Les Étoiles du Métro allows buskers to reserve their spot at designated metro performing areas
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Author: Emilie Berthier
Kenneth Branagh’s adaptation modernizes and strengthens our beloved Cinderella
Walt Disney Studios has replaced their old fashioned glass slippers with newer, shinier ones. Directed by Kenneth Branagh, the new live-action version of Cinderella was released in theatres this week with more than a few improvements.
This movie is a classic, and so the script follows the original storyline from 1950. Indeed, Branagh told The Talk earlier this week how important it was to be true to it: “Every generation seems to respond to it, so we wanted to give everybody what they sort of expected. So there is a pumpkin. It does transform into a carriage,” he said.
However, while it recreates the essence of the fairy tale, the story is modernized quite a bit. Cinderella’s character is stronger, relationships are more complex, and the love story itself is more believable.
Cinderella (Lily James)—nicknamed so by one of her stepsisters when she wakes up dirtied by cinders, having slept next to the fireplace to keep warm—loses both her parents and suffers the wrath of her step-family’s cruelty.
Nonetheless, she lives up to her mother’s wishes: to have courage and be kind. Cinderella remains strong, never complains, and endures her stepmother and stepsisters to take care of her parents’ beloved house and honour their memory.
Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett) is perhaps one of the most entertaining characters of the story. More dimension is brought to her character, replacing the inherently cruel stepmother with Blanchett’s fascinating performance. She embodies a manipulative woman consumed with jealousy, who envies Cinderella’s youth, beauty, and kindness.
As for the love story, there is no such thing as love at first sight in this movie—which is certainly one of the best improvements. Instead, Cinderella meets the prince (Richard Madden) before the royal ball, while he’s on a hunting trip in the forest.
They talk, clearly intrigued by one another—the prince doesn’t reveal his identity, but lets her believe he’s an apprentice—and they continue on their separate ways, hoping to see one another again.
When the soon-to-be king is urged to find a suitable wife, he agrees to throw a royal ball on the condition that every maiden—noble or commoner—is invited. Contrary to his father’s wishes, he wants to marry for love, not social advantage.
As for the costumes and décor, they are quite impressive and perfectly illustrate the magical fairytale. The collection of dresses is remarkable, from the stepsisters’ ridiculous, over-the-top outfits, to Cinderella’s dreamy blue ballgown.
The special effects are mostly used for magical spells but also animate the mice, who Cinderella speaks to. Fortunately, they don’t answer back like their predecessors, and their part in the story is properly downplayed. In the same manner, the songs are replaced by a beautiful score by Patrick Doyle.
For those who would like to revisit a tale of their childhood, or discover it for the first time, Cinderella is a magical story that will sweep the audience off its feet.
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Still Alice is heartbreaking, memorable
Julianne Moore shines as a professor diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimers
With the 87th Academy Awards less than one month away, a movie like Still Alice’s (2014) release in theatres this week is perfectly timed. The movie’s leading lady, Julianne Moore (Far From Heaven, The Kids Are All Right), is nominated for best actress alongside contenders like Marion Cotillard, Rosamund Pike, Felicity Jones and Reese Witherspoon.
In the movie adaptation of Lisa Genova’s book, Moore plays the role of Alice Howland, a 50-year-old woman diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. Her life as a wife, a mother and a well-respected college professor is slowly torn apart from her as words, discussions, plans, faces—and eventually her own self—escape her memory.
Alice desperately tries to remain who she is. As a language expert, it is particularly striking to witness her means of communication diminish one word at a time. “Sometimes, I can see the words hanging in front of me, and I can’t reach them, and I don’t know who I am,” she tells her youngest daughter Lydia (Kristen Stewart).
For Alice, it isn’t just an issue of vocabulary. Her intellect is a fundamental part of who she is, and she had always been defined by it. If she loses this aspect of herself, who will she become? She is ashamed of her condition; she explains that people don’t understand it and tells her husband in a moment of anguish, “I wish I had cancer.”
Through it all, an important message is delivered. As Alice puts it, though one’s life may be shorter than anticipated, what matters is that it is filled with moments of joy, which she still experiences with her family. People with Alzheimer’s should not be treated as though they are suffering, but rather as though they are “struggling to stay connected to who [they once were].”
Richard Glatzer, who directed the film with his partner Wash Westmoreland, was diagnosed with ALS in 2011, only a few months before they were approached with this project. Perhaps this personal experience has influenced his way of portraying, and directing, how degenerative diseases affect people’s lives.
