EnglishisEasy/Elinglésesfácil

           He aquí algunas razones para ver la tercera entrega de la serie de historias escritas por el genial C.S. Lewis 1.       Aunque pensada para ser un enlace entre las dos primeras partes y el final que aún está por filmarse Las Crónicas de Narnia: La Travesía del Viajero del Alba es de hecho más entretenida porque agrega un elemento que antes no había usado que en jerga hollywoodense es llamado Comic Relief en la persona de un nuevo personaje         llamado Eustace, primo de los hermanos Penvensie, quien a su vez se ve envuelto en esta aventura involuntariamente. Eustace es el típico niño odioso a quien todos queremos ver en situaciones hilarantes aunque al final cambia su actitud. Además, la historia incluye solo a los dos hermanos más jóvenes de los Penvensie pero los mayores aparecen aunque de una manera breve a manera de recuerdos o ensoñaciones de Lucy, la menor. También están el...

One writer that keeps fascinating me with his mindboggling ideas is Grant Morrison whose main work can be found in the comic world. He has written stories for the X-men, the Justice League and more recently Batman though some of his best work can be found in titles that are not precisely considered "mainstream". I have read several of his works and the one that keeps coming to my mind is a Batman graphic novel that was illustrated by groundbreaking artist, Dave Mc Kean, (that itself guarantees that reading this novel is a visual experience). The story is not only about Batman, but the past of the house that came to be Arkham Asylum  and its original inhabitant and founder of the asylum, Dr. Arkham. Morrison tells the story in two different times, past and present, with events that are closely connected. In the past story, Dr. Arkham is a benevolent and devoted psychiatrist who goes insane after one of his patients brutally (emphasis in brutally) rapes and murders the doctor...

One of those masters of horror that has not received all the recognition he should is W.W. Jacobs. Born in 1863 this Londoner was not really known for being a horror writer, however, it was a collection of short stories ( The lady of the Barge, 1902) that made him popular and one in particular has endured the test of time better than the rest: The Monkey’s Paw . This is the tale that defines psychological horror more accurately than any other. It’s really easy to scare showing scenes of gore, using ominous dark figures or monsters of all sorts, but is it equally easy without any of those things? Jacobs was a master in doing so and his story is the best proof.  It begins with the Whites and their only son, a young man.One day they receive the visit of one of Mr. White’s old friends, a military man who is in possession of a mysterious artifact. That thing is a monkey’s paw that has the incredible ability to grant three wishes to its owner. It can be used by three different pe...

A baby born in another planet is sent to Earth to save his life from the destruction of his  homeworld. Sounds familiar?   Well this one is not Superman but a new character from the creators of Monsters vs Aliens. His name is Megamind and unlike the Kryptonian, this one grows, by circumstances mostly, to become a supervillain and as all good supervillains he has a superhero that thwarts his every plan called Metro Man. The whole point of Megamind’s life is to destroy Metro Man so when accidentally he “destroys” his nemesis, Megamind gets so bored he creates a new superhero called Tighten (pronounced Titan). What Megamind cannot foresee is that his creation decides to become a bitter supervillain so in order to save Metro City Megamind is forced to show his heroic side and defeat Tighten himself. This is not a superhero movie, it’s an animated movie for all ages which behind the story shows interesting things such as how people just because you’re unattractive (Megamind is a bi...

I finally finished reading Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. It’s one of those novels that leaves you with the impression you were in some roller coaster, meaning it has its ups and downs. Characters for one thing are really flat; most of them are one-dimensional such as Nelly one of the narrators of the story (it is told in third person through some of the characters) who is  kind and patient, or the main character himself, Heathcliff, who is greedy and revengeful for no apparent reason. The strong points are in the plot itself, full of surprises, and the dialogs which perfectly capture the spirