BIGDOG Goes to the Cinema: Dredd 3D, Killing Them Softly and Taken 2

Cinema season is still holding up strong and we’ve been to see three of the biggest, action-packed movies to be released this year. Brad Pitt and Liam Neeson have both got new films out, so how are they?

Dredd 3D (Pete Travis, 95 mins, 18 – out now)

Mega-City’s favourite crime-stopper is back in the big screen outing that he deserves, ready to make you forget about the abysmal 1995 Stallone effort, Judge Dredd. Karl Urban stars as the titular law enforcer who must fight his way through 200 storeys of hell to put an end to a violent drug lord. The 3D is put to good use as you dodge bullets with the rest of the cast. Fantastic, even if you’re never read the 2000 AD comics.

5/5 – bloody and beautiful action which puts the 1995 original to shame

 Killing Them Softly (Andrew Dominik, 97 mins, 18 – out now)

Brad Pitt has teamed up with director Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James) again and it is nothing short of brilliant. Covered in more grit than roads in winter, Killing Them Softly may not be everyone, but if you’re a fan of gangster flicks or the dark humour of Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, you’ll feel right at home.

5/5 – overly violent scenes may scare some away, but this is not to be missed

Taken 2 (Olivier Megaton, 91 mins, 12A – out Oct 5th)

The original Taken went over surprisingly well back in 2008, so there was bound to be a sequel. Well, Taken 2 is here and it’s a huge disappointment. Packed with more of the same, with none of the soul, Taken 2 is a perfect example of how studios can ruin a sequel by having the same thing happen to same person/people twice (see also: Die Hard 2, Home Alone 2, The Hangover Part II).

1/5 – a cheap cash-in that fails to entertain or earn your money

5 Ways That iOS 6 Can Improve Your Job Search

Gadget geeks all over the world are waiting for Apple's iPhone 5 announcement tonight. However, it's not only the new version of the revolutionary phone that is due to be released soon; iOS 6, the newest update to Apple's mobile operating system, is rumoured to be rolled out today.

Here's how some of its new features can help those on the job hunt...

5. Apple Maps
iOS 6 will see the Google Maps app, which has been bundled with iDevices for years, replaced by Apple's own map tool, complete with turn-by-turn navigation (similar to a Sat Nav) and real-time traffic updates. Perfect for getting to the interview on time!

4. Facebook integration
Similarly to how Twitter was built into the last version of iOS, Apple have integrated the biggest social networking service, Facebook, right into your iDevices! There's now no reason to leave the current app you are using to share with your friends, which means that you can Like a company's page from the Safari app, giving you more insight to how they operate!

3. iCloud Safari tabs
The latest version of built-in web browser, Safari, sees the introduction of iCloud tabs, allowing you to move between iDevices (and your computer, if Safari's installed) and pick up your browsing wherever you left off. A very handy feature if you're job hunting on the move.

2. Mail overhaul
The built-in Mail app has been completely overhauled for the latest update, bringing a more streamlined design to improve reading emails and writing your own. The brand new VIP List feature can ensure that you never miss a reply from an employer or agency when they get back to you.

1. Do Not Disturb feature
It can be hard to concentrate on your job search when you're being bombarded by texts, phone calls and app alerts. The new Do Not Disturb feature allows you to put all of those distracting notifications on hold for a while, leaving you to knuckle down and continue the job hunt.

BIGDOG Goes to the Cinema: The Expendables 2, The Bourne Legacy and Keith Lemon: The Film

With the weather being so dreary around BIGDOG HQ, there’s not much else we can do than go the cinema and eat our weight in popcorn. We’ve reviewed three more of this summer’s latest movies, so check them out below!

The Expendables 2 (Simon West, 103 mins, 15 – out now)

The biggest action film of all time is finally here! Featuring a star-studded cast of your favourite action heroes, including Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Jason Statham, and packed with explosions, roundhouse kicks and testosterone, The Expendable 2 is a must-see for any adrenaline junkie.

4/5 – off-the-scale action to satisfy any action fan

The Bourne Legacy (Tony Gilroy, 135 mins, 12A – out now)

It’s easy to be put off by the fact that Matt Damon isn’t returning as Jason Bourne, but The Bourne Legacy, the fourth film based on the Robert Ludlum spy fiction series of novels, is definitely worth a watch. Despite a relatively slow start and a bloated running time, Bourne is back with a bang!

