HOLIDAY MOVIE PREVIEW PART II

HOLIDAY MOVIE PREVIEW PART II

EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS (opens December 12)

Ridley Scott makes visually dazzling movies, and the 76 year old director says this is the biggest film he’s ever made. The well-worn Old Testament tale stars Christian Bale as Moses, who’s chosen by God to free the Israelites from their bondage under Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses (Joel Edgerton). We can’t wait to see Scott’s interpretation of the 10 Biblical plagues, including the locust infestation and turning eater into blood.

·         THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES (opens December 17)

The plate-tossing dwarves and uptight Bilbo (Martin Freeman) introduced in the first Hobbit film are long gone. This third and final film in the series is all about war and greed. At the end of The Desolation of Smaug we saw the giant dragon set his sights on Lake-Town, meaning the dwarves are in control of Erebor’s vast treasure. But men, elves, orcs and goblins all want their share, and Smaug is still out there. We’re about to find out who’ll control that mountain of gold.

·         UNBROKEN (opens December 25)

Louis Zamperini’s unbelievable life story was destined for the big screen. Zamperini (Jack O’Connell) was an American World War II pilot who not only survived 47 days adrift in the Pacific Ocean after crashing his plane, but then two years of torture in a Japanese prison camp. Angelina Jolie, directing only her second film, is tasted with bringing the epic saga to life, but the job is undoubtedly made easier then you consider four top- notch writers- Joel and Ethan Coen, William Nicholson and Richard LaGravenese-joined forces to pen the script.

·         INHERENT VICE (opens December 25)

Word is we’re in for a crazy ride in director Paul Thomas Anderson’s adaptation of the Thomas Pynchon novel. Set in 1970 L.A., the film stars Joaquin Phoenix as a pothead private eye who gets tangled up with a cast of crazy characters while investigation the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend. Phoenix’s co-star Josh Brolin called the shoot “crazy, chaotic but really gratifying.” The large cast also includes Reese Whiterspoon, Owen Wilson, Benicio del Toro and Martin Short.   

Source: Cineplex

HOLIDAY MOVIE PREVIEW PART I

HOLIDAY MOVIE PREVIEW

PART I

·         INTERSTELLAR (opens November 7)

Director Nolan (The Dark Knight trilogy) makes blockbusters that feel important, and this film feels really important. Earth is running out of food and humanity´s demise is inevitable. However scientists have discovered a wormhole that may lead to habitable planets. Widowed father Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) and his team, including Anne Hathaway are sent into space to investigate. Nolan and his co-writer brother, Jonathan, based the film on the writings of renowned theoretical physicist Kip Thorne.

·         THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING (opens November 7)

While Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne) and wife Jane (Felicity Jones) eventually divorced after 30 years of marriage, their love story remains inspirational. This bio-pic of the world’s foremost physicist is framed around his relationship with Jane, who marries the brilliant PhD student after he’s diagnosed with ALS and given just two years to live. Her steadfast belief in him helps him cope with his worsening physical condition and carries him to great intellectual heights.

·         THE HUNGER GAMES: MOCKINGJAY- PART 1 (opens November 21)

We all love the funny, self-deprecating media star J Law, but it’s Jennifer Lawrence the actor who really makes us take notice. Her portrayal of The Hunger Games Katniss Everdeen is both brazen and vulnerable. Presenting a young woman, dealing with the moral complexities of being a hero. Here, in the penultimate Hunger Games film (Part 2 hits theatres November 2015) Katniss joins with rebel forces to rescue Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) and other captured tributes from the highly fortified Capitol City.

·         HORRIBLE BOSSES 2 (opens November 26)

The holiday can be stressful, so what better way to release some pent-up energy then by laughing at the antics of pals Nick (Jason Bateman), Dale (Charlie Day) and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis). After surviving and ill-conceived plot to murder their bosses in the first movie, the sequel sees the trio hatching another ill-conceived plan to kidnap the son of an investor (Christoph Waltz) who scammed the guys out of the money from their business. An A-list cast of hilarious supporting characters, played by Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston and Jamie Foxx, return for the fun.

·         FOXCATCHER (opens November 28)

Funnyman Carell has played dramatic roles before, but he’s never tested himself the way he does here in director Bennett Miller’s tale of psychologically damaged multi-millionaire John du Pont (Carell), who becomes obsessed with wrestling brothers Mark (Channing Tatum) and Dave Shultz (Mark Ruffalo).

