Hail, Caesar! Review

Hail, Caesar! is the last production of the Coen brothers, starring Josh Brolin,George Clooney, Scarlett Johanson, Ralph Fiennes, Alden Ehrenreich, Tilda Swinton, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill and more. It's a comedy that follows the kidnapping of Baird Whitlock, an actor in the 1950's, and how Eddie Mannix, a Hollywood fixer for Capitol Records, has to deal with the problem before the news reach to the media while keeping all the actors of all the productions in line. It's a fantastic comedy that clearly has the name of the Coen brothers stamped on it. If you like their humor, chances are this can be a good film to watch for you!

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Eddie Mannix works for Capitol Records in the 50's, in the heart of Hollywood. His work consists on having everything under control in all the productions. In particular, he keeps an eye on actors and directors, having to deal with their problems himself so the show can go on. Baird Whitlock, a well-known actor, is starring as the main character in the companies' latest production: Hail, Caesar! But, as a result of a hidden conspiracy, he is kidnapped and taken away. Eddie Mannix has to find a way to solve this problem before anyone else realises that the actor has gone, indeed, missing.

George Clooney as Baird Whitlock

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Personally, I really enjoyed the humor in this film. However, I understand that it's not the kind of humor that everyone likes. The story was simple but well developed, with some twists here and there. The characters were outstanding on their own, specially Eddie Mannix played by Josh Brolin and Hobie Doyle played by Alden Ehrenreich, in my opinion. The performances were all great and made the film funnier and with a good final result. I had seen George Clooney in another Coen's film, Burn after reading, and I was glad that they chose him again for this film (just the faces he makes are priceless). I also liked the way 50's Hollywood was shown in the movie. You could see all the sets and the little problems between the actors and the directors. This is why I found Eddie Mannix's character so interesting: he was the man in the shadows that everyone knew and trusted with their problems. On the other hand, my favourite performance was Alden Ehrenreich's Hobie Doyle, he was by far the funniest character and he did a great job portraying it.

Here's Alden Ehrenreich and Ralph Fiennes as Hobie Doyle and Laurence Laurentz.

In my opinion, one of the funniest scenes.

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One thing I didn't like about the film is that the story could've been more developed. It had more potential, in my opinion, that it was given. It was still a good story, it's just that I expected something more. Anyways, I enjoyed it and laughed a lot.

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As a conclusion, if you like comedies with silly characters and plot complications that no one had thought about, then this film is for you. All I can say is that the Coen brother's films never fail to surprise me, and this has been no different!

Here's the trailer!

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It will only cost your privacy

In 140 characters people can share their opinion on anything they want thanks to Twitter. They can share their life, what they are doing, who they are with, who's their friend and who isn't... There are many social networks through which we can express ourselves.

However, what happens when all your life is exposed? When everyone feels free to give their thoughts about you away on the Internet? Imagine they're interested in you, they want to know everything and even more about your life, they make speculations on your actions and analize your every move. It would be extremely bothering, right? Well, at least that's how I see it. Regardless of how unfamiliar this may seem to most of us, that's what fame is about nowadays.

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More than ever, famous people are followed and stalked not only by paparazzi, but also by their fans. More over, the total freedom of the Internet and social networks creates a bigger exposure to every kind of opinion, both good and bad. From the safety of our their homes, some people feel untouchable and powerful on the Internet and they forget one thing that is baseic to every human being: respect. In my opinion, the fact that someone is on the spotlight and their life may be the centre of the public eye doesn't give us the right to disrespect them whether it's stalking them lika a crazed fanatic (I'm talking about extreme cases, of course) or criticizing their person and actions without taking into account how bad it must feel. After all we are all humans, we're the same, and that means famous people can be as hurt by unnecessary hate as anyone else. That is wrong and not only if it happens to famous people but everybody.

Of course, on the other hand, social networks have become a major boost to a lot of celebrities. They can be closer to their fans and have more interaction with them.

As a conclusion, I think that social networks are helpful for famous people to connect with their fans, but they're also a great source of problems. Too many people take the Internet as a lawless territory where anything is allowed but, as humans, I think that we shouldn't forget to respect one another so easily.

Here's a video of Jimmy Kimmel's TV talk show that I think sums it up!

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Russian Man May Face Prison For Saying 'There Is No God'

This piece of news was written by Alexandra Ma for the Huffington Post online newspaper on the 3rd March of 2016.

The news is about Viktor Krasnov, a Russian man who is facing a trial that may result in one year of prison, or a 300,000 rubles fine, for saying that "There is No God" on a social network called VKontakte. He also said that the Bible was a bunch of Jewish fairytales and mispelled "God". Article 148 from 2013 (according to the article, it "criminalizes acts that insult people's religious feelings and beliefs") is the law that condemns Viktor's actions.

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He is not the first one to be criminalized by this law. Two members of the band Pussy Riot faced two years of prison for making a song where Virgin Mary told Putin to go away. The trial caused a worldwide outrage.

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The online discussion was between Viktor Krasnov, Dmitry Buryashev and Alexander Kravtsov. Krasnov used his comments to stand up for sexist comments from the other two. Burnyashev and Kravtsov reported him to the police. Krasnov and his family started to receive threats from Orthodox Christians (his mother almost lost her job), but the police didn't want to do anything about it. Although the discussion is still active on VKontakte, Krasnov's comments have been deleted.

According to the article, though there's is no official religion in Russia, around 70 per cent of the population is Orthodox Christian.

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In my opinion, this is very deplorable. Not Krasnov's actions, but the Russian court's. Nowadays, people are free to speak their minds online, and there is nothing that can change so much from one person to another than religious feelings. You can be an extreme Orthodox Christian, a jew, an atheist... It doesn't matter. Your feelings are yours, no one's taking that away from you. But to harm others and condemn them claiming to "defend" your religion? That is not how it works. And what is even more shameful is that the Russian "justice" is criminalizing this. What about the sexist comments from Burnyashev and Kravtsov? Do those not matter? Are those not punishable? Well, in this case, they should take a closer look at that as well.

VOCABULARY

prosecuted: to begin or conduct legal proceedings against (a person), as with a criminal charge in a court of law.

fine: money imposed as a penalty for an offense.

amid: in the middle of.

Joy as twin boys joined at the stomach are successfully separated by surgeons using a 3D PRINTER

This piece of news was written by Kate Pickles for Mailonline, from the Daily Mail online newspaper, on the 7th March of 2016.

The news is about two conjoined twins from China that have been successfully separated thanks to a 3D printer. Their names are Yu Ce Yuan and Yu Ce Xiang, and their abdomens were conjoined at birth. After sending in accurate data from the babies medical and physical conditions to a 3d printing company, they could create replacements for the conjoined parts of the twins' bodies and, in that way, they ensured their survival.

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This, however, was possible after a 12-hour operation at Children's Hospital of Fudan University (Shanghai). The hospital had only faced nine cases of conjoined twins and, according to Dr. Zhen Shang, this was by far the most difficult one. Nevertheless, life would've been imposible or a nightmare for these children if they hadn't gone through the operation. The operation consisted in separating their liver and pelvic bone after reconstructing the cavities with the 3d printed pieces. Even though both babies are doing fine, doctors say they'll need futher operations.

The parents received help from donations from around the world thanks to Love Without Boundaries (a charity), that paid for the medical taxes and for the operation fee.

Yu Ce Yuan and Yu Ce Xiang before the operation

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After the operation

In my opinion this is great news. The applications of 3D printers amaze me. This is not the only medical advance that has been posible thanks to this kind of technology, but also many more. Also, I've seen some work in architecture using 3D printers! Although I think they should be a little bit controlled (can you create a gun that works? Better be careful with that), I believe that this invention is, and will keep being, something that will help us in a lot of different areas. Also, once again, this demonstrates that technology can make a better world, if we know how to use it.

VOCABULARY

conjoined twins: two babies born joined together at some point, such as the hips. Some have lived for many years without being surgically separated.

bladder: a hollow organ in the body that is shaped like a bag and may hold gases or liquids, esp. urine.

discharge: to release or send away.

Art or crime?

Take a look at this picture:

by Borondo, in India

What about this one?

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I'm sure you've seen a lot of these as well:

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We all know graffiti, but is it art or crime?

Some people say that graffitis damage the visual impression of the buildings in which they're painted. It is considered a crime because it modifies private (or public) walls without any permission (not all of them, though).

On the other hand, there are people who think that graffitis are another way of art. This is actually what I think, and now I'll try to explain why.

