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Went to see Jappeloup last night. Jappeloup is the name of the horse who became a semi-national treasure in France. The story is loosely based on the life of rider Pierre Durand, his family and the other people around him. Pierre Durand is not portrayed as a very likable character, he doesn't respond well to humiliation and defeat which is a bit of a drag in a sport as competitive as show jumping. The more likable hero is the dad played by the always reliable Daniel Auteuil as a man full of optimism with an unfortunate nasty addiction to nicotine. The real hero is the horse Jappeloup, tiny for a show jumper, not a thorough bred but who could fly over obstacles easily because of his small size. It's great family entertainment with a positive message although it went on a little too long for my taste. I would have taken the editors' scissors to some sections and been a little more ruthless in my cuts. Didn't like the choice of banal American songs which were chosen to highlight the more emotional parts of the story except for one sung by Cat Stevens. The photography was beautiful, Guillaume Canet did a good job of portraying a rather petulant, mostly pissed off Pierre Durant while some secondary characters like Raphaele and her dad are simply luminous. The French country side around Bordeaux also looks and feels vibrantly beautiful. I would score it a 3 out of 5.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Saturday, August 17, 2013
Mini review of Elysium
As the title states this is just a mini review not intended to reveal too much, just to give you a little taste and get you interested.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Man of Steel or why this Sup let me down
Finally went to see Man of Steel yesterday. Wasn't expecting something grandiose although initially found the early previews inspiring sadly there was no lift off to be had for this little earthling. The first half was tolerable, the set design was a bit overpowering with some of the effects downright bizarre for instance the weird dragon like creature on which Jor El makes his initial escape. Chalk that one up to an overactive imagination weaned on one too many fairy tales. Russell Crowe brought just the right amount of gravitas to the role of doomed scientist/father/husband Jor El. His performance along with that of Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent were the highlights of the film for me. Clark Kent is first seen as a handyman for all seasons with a dash of heroism thrown in when circumstances require it but he never seems happy about it. After all saving people should be fun and gratifying some of the time. Clark's fortress is nothing like the soaring ice palace of old instead it's a rather somber place but in the space of a few minutes there Lois Lane discovers his secret, Clark encounters Jor El for a nano second chat and presto it's all about the suit and embracing his destiny. They throw the word destiny around a lot. This Clark can fly in fact that's mostly what he does as Superman,once in a while he also shoots fire from his eyes and gets beat up a lot by Zod and Faeora.
Henry Cavill doesn't have that much to do as Superman or as Clark Kent. He has a minimal amount of dialogue, his face is rather inexpressive and his acting is wooden though he fills up that suit rather nicely. Unfortunately there is no lightness to this Superman even a mild attempt at levity when he tells Lois to move further back before he flies off into the great beyond falls totally flat. This Sup. just isn't funny, there's no twinkle in his eyes. Found the chemistry between him and Lois to be nonexistent, their kiss at the end did not register as anything momentous. Laurence Fishburne was totally wasted as Perry White and there was no Jimmy Olson!
Absolutely hated Michael Shannon as General Zod. Shannon can be a subtle, emotive actor (love his work on Boardwalk Empire) but the hair, the costume, the overacting it just added up to a little too much. (Lex on Smallville was much scarier as Zod) The second part of the film was just CG effects to the power of 10. So many buildings falling down, so many cars, so much machinery in general, the eyes glaze over and the pounding headache starts throbbing. It's relentless although the fights between Zod and Superman were filmed rather choppily, even appearing blurry at times. This is one Superman who doesn't worry about collateral damage, human or material which does a disservice to the Superman ethos of preserve life at all cost. In conclusion, bloated, big on special effects, light on character development,choppy editing it all ads up to one serious disappointment. Destiny can be such a friggin drag.
Henry Cavill doesn't have that much to do as Superman or as Clark Kent. He has a minimal amount of dialogue, his face is rather inexpressive and his acting is wooden though he fills up that suit rather nicely. Unfortunately there is no lightness to this Superman even a mild attempt at levity when he tells Lois to move further back before he flies off into the great beyond falls totally flat. This Sup. just isn't funny, there's no twinkle in his eyes. Found the chemistry between him and Lois to be nonexistent, their kiss at the end did not register as anything momentous. Laurence Fishburne was totally wasted as Perry White and there was no Jimmy Olson!