Source: Cineplex Magazine.

TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2014

TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

2014

Welcome to the city´s most prestigious cultural event! It´s that time of year again, the time when the beautiful Toronto buzzes with excitement and love for film, and we open up Toronto´s doors to the world to share the best in Canadian and international cinema.

Torontonians, this is your Festival, and would not be a success without the contribution of the incredible audience. With more than 300 films, I picked 20 films that take part on the gala presentations. Enjoy!

WILD

A self-destructive woman (Reese Witherspoon) attempts to leave behind her years of drug abuse and reckless sex with a solo, 1,000-mile hike along the Pacific Crest Trail, in this adaptation of Cheryl Strayed´s best selling memoir from director Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club).

THE EQUALIZER

An ex-CIA agent (Denzel Washington) uses his lethal skills to protect and imperiled young woman (Chlöe Grace Moretz) from the Russian mob, in this hard-edged big screen adaptation of the cult´80s TV show from director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day).

PAWN SACRIFICE

American chess phenomenon Bobby Fisher (Tobey Maguire) squares off against his Russian rival Boris Spassky (Live Schreiber) in the 1972 Match of the Century in Reykjavik, in this gripping docudrama from director Ed Zwick (Glory) and screenwriter Steven Knight (Eastern Promises).

A LITTLE CHAOS

Commissioned to construct King Louis XIV´s garden at Versailles, a landscape designer (Academy Award winner Kate Winslet) battles professionally and romantically with the king´s chief architect (Matthias Schoenaerts, Rush and Bone), in this sumptuous historical drama from actor-director Alan Rickman.

ESCOBAR: PARADISE LOST

An American surfer (Josh Hutcherson, The Hunger Games) meets the girl of his dreams, but gets a brutal (sur) reality check when he meets her uncle, Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar (Benicio del Toro).

MAPS TO THE STARS

Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska and Robert Pattinson star in this acidulous vision of Tinseltown from Canadian master David Cronenberg.

THE FACE OF AND ANGEL

Kate Beckinsale and Daniel Brühl (Rush, Inglourious Basterds) star in this fictionalized version of the notorious Amanda Knox murder case from ever-adventurous director Michael Winterbottom.

THE JUDGE

A big-city lawyer (Robert Downey, Jr.) returns home when his stranged father, a small-town judge (Robert Duvall), is accused of murder.

BOYCHOIR

A troubled eleven-year-old boy at a prestigious East Coast music school clashes with the school´s demanding choir master (Dustin Hoffman), in this inspiring drama co-starring Kathy Bates, Josh Lucas, Debra Winger and Glee´s Kevin McHale.

RUTH AND ALEX

Morgan Freeman and Diana Keaton star as Alex and Ruth, a long-married couple forced to contemplate selling their beloved Brooklyn apartment on the same day that a potential terrorist threatens the city.

BLACK AND WHITE

An attorney (Kevin Costner) struggling to raise his biracial granddaughter after the deaths of his wife and daughter becomes embroiled in a custody battle with the child´s paternal grandmother (Academy Award winner Octavia Spencer).

THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU

An all-star cast- including Jane Fonda, Tina Fey, Jason Bateman, Rose Byrne, Adam Driver and many more-headlines this adaptation of the novel by Jonathan Tropper, about a death in the family that brings together an expansive, far-flung clan for a weekend of mourning, bounding and healing. 

THE FORGER

Released from prison so that he can spend time with his dying son (Thy Sheridan, Mud), an expert art forger (John Travolta) is coerced into participating in a major museum heist, in this dramatic thriller co-starring Christopher Plummer, Abigail Spencer and Jennifer Ehle.

CAKE

While struggling with her own trauma, a woman in a chronic-pain support group (Jennifer Aniston) begins to investigate the suicide of a fellow group member (Anna Kendrick) and develops an unexpected relationship with the woman´s husband (Sam Worthington), in this highly anticipated drama also starring William H. Macy and Felicity Huffman.

THE REACH

A high-rolling corporate shark (Michael Douglas) and his impoverished young guide (Jeremy Irvine, War Horse) play the most dangerous game furing a hunting trip in the Mojave desert, in this lean, mean cat-and-mouse thriller.

AMERICAN HEIST

Two brothers (Adrien Brody and Hayden Christensen) with troubled pasts become embroiled in a high-stakes bank robbery, in this indie action thriller also starring Jordana Brewster and Akon.

