Research Commission: Task Two- Academic Research Proposal

After being given and reading through the research commission, I initially looked at the NESCOT website to gain inspiration about the possible area I could look into and create a suitable product about. From this, I saw the college had a previous history that was heavily involved in music and was used as a popular venue in previous years. I also looked towards the charitable events that the college has participated in. After an interview with Paul Wilson, Head of External Relations at NESCOT, it came to light that the Colleges goal for this product, and the 60th celebrations in general, was to show the College in a positive light towards the local community. This swayed my decision into choosing NESCOT's links to charities, as well as their impact and involvement in the local community. From this I drew up an academic research proposal, whereby I stated my initial findings from the website, my research objectives as well as my proposal summary for the project.


Bibliography:
http://www.nescot.ac.uk (Accessed on 30/09/13)

A crash landing indeed- After Earth

Years after a catastrophic event on earth, father and son duo- Will and Jaden Smith are forced to land on a now foreign and inhospitable planet earth, thus being forced to embark on a perilous journey to return home safely. 

Straight off, the premise of the film sounds dull and over-done; time after time we've seen father-son bonding over tragedy/ coming of age films, which to a degree is acceptable, although predictable, however when you have an 'actor', and I use this word very loosely, like Jaden Smith it is almost unbearable. Much like Kristen Stewart, he is full of vacant expressions and his tone and projection is undesirable due to his stilted accent and exaggerated pauses. He completely ruins any strength the narrative has by his inexperience and lack of emotion- lets face it, he's never going to be his father, and the irony is that the film is about a son trying to follow the legacy of his father. Even Will Smiths natural charisma  cannot bring this film back from its crash landing- literally.  

Despite the fact Will Smith donated $122,500 to the film as well as co-producing it alongside his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, this film is obviously a platform for Jaden, but sadly and shamefully fails to launch him.  As Kevin Carr puts it, its "no better than Rebecca Black's 'Friday' video- a bought and paid for vanity piece for a spoiled teenager."

The films only redeeming quality is its average visuals of an overgrown, decrepit earth; it encapsulates a clear vision of what earth would look like with the loss of all civilisation. As well as the solid CGI creatures, its somewhat refreshing to see an action film that is not teeming with extravagant visual effects and fast cuts - apart from that the film is cinema oatmeal- bland, predictable and mushy. 

Rosie's Review Rating: 4/10