The Blind Side:

I went to see John Lee Hancock's The Blind Side last night at the cinema and was very impressed with it. Despite it essentially being a typical rags to riches tale, it was done in a really moving, credible and often subtle way. The fact that it is a true story enforced the film further and made it all the more engaging. Strangely enough, my favourite part was the end credits, where it showed photographs of the real people involved (like the image above). Overall a very enjoyable couple of hours, and I can understand why Sandra won her Oscar.

Franck Allais:

Whilst having a mosey on It'sNiceThat I came across this amazing photographer, Franck Allais.

"His photography often challenges perceptions by flipping the mundane and ordinary into the vibrant and unusual."

Absolutely love this 'Miniature' project; very appealing a witty.

But my favourites are these beautiful movement shots.

www.franckallais.com

Richard Rogers + Architects exhibition

Really like the look of this exhibiton that has just finished in Madrid. It showcases the achievements of Richard Rogers, the remarkable British architect who designed the Pompidou Centre and the Millenium Dome. I love the large-scale lettering and bright, fresh colour palette against white.

The Exquisite Clock:

Also at the V&A's Decode: Digital Design Sensation exhibition was an installation called The Exquisite Clock which is fed by a live database of images constantly updated by visitors to the site exquisiteclock.org. These images, which are made up of everyday objects that resemble digits, form an ever changing series of numbers making up a digital clock face. The installations was really interactive, as it invited viewers at the exhibition to take photos with their smart phones and upload them there and then. Whatever next ay?

Ross Phillips:

After visiting the 'Decode: Digital Design Sensations' exhibition at the V&A museum I discovered an amazing multimedia designer, Ross Phillips. He creates really interesting interactive installations that rely on visitor participation. The one I saw at the V&A was the Videogrid, which consists of 25 squares each on a one-second video loop. Visitors can create moving portraits or miniature narratives, activating the recording using the touch screen. The grid starts empty and the beginning of the installation and becomes a constantly changing collaborative artwork.

Another interesting example is the Head to Toe installation. Four pods around London take short videos of the heads, bodies or legs of the people standing in front. Participants can use the arrows to flick through different combinations. The pods are situated at the Design Museum, Selfridges, Covent Garden or Ideas Store.

This kind of digital interaction looks set to be the future of exhibition design, as the trend for consumer-generated content continues to grow.

Son of Rambow

After hearing some rave reviews about Garth Jennings' 2007 British film (namely from Jonathon Ross himself) I decided to give it a go. It tells the tale of two young boys growing up in 1980s England who are brought together through their ambition to make a film; the Son of Rambow. Though their lives couldn't be more different (typically Lee is an unruly but charming rebel; Will an imaginative and impressionable member of a strict Christian cult) they forge an unlikely and touching friendship. Overall I really enjoyed the film; it was well told through the eyes of child without being naive and simplified. Some parts were quite bizarre as Will's weird and wonderful imagination was manifested; reminiscent of when Danny Boyle's The Beach starts to mix fantasy with reality.

A thumbs up, but I'm not sure I'd watch it again in a hurry.

Blood Brothers:

After performing as Mrs Johnstone in a production of Blood Brothers in 2006 I have always been extremely fond of the show and regard it of one of my favourite scripts ever written. Willy Russel shows his genius in the way he captures a perfect balance between hilarity and heartbreak. I have seen it twice at the Pheonix Theatre in London; both times it has impressed me beyond belief. The second time I saw it I was extremely pleasantly surprised by the performance of Anthony Costa from Blue as Mickey, who surpassed my expectations of a typical ex-boybander. The show is now running for two weeks at the Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham where I go to uni; but unfortunately I am back in London for my Easter break for the duration. Talk about bad timing!