For me, graffitis can revitalize the city (or anywhere really) with art, using new shape and color. As any kind of art, it's a way of expression that can give many different stories to the boring walls that we see everyday. Graffiti is not only a diversion for some people, it is also used as a way to vindicate and call society out.

An example of this vindicative art is the work of Banksy, an artist that has become famous around the world for his urban art pieces with deep and meaningful meaning against society. Here I'll show you some examples:

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He has made a huge impression with these paintings around the world, and has won recognition as the artist he is. Last year he was able to open an art project by the name of Dismaland, located in Sommerset and mocking the amusement park of Disneyland, though it is anything but amusing. He wanted to do the same that he does with his art: open your eyes to how our society is.

Additionally, a lot of graffitis are stunningly beautiful and some of them could be considered masterpieces. One way or another, it's art, just like any painting that you'll see in a gallery for an insane fee. This kind of art is totally free. It's made by the people and for the people, with a wish to express.

One thing that really impressed me about graffitis was the remainings of the Berlin Wall. During our 4th ESO trip, we visited the monument and it was all decorated with artsy graffitis  that I loved. Here I have some of the pictures I took:

Well, I know that these are not the typical type of graffiti. On the other hand, I know that many street art pieces have a lot of street and very little bit of art. But just the fact that some artists aren't really good doesn't mean that graffitis should be banned! That would be like saying that no one should have been able to paint if their art didn't look like Leonardo's, Van Gogh's or Turner's.

So if you are an artist in need of inspiration remember that the street can also be your canvas!

How you can erase painful memories just by moving your eyes

This piece of news was written by Alice Smellie for the Daily Mail online newspaper on the 6th March of 2016.

The news is about Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), a successful therapy that has proven to be effective in cases of anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, stress and more. The method consists in moving your right hand back and forth in front of the patient's eyes between 25 and 30 times in intervals in long sessions (up to one hour in some therapies). EMDR is used to eliminate bad memories that we have and, by doing so, increase our wellbeing. It was first developed by psychologist Francine Saphiro.

According to Dr. Robin Logie (EMDR Association in UK and Ireland), the reason why we remember bad memories more than anything else is that our brains can't process them. Memories go through a mental process that allows us to assimilate them and gain experience and knowleadge from them. It doesn't work the same with bad memories: the brain is unable to assimilate. In addition, the sensorial part of the brain (sounds, smell, vision...) is the active one instead of the rational part when we recall this kind of memories, so the sensation we get is more vivid and not objective at all. This can make us feel really bad, both physically and emotionally. In the article, Saphiro even stated that there are between 10 and 20 memories stored in our brains that cause most of the pain in our lives.

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The method has proven to be successful in many cases and it's training is now compulsory for the Ministry of Defence mental health personnel. However, Dr. Logie warns that you should put yourself in the hands of a specialist.

The method doesn't erase the memory completely. What it does is that it diminishes the emotional charge it has so the brain can reprocess it and, as the article says, "put it in the right place". In this way the memory is still there, but it doesn't cause us any bad emotions.

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There are two theories on why this works. The first one says that it's like the REM fase of our sleep, in which we aren't able to focus on emotions because of our eye movement and can only process situations. The other says that our brains are less focused on emotions when distracted with something to do, with a work to do.

In my opinion this is a very interesting method. I think that a bad memory can haunt you forever, and for you to be able to calm yourself down and get rid off that bad feelings it causes you is a great thing and definetly an improving in wellbeing. I hadn't heard about this therapy before, but it seems like a helpful method that can be used in a lot of areas, such as PTSD. I'm very glad to know that such therapies (that don't involve pills or anything like that) are helping so much in nowadays society to make our lives a little bit easier.

Here's the news' video!



VOCABULARY

desensitize: to lessen the sensitivity of something.

pathway: a path, course, route or way.

ludicrous: causing or deserving laughter because of being absurd; ridiculous; laughable.

Vikings

Like I did with Fargo, I'm going to introduce you another of my favourite series: Vikings, from History channel. Soon the 4th season will be aired, and the show is still great.

The series follows the story of Ragnar Lothbrook, a Viking farmer and warrior whose ambition and interest in sailing to other parts of the world drives him and his people through a lot of events, cultural shock and battles (many battles). The journey starts with the discovering of Britain, where he captures a monk named Athelstan and makes him his slave. Ragnar has an unusual willing to learn from Athelstan's culture: language, politics and, what is more controversial and shocking for both sides, religion. We see very different evolutions: a Christian having to adapt to the Vikings' ways and a Viking making strategies using knowleadge of a culture from another land, and all this while dealing with civil wars and betrayal. Here's a good trailer I found for season 1!