3/5 – much better than expected, but be sure to have watched the first three before viewing

Keith Lemon: The Film (Paul Angunawela, 85 mins, 15 – out now)

Telly’s rudest ginger (sorry, ‘strawberry blond’) is finally on the big screen after managing to get himself a feature-length film based on his rise to celebrity stardom, all thanks to the Lemon Phone. Fans of Celebrity Juice and Lemon La Vida Loca will laugh, though you can’t expect a film to hold up on catchphrases alone. Bang tidy, this is not.

2/5 – even the biggest Keith Lemon fans should expect to be disappointed        

BIGDOG Goes to the Cinema: The Dark Knight Rises and Ted

The past couple of weeks have been fantastic for film-lovers, with some of the greatest movies of recent memory being released in quick succession. Unless you've got extra cash to spend, seeing them all can be quite expensive, so we're here to help make sure that you see only the best of the big screen.

The Dark Knight Rises (Christopher Nolan, 165 mins, 12A - out now)

The final chapter to legendary director Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy is packed full of explosive action, sultry chemistry and some of the most amazing effects to grace the silver screen. Christian Bale reprises his role as the Caped Crusader, with Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Liam Neeson all returning from the previous films. Anne Hathaway puts in a cool performance as Catwoman and Tom Hardy is terrifying as the masked madman, Bane.
5/5 - do not miss, guaranteed to be film of the year

Ted (Seth MacFarlane, 106 mins, 15 - out now)

From the creator of Family Guy, American Dad and The Cleveland Show, comes Ted - the story of how a child's wish can turn a stuffed teddy bear into a foul-mouthed, marijuana-smoking, borderline-alcoholic celebrity has-been. Mark Wahlberg plays Ted's owner and best friend, John, who must choose between his long-time girlfriend (Mila Kunis) and career, or his 'thunder buddy for life'. Ted is bursting with raunchy humour and very near-to-the-knuckle comedy so be prepared before you view!
4/5 - hilarious and original, though non-Family Guy viewers may be less than impressed

Next time: The Expendables 2, Keith Lemon: The Film and The Bourne Legacy

App of the Week: The Dark Knight Rises (iOS and Android - £4.99)

If the epic conclusion to the Dark Knight trilogy hasn't satisfied your appetite for Batman, download the official Dark Knight Rises app for iOS and Android and take on the mean streets of Gotham from the safety of an armchair! 


Giving you access to Batman's huge arsenal of gadgets, including the Bat-Pod and The Bat, you'll take on dozens of varied missions to protect the city from Bane and his henchmen.


The iPad version of the game is especially fantastic to look at, bringing the dark and eerie city of Gotham to life, right in your hands.


To download the app for your smartphone, please use the links below to take you to the iTunes Store and Google Play store, respectively:


iOS: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/the-dark-knight-rises/id522704697?mt=8


Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gameloft.android.ANMP.GloftKRHM

APP OF THE WEEK: Zombies, Run!

Available for: iPhone/iTouch, iPad, Android
Price: £5.49 (no free version)

We've always found keeping fit difficult as it's always a lot easier to find an excuse. You could be too busy, not have enough money for a gym membership or simply can't be bothered. This new app, available for iOS and Android devices, is going to change all of that.

Imagine, instead of simply having a run around your block, you could be completely immersed into your very own horror film! Zombies, Run! provides a full story behind the undead outbreak, plays terrifying sound effects through your headphones and gives you missions which you'll need to complete to save your neighbourhood from zombie takeover.

It's easy to get lost in the Zombies, Run! experience, making this app a fantastic way to get yourself into shape in a way that's a lot more fun than hitting a running machine every week. 

Though it may be pricey for a mobile app, that first experience alone is worth the price of admission, with the combination of exercise and fun making it one of the most essential apps released this year.

Help support England with our new competition!

It's been a while since our last competition, so to coincide with the EUROs, we're giving away a huge sweets bundle, including Haribo, Rowntree's Randoms, Wine Gums and more!

To enter the competition, all you have to do is head over to our Facebook page, "like" it and sign up for the newsletter at our site! It's that simple!


Good luck!

It's been a long time...

Hello, everyone!

Did everybody enjoy the long weekend and jubilee? We certainly did! It's good to be back in the office too, though!

We've been very busy sorting out exciting new content coming to the BIGDOG website, including more exciting new deals, mobile app reviews and freebies!

Not to mention, we've got tons of new apprenticeship opportunities from debuting providers, Hawk Training and NiTP Microsoft Training Academy!

Keep your eye out for some completely new features which are to be revealed very soon, including an easy way to create and modify your CV!

What is Skyfall?

It's been four years since we last saw James Bond. Quantum of Solace, the 22nd entry in one of the best film series ever, failed to live up the expectations that Casino Royale had set audiences up for, which left us wondering whether it was time for 007 to turn in his Licence to Kill after half a decade of time on the big screen.

Today, the teaser trailer for Skyfall, previously known as Bond 23, was released and it leaves us with a completely different set of questions....

What is Skyfall? Is it a place or an operation? Will the film be less like the previous two, which ended up more like a poor man's Bourne film than a true Bond? We hope so!


Skyfall is set to be released on October 26th and is directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty).

APP OF THE WEEK: Spotify - iPad Version

Music lovers, pay attention! Spotify, the world's most popular music-streaming service have finally launched their long-awaited iPad app, giving tablet users even more chance to listen to their favourite tunes for free!

If you've been living under a rock for the past couple of years, Spotify acts like a virtual media library, giving you access to millions of fully-licensed tracks from massive acts like Adele and One Direction, to smaller indie artists and labels.


The app itself is a huge step up from the original iPhone release, letting you browse through your top tracks and favourite artists slickly and easily. You could even use your iPad as a home stereo or wirelessly play your music through Apple AirPlay-enabled speakers!


Lucky enough to have an iPad? Download the app here!

Another chance to win!

If you weren't so lucky the last time we tried to give something away, the competition gods have smiled on you! As our last winner didn't manage to get in contact with us within the allotted time, we're being forced to do a re-roll!

Well, we can't have a ton of sweeties and awesome electronics clogging up our office forever, can we?!

Imagine this, but with Apple gadgets

To get in with a chance to win, keep an eye on our recently reinvented Facebook page as we'll be announcing the details of the redraw very soon! (As in, by the end of this week!)

Good luck!

Don't let the students hog all the discounts!

One thing that students have over the employed is that they get access to all sorts of discounts. From transport and cinema tickets to food and drink, owning a NUS Student Card means that you save a fortune on all sorts.

It's not just students saving their pocket money anymore

Well, it's not the students who are getting all the good deals anymore! NUS have recently launched their unique Apprentice Extra card, which acts identically to the existing Student Card! 


It only costs £11 and you can get tons of exclusive discounts at loads of top names and brands, including Alton Towers, Warehouse, Odeon, McDonald's and the Apple Store!

So, what are you waiting for?! Head over the new website for NUS Apprentice Extra, enter BIGDOG Marketing Ltd as your place of study and apply now!

Get social with BIGDOG!

There's no doubt that if you keep up with the regular BIGDOG goings-on, you'll know about our constant Facebook competitions and giveaways, but have you checked out our other social profiles?

Yep, we're also on Twitter, giving even more exclusive deals and updates as we post them to our site, opinions on current affairs and trending topics and tons of other great stuff that only our followers get access to! Check us out at @BIGDOG_UK!

We've also managed to get on the wagon early and set up our Google+ page before any of our competitors! Having signed up to the service in early November 2011, we've already got a load of awesome content and interesting stuff going on there!


So, if you want more cool stuff from your favourite apprenticeships+ site, check out our social profiles!

BIGDOG makes it easier to apply for jobs!

Whilst we do like to have fun at BIGDOG, our main focus is to get you into the job or apprenticeship of your choice, kick-starting your career without the hassle of going to university. That's why we're constantly coming up with new ways to get you ready for work with as little stress as possible.

Well, we've been working on a way to make sending off your vacancy applications even easier! Very soon, you'll be able to create a CV using a special building tool that is ready to be released any day now! Using a simple six-step process, you simply answer a few questions, list your qualifications and experience and voilà! 

We'll give you your very own professional-looking resume, filled with all of the information that employers are looking for. How cool is that?!

 

Excited yet? You should be! Watch this space as it's coming very soon...

More free stuff, you say?

Our Facebook competition has come to an end and we've given away another fantastic prize to one of our loyal followers! Now we're working on our next one!

We put our faith in the brilliant BIGDOG community to put forward their ideas for what they would like to see us give away next. Some were slightly adventurous...