Absolutely hated Michael Shannon as General Zod. Shannon can be a subtle, emotive actor (love his work on Boardwalk Empire) but the hair, the costume, the overacting it just added up to a little too much. (Lex on Smallville was much scarier as Zod) The second part of the film was just CG effects to the power of 10. So many buildings falling down, so many cars, so much machinery in general, the eyes glaze over and the pounding headache starts throbbing. It's relentless although the fights between Zod and Superman were filmed rather choppily, even appearing blurry at times. This is one Superman who doesn't worry about collateral damage, human or material which does a disservice to the Superman ethos of preserve life at all cost. In conclusion, bloated, big on special effects, light on character development,choppy editing it all ads up to one serious disappointment. Destiny can be such a friggin drag.
Friday, June 7, 2013
My Travels And A Little Bit of This And That: A little boat trip to the Archipelago of les Glena...
My Travels And A Little Bit of This And That: A little boat trip to the Archipelago of les Glena...: We left for Benodet shortly after noon. The boat was scheduled to leave at 1:30. Got there a little before embarkation time on a good size...
A little boat trip to the Archipelago of les Glenan
We left for Benodet shortly after noon. The boat was scheduled to leave at 1:30. Got there a little before embarkation time on a good size ferry type boat with an upper deck, a lower open deck and a closed deck.
We took the comprehensive tour which involved a drop off of a few hours on a modestly sized island with a lovely beach and then a pick up with a tour of the rest of the islands which dot the archipelago.
Les Glenan is one of the high spots for tourism in Brittany. It is known for its natural resources, its pristine crystalline waters (this is where blue lobsters can be caught as well as crabs and shrimps). The spot was neglected for quite some time until the opening of a nautical center in 1940 followed by an international diving center where many people from all over the world come to learn how to become experienced divers.
The biggest surprise was how many tourists were lined up to board the boat. It's not yet the height of the tourist season here but the exceptionally warm sunny weather brought out everybody. It's been a rather cool spring here with unpredictable mostly crappy weather. It seems to have been the case all over France and many part of Europe,not sure what's going on with the weather, possibly mother nature signaling enough is enough,more harm done and I'm just going to BLOW.
The trip to the island of St. Nicolas took about 1 hour. The island is tiny you can walk around it on a special walkway built out of wooden slats just for that occasion. There are a couple of restaurant/terraces where the boat docks and a few summer houses. We stopped to take a break on a beautiful beach where the water was so turquoise pure I felt like jumping in it except for two facts preventing me: one, didn't have a bathing suit on and 2 the water temperature hovered around 14 degrees Celsius not exactly Caribbean temperatures.
The purity and clarity of the water as well as the whiteness of the sand can be explained by a special type of marine algae called "bancs de maeri" which while decomposing assumes the shape of coral but becomes white in the process. We found little bits of it not quite fully decomposed on the beach. Some people were brave enough to go mid thigh in the water, I only went mid-calf.
The boat picked us up after a couple of hours of lingering on the beach and walking around the island. We then went for an exploration of other islands some of which are just little rock outcroppings while others feature that blindingly white sand and turquoise water. See picture below for proof of that.
https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRS1SxCerto526gda_S5i_IMKAUz5pl84lfIns__lWzHpP_mwJYTA
If you click on the link it will take you to more fabulous pictures. These will give you a better idea than any writing could. All in all a lovely day, hopefully it will inspire some to want to visit one day.
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRx2yt46M3xIIybu1q3nCTl-wMjpvx0JznGJxVc8PStBLQ4rWdH
Sorry these links don't seem to work, just google les Glenan and a lot of pics. will pop up.
We took the comprehensive tour which involved a drop off of a few hours on a modestly sized island with a lovely beach and then a pick up with a tour of the rest of the islands which dot the archipelago.
