Oscars Night 2009

Hello guys!

Welcome to a new section of our blog, which is devoted to the biggest film event of the year, The Oscars. You know, it makes me mad to think that I forgot to organize the traditional "porra" in class on Thursday. I've been just too busy these last couple of weeks and I had completely lost track of time, so to speak, and I realised only yesterday that this Sunday is Oscars night in L.A. If you have a satellite dish you can watch the ceremony live - in English - on the German channel ProSieben (mind you, you'll have to rise early, at 2:00 a.m. Monday). Ladies, Hugh Jackman is hosting the show, and rumour has it that he'll be dancing and singing now and then ...

It would have been fun, wouldn't it, to set up a class competition so that you could make your predictions. Will Slumdog sweep the board as in the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs? Will Penelope bring the famous statuette home?

Anyway, to compensate for my forgetfulness, I'm going to embed the trailer of the five movies nominated for Best Picture, beginning with, that's right, my sentimental favourite, the moving Indian urban tale, Slumdog Millionaire:

However, I have a hunch that the all-American Milk, Gus van Sant's portrait of California's first openly gay official, is going to sneak ahead. A masterly performance, as usual, by the great Sean Penn, in my view one of the finest actors of his generation:

Next we find The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the fantasy drama inspired by Scott-Fitzgerald's short story, starring two big Hollywood names, Cate Blanchet and Brad Pitt. The film leads the pack with 13 award nominations, but I've got the gut feeling that it's going to be the upset of the night. Personally I feel it's the most overrated movie of the five, but still a good flick:

Everyone says Kate Winslet is a sure bet on the Best Actress category, and who can deny this is being her year, winning accolade after accolade while delivering tearful, somewhat silly acceptance speeches. Whatever, The Reader, the drama telling the story of a love affair set in a Nazi concentration camp, could be the dark horse:

Last but not least comes another historical drama, Frost / Nixon, directed by the always effective Ron Howard, which dramatises the legendary 1977 televised interview between the former US President and British journalist pioneer Sir David Frost. The film is a fantastic face-to-face showdown between two brilliant actors, Frank Langella (nominated for best actor) and Michael Sheen (remember his role as Tony Blair in The Queen?), but I don't think (at least that's what film buffs predict) it stands many chances:

Well, ladies and gentlemen, that's all for this special edition of the Oscars blog. I'm really sorry we couldn't organise the game, but I guess it's too late now to do it by mail.

If you want more stuff on the Awards, you can visit the academy's official web, featuring lots of trailers, videos, photos, reviews, you name it. As an example I insert down below a video called "Road to the Oscars" with some interesting behind-the-scenes interviews.

Even if you disregard the glitz and glamour of Hollywood (so do I in a way) it's all for the sake of English.

By the way, I will be recording the whole ceremony on my home DVD in case some of you want to watch it later on ... Cheerio and happy Carnival!

February 23rd

Morning everyone! Here I am, at nearly 3 o'clock in the morning, watching (and recording for posterity and potential watchers among you guys) the Oscars ceremony live on ProSieben. Well, may I say I'm starting to doubt my judgement on film excellence, because only a few minutes ago Pe did it again: Yes, she's won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, and I must admit she delivered her acceptance speech brilliantly, a mix of emotion and thankfulness. I've always questioned her acting talent, so perhaps it's true after all, as the saying goes, that no man (woman in this case) is a prophet in his / her own land ... Anyway, hats off to Penelope, however little I liked her performance in VCBarcelona.

Now, Slumdog has collected its first award of the night, Best Adapted Screenplay, which says a lot about the quality of the story, written by Simon Beaufoy (remember The Full Monty?) Surely it won't be the last ...

Will I be able to overcome sleep throughout the ceremony? You know, it had a promising start featuring Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway on a musical sketch, and hopefully the speeches won't be too boring or tear-jerking, so fingers crossed! But if eventually I fall asleep, it's no big deal, I can watch and edit the show first thing in the morning. And anyway I'm not supposed to bore you all with endless comments on every single award presented, so I'd better quit now and resume the blog within a few hours when the whole thing is over and the full list of winners is known to the world. GOOD LUCK SLUMDOG!

5 hours later ...

