Boyhood movie

YAY A NEW MOVIE! Recently in media class, we god to watch the movie Boyhood.

Richard Linklater's Boyhood is a coming-of-age drama that the director spent twelve years making. He cast a young boy, Ellar Coltrane, and shot the film a few days at a time for over a decade so that he could capture how his leading actor, and the rest of his cast, aged. The film's story simply follows a boy named Mason (Coltrane) as he progresses from age 6 to 18 and deals with the typical travails of childhood like his parents' divorce, bad stepparents, falling in love, finding his artistic voice, and fighting with his bratty older sister. Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette co-star as Mason's parents. 

What I really found interesting about this movie was the fact the it took 12 whole years to make! Thats ALOT of commitment from everyone apart of the movie. I found that the movie had a deeper meaning than you could tell. The message was clear, everyone must grow up so you should make the process meaningful.

I would recommend this movie to everyone! Here is a link to watch the trailer!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ys-mbHXyWX4

Intouchables Review

Recently in class, our teacher introduced a move called "Intouchables" to us. At first, I was so happy that we were watching a movie instead of doing work, then she told us the movie was french....so reading subtitles.....so basically this was work. I decided the movie was going to be horrible, BUT then something happened, I ACTUALLY WATCHED IT, and it was AMAZING.

In summary, The Intouchables tells the true story of a wealthy, physically disabled risk taker, the picture of established French nobility, who lost his wife in an accident and whose world is turned upside down when he hires a young, good-humored, black  ex-con as his caretaker. Their bond proves the power and omniscience that love and friendship can hold over all social and economic differences.

Personally, I found that what put the movie really over the edge was that it was based on a true story. It made you laugh, cry, smile and really let you connect with the actors. The movie really reaches out to you. Intouchables was a special movie, because not many movies these days can really teach you morality, and about everyday life. Intouchables was truly a uplifting movie, and I'd recommend it any person of any age.

#TorontoIsFailingMe

"#TorontoIsFailingMe" is a feature showed on a online news article/magazine called Toronto Life. Any person in Toronto can tweet, email, or write a short article or paragraph about the truth of living in Toronto. Some of these stories are heartwarmingly filled with hope and pride while others are more tragic and sad. Reading any of these articles really gives you a inside look on the inner suburbs of Toronto.

The first post that I read that really touched me, was by a 29 year old named Abirami Jayaratnam. She spoke about how her parents fled from Sri Lanka, to a new country and had to try to emerge themselves into the Canadian culture, which wasn't easy for them. They had to take on multiple jobs that they weren't even comfortable with just for their children. For years and years  Abirami's parents have been there to support her and her brother and now at 29, she is supporting for them. This story is both hopeful and tragic as she cannot reap all the perks of being a young adult living in such an exciting city as she is too busy working and providing for her parents. I can relate to this girl, as we are similar in cultural backgrounds. Although my parents did not struggle as much as her's, they definitely gave up alot to come to Canada and start a future for the people they loved-us.


The second post I came across is more of a heartwarming story, with a touch of tragedy, told by Nayameth Syed. He has a daughter who attends a school in the East York area. Her school was very over crowded, where most student were learning in portables. On top of that, they learned in very...unsanitary conditions, to say the least. Raccoon Infestations, contaminated water and student rashes were just a few of the problems. After TDSB shut down complains as there were not enough funds to fix the issues, many students including Nayameth and his daughter started to protest. This lead to the TDSB fixing some of the problems. Although they didn't fix everything, this goes to show how powerful a small amount of people can be. Nayameth believed his daughter deserved better, and he is on the path to get that.

This whole campaign is general is very eye opening. It's great to see whats happening in our city-the good and the bad!

Book #1: Slammed

The first  book I'll be talking about is called "Slammed", by colleen hoover and is easily one of my favorites!

Slammed is a young adult novel written by Colleen Hoover, and is about the struggle of eighteen year-old Layken Cohen to deal with her mother's terminal cancer, and her love for Will Cooper, her English teacher and neighbor.