Though we might not have reached the point where we can give away Fords or five-star holidays yet, we've got a some swag that we think you'll absolutely love! We can happily reveal that someone will get theirs hands on a snazzy iPod Shuffle, complete with headphones and accessories!

To enter, all you have to do is "like" our Facebook page and sign up for our newsletter at our site! It's that easy! More details on when the competition ends coming very soon so watch this space...

Moving madness!

Following the move into our new office, we've finally set up shop and settled into our new headquarters!

This is actually on our wall

Of course, the new building is bigger and better (just like us) which means more cool stuff is soon to happen! That's good news for you guys as you'll be getting more jobs and apprenticeships opportunities to apply for, more bargains and voucher codes and even more giveaways for loyal fans!

Our next Facebook prize

Stick with us - it's going to be a good year!

We're on the move!

If we had a dollar for every Facebook fan we have...

...we could rent the Jersey Shore house for a night! 

Let's not, though

Yep, we've reached a whopping 2,500 loyal fans on our official Facebook page, which is truly a huge surprise! It was only one month ago that we hit 1,500, so to gain more than a thousand new followers in such a short space of time puts a huge smile on our face!

This also means that one of our lucky fans will get their hands on an amazing new ION Twin Video Camera and Syma S107G RC helicopter as part of our long-running competition! We shall reveal the winner very soon, so watch this space!

BIGDOG's getting busier and busier!

Can you believe that it's nearly been a month since we last checked in here? Well, it turns out that we've been incredibly busy over the past few weeks, working on new ways to improve your experience and the business overall.

Our BD:TV page is now up-and-running, though it's only in its first draft! We've put a few of our favourite videos from recent memory up, including Rihanna's performance at last night's BRIT Awards! Check it out and let us know what you think, plus any suggestions you may have!

Rihanna gave an amazing rendition of "We Found Love" at the 2012 BRIT Awards

We're also happy to announce that our fans competition is drawing to a close, meaning more fantastic goodies to give away, after somebody already won a sweets hamper earlier on in the month!

So, check out our Facebook page and you too could get your hands on some absolutely amazing prizes! All you have to do is hit the "like" button and sign up to our email newsletter to enter! Good luck!

BIGDOG's Facebook Giveaway

Happy Monday morning!

Wipe the sleep from your eye and gather 'round as we've got some exciting news to share!

You lot are surprisingly organised

With the success of our last competition, we've decided to launch another exciting giveaway for our loyal fans and followers! So, if you didn't strike it lucky last time, now's your chance to get your hands on some quality swag!

Remember, all you have to do to enter is register for our newsletter and 'like' our Facebook page and we'll take care of the rest! There'll be bonuses for those who share (details to be announced soon) so be sure to spread the word!

We haven't announced our prize yet, but if you liked the last bundle, you won't be disappointed!

Until next time!

It's all coming together...

We've been mega busy since the last time we spoke, so let us fill you in on all the cool stuff we've been working on!

Us being busy

The site is going under some pretty big changes at the moment as we're tweaking some stuff to give you, the user, an easier, faster and better experience overall.

Some things are being moved around, others are being revamped and there's some pretty cool new features coming very soon!

Though we're sticking with the same vacancy searching tool (it seems to be working!) we are adding a completely new area to the site, allowing you to filter all of the opportunities by location or sector, which should give you much better results and more refined job-hunting experience.

We're still working on it, but feel free to head over to our In My Area page, where you can find all of the most popular jobs in your region or city!

Our goal is to get you started on your career, but we'll need your help to do it! Be sure to let us know of anything you think may improve the process! Hit up our Contact Form or email us directly at admin@bigdog.co.uk.

BIGDOG hits 1,500 fans on Facebook!

Afternoon, BIGDOG fans! In celebration of us gathering 1,500 fans on Facebook, we've decided to treat you all by giving you the chance to win a bundle of geeky goodies worth more than £200!

The bundle includes a brand new iPod Shuffle, Syma S107 RC helicopter and, best of all, a dual-lens video camera from ION! Now you'll be able to film your reaction alongside whatever you're shooting, giving your YouTube and blog videos a fantastic style!

To enter this amazing competition, simply like our official Facebook page and sign up for the newsletter on our site! It's really that easy!


The winner will be announced in less than three hours so hurry!