Hi again! This is your sleepy, weary-eyed teacher reporting from L.A. Ha ha, only joking! Now seriously, what an extraordinary night for Slumdog, which did sweep the board scooping all the major awards, Best Picture, Best Directing, Best Cinematography and Best Editing among others. A total eight accolades out of ten nominations, the best success for a British film since The English Patient, can you believe it! It was great to see all the cast and crew on stage at the end of the show, like a big family coming all the way from England and Mumbay to taste Hollywood glory, and earlier good Danny Boyle jumping up and down "in the spirit of Tigger from Winnie the Pooh".

You know guys, I know I've been a little too emotional about this flick, but I'm overjoyed that a small-budget movie, nearly an independent one, has gained massive recognition after a very modest beginning, when it was on the point of not being released theatrically. It was Danny Boyle's determination that pushed the film to international fame, so I'm delighted for the guy.

The other highlights of the ceremony were, of course, Kate Winslet and Sean Penn (probably the biggest upset was Micky Rourke not winning the Oscar for Best Actor that many had predicted) and Heath Ledger's family picking the posthumous award. There was also the glitz and glamour of the red carpet, which I detest, but anyway it's part of the show, isn't it?

As for the host, well, Hugh Jackman did a good job, with his singing and dancing and the odd joke in his thick Aussie accent, but I specially liked the way the awards were presented, with former winners on the stage praising the nominees before duly announcing the lucky one.

Needless to say I've recorded the whole event, conveniently edited, for you to see if you wish. Some of the speeches and presentations are worth watching for its wittiness and good humour.

Well, I will close now, but if you want to write in your reaction, your feelings about the film if you've watched it, either in English or dubbed into Spanish, that'll be great, won't it?

Hooray for Slumdog Millionaire!

Hi again! Well, it's been a great "hangover day" for Slumdog and the international media can only praise the film and tell all the details surrounding its humble beginnings and its final glory. For me, regardless of the overwhelming success at the Oscars, which I couldn't predict only a couple of months ago, it's simply one of the finest films I've ever seen in recent years.
Anyway, I want to close this " Oscars Special" by inserting a recap from last night of the best moments throughout the ceremony. Remember you can watch the full event in English if you ask me to bring the DVDs I will edit and record in due course tomorrow.
Sweet dreams!

February 2009

LATEST UPDATE: My music blog (25/02/09)

February 17th

Hi guys! Right now I'm at the language school invigilating a 1st year exam for my colleague and good friend Gregorio, who is going through a rough personal patch these days. And as the students are doing their stuff I've logged on to my blog and I thought I could add something I've seen on Larry King's CNN website. It's an interesting interview with American stand-up comedian and political commentator Bill Maher on Obama's first weeks as President. How is Barack doing so far? He's had his wise moves but also his gaffes, specially as regards Cabinet's picks. As Maher jokingly remarks "the President doesn't know anybody who pays taxes", referring to the scandals surrounding some members of his Cabinet, namely former senator Tom Daschle, who Barack had appointed as his Secretary of Health but had to withdraw after he allegedly failed to pay his income tax.

Anyway, you may not find American politics the most exciting of issues, and you probably will not know everybody's names during the interview, but that's no big deal. The important thing is to listen relaxedly, understand the gist and, little by little, get used to real material at different speeds and accents. And I assure you that both Larry's and Bill's accents are quite mild ...

February 11th:

Hello guys, how's life? Well, I'm watching the Spain-England match on and off but since it's pretty one-sided (Spain is winning 2-0) I thought I'd rather do some blogging instead. 

So, I've found out that Ana has made the following comment in response to the controversial news that has hit the local headlines today: 

This morning I have heard, in my opinion, of course, a crazy piece of news: Colegio Montesori has decided to separate the boys from the girls in nursery school (three to six year old children). Among other reasons they argue that males and females have different speed because of hormones and genes.

I can't believe it! As far as I know we are different in a way but we can live together and complement each other.

Kike, you're lucky, fortunately you're a bit older, ha,ha!

 

You know, there's extensive research on the issue concerning the influence of the opposite sex on children's education. I once read somewhere how some experts claimed that girls had a positive influence on boys but the latter got distracted by the former. Rosa Peñalver, the director-general of territorial cooperation for the Ministry of Educaction, remembers that our education law, the LOE, clearly dictates "there cannot be any discrimination whatsoever among students on the grounds of sex". Fair enough. It would be nice, now that we're talking about education in module 5, to hear your views on the matter. In the meantime I've found this interesting 2006 article in The Guardian which emphasizes the idea that girls don't derive much benefit from single-sex education. Also that there's a growing movement in the US which argues that boys' and girls' brains develop differently (apparently it's the boys that lag behind) so they benefit from separate teaching styles. However it goes, the article is good reading comprehension practice, don't you think? Once you've read it you may have formed a clearer opinion on the subject ... or may you?

February 9th

Good evening everyone ! Well, it's a few minutes past midnight and I've just heard the news on Sky: Slumdog has swept the board - yet again - at the BAFTAs with 7 awards out of 11 nominations, including the top gongs, best film and best director, beating the likes of Benjamin Button, The Milk, Frost/Nixon and The Reader, which is no small achievement. So what can I say, I'm overjoyed that a film I've recommended you tirelessly, way before it started receiving so many accolades, is getting the recognition I think it well and truly deserves. I cannot find the video highlighting the awards on Sky's web just yet so in the meantime I'll make do with this clip shot before the ceremony began. It was obvious by then that Slumdog and Kate Winslet were the hot favourites, tipped to take the top prizes. By the way, you know she's not my cup of tea but Pe(nelope) has done it again: best supporting actress. Fair enough, as a fellow countryman I'm glad for her. More to come tomorrow! Sweet dreams ...

Hi again! Well, this is more like it. The Sky News video highlighting Slumdog's actual success as well as the acceptance speeches by Danny Boyle (hugely indebted to the people of Mumbai), Kate Winslet (no tears this time) and (the most "colourful" of the night) Mickey Rourke. Gosh, how he's changed, from 80s sex symbol to down-and-out "comeback" star ... Good for old Mickey!

February 8th

Hey guys! You know, there's an American comedian and political satirist called Jon Stewart who hosts this hilarious comedy programme, The Daily Show, which you can see Sunday mornings @ 10:30 on CNN. Probably you remember Jon because he presented last year's Oscars ceremony (or was it 2 years ago, my memory fails me), such a witty funny and sometimes politically-incorrect guy! Anyway, I hadn't watched the programme for a while until this morning and guess who he interviewed on the show: Slumdog's star Dev Patel (Jamal). Jon really praises the film and wishes Patel and Slumdog the best luck for this year's Oscars. Would you like to see the interview? Well, I've been able to find it on the Net and it is embedded right down below. Very interesting to compare Patel's southern English (notice how skillfully he can imitate Indian English!) and Jon's NY accent. C'mon guys, it's only 6 minutes long and it's always good to practice listening skills, don't you think?

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Dev Patel

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Funny Political News
Joke of the Day

By the way, I've already told you that Slumdog premieres this week in Spanish cinemas so I guess you would like to see (specially if you've seen the original film) the official Filmax trailer. So weird (and annoying if I may say so) to hear the voices dubbed into our language! I mean, the characters lose their spirit completely!

February 5th

Morning guys! Let me yell the name loud and clear: A-VE-NI-DA! Boy, o boy, what a game! On a day when Salamanca was hitting the headlines for the ETA-related car (motherfu...!), a women's basketball team shocked the almighty CSKA with an 83-74 epic victory after playing overtime ... twice! And today is Las Aguedas (happy day, girls!), what a date to celebrate for them. Did anyone watch it on TV? You know, I was drained after the game, both physically and emotionally, literally deprived of my voice with so much screaming and yelling, cheering and booing. Luckily today I won't have to "work" much with you guys!

So what next? Well, Avenida advance to the Euroleague quarterfinals, and will play Hungary's Mizo Pesc with the home-court advantage, so they are ony one step away from the moment everyone is dreaming of: The Final Four ...

Anyway, I'd like to pay a small tribute to the girls by inserting the game's chronicle - in English, of course - from the official Euroleague website. A bit of basketball jargon won't do you harm, will it?

CSKA Fall To Resilient Avenida After Thriller

Halcon Avenida and their passionate fans in Salamanca will be partying into the early morning hours of Thursday after stunning CSKA Moscow in double overtime to advance to the EuroLeague Women Quarter-Finals. In the Game 3 decider, the Spanish outfit prevailed 83-74.

Anke De Mondt's three-pointer late in regulation knotted the game at 60-60 to force the first extra period. Then the outstanding Donnette Snow drilled a three with just four seconds left in overtime to send the contest to a second OT.

With the game level at 68-68 in the second extra period, Avenida made five straight free throws - four by Spain international Isa Sanchez - and stayed on top for the remainder of the game.

CSKA led by as many as 12 points in the first half and were on top 49-36 with 3:57 to go in the third period after a Becky Hammon three-ball.

Avenida outscored CSKA 8-2 to end the frame and trailed 51-44, and they continued to scratch and claw their way back before tying the game with De Mondt's three-pointer. With 58 seconds to go in the first overtime, Edwige Lawson-Wade's jump shot gave CSKA a 66-63 lead but Snow launched and hit her only three-pointer of the game to send the game to the second overtime.

After Ann Wauters tied the game at 68-68, Snow was off target with a jumper and CSKA had two chances to take the lead. Lawson-Wade failed to connect from behind the arc but Olexandra Gorbunova grabbed the offensive rebound. Young Spanish international Silvia Dominguez intercepted a pass by Wauters, though, and was later fouled by Gorbunova. She split one of two at the line and after Lawson-Wade again missed from long range, Sanchez drew a foul. Sanchez went on to make the four free throws and Avenida celebrated one of the finest nights in their recent basketball history.

For CSKA, the defeat closes a disappointing and bizarre campaign in the EuroLeague Women. During the Regular Season, the club almost went out of business and even forfeited a game before new owners were found. The team's coach, Gundars Vetra, left to lead UMMC Ekaterinburg and that paved the way for ex-CSKA and Russia boss Igor Grudin to return to the helm. CSKA made the play-offs, but suffered their earliest exit from the post-season since 2004.

Avenida out-rebounded CSKA 39-34 with Snow pulling down 14 of those boards. She also led the winners with 23 points. Sanchez had 13 points while CSKA got 21 from Wauters. Hammon also weighed in with 20.

QUOTES HALCÓN AVENIDA VS. CSKA MOSCOW:

Jose Ignacio Hernandez (Avenida coach):

"I´m very happy. It was really fantastic. Now we have to continue working like this and we´ll see what happens in the next round. We have possibilities but we must not relax."

Silvia Dominguez (Avenida player):

"It´s amazing. I´m really happy and I´m very proud of my teammates."

Isabel Sanchez (Avenida player):

"I´ve never played 50 minutes like this. We were exhausted but [the feeling] is unbelievable."

February 1st

What a better way to begin this month's entry than talk about the great Aussie Open final,

probably the greatest rivalry in sport right now: the stylish Swiss maestro vs the feisty left-handed matador. After the 5-hour epic against Verdasco, many doubt if Rafa will have enough petrol left in the tank for a GS final against Federer, who has enjoyed a three-day rest after his walkover semifinal against Roddick.

Well, I'm watching the match live as I'm writing down these lines, and I can only say Rafa is leading two sets to one after three hours. Does that mean he will finally make it? Who knows? I see Rafa a bit tired, which is only natural, but I take my hat off to him for what he's doing, for his amazing stamina and unyielding faith in himself. And in any case, if Roger eventually succeeds, it will only make his victory and GS record all the greater. OK, I'll get back to you guys later on as Federer has just broken Rafa's service and leads 2 love in the fourth set ...

What a key game with 2 all! Rafa's had at least 4-5 chances to break serve, but Roger has stood firm and leads 3-2. The battle continues ...

After nearly 4 hours we're in for the decider. And there cannot be a tie-break so only the tennis gods know how long this extraordinary match can last (such amazing points!). Another brilliant page in the history of the sport is being written and if Rafa wins he can officially become Federer's nemesis, so to speak. So fingers crossed for the Majorcan!

Unbelievable! 5-2 ahead and love-30. Rafa is on the verge of winning his first Australian Open ...

And he's done it!! Rafa is ... AUSSOME! 40 years after another Spaniard, Andres Gimeno, played (and lost to an Aussie, the true Grand Slam champ Rod Laver) the first Australian Open final, Rafa Nadal, at 14:14 pm Spanish time, extended his status of tennis legend after beating Federer in 5 hard-fought exciting sets. What an image! Roger weeping inconsolably like a baby (end of an era?) and Rafa, gracious in victory, embracing him with the trophy in his hands. That's what makes Rafa not only an amazing sportsman, but, most important of all, a great human being. So humble, so self-effacing, truly respected by his opponents. Congrats Rafa!

Enough tennis from me, I don't want to bore you. But if you want to send in your thoughts on Nadal's triumph, this is the place. Happy Sunday guys!