Our Party and The Stars!

Dear Cinephiles,
I want to thank you all for embarking on this adventure called "English Thru Movies".

The stories, the characters, our own experiences were all rich sources of English language improvement and personal growth. We all learned a lot from each other!!!

(picture taken by Catarina, our pro)

Our end-of-the year party was a lot of fun. Yummy food, beautiful Xmas decoration, friendly chat!

But the top moment of the night was the acting!!!

Pictures

1)Performed by Claudia 2) Beatriz 3)Julio 4)Renata 5)Maria 6) Claudia

Your impersonations of Laura (The Hours), Latika (Slumdog Millionaire), Melvin (As Good As It Gets), Angela (American Beauty) and Su-Chin (Juno) were flawless... superb... worth Oscar Awards!!!

I'm looking forward to seeing you all in March with more movies, more language development and more fun.

To those taking the Summer Course, BE WELCOME!!!

Our next movie is...

MIDNIGHT COWBOY with fantastic performances of Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight; and amazing, unforgetable music.
Go to http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064665/

Cheers!

Cláudia

Last class of the year!!!

Week 2 - "The Human Stain"

How would you compare the character played by Anthony Hopkins, Coleman, with any other character in the other movies we saw this year?
And Nicole Kidman's Faunia?
And Gary Sinise's Zuckerman?

Use three adjectives to describe each one of the characters.

Write your answers in the "comments" slot below or send an e-mail.

Last but not least... THE HUMAN STAIN

Week 1
How far would you go to scape the past?





Based on the novel "The Human Stain"

by Philip Roth.

Director: Robert Benton

Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Nicole Kidman, Ed Harris, Gary Sinise.

Go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzXqXfBlfcM and watch the trailer.

In the "comments" slot below...

Name a film directed/written by Robert Benton;

Name a novel written by Philip Roth;

Name a film starred by

Nicole Kidman;

Anthony Hopkins;

Ed Harris;

Gary Sinise.

Enjoy the film! This is the last (but not least) film we will work on this year!!!

THE VISITOR

Week 2

"The Visitor strings together unlikely events in the lives of a professor and his visitors. Remarkably sincere and touching, the unimaginable events feel natural. Awkward Connecticut economics professor Walter Vale (Richard Jenkins) has essentially checked out from his job, his personality and his life. Walter is forced by circumstance to return to his abandoned New York City apartment. When he returns ..."

The extract above was taken from a viewer's comment at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0857191/
-Go to this page (scroll down to "user's comment" by author: laraemeadows from United States ),
-read all the comment (to be discussed next class);
-copy and paste the adjectives the author uses to describe the characters, or the actors/actresses' performances;
-add 1 or 2 more adjectives of your own describing each character or their acting.

You may post it on our blog (under "comment") or send it by e-mail to all your classmates.

Next Film - THE VISITOR

Week 1

A college professor travels to New York to attend a conference and finds a young couple living in his apartment.

-Watch the trailer and search for a summary/synopsis of this movie on your favorite Internet movie site.
-Copy and paste the summary here under "comment" or send it to your classmates by e-mail.

Next Movie: "American Beauty"

From ghosts to "reeeeal" people,

maybe "too real"!

5 Oscars Awards

including

BEST PICTURE

Go to

http://www.eslnotes.com/movies/html/american-beauty.html

Read the summary. There's an extensive glossary to help you while you watch the film!

After having watched, copy and paste the summary in a Word file and add 2 sentences to it (beginning/middle/end of each paragraph) created by you.

Enjoy it!!!

Angels, Ghosts ... Whatchamacallit!

This week we are going to compare City of Angels with Ghost.
What do they have in common; how do they differ?

Watch the trailer:


Vocab ;-)
When Molly says "I love you", Sam usually replies "ditto".
What does "ditto" mean?

Week 2 - "City of Angels"

There's a scene in "City of Angels" in which Seth asks Maggie to describe how a pear tastes.

Seth: What's that like? What does it taste like? Describe it like Hemingway.
Maggie Rice: Well, it tastes like a pear. You don't know what a pear tastes like?
Seth: I don't know what a pear tastes like to you.
Maggie Rice: Sweet, juicy, soft on your tongue, grainy like a sugary sand that dissolves in your mouth. How's that?
Seth: It's perfect.

Task: describe what a specific fruit tastes like (click on "comment" and use the space provided to post your answer).
You may use the vocabulary in this link http://www.world-food-and-wine.com/describing-food.html to help you.

Next Movie: "City of Angels" starring Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan

What would you do if you fell in love with an angel or... if an angel fell in love with you?
Our next film... City of Angels!!!
Watch the trailer


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zSG_oVliis&feature=related

Week 2 - Back to "Juno"

Before our meeting this week, go to
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0467406/quotes
You will read several quotes and exchanges extracted from "Juno".
Choose at least two excerpts and comment on them.
Copy and paste the first words of the original text before your comment.

JUNO starring Ellen Page and Michael Cera

JUNO - Week 1

- Answer the poll on the left side of this page.
- Support your answer with at least two more sentences in the comment box below.
- Go to http://www.foxsearchlight.com/juno/ (Juno's Official Site)
Click on Menu, About, and read the Synopsis.
Scroll down, choose one of the reviews in
"See what the critics are saying" and read it.
- Does this review make you feel like watching this movie (again)?
Answer this question in the comment box below.

Cinephiles in Action

Hey, Gals!

Don’t we look great? You look so well-behaved in the picture!
Julio and Alessandra, see what you missed not being there today?
Well, this is the end of “A Beautiful Mind” chapter.
Next… “Juno”, a Jason Reitman’s film.
Keep posted. News soon!

Next Movie

The next movie to be watched and discussed has been chosen by Maria: "JUNO".
Thanks, Maria. Great choice!

A Beautiful Mind (2001) - Taglines

A Beautiful Mind (2001) - Taglines: "It is only in the mysterious equation of love that any logical reasons can be found"

This is one of the taglines in A Beautiful Mind. Click on the link above, choose one statement and write two sentences relating it to the film.

Week 2

Go to http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0268978/
- Read the FAQ at the bottom of the page.
Which question(s) interested you most?
What was your reaction to the answer(s)?

Week 1

A BEAUTIFUL MIND

View the trailer.



Go to http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0268978/
-Read the summary.
-Watch the movie at home.

A Brief Note on Princeton and MIT:

Most of the film centers around John’s life at two of the best Universities in the United States. Princeton is located in the small town of Princeton, New Jersey, about an hour from New York City. When John arrived as a young student in the late 1940’s, Albert Einstein was still a professor there (he died in 1955, having been at Princeton for nearly 20 years).

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, known by most as MIT, is perhaps the most prestigious school of technology and applied sciences in the world (in the film, John taught for a few years at a defense department center at MIT called the Wheeler Institute). MIT is located just minutes from Harvard University, in Boston, Massachusetts, which probably has more excellent universities than any city in the world. (source: http://www.english-trailer.com/)