This candour is without a doubt nourished by Moore’s performance, which is impeccable—it is no surprise that she is vying for an Oscar for this role. She portrays Alice with sensitivity, in her character’s determination as well as in her growing vulnerabilities.
As for Stewart, her acting potential may have been underestimated in the past. She gives the best performance of all the supporting cast, with a somewhat bigger role than her on-screen siblings Kate Bosworth and Hunter Parrish, who nevertheless have touching moments. Alec Baldwin is unremarkable as Alice’s husband, John Howland.
Still Alice is a touching, tear-jerking movie which brilliantly demonstrates how Alzheimer’s disease affects human beings’ most fundamental gifts: individuality and autonomy.
Concordia student Amanda Mizera-Latkowska represented Canada in international doodling contest
Concordia student Amanda Mizera-Latkowska had never taken part in such a contest before, but she got past her nerves and decided to go for it. What was this important international contest about? The noble and very stylish art of doodling.
Mizera-Latkowska represented Canada in the final stage of Red Bull Doodle Art, in Cape Town, South Africa. From Oct. 24 to 26, her artwork was exposed as part of World Design Capital 2014.
In May, the energy drink company challenged university students from 27 different countries to create their best doodle. Mizera-Latkowska first heard about the event through one of her friends, who encouraged her to participate.
When she created her art piece, Mizera-Latkowska was listening to her favourite songs, like “You Got To Go” by Above and Beyond. She explained that music has always influenced everything she draws. “In art, there’s nothing you could ever ruin. It will just transform into something new, so that’s something I learned with time and I guess it started somewhere and it ended up growing and growing,” she said.
Her drawing is extremely detailed. Its centerpiece is a girl, whose outline was inspired by The Little Mermaid’s Ariel. She is surrounded by many intricate elements, such as waves, diamonds, feathers, a moon and a raven. Mizera-Latkowska explained that they all represented the girl’s thoughts. It was a way for her to represent how everyone has weird things going on in their minds: “some of them make sense, some of them don’t,” she said.
For Camille Dumont-Masson, Red Bull student brand manager, it was no surprise that Mizera-Latkowska came in Canada’s first place. “She doodled something that was close to her and her world, and didn’t go for what she thought Red Bull expected from the winner, and that’s what the contest was all about,” she said. “Her artwork was really outstanding. Not only did she manage to attract a lot of social media attention, which is a great sign of a successful art piece, she really doodled something unique.”
The doodles were judged based on their creativity and style, but also on the amount of Facebook “likes” they received. The fact that so many people showed their appreciation and support towards her art was, as she put it, unexpected yet very encouraging.
As a national winner, Mizera-Latkowska was invited to spend a few days in Cape Town, where all the finalists’ doodles were to be exhibited in the Global Design Gallery from Oct. 24 to 26. Cape Town was this year’s World Design Capital, a title given to cities which use design for social, cultural and economic development.
To showcase the drawings, interactive and personalized modules were created by Red Bull’s design branch, each one meant to represent the participant’s country. Mizera-Latkowska’s doodle was displayed in the shape of an Inukshuk—which are man-made landmarks built by First Nations people in the Arctic Circle—and placed inside a snow globe. Snow swirled inside the globe when visitors pressed a red button attached to the structure.
“They literally go big or go home,” said Mizera-Latkowska about the Red Bull company. She also explained how this trip was about so much more than the initial contest: it was also about celebrating art and discovering the local culture.
The participants were invited to visit the city and learn more about its history, all the while feeling at home. Mizera-Latkowska recalled the warm welcome with which they were greeted at the airport, the overjoyed Red Bull representatives hugging them. “Red Bull is really all about creating lifetime memories for students and enhance their university experience,” said Dumont-Masson about the company.
Mizera-Latkowska drew her doodle by hand, with a fine point Sharpie. It is her favourite method, but meeting the other artists in Cape Town has made her want to try different medium. “Everyone has a different style, and they all have their different inspiration as well, so it was cool how we all clicked and fed off each other,” she explained, recalling with a smile how they all bonded. “They were all so amazing. Some of them really blew my mind.”
Mizera-Latkowska graduated from Vanier College in 2008 with a DEC in Graphic Design. She is currently studying psychology at Concordia. She decided to pursue her studies in a different field, partly because she has always been passionate about the brain, body language and kinetics. She also believes she can pursue her art and learn on her own, as long as she remains determined.
This contest has given this young artist the inspiration to continue and strive towards her goals. Having a few ongoing projects on the side—friends in her entourage have asked her to create and paint personalized designs in their houses—she said, “Anyone can do anything they want, as long as they put their mind to it.”
For more information on the Red Bull Doodle Art contest and the numerous doodles created, visit redbulldoodleart.com.
If you’re looking for fright or delight, try your luck elsewhere.
On Oct. 31, I drove to the movies, hoping to have a good scary movie to tell you guys about. After all, it was Halloween.
On the opening night of Ouija, directed by Stiles White, there was a grand total of 20 other people sitting around me, devouring their popcorn. I silently hoped that the movie was just underrated, and remained seated… I could not have been more wrong.
The story starts with Debbie, played by a quite dramatic Shelley Hennig, a troubled blonde girl who commits suicide by hanging herself with her twinkle lights. Laine, her childhood best friend, played by an unconvincing Olivia Cooke, desperately desires to say goodbye to her. To do so, she gathers a group of friends to play Ouija, hoping to communicate with her. Instead, the five of them make contact with an evil spirit, who they soon find out caused her best friend’s death.
Of course, like most Hollywood productions, the movie’s visuals strived for perfection. But the great special effects couldn’t always make up for the lack of a better scenario.
Though the idea of the Ouija board sounds interesting—after all, who hasn’t wanted to play with one of those as a kid?—it certainly wasn’t developed to its full potential.
After playing once, the group gets tormented. They all start dying, one by one. One of them gets lifted in the air, and her head slammed on the bathroom sink. Though this was supposed to be dramatic, chuckles filled the room.
The one thing I did like was the idea that the teenagers could be attacked by the entity any time of the day, unlike many scary movies where the antagonist only manifests itself at night. Indeed, they were never safe, which brought a bit of suspense to the scenario.
Still, the moments that were supposed to make you jump in your seat were predictable. There were one too many squeaky doors opening by themselves and loud thumping noises coming from upper levels of a creepy old house.
Overall, it ended up just being cliché. The ending (spoiler alert) is the least surprising of the plot twists, suggesting that the nightmare isn’t over for the two sisters, the lone survivors of the tragedy.
My verdict? This movie brings nothing new to the table. I would suggest spending the $11,50 on something else this week, like a bunch of candies and a good old movie rental.
In need of some inspiration? Check out our list of bad horror movies—you will likely find them to be quite entertaining.
Not That Kind of Girl explores life, sex and death
Last week, Lena Dunham’s much anticipated first book Not that Kind of Girl arrived in stores. With it, the 28-year-old creator, writer and producer of the HBO series Girls delivered an inspiring memoir.
Not That Kind of Girl contains a collection of essays, all sewn together by different leading topics. With vivid details and very colourful words she recounts her stories, some going back to her childhood.
This book was born from her desire to share her missteps and the lessons she acquired. As the subtitle of the book reads: “a young woman tells you what she’s ‘learned.’” As the carefully used quotations marks suggest, she doesn’t pretend to be an expert on anything.
Dunham gets her creative side from her parents, who are both artists. She recalls the frustration she felt as a third grade student, when she wished she could spend time with them in their studios instead of going to school. There’s no doubt that she had a wild imagination as a child—enough to think about disease and death, which terrified her at a young age. Dunham was also inspired to write and create a world of her own.
Today, she doesn’t hesitate to share on paper the weird, awkward, funny and sad moments that have influenced her. She addresses topics such as sex, body image, her mental health issues, her struggles in Hollywood as a woman and what it is like to search for and find love nowadays.
As always, Dunham’s honesty is brutal. But maybe this is exactly what people need in a time when picture-perfect lives are painted on big and small screens. When given the chance to make Girls, she decided to address this issue head-on: she had always been irritated by the way sex was presented in movies and television.
“Everything I saw as a child, from 90210 to The Bridges of Madison County, had led me to believe that sex was a cringey, warmly lit event where two smooth-skinned, gooey-eyed losers achieved mutual orgasm by breathing on each other’s faces,” she writes in her book. “Between porn and studio romantic comedies, we get the message loud and clear that we are doing something wrong. Our bedsheets aren’t right. Our moves aren’t right. Our bodies aren’t right.”
Girls fans will certainly recognize her unsettling yet ever so funny sense of humour. Even people—perhaps a more feminine audience—who have never watched a single episode will relate to her book, with Dunham’s words reflecting their choices as human beings, students, daughters, sisters and women. This book is a glimpse inside Dunham’s world; a glimpse definitely worth taking.
For more information on Not that Kind of Girl, visit lenadunham.com.