LAGGIES

Following a dismal high school reunion and a disastrous proposal of marriage, a going-nowhere twentysomething (Keira Knightley) falls in with a carefree teenager (Chlöe Grace Moretz) and takes a week off to reassess her life.

FOXCATCHER

Two brothers, both former Olympic wrestling champions (Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo) become involved in a fateful and fatal friendship with a neurotic millionaire (Steve Carell), in this true-life drama from director Bennett Miller (Moneyball).

THE CONNECTION

Academy Award winner Jean Dujardin (The Artist) stars as French police magistrate Pierre Michel, who waged an obsessive six-year battle to bring down Marseilles´infamous “French Connection” drug ring. 

INFINITIVE POLAR BEAR

A loving husband and father struggling with manic depression (Mark Ruffalo) is forced to raise his two young daughters on his own, in this moving and inspirational drama based on writer-director Maya Forbes´own  childhood experiences.

Source: TIFF Official Film Schedule.

BEGIN AGAIN

BEGIN AGAIN

Director John Carney (Once) returns with another tale about the redemptive power of music. A New York-set drama. The film stars Mark Ruffalo as Dan, a washed-up, alcoholic, ex-record company executive who gets a second chance when he discovers Gretta (Kiera Knightley), a raw singer-songwriter performing in a café in New York´s East Village who is about to give up on music after being pushed away by her boyfriend Dave (Adam Levine) who scored a big record contract, becoming a famous musician and who no longer has room for her in his life.

Cast: Kiera Knightley, Mark Ruffalo and Adam Levine

Directed by John Carney

COMENZAR DE NUEVO

El director de Once, John Carney regresa con otra historia sobre el redentor poder de la música. Un drama al estilo New York. El filme presenta a Mark Ruffalo como Dan, un alcohólico y ex ejecutivo de una compañía de discos quien obtiene una segunda oportunidad cuando descubre en un café del este de New York a Gretta (Kiera Knightley), una cruda cantante y compositora quien está a punto de renunciar a la música después que su novio Dave (Adam Levine) firmara un gran contrato convirtiéndose en un famoso músico, que ya no tiene espacio para ella en su vida.

Reparto:  Kiera Knightley, Mark Ruffalo and Adam Levine

Director: John Carney

Source: Cineplex

Colombia bilingüe, really?

Colombia bilingüe, really?

¿Sabe usted qué es lo que más exporta Colombia?, ¿café?, ¿esmeraldas?, ¿petróleo?, ¿ni idea?

Well, as a matter of fact, lo que más exporta Colombia son colombianos, y créalo o no una de las  razones más simples es que en Colombia no se enseña y por lo tanto no se aprende inglés.

Como muchos colombianos crecí  y estudié en la época en que, la clase de inglés, era una materia para pasar el rato, con profesores que sabían tanto como yo, y en la que año tras año desde primero hasta grado once aprendí: the colors, the numbers and the seasons.

Como muchos, vi con el pasar del tiempo que aprender inglés significaba mejores oportunidades, acceso a empleos calificados, y pronto, en una necesidad, however, también vi como ese privilegio solo estuvo (y continua estando) al alcance de pocos, aquellos que podían costear un colegio bilingüe (privado y costoso) o un intercambio.

So, para quienes no tuvimos esas oportunidades y después de graduarnos del colegio, hacer el famoso “curso de inglés” podría ser la mejor opción para entrar con pie derecho a la universidad y al mercado laboral. Lo malo, es que al terminar y en el mejor de los casos graduarse con honores, usted se cree el cuento que es bilingüe, pero pronto se da cuenta que no puede make head or tail en una entrevista de trabajo, aplicar para una beca en el extranjero, responder fluidamente una llamada o mantener una conversación en la aduana de cualquier aeropuerto del mundo. Así que nos acostumbramos a frases como: yo no lo hablo pero entiendo, o, lo que me hace falta es práctica.

Así que heme aquí, como muchos colombianos, con treinta y tantos años, con los ahorros de la vida y fuera del país tratando de finalmente aprender lo que debí haber aprendido de niña, porque believe it or not, aunque en Colombia no se enseña un inglés de calidad, si se les exige el bilingüismo a recién egresados y profesionales. So ironic, right?

