My 2011 in Pictures

'Haywire' Film Trailer Preview

'Haywire' is a film about a CIA operative (Gina Carano) who was betrayed and seeks revenge. 

The trailer just makes me think of Angelina Jolie's Salt, which I can't wait for a sequel for. Nonetheless, 'Haywire' seems like it could be a good film- can't get tired of action heroines. 

It also has an all star cast including Channing Tatum, Michael Fassbender (he's EVERYWHERE 2011/2012 isn't he!), Michael Douglas, Ewan McGregor and Antonio Bandaras.

Check out the trailer below:

'Big Miracle' Film Trailer Preview

Just watched the trailer for the upcoming super heart-warming film, inspired by a true story.

'Big Miracle' tells the story of "a news reporter who recruits his ex-girlfriend - a Greenpeace volunteer - on a campaign to save a family of gray whales trapped by rapidly forming ice in the Arctic Circle." (via imdb).

The music in the trailer works immensely well and makes a big impact. Looks like a very good movie- can't wait to see it! The film stars Drew Barrymore, Kristen Bell, Dermot Mulroney and John Krasinski.

The film will be out February 2012. Check out the trailer below: 

'Man on a Ledge' Film Trailer Preview

Just checked out the trailer for 'Man on a Ledge' and it actually looks pretty exciting! 

 

The film is about a man (Sam Worthington) who is an ex-con, about to jump off the top of a Manhattan hotel. As he is being talked down by a police psychologist (Elizabeth Banks), the biggest diamond heist is in motion. Via imdb. 

Is he innocent? Is he guilty? is what plays through your mind during the trailer. Is it all a set up? We will find out February 2012 when this film is out in the UK.

Check out the trailer below:

Wellington Airport Passenger Terminal by Studio Pacific and Warren and Mahoney Architects

 

The Wellington Airport passenger terminal was redeveloped by Studio Pacific and Warren and Mahoney architects to optimise space and function as well as creating a visual landmark. 

Inspired by the curved indentations of airplane docks as well as the areas geological past, the terminal is beautifully designed and succeeds in their goal to create a sense of place. 

I love the use of materials and the way light interacts with the space.

Check out more images below:

'The King's Speech' Film Review

Just watched 'The King's Speech' and was amazed at how good it was!

~~~THOUGHTS ON PLOT~~~

'The King's Speech' "tells the story of the man who became King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates, George ('Bertie') reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dreaded stammer and considered unfit to be king, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue. Through a set of unexpected techniques, and as a result of an unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and boldly lead the country through war." Via imdb.

Amazing book sculptures by Guy Laramee

Guy Laramee creates some fantastic book sculptures by carving into a stack of books, primarily of landscape as he has a fascination with knowledge and erosion, "from the very idea that ultimate knowledge could very well be an erosion instead of an accumulation". 

I really like these sculptures and think they work amazingly well- the texture and appearance of paper lends itself well to the sedimentary rock and the look that erosion would give to it. Not only are they visually stunning but also have meaning behind it = great art!

Check out more images below:

 

Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol Film Review

I went to see Mission Impossible 4 today and having seen the previous three films at some point in my life, yet completely forgetting their plot and characters, I was going into this completely blank.

~~~THOUGHTS ON PLOT~~~

A mission involving the infiltration of the Kremlin results in the landmark being blown up to smithereens. With international relations being super sensitive, IMF shuts down, forcing agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his crew Benji (Simon Pegg), Jane (Paula Patton) and Brandt (Jeremy Renner) to go rogue in order to 'save the world' from nuclear war and clear their organisation's name.

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 DS Games Preview

I just discovered that there is a sequel to the hugely amazing Nintendo DS game Devil Survivor which was released in Japan earlier in the year and the English version will be out in February 2012- EXCITING!

Similar to the first, Devil Survivor 2 brings a group of friends together who make a pact which allows them so summon demons in order to protect themselves and save 'the world'? 

New features include the ability to travel all over Japan, a 'double extra' combo, an 'enishi' system similar to the social link of Persona 4. It also appears the graphics have been refined and it looks beautiful!

I can't wait for this to be released! Check out more screenshots below:

Jeremy Renner in DETAILS Magazine (Jan 2012)

Despite being in the film industry for over 10 years, Jeremy Renner has only recently broken through to star status. With mostly supporting roles in his early career, his breakthrough came with film 'The Hurt Locker' which opened up a window of opportunities after numerous award nominations including an Academy Award nomination.

He has most recently starred in 'The Town' and can now be seen in the latest 'Mission Impossible 4:  Ghost Protocol' alongside Tom Cruise, with films 'The Avengers' (with Scarlet Johansson), 'Hansel and Gretel:Witch Hunters' (with Gemma Arterton) and 'The Bourne Legacy' to be released in 2012.

Renner is definitely now a sought after actor and we'll be seeing him A LOT on our screens next year.
 

Check out more photos below:

Merry Christmas 2011!

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas from Edge of the Plank.

The Heathrow Christmas Card 2011 by Rob Ryan

It's Christmas TOMORROW! And I'm going to share with you this beautiful Christmas card created by Rob Ryan for Heathrow.
  

The card is made by stencil and spraypaint and reads: “Days became hours until hours eventually became minutes and then finally it was merely seconds until all of the time that i had been away from you had dissolved and i was back safe with you again.”

This is stunning and so sweet :3

Rihanna 'You Da One' Official Music Video

I wasn't even going to bother with blogging about this because I didn't really like the song, but I just watched the video and it is beautiful. There are elements which are very similar to 'Rude Boy' but definitely prefer this to that.

In black and white, unsaturated tones and hints of colour, there is just something so attractive about it. The lyrics flashing everywhere makes it like a very well done lyrics video. Annoyingly, the video is off sync to the song which is irritating.

Hopefully she releases 'Farewell' as a single and have an amazing video for it because the album 'Talk that Talk' is lacklustre and the only thing to make it better are good videos imo.

Check out the music video below:

'The Hunger Games' Film Trailer Preview

I have heard so much hype about this movie, but I have no idea what it's about. Now that Taylor Swift has revealed her song for the movie soundtrack, 'Safe and Sound', it seems like I can't avoid looking this up!

Based on the book of the same name, 'The Hunger Games' is "set in a future where the Capitol selects a boy and girl from the twelve districts to fight to the death on live television, Katniss Everdeen volunteers to take her younger sister's place for the latest match." Via imdb.

The film stars Liam Hemsworth, Jennifer Lawrence, Stanley Tucci and will be out March 2012.

Check out the trailer below:

'Safe and Sound' by Taylor Swift (The Hunger Games Soundtrack)

Today Taylor Swift has revealed her Christmas surprise which is that her is featured on 'The Hunger Games' movie soundtrack with a new song titled 'Safe and Sound'.

A melancholic ballad, Safe and Sound's lyrics include "Just close your eyes, The sun is going down, You’ll be all right, No one can hurt you, In the morning light, You and I’ll be safe and sound". 

The film comes out March next year. Check out the song below:

Carey Mulligan in W Magazine (Jan 2012)

Carey Mulligan graces the cover of 'W' magazine in their January 2012 issue. Despite looking very sexy on the cover, the spread itself is far more chic, with one shot inevitably being a tribute to Twiggy (above).

In the magazine, she talks about her 2011 film roles 'Drive' and 'Shame', both of which are intense movies, a departure from her previously 'safer' ingenue roles.

She is currently filming for 'The Great Gatsby' alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey McGuire.

Check out more images below:

'Sherlock Holmes 2: A Game of Shadows' Film Review

Just went to see Sherlock Holmes 2 at the cinema and wow...

~~~THOUGHTS ON PLOT~~~

After a rather truncated opening scene with Holmes (Robert Downey Jr) and Adler (Rachel McAdams) being their usual playful way, much to my delight, as it links the first film to this superbly, it ends in her rather abrupt death by poisoning which I was distraught by.

With the early departure of McAdams from the film, I hated Moriarty (Jared Harris) even more, though I had no idea what he was up to...

So it is the eve of Watson (Jude Law)'s singlehood and Holmes takes him out on a 'stag do' whilst continuing his investigation which leads him to gypsy girl Simza (Noomi Rapace) who is supposedly key to Moriarty's plan. 

We still have no idea what his plan is, just that he's evil and clever.

After a while later, Holmes and Watson travel to Paris to find Simza, then the three go to Germany and then to Switzerland in hope of stopping and revealing Moriarty's evil plan. 

'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' Film Trailer Preview

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The first trailer to the upcoming 'The Hobbit' film has come out. I previously stated that I thought this whole thing was milking the LOTR genre (given the second part, 'There and Back Again', will probably be released the Summer after), and from the trailer, whilst it still captures the essence of the other films, I still feel it lacks something... 

That said, it does look well made and I'm sure it will satisfy all the LOTR fans out there who are bored re-watching the trilogy a gazillion times. 

The film stars Cate Blanchett, Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis, Orlando Bloom, Ian McKellen, Lee Pace...

I think I will wait for the second part to be released and watch them together because this seems like a 'set up' movie and wouldn't have a lot of action. 

What do you think?

The film will be out NEXT Christmas (A long wait!) Check out the trailer below:

UPDATE:
The Hobbit films have been expanded to three movies:

-The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (December 14th 2012)
-The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (December 13th 2013 
-The Hobbit: There and Back Again (July 18th 2014)

'Christmas Must Be Something More' by Taylor Swift

It's 5 days till Christmas and I'll share with you this song by Taylor Swift which she wrote for her Christmas Album ' Sounds of the Season', titled 'Christmas Must be Something More'. 

In a typical Swift musical style, she sings about the true meaning behind Christmas, behind the gifts, the presents, the superficiality of the festival... the gift of Jesus to us. May we all ponder on the reason we celebrate Christmas!

Check out the song below:

Check out the lyrics below the jump.

'The Dark Knight Rises' Official Film Trailer and Preview

Both the official trailer and the prologue (Bane) for the upcoming film 'The Dark Knight Rises' has leaked. 

In the trailer we see a LOT of action scenes, new batmobiles, Catwoman, new characters John Blake and Miranda Tate played by Marion Cotillard and Joseph Gordon Levitt respectively... the trilogy is coming to an end!

The prologue featuring Bane was also a bit shocking. I couldn't make out what Bane was saying but it seemed like he was quite a force to be reckoned with!

Directed by Christopher Nolan (Inception), the film stars Christian Bale as he reprises his role as Batman, joined by Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, Tom Hardy as Bane and supporting cast Marion Cotillard and Joseph Gordon Levitt. Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Gary Oldman returns.

I am really excited for this. The Dark Knight was a PHENOMENAL movie and I'm expecting great things from this- given it's the last one, hopefully it'll finish with a BANG.

I can't wait till Summer 2012 (also when THE AVENGERS comes out). Check out the trailer below IN HD:

Allison Harvard Misc Photos (Dec 2011)

 

Despite Tyra stupidly crowned Lisa instead of Allison on America's Next Top Model All Stars, I'm very happy to see some shots of Allison surfacing. She looks ABSOLUTELY stunning in the shots above which could be featured in any high fashion magazine (Italian Vogue worthy).

Hopefully they will be used someone as they are great beauty shots and perhaps we will see more modelling work from Allison soon! :D

Check out her ALL STAR Portfolio HERE and see more images below:

'Late' by Roxanne Emery

Have been listening to this song by Roxanne Emery for a while now and just wanted to share it with you all. It has made the same impact as 'Cold Heart' did, which was the song that I first heard of hers. 

'Late' went viral on Youtube when it was released and topped the most popular /viewed that week and has received highly positive feedback. 

She is currently writing for an upcoming album following her EP 'An Introduction to Roxanne Emery' which is phenomenal and you just have to listen for yourself!

I can't wait for the new record! Check out her song 'Late':

Lyrics after the jump:

'Proteigon' Stop Motion Video by Steven Briand

Steven Briand has created a beautiful little stop motion animation titled 'Proteigon' in which a headless person is seen to command and master over paper. Well executed, the music goes phenomenally with the film and just really inspiring and lovely to watch!

Check out this AWESOME Video below: