BOOK REVIEW BY GEMMA

Book Title: Captain Corelli's Mandolin

Author: Louis de Bernieres

Publisher/Year: Penguin readers/1994

Book Type: part love story, part war story

Pages: 102

SUMMARY:

Captain Corelli's Mandolin is set in the early days of the Second World War, before Mussolini invaded Greece. This is the story of a tiny Greek island called Cephallonia, occupied by the Italian army and the Greek population refusing to be dominated by its "conquerors".

Dr Iannis practices medicine on the island of Cephallonia, he has an extent medical knowledge adquired over years of experience although he hasn't a formal degree in Medicine. Dr Iannis is nonetheless respected in his small village. He has raised his daughter, Pelagia to become an intelligent and beautiful young woman. At the age of seventeen Pelagia falls in love to a handsome young fisherman called Mandras and they get engaged. There's going to be a war and Mandras has to fight in the war so, he asks Pelagia to wait to marry him until after he has returned from fighting in the Greek army against the Italians. Pelagia agrees and during his absence she writes hundreds of letters to Mandras but she never receives a reply so she begins to suspect he will never return.

The island is occupied by Italians. One of the italian officers is billted with Dr. Iannis, his name is Antonio Corelli, a high-spirited, handsome and generous young man who plays the mandolin like an angel. It isn't long before Captain Corelli and Pelagia fall in love despite her engagement to Mandras. They try to keep their love as a secret.

Meanwhile, the war contimues with brutal force upon the island. The defeat of the Italian army at the hands of the allied forces brings new problems for Pelagia and Corelli, as the Germans rout their erstwhile Italian allies with a series of murders and atrocities. Finally, death and sorrow replacing beauty of Cephallonia and Pelagia's optimism and youth is changed into sorrow.

OPINION:

From my point of view Captain Corelli's Mandolin is a book which deals important themes like faith, love, cowardice, death,... Undoubtedly Louis de Bernieres has proven here that he is a master in the art of transporting his readers in time and space and making them feel part of events that they cannot abandon until they read the last page. Therefore, the author wants to be equally critical against fascists and communists against all ideologies which try to impose the one and only truth about human coexistence. It is thus that the role of Greek communists who led the wartime resistance against the Italians and the British and American backed forces in the civil war, entangles with an antiwar epic and an unconsummated love triangle between Pelagia, Mandras and Captain Corelli.

LANGUAGE/STYLE:

The vocabulary of this book is not very difficult although the writer uses some unfamiliar words which come from Greek and Italian such as "Casa Nostra" the Italian word for our home,"Kapheneion" the Greek word for a village coffee shop, "Papakis" Greek word for Daddy, "Kyria" Greek for Mrs. or Miss, etc. that make difficult to understand the story. About the language of the author is quite simple, rich and easy to read. What the author tries is to show the readers the way of living of Greek people. Moreover, the text is packed with high-quality language that provokes specific imagery.

Captain Corelli's Mandolin is historical and romantic story not too heavy on slang, but with enough cultural jargon. I think that the language fit well with the subject matter: love and war between people with different cultures. Besides, we can distinguish characteristic phrases or vocabulary of particular professions like doctor or soldier. The theme of the book is love and warm so the author uses abstract words like love, sorrow, beauty, patience, truth in order to explain the plot of the story.The writer uses specific words when he refers to Cephallonia and the main characters of the story. Moreover, he uses many adjectives and adverbs to describe places and people in the story so the readers feel closer to the story. Depending on the situation the writer uses nouns, adjectives and verbs with positive or negative connotation. Usually the sentences are quite short and simple. There aren't compound-complex structures, inverted syntaxes or rhetorical devices which could confuse the reader.

Film Review, Maria Pitarch Agost

Film Title: Far from Heaven
Country/ Year: USA /2002
Genre: Melodrama
Director: Todd Haynes
Cast: Julianne More as Cathy Whitaker, Dennis Quaid as Frank Whitaker, Dennis Haysbert as Raymond Deagan, Patricia Clarkson as Eleanor, Viola Daris as Sybil.
Writing credits: Todd Haynes

You can watch the trailer at: http://www.film.virgin.net/ and http://www.mymovies.net/

Plot: Frank and Cathy are a modellic couple who have got two children. All change when Cathy discovers that Frank likes men. Their relationship suffers a transformation which unleashes the break-up of their marriage.

Opinion: I like it very much because it’s not the common one’s melodramas. The first reason is that it gives you the opportunity to think over many things like love, race, homosexuality, fidelity, respect, etc. At the same time you discover how life has changed during last decades in the American Society. Another reason is the excellent cast with a superb performance of Julianne More, show as nominated by the Academy Award and Dennis Quaid. Finally, I like the set decoration, the costumes, the colors which are a special key note in the film, the music for which Bernstein obtained an Academy Awards for Best Store and the photography.

I strongly recommend it for women and men. As you may see before there are universal themes.

Type of language:
American English with little jargon.
Cathy speaks in an extremely formal way. Her life is controlled and tidy so that her language is the same.
Frank is less inhibited for that reason he uses more jargon.


Synopsis:

Frank and Cathy live in Connecticut. He’s a successful sales executive and she’s a perfect housewife who looks after their children and takes care of the house. Later on, Frank starts going to gay pubs at the end of his working day. One day his wife decides to make his dinner to the office where she discovers that Frank is kissing a man. Then, he determinates to visit a therapist to be cured of his condition. In the meantime Cathy meets Raymond, the son of her dead gardener.

Life with Frank is not easy because he drinks too much. As a result of that one day he hits her. The following day Cathy tells Raymond her couple troubles. He invites her to go out on an errand. After that they go to a black-only diner where they are seen by a gossip lady. Frank discovers this meeting and gets angry with his wife. She decides to not see Raymond anymore. At Christmas time, Cathy and Frank go on holiday to Miami. There, he falls in love with a young male. When they return home he determines to tell her the truth for having the divorce. He leaves her alone with the children. At the same time Cathy knows that Raymond’s daughter has been stoned by some white boys. She decides to visit him where she discovers that they are going to live in Baltimore because they are either accepted in the black community.

At the end of the film, she goes to the station to say goodbye to him. The train leaves and she remains motionless on the platform. She realizes that perfect life has turned into a never-ending hell.

There’s a memorable quote for this film that I want you to know:

Cathy: “That was the day I stopped believing in the wild ardor of things. Perhaps in love, as well. That kind of love. The love on books and films. The love that tell us to abandon our lives and plans, all for one brief touch of Venus. So often we fail at that kind of love. The world just seems too fragile a place for it. And of every other kind, life remains full. Perhaps it’s just we who are too fragile.

1/10 Score: 8

Film Review by Silvia Blanco

Not miss this flight!!!

Film Title: The Terminal
Year: 2004
Location: JFK airport in New York
Genre: Comedy, drama, romance
Runtime: 128 minutes
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast:
Tom Hanks………………………..……Victor Navorski
Catherine Zeta-Jones ………......…Amelia Warren
Stanley Tucci……………..................Frank Dixon
Chi McBride……………………………Joe Mulroy
Diego Luna……………………….....…Enrique Cruz
Zoë Saldana……………………………Dolores Torres
kmar Pallana…………….............Gupta

SYNOPSIS:

SYNOPSIS:

This is the story of a Bulgarian traveller, named Viktor Navorski, (Tom Hanks) who flies to New York to visit it. While he is in the air his country starts a military coup, therefore he turns into a man without country with a passport from nowhere. In fact he is not allowed out of the John F. Kennedy International Airport. So he must wait and live in the terminal until United States recognize officially Krakozhia, Viktor’s country. Only after that, Viktor could leave the airport, either to visit New York New York or come back home. In addition, Frank Dixon, the official in charge of the airport’s security and who ban Viktor go out of the airport, expects that Navorski break the rules and leave. However, he waits and waits for months. In fact, he tries to earn money to eat and learn English buying books and newspapers in the terminal, becoming friendships, … Finally and thanks to this experience, he realizes that people can be understanding, generous, amusing and friendly. Viktor had even a romance with a beautiful flight assistant named Amelia (Catherine Zeta-Jones).

LANGUAGE:

The language used in The Terminal is chiefly American English. On the one hand most of the characters speak standard American English, for instance Amelia, Dolores, Dixon, and other officials, but some others only can TRY to speak correctly, such as Gupta (who is Indian), Enrique (he is Spanish), some others foreign characters and of course Viktor Navorski (who is Bulgarian). Indeed, when Viktor arrives at the terminal, he cannot speak almost any English, only some phrases taking from a book, so we can say these three characters, speak a particular broken English each, mainly last one.

OPINION:

From my point of view, The Terminal is a good comedy directed by Steven Spielberg. The fact is that I have watched this film twice, firstly in Spanish and secondly in English.

It is very curious because the first time I thought that it was so long and really boring, but oddly this time has been different: I have discovered the entertaining and romantic side of the film, which has made me have a funny moment. I like it also because the story is highly interesting for me. I consider it could be possible. Nowadays who has not spent hours and hours in an airport?

I think that one of the purpose of watching a film should be enjoying, alone or with somebody else, laugh and having a nice time. And with The Terminal, Spielberg has achieved it again (as he has done it with other films).

This is a good one for watching with the family or some friends. I really recommend it. After watching this film you will never look an airport the same way. Nott miss this flight!!!

1/10 SCORE: 8

FILM REVIEW

Film Title: Laws of Attraction
Country/ Year: Ireland/UK/Germany 2004
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Director: Peter Howitt
Writing Credits: WGA

Cast: Pierce Brosnan (Daniel Rafferty), Julianne Moore (Audrey Woods), Michael Sheen (Thorne Jamison),Parker Posey( Serena), Frances Fisher (Sara Miller), Nora Dunn (Judge Abramovitz)

PLOT/SYNOPSIS:

Nowadays The United States has the weakest families in the Western world because they have the highest divorce rate. This experience is showed in the Laws of Attraction.