Les Glenan is one of the high spots for tourism in Brittany. It is known for its natural resources, its pristine crystalline waters (this is where blue lobsters can be caught as well as crabs and shrimps). The spot was neglected for quite some time until the opening of a nautical center in 1940 followed by an international diving center where many people from all over the world come to learn how to become experienced divers.
The biggest surprise was how many tourists were lined up to board the boat. It's not yet the height of the tourist season here but the exceptionally warm sunny weather brought out everybody. It's been a rather cool spring here with unpredictable mostly crappy weather. It seems to have been the case all over France and many part of Europe,not sure what's going on with the weather, possibly mother nature signaling enough is enough,more harm done and I'm just going to BLOW.
The trip to the island of St. Nicolas took about 1 hour. The island is tiny you can walk around it on a special walkway built out of wooden slats just for that occasion. There are a couple of restaurant/terraces where the boat docks and a few summer houses. We stopped to take a break on a beautiful beach where the water was so turquoise pure I felt like jumping in it except for two facts preventing me: one, didn't have a bathing suit on and 2 the water temperature hovered around 14 degrees Celsius not exactly Caribbean temperatures.
The purity and clarity of the water as well as the whiteness of the sand can be explained by a special type of marine algae called "bancs de maeri" which while decomposing assumes the shape of coral but becomes white in the process. We found little bits of it not quite fully decomposed on the beach. Some people were brave enough to go mid thigh in the water, I only went mid-calf.
The boat picked us up after a couple of hours of lingering on the beach and walking around the island. We then went for an exploration of other islands some of which are just little rock outcroppings while others feature that blindingly white sand and turquoise water. See picture below for proof of that.
https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRS1SxCerto526gda_S5i_IMKAUz5pl84lfIns__lWzHpP_mwJYTA
If you click on the link it will take you to more fabulous pictures. These will give you a better idea than any writing could. All in all a lovely day, hopefully it will inspire some to want to visit one day.
https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRx2yt46M3xIIybu1q3nCTl-wMjpvx0JznGJxVc8PStBLQ4rWdH
Sorry these links don't seem to work, just google les Glenan and a lot of pics. will pop up.
Monday, June 3, 2013
My Travels And A Little Bit of This And That: France and the welfare state
My Travels And A Little Bit of This And That: France and the welfare state: Tomorrow we're off to a beautiful spot called Les Glenans, you have to go there by boat. I'll be blogging my impressions of the plac...
France and the welfare state
Tomorrow we're off to a beautiful spot called Les Glenans, you have to go there by boat. I'll be blogging my impressions of the place shortly thereafter but in the meantime I thought I would write a little bit about what the French government offers its citizens in return for the taxes that they pay. I'm not really sure what percentage of their income French people pay in return for the services that they get, easy enough to look it up but this blog is not a treatise, I would just like to go on first impressions and what I've found out from people who live here, not dry statistical analysis.
First of all with respect to child care, it would be hard to fault the government and the systems they have put in place. Not all of it is "free", you pay with your taxes and often there's an additional, usually modest sum attached. If you're pregnant here you only get a maximum of 5 months leave unless you have another child then it can be longer. You have a choice of "creche" (nursery) where there can be 25+ babies with one person, more or less, per every 5 baby. Nobody's ever complained about there being not enough bodies on the ground to take care of the babies. If that's not what you want, you can have a "nourrice" (the old wet nurse term although they no longer breastfeed your child) come to your house, pick up the baby and keep him/her for the day at their own house. A nourrice can only have 2 babies at any one time, 3 if the children are older than 2. The nourrice gets paid 500 euros by the parents who are then reimbursed by the government according to how much income they make. In general the average paid by parents is around 200 euros (a pittance compared to child caring costs) in North America. Even Quebec doesn't favorably compare since a lot of the day cares subsidized by the government are few and far between. A couple we know is paying $900.00 a month in Montreal right now.
Around the age of 2 and a half a child can go to a proper school with trained child care professionals, it's public and free. The parents are responsible for purchasing meal time tickets (around 2.80 euro per meal). The meals would be considered gourmet by North American standards and consist of 3 courses,not one day in the month is the same. I've seen the menus and they are impressive.