Let’s make this simple, la exportación de colombianos o “fuga de cerebros” por desconocer el inglés, es parte de nuestra realidad y puedo decir por experiencia, una de las razones por las cuales muchos profesionales viajan al extranjero para nunca regresar. Just because afuera encuentran lo que en Colombia les fue negado.

Por eso al escuchar sobre el Programa Nacional de Bilingüismo del Ministerio de Educación Nacional, me pregunto, really?, ¿será cierta tanta dicha? Y es que, acorde con el Gobierno el programa promoverá el bilingüismo en todo el país con una inversión de 1,3 billones de pesos, enfocándose en fortalecer la educación básica, capacitar docentes, ajustar la calidad de las licenciaturas, entregar seis millones de textos y aumentar, en 10 años, el número de estudiantes con inglés intermedio-alto, entre otras medidas. In theory a perfect program que puede abrir las puertas a un verdadero cambio con un impacto positivo a nivel social y económico.

Nevertheless, siendo un proyecto educativo tan importante, es imprescindible tener en cuenta el contexto y las condiciones educativas actuales, porque si resulta como todos los grandes proyectos, con una increíble rueda de prensa y ceremonia de lanzamiento, pero que al final nunca llega a consolidarse, usted, padre o madre de familia, comience a ahorrar y prepare maletas para sus hijos.

And just to prove my theory, if you understood everything written in this article, means you have a basic English level, so, good luck enhancing it in Colombia.

NAVIGATE TORONTO ON TWO WHEELS

NAVIGATE TORONTO ON TWO WHEELS

What do people from South Korea, China, Colombia, Iran, Venezuela and Canada have in common? At first not much, but there is something that unites us: love for our families, the dream to settle in a new country, and physical activity. All this is comes together in Bike Host, collaboration between Cycle Toronto and CultureLink Settlement Services.

It is no secret that for newcomers, life is not simple at first. To leave one’s country, culture, family, and job, to pack suitcases and come to a new country, is not easy. Every day hundreds of newcomers face concerns related to their job search, improving the language, finding a place to live and adapting to the new country.

The Bike Host Program offers us a chance to momentarily forget the worries and see the city with new eyes. How is this possible? It’s easy – everything is done through a bicycle. Toronto is known not only for being one of the most multicultural cities in the world, it is also known for its parks and events in the summer. Bikes can become inseparable companions for transportation, sports and enjoying the endless activities which the city offers.

Bike Host brings newcomers together with wonderful mentors who guide us through small bike tours around the city. They offer support, their experiences, and their friendship. At first, learning the rules on the road and being in contact with people from different cultures is intimidating, but eventually it becomes an incredible experience. For me, it was a wonderful opportunity to integrate with other people, improve my English, learn about other cultures and make friends.

As newcomers we all have a story to tell. Behind us there is a family that supports us, a country and a culture that we grew up in. We all hope to start a new life in Canada, and the connections we make in the Bike Host program make the outlook for us much clearer. We did not just meet new people – we formed sincere friendship linkages. We did not only get to know the city – we enjoyed it and connected with it. We were not just cycling – we were adopting a new lifestyle. 

EDGE OF TOMORROW

EDGE OF TOMORROW

It´s Groundhog Day by way of Starship Troopers, Tom Cruise plays soldier Bill Cage, who dies fighting aliens but wakes up to relive the same day over and over again. With the help of a kickass war hero (Emily Blunt), Cage evolves into a hardened warrior who may be able to defeat the invaders. Director Doug Liman says the film is a win-win scenario for both Cruise fans and his haters "if you love Tom Cruise, you see him giving a genius performance and if you hate Tom Cruise he dies like 200 times in the movie.”

Cast: Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt.

Directed by: Doug Liman.

AL BORDE DEL MAÑANA

Es el Día de la Marmota en concepto de Starship Troopers, Tom Cruise interpreta al soldado Bill Cage, que muere luchando contra aliens despertándose para revivir el mismo día una y otra vez. Con la ayuda de una dura héroe (Emily Blunt), el soldado Cage se convierte en un guerrero endurecido que puede ser capaz de derrotar a los invasores. El director de la pelicula Doug Liman dice que es un escenario de ganar-ganar para ambos, aquellos seguidores de Cruise y aquellos que lo odian: “si amas a Tom Cruise, lo veras dando una actuación genial, y si odias a Tom Cruise el muere como 200 veces en la película”

Reparto:  Tom Cruise y Emily Blunt.

Director: Doug Liman.

Source: Cineplex