally feel that using famous people in smoking ads is over done and out of date. They could of used a more creative route with this ad and tried something different instead of the classic and original style. The copy is also bland and gives you nothing to work with. They might as well say, “Come to our café and smoke”. They should of tried and alternative route and if they did they could of created a decent campaign but in my opinion this is just not enough.  

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

When Guy Ritchie’s witty, enjoyable adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic detective stories busted into the blocks back in 2009, a follow-up movie was inevitable. Cynics would argue that every movie sequel in history bar some were a failure and should not of seen the big screen. After Richie’s first adaptation of crime stories, expectations would be great for him to create another great film.

Robert Downey Jr’s portrayal of Sherlock Holmes as a childish, slightly dangerous mischief maker, lets just say if he walked into any investigation, you would more expect him to be some random straggler of the street than one of the lead investigators. At the films opening, Holmes is distraught that his straight arrow sidekick Dr Watson (Jude Law) is marrying his sweetheart Mary (Kelly Reilly) and leaving the detection business for good.

However, on Watson’s stag party, the pair of them discover a plot of war upon Europe that may be the work of professor Moriarty (Jared Harris). Holmes and Watson embark on a screwball chase across the continent to prevent his true nemeses from completing the task. The movie follows a more action packed experience than Canon Doyle’s creation more than following the actual detective work that takes place.

Much of the appeal to the films comes with the cast and the exceptional combination of Downy Jr and Law. Cinema has seen its fair share of Romance and bromance over the years but this is the first that includes both. The duo’s knockabout playground chemistry has improved since the first film. Holmes and Watson are like a pair of 11 year olds, thick as thieves and bickering constantly. Stephen Fry adds more fun to the film as Holmes’s drily buffoonish brother, a British diplomat who enjoys to call his younger sibling “Shirley” throughout the film.   

Irene Adler (Rachel McAdams) who makes a guest appearance in the beginning of the feature, was sidelined by Simza (Noomi Repace’s) a gypsy fortuneteller, wo joins them on their escapade to stop Moriarty.

The ensuing fight, along with most of the others in the film, is muddled, but is carried by some witty ideas, many of which involve Holmes’s borderline Super-Human ability to mentally go back and forth in time. The use of which in the film create a twist not yet seen in the first film, the usual Holmes seeing the actions of his opponent before he makes them by besting a soldier by putting a booby trapped lipstick into the ammo belt of the soldier half an hour before is exceptional.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows was a very sharp film, consistently enjoyable from the opening to the closing credits. The film draws you in with its action packed scenes and more comedic moments than expected. This film is undoubtedly an improvement from the first film and is a great film. 

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Director Franklin J. Schaffner originally created the film “Planet of the Apes” in1968. The prequel to this film directed by Rupert Wyatt is a modern take on the original film. The entire team involved deserves praise for their efforts in creating an astonishing film.

James Franco plays the role of scientist “Will Rodman” who is attempting to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease by testing a new age retrovirus on chimpanzees. The virus mutates the chimps, giving them higher levels of human intelligence. One of the female chimpanzee’s brakes out on a rampage at the test facility while attempting to protect her new secretly born baby from being found. The female monkey gets shot down after braking into a boardroom meeting. The boss eventually orders Will to put down the rest of the chimpanzees. After finding the baby, Will is caught in a moral dilemma, which results in him taking the chimp home. While the chimp is staying with him, he notices that the high intelligence levels that were given to his mother during the tests were passed on to her baby and begins to raise the chimp on his own while continuing to test the retrovirus on “Caesar”.

I had no idea on what to expect before watching the film, all I knew is that after reading through reviews and hearing words through the grapevine I knew I could possibly be watching an epic movie.

The movie grabbed my attention within the opening scene and held me there till the very end. James Franco is up there with my favorite actors and as to my expectations did not disappoint. He presents a character that the audience could humanize with and appreciably moved the movie along at a steady pace without faltering.

Caesar is an outstanding character with expressions and mannerisms that’s are neither human nor simian, but are curiously convincing as a combination of both, comical and dramatic, if not scientific in a way. Caesar should be absurd, but never at any point will you feel the urge to laugh at him, though you may laugh with him, as he grows up to realise his destiny.

John Lithgow plays the role of Will Rodman’s father Charles who suffers from dementia explaining Franco’s obsession with finding a cure for the disease. Charles gets introduced to Caesar in the second scene and immediately develops an infatuation with the Ape. Through unexpected twists and turns throughout the film Caesar finds himself in an enclosure for apes after breaking out and attacking someone during the film.

The third act of the film is when things start to get interesting and the “rise of the apes” begins to unfold. The way Caesar starts to interact with the other apes in the enclosure has an affect over your mind that actually makes you contemplate whether or not this could be possible.

This prequel completely blows the old one out of the water, with the new digital FX technology that has evolved to such an extent that super intelligent apes can be shown convincingly on screen for the first time.

I do not want to give too much away about this film because in my opinion everyone should see it. It is a gripping story that the editors have adapted to fit in modern times; they definitely succeeded. The storyline is more believable and when the film finally finishes, it leaves you sitting there still wanting more. If you are in the mood for 106 minutes of draw dropping astonishment, then I highly recommend this movie to you all.