The Book Thief (2013): A Review

The Book Thief (2013): A Movie Review

Set in the time of Nazi Germany, The Book Thief tells the story of Liesel, a girl who has just lost her beloved ones and is forced to start a new life with total strangers in the same country. In contrast to Schindler's List and the film versions of The Diary of Ana Frank, the story deals with the struggle of a non-Jewish girl and the suffering that she and her closest ones have to face inbetween the horrors of Nazism.

Based on a best-selling novel written by Markus Zusak, the story’s theme focuses on the lives of non-Jewish Germans and their struggles in a war that would be responsible for thousands of deaths in history.

The Book Thief gets rid of stereotypes and generalizations, and deals with how and why there were some who, hearing their conscience, were trying to keep essential values; while, on the other hand, the Hitler Youth movement and the Gestapo were trying to trap people into Nazi indoctrination in schools and public demonstrations. Will Liesel be taught something good by somebody else, or will she be brainwashed by Hitler’s regime?

The originality of the story is good enough to catch the public's attention from the beginning 'til the end. Unlike The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, the movie’s message is not only of despair but also of hope. In contrast to La vita è bella, hope does not come from imaginative optimism, nor from music (as in the The Pianist), but from words of realistic wisdom and practical love that always keep themselves on the line of realistic events, come what may.

With a professional production incorporating special effects, an excellent acting, and a fascinating plot that inspires, The Book Thief is worth-watching and its succes is understood to be the result of a memorable film that sets itself as a classical movie about the WWII and the Nazi Germany.

Visiting the Aquarium Of Veracruz

Visiting the Aquarium Of Veracruz

If you're looking for a quiet, relaxing and beautiful place for you and your family or kids to go on this vacation, consider the possibility to visit this place that surely will make you wonder. I visited the Aquarium of Veracruz with my parents, my two sisters and my uncle, aunt and my two mischievous cousins, and when we get in, we all were marveled by what we saw. As considered the biggest, the most important, and the most complete aquarium in Latin America, the Aquarium Of Veracruz is located in the Ávila Camacho boulevard, inside a shopping mall in the port of Veracruz. It’s open every days from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM and the entrance costs just $60 pesos for adults and only $30 pesos for kids under 12 years old. We arrived as early as possible to have enough time to watch all the areas calmly. The aquarium has more than 200 aquatic species of animals and 80% of its habitat is completely natural, while only the remaining 20% is artificial. It is divided in three different tanks: the fresh water gallery, the salt water gallery, and the ocean gallery, besides three special sections: the shark section, the manatee section and a pool where you can pet several animals. We saw all kinds of colourful fishes, and rays, sharks, barracudas, giant and little turtles, octopus, crabs, lobsters, shrimps, dolphins, and big sharks swimming in tanks over us. Even there are crocodiles, boas and toucans and several species of reptiles, amphibians and river otters. If you have the chance to come, come and take up your camera because you will have a good time and won't forget it, for sure.

The AWFUL musical "Cats": A Review

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats: A Review of this Awful musical

by O. G. P.

Subject: 20th Century Literature
(with professor María del Consuelo Santamaría Aguirre)

“Cats” is a musical which has been highly acclaimed by the mainstream media for years. It has been a whole sensation in many big cities since its debut in London’s West End in 1981. The next year it was taken to Broadway and eventually became the second-longest-running hit in its history according to the New York Times. In 1998, the musical was made available on DVD, which is the Cats to which this review is focused on.

The synopsis is a distorted adaptation from a series of poems entitled “Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats” by T.S. Elliot. It tells the story of the “Jellicle cats”, a group of cats whose personalities resemble human beings and many of their common attitudes and characters alike.

Unlike most of a majority of reviewers, I failed to enjoy the play. At the beginning, the overture was promising, and the very first song was a little bit catchy. The movement of the characters was peppy too. However, soon later the play started to become deadening torture and the rhythm of the songs came to be the sound of lullabies.

The story seems at some extent - or maybe at a big - extent, different to my idea of Eliot’s Practical Cats. Just as a book taken to the big screen in Hollywood, Cats is not loyal to the original author. In regard to this, my major deception was John Partridge in his role as “Rum Rum Tiger” and its constantly suggestive scenes. The character seemed to me indecent and obscene... (maybe that's why people like it so much anyway). But it completely took away the message that Eliot’s original Tiger meant. The dancing became unscrupulous, and the music, poor. Was that supposed to catch my attention? It didn’t work. For a moment I thought I was watching the wrong video and I had mistaken it to a Jellycat striptease. But Cats was just another Broadway show. Webber made a great work spoiling and messing up the original Eliot’s poetry which had nothing to do with sexuality, but with stuff like bipolarity and hypocrisy. Gloomily, I feel as if the whole play lacked a lot of the essence of the Practical Cats. Though, for sure, the actors were professional dancers, somehow, most of the acting was delusory to me. I’d even say it was senseless. Many characters were displayed in a fancy and illusory way, while in contrast, Eliot’s Cats had been originally metaphorical.

The scenario was simple for me. I couldn't see what was the big deal. The costumes were not really a great thing, though the choreographies were definitely well planned. Regarding music, one must admit that the background orchestra was very adequate and actually dexterous. Some singers were very striking too, but sadly the good singers were few. As if it were not enough, it became more and more tedious. I felt the play was going in vicious circle. I felt the junk-yard had become a Jellicle sandbox.

I would have liked to say more positive things, but I must be sincere and say that Cats is not for philosophical fans of T.S. Eliot. Rather, it is merely for fans of musicals and people who will really be able to stand cats singing and dancing for two hours. I have enough of them in my house at midnight.

I actually don't reject musicals just for being musicals. I was able to stand ABBA and High School Musical in my teen years. But if you already dislike musicals, please don’t dare to go because, otherwise, you will dislike them a thousand times more. If you don’t want to be disappointed, do not expect in your wildest dreams a thought-provoking musical either, or anything similar. Expect a thought-snatching musical which will make you feel like you're in the waiting room and nobody let you go out.

If you’re looking for triviality and hollow entertainment, I mist assure that you will certainly enjoy Cats, but if you're seeking for thought-provoking stories with meaningful messages, I suggest you not to waste your time and go and look for something else.

References

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, by Thomas Stearns Eliot (1886-1965) http://www.moggies.co.uk/html/oldpssm.html#olddeut

“A Frisky Musical With Many Lives” (2012), The New York Times, by Michael Sommers, in: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/27/nyregion/a-review-of-cats-at-the-gateway-playhouse.html?_r=0 Retrieved on October 1st, 2013.

A Review of The Bible

A review of The Bible: My favorite book

Our university teacher asked us to write a review about our favorite book so I wrote a review about The Bible.

Subject: English V  (with professor Ana María Martinez)

The Bible is composed of 66 books which were written over a period of 2,000 years, by farmers, fishers, shepherds, kings, singers and other figures who assured to have had a relationship with God Almighty and a message from Him.

Being an historical book, it contains a record of major ancient cultures described in the Old Testament, and the New Testament. Being a religious book, it contains the story of major figures from the Jewish culture (Adam & Eve, Abraham, Noah, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, and others), and from Christianity (the teachings of Jesus Christ, His ministry, His Crucifixion, His Resurrection, and the story of His disciples and first followers).

Although it is highly criticized by anti-religion groups, historically, the moral influence of the Bible in society has gone beyond the limits of time and anti-christian barriers. I believe that those who criticize it with prejudice and antipathy demonstrate that they have never read it entirely or seriously.

As a matter of fact, The Bible may be difficult to understand, and that is not only because it’s full of metaphors and symbolisms, but also because it’s not written in our own ordinary terms; it’s a book written in spiritual terms, requiring spiritual interpretation. It's a book written in godly terms, which require God's interpretation. It’s a book that challenges the modern worldview, the modern lifestyle, our own perspectives, and our own beliefs. That's one of the reasons why it’s my favorite book.

Even today, the Bible still inspires thousands of people. It’s not a coincidence that for hundreds of years, this book has intrigued millions of believers, intellectuals and other thinkers who have deeply studied what we believe to be a great message from above and the promise of the pultimate triumph of God’s love and justice over evil and injustice, as well as eternal separation from good and evil in the end.