When the novel begins, Layken's father has been dead for six months, having died of a heart attack. Julia, Layken's mother, and Kel, Layken's younger brother, move to Julia's hometown in Michigan since they can no longer afford to live in Texas, and so Julia can take a better job. Kel at once befriends Caulder, who lives with his older brother, Will, across the street. Will and Layken hit it off immediately -only later to discover that Will is Layken's teacher. While Layken pushes ahead with their relationship, Will tries to hold it off. He is twenty-one, and graduating from college early. His parents were killed a few years before in an auto accident, and Will has been taking care of his brother since. He has a lot to lose.

All the while, Will teaches Layken about life, as does Layken's mother - who is actually dying of cancer, having moved to Michigan to be near a specialist. Will also teaches Layken about poetry, and about how poetry can be therapeutic and important. Eventually, Layken's mother tells her to go after Will, and to think with her heart instead of her head. Layken does so. When the novel ends, she and Will have been dating for more than a year, and Layken's mother has passed on. But her mother leaves a note for her and her brother, telling them to keep on living, and signing it with her love.

This book will make you cry, laugh then cry again. It just touches your heart in so many ways, and is the opposite of boring. It's a great read and definitely worth your time! A link to an excerpt from the book is posted below. Warning! Once you start, you won't be able to stop.

http://books.simonandschuster.com.au/Slammed/Colleen-Hoover/9781471125676

David Suzuki

Dr. David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author, and co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation. He is Companion to the Order of Canada and a recipient of UNESCO's Kalinga Prize for science, the United Nations Environment Program medal, the 2009 Right Livelihood Award, and Global 500. Dr. Suzuki is Professor Emeritus at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and holds 26 honorary degrees from universities around the world. He has written many articles, one of which is called "Energy shift requires shift in conversion".

This article is discussing how ineffective Canada's energy plan is, saying that we have "no national energy plan". Suzuki talks about the dire need to switch from fossil fuel to a different type of energy source, to undo the ecological upset. He emphasizes on the many horrible events dues to Canada's climate change such as the destruction of $65 billion worth of B.C. trees by mountain pine beetles — once kept under control by winters with temperatures below -30 C for a week or more. The article in whole, is really pushing that the government needs to be aware of these issues and step up their act by using a more efficient source of energy.

The article linked below has some relation to Suzuki's article. It agrees with the article, by saying that fossil fuels are bad for the earth by changing temperature and gives us a new solution, imitating photosynthesis to make energy. Personally, I feel that this new approach is interesting and could work but needs more testing to ensure its reliability.

http://theconversation.com/to-shift-away-from-fossil-fuels-we-need-to-copy-plants-33636

Dora The Explorer Spoof

In Media class this past week, we have been learning about spoofs. A spoof is a humorous imitation of something, Typically a film or a particular genre of film, In which its 
characteristic features are exaggerated for comic effect.

 I've recently come acros a spoof of every childs favorite television show, "Dora the Explorer". For those who don't know about this show, it's basically the adventures of a young girl named Dora, her monkey Boots, Backpack and other animated friends. In each episode, viewers join Dora on an adventure in an animated world set inside a computer. The titular character seeks viewers' help in solving a puzzle or mystery she faces in each episode. 
This spoof is a trailer for a Dora the Explorer movie, which of course is not real. Created by a youtube account called "college humour", the trailer includes the main characters of the hit television show such as Dora, Boots, Swiper and many more! The spoof is funny because at first look, you actually think the trailer is legitimate. It's that good! What made it hilarious to me, was my personal connection to the show. Every teenager like myself who has younger siblings, or even younger cousins know this show way too well for their own liking. To see this show that I am forced to watch all the time with younger cousins, made into a tailer made it very funny to me. What makes it even better, is that the trailer is made with real people not animated characters like in the actual tv show, which had me laughing. To see a an actor about 22 dressed in shorts, a t- shirt and a magical talking back pack is really comical. On top of that, the plot line of the trailer seems so serious you can't help but laugh at how ridiculous the whole thing is. Although the trailer is a complete joke, I'd actually consider watching the movie if it was real. It would be a great laugh! 

Click the link below to watch this trailer for yourself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnpTcrtsN3U

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