When it comes to health care everybody is covered for what is considered basic health and dental care. Most people buy an additional insurance called la Mutuelle which covers all those extras and costs for a family of 4 around 200 euros a month. This seems like a lot but it's for 4 people. I was paying $150.00 a month for both my husband and I in B.C. and am probably paying the same amount, maybe a bit more, in Quebec. It's taken out of your taxes at the end of the year in Quebec so I'm not sure what the exact amount is. That amount is simply for basic coverage. There is no reimbursement for glasses or anything considered out of the "healthcare ordinary". Furthermore we have lived in Quebec for one year now and still can't find a doctor in the community where we live. That's not unusual with a lot of people having the same difficulty. In comparison one has access to a doctor the same day here. You could phone your obstetrician on a Saturday with concerns about your child and have the appointment that same day! Unheard of in Canada, one must secure appointments with so-called specialists a long time in advance. It's not unusual for a French doctor to visit a patient at home if the person is too ill, with something as mundane as a bad cold or a migraine, to make it to the office.
In general French people seem happy with the extent of the government's involvement in their lives except for the bureaucracy which can be daunting and a pain in the derriere royal or otherwise.
Just a little something to chew on while you contemplate the level of involvement of your own government whether that might be a positive or a negative thing. In France I feel it's mostly a positive but I might be way off base.
First of all with respect to child care, it would be hard to fault the government and the systems they have put in place. Not all of it is "free", you pay with your taxes and often there's an additional, usually modest sum attached. If you're pregnant here you only get a maximum of 5 months leave unless you have another child then it can be longer. You have a choice of "creche" (nursery) where there can be 25+ babies with one person, more or less, per every 5 baby. Nobody's ever complained about there being not enough bodies on the ground to take care of the babies. If that's not what you want, you can have a "nourrice" (the old wet nurse term although they no longer breastfeed your child) come to your house, pick up the baby and keep him/her for the day at their own house. A nourrice can only have 2 babies at any one time, 3 if the children are older than 2. The nourrice gets paid 500 euros by the parents who are then reimbursed by the government according to how much income they make. In general the average paid by parents is around 200 euros (a pittance compared to child caring costs) in North America. Even Quebec doesn't favorably compare since a lot of the day cares subsidized by the government are few and far between. A couple we know is paying $900.00 a month in Montreal right now.
Around the age of 2 and a half a child can go to a proper school with trained child care professionals, it's public and free. The parents are responsible for purchasing meal time tickets (around 2.80 euro per meal). The meals would be considered gourmet by North American standards and consist of 3 courses,not one day in the month is the same. I've seen the menus and they are impressive.
When it comes to health care everybody is covered for what is considered basic health and dental care. Most people buy an additional insurance called la Mutuelle which covers all those extras and costs for a family of 4 around 200 euros a month. This seems like a lot but it's for 4 people. I was paying $150.00 a month for both my husband and I in B.C. and am probably paying the same amount, maybe a bit more, in Quebec. It's taken out of your taxes at the end of the year in Quebec so I'm not sure what the exact amount is. That amount is simply for basic coverage. There is no reimbursement for glasses or anything considered out of the "healthcare ordinary". Furthermore we have lived in Quebec for one year now and still can't find a doctor in the community where we live. That's not unusual with a lot of people having the same difficulty. In comparison one has access to a doctor the same day here. You could phone your obstetrician on a Saturday with concerns about your child and have the appointment that same day! Unheard of in Canada, one must secure appointments with so-called specialists a long time in advance. It's not unusual for a French doctor to visit a patient at home if the person is too ill, with something as mundane as a bad cold or a migraine, to make it to the office.
In general French people seem happy with the extent of the government's involvement in their lives except for the bureaucracy which can be daunting and a pain in the derriere royal or otherwise.
Just a little something to chew on while you contemplate the level of involvement of your own government whether that might be a positive or a negative thing. In France I feel it's mostly a positive but I might be way off base.
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