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One of the best things of Vikings is its historical accuracy. History Channel, honoring its name, has taken special care in showing the Viking culture as it was, and also, reproducing the story of Ragnar Lothbrook (a real legend in Viking history) as closely as posible, while introducing other characters from real history (Rollo, Bjorn, Lagertha...). This is probably what I like the most of this series, because I can imagine the way this people lived and how his society and culture worked. I've learned that the Viking society was really familiar and about bonding, without too much restricting rules, but with the same cruelty and ambition as the Christian kingdoms. It's another way to see what history has many times called "northern barbarians".

On the other hand, I also find the characters really interesting. Starting with Ragnar, I'm amazed of how he always has a strategy in mind, surprising everyone in the last minute. He manages to rise with his ambition and follow his dream, involving everyone in it. He is cocky because he can see through everyone's intentions and he is cleverer than most of them think, with this being his main weapon to defeat others. The many turn of events he has caused has driven the viewers crazy since season one. The other side of the coin is Athelstan, the Christian monk that is captured by the Vikings and turnt into a slave. His will to survive in this new society he finds himself in without renouncing to his religion is something really difficult. In this two videos we can see the different points of view that the story has through this two interesting characters:

Meet Ragnar

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Meet Athelstan

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As a conclusion, if you enjoy history and adventures with a more serious tint this is probably one TV show that you'll love. Let's just hope that season 4 is good to the characters!

Ragnar is also eager for the next season to start.

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Fargo

So I'd like to talk about one of my favourite series: Fargo. I'm still going through season 2 but exams make it difficult to watch the new episodes. That's why I will focus on season 1, which I loved.

The series is an original adaptation of the award-winning movie Fargo (1996) and it was directed by the Coen brothers (one of the reasons why I love it). It's described as a black humor comedy and crime drama series. Here's the trailer!

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Fargo follows the story of Lester Nygaard, a salesman from Minnesota who's always been nagged by other people: bullied at school, unappreciated by his wife and brother... He's not the man everyone wants him to be. An unfortunate incident with Sam Hess (his school bully) results in a broken nose and a hospital waiting room, where Lester meets a strange man: Lorne Malvo. There he tells him what happened and Malvo starts asking him why doesn't he stand up for himself. Later on the conversation, Malvo suggests killing Sam Hess for him, and althought Lester doesn't agree, he doesn't clearly refuse either. When Hess appears dead a few days later, Lester finds himself involved in something dark that doesn't only include Lorne Malvo, but also himself.

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Personally, I've always preferred crime series that are more realistic and follow one single case throughout the season. In that way, you can make your own theories on who's the killer, where is the kidnapped person... I believe that they have a lot more emotion and cause more involvement from the viewers that the typical detective/cops series that are able to solve a crime in one single episode. In my opinion, that is a good thing if you want to watch one, two, or even three episodes, but, in time, it gets boring, because you always know how it'll end: they get the bad guys and lock them in prison. But when you find yourself with a case that is thrilling and seems too clueless and complicated to be solved in one episode, you become, along with the characters, a detective. You can't stop thinking about why this character did this thing, if it's too unlikely for someone to be the killer, if that apparently innocent person is hiding something from the detective... There are many possibilities, and the curiosity of "what will happen next" always drives you to binge-watch the show. Some of these series that I totally love are: The Killing (on of the best in my opinion), The Missing, Broadchurch, Happy Valley, True Detective, Fargo, The Tunnel, Fortitude (this one is a bit different, though), Top of the Lake...

Something that I really liked about Fargo is how the characters surprised you more and more throughout the season, specially Lester Nygaard, who suffers a dramatic change. I find this interesting, because you see the evolution of a man who has always been told he's weak, less than others and a complete loser after being involved in such dark events. Also, Lorne Malvo's insensitivity gives his character an unpredictable storyline.

This pretty much sums up every character's

thoughts in Fargo

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Plus, the series is full of interesting reflections and riddles that leave you confused and willing to resolve them, like this one right here:

My reaction and the cop's were the same.

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To sum up, if you like crime series and dark humor, this is a good choice, I guess, at least I know I really liked it! One thing is certain: it won't leave you apathetic.