Daniel Rafferty and Julianne Moore are successful New York divorce lawyers. Despite the difference in methods, neither lawyer has lost a case. For Woods, who lives under the shadow of her mum (Sara Miller) and spends her time watching the Weather Channel, Rafferty is too good lawyer so they are often competing against each other. In the first case that they work like opponents,on the evening before the trial they go out,drink a lot and they have an affair. She loses her first case in court when Daniel uses information disclosed by Audrey in their meeting in the previous night. She becomes upset with him and their competition increases, until the rock star Thorne Jaminson and his wife Serena hire Audrey and Daniel respectively in the millionaire divorce case. They have to go to Ireland to interview the workers of the castle. Neither lawyer wants to acknowledge the fact that they feel mutual attraction. By chance a romantic Irish country festival is being celebrated while they are in Ireland. After a night of wild celebrating they wake up the next morning as man and wife. Audrey is very surprise because the situation and they return to New York where they decide that Daniel moves to Audrey's house. Some problems happen and Audrey wants the divorce while Daniel wants to save their marriage.

ANALYSIS:

Laws of Attraction is set in America and Ireland two places which have different costumes. The first part of the film is set in New York where both lawyers live. Audrey lives in a beautiful, comfortable and tidy house while Daniel lives in a small and untidy apartment. The second part of the story is set in Dublin where we can see typical Irish costumes like dances and music.

About the soundtrack, this romantic comedy has adapted very well the music in all the scenes since in this movie we can listen a charming orchestral score brilliantly performed by the London Metropolitan Orchestra, Celtic music when they are in the Irish pub and there are people who are dancing typical Irish dance. Also features the Pop ballad "Maybe" and the traditional Irish jig. There aren't special effects or visual effects to mention due to the genre of the film.

This movie shows a different point of view of how confront the marriage, Audrey thinks that she never gets married while Daniel thinks people have to fight for their love.

In spite of the limitations of the script, since it never varies from the expected formula, both stars shine. Moore is a good actress who has been nominated four time Oscar and Pierce Brosnan acts quite well in this comedy. This character represents a welcome change for the actor who has become synonymous with the world's best-known superspy. Moreover, the dialogues are appropiated to the plot and the cinematography of the lush Irish countryside is lovely.

The theme of Laws of Attraction is "love" because of that this film would be appeal to all the family women, men and children.

OPINION:

From my point of view Laws of Attraction is an enjoyable and entertaining romantic comedy which has all the ingredients to be a film that can see all the family.

TYPED OF LANGUAGE USED:

This film uses American British English and Irish. When the film is set in New York all the charapters speak American English with colloquialism but when they are in Ireland the workers of the castle speak Irish and British English.

The Rio Carnival

Although Carnival is celebrated in towns and villages throughout Brazil and other Catholic countries, Rio de Janeiro has long been regarded as the Carnival Capital of the World. The Rio Carnival is not only the biggest Carnival, benchmark against which every other carnival is compared but also one of the most interesting artistic global events. Pretty much everyone has heard of the Rio Carnival. Foreign visitors to it alone number around 500,000 every year.
One of the greatest elements of the Rio Carnival is that it not only provides entertainment for many people around the world but at the same time it gives also a chance to learn about the true culture of Brazil.
It is a euphoric event where people dance, sing, party and have tons of fun. There are many parties that take place before, during and after Carnival all night and all day. It allows someone's true heart to come out and have as much fun as possible.
Carnival is very significant to the people of Brazil. There are carnival celebrations in virtually every corner of Brazil, the best-known ones taking place in Recife together with the neighboring Olinda (in the North of Brazil) and Salvador. But the biggest and most famous carnival is undoubtedly the Carnival in Rio de Janeiro.

How to make a "Mojito"

Ingredients:

6 or 8 leafs fresh mint
½ lime cut into wedges
2 Tsp sugar
Ice cubes
1 ½ ounce light Rum
club soda to fill the glass

Preparation:

In a tall glass, muddle mint sprigs with lime and sugar to release the flavours.
Add ice, rum and club soda and stir together.
Drink with a straw.

Let's cook a French Omelet for dinner

Items needed for each omelet:
2 eggs,
1 tablespoon milk,
Butter,
Salt and pepper to taste.
Break eggs into a bowl.
Beat (or mix) eggs with a whisk until foamy.
Pour (or add) the milk and mix.
Add a pinch of salt and pepper (or add salt and pepper to taste)
In a non-stick omelette pan melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat, when butter stops foaming, pour in eggs, swirling around pan to distribute evenly.
Cook, lifting sides of omelette to let uncooked egg flow underneath, until almost set (or golden), (about 1 minute). Fold omelette with the help of a wooden or plastic fork and cook for an additional 20 seconds. (If you are an authority in the subject, you can flip the omelette).
Serve at once with a side salad.
Enjoy your meal!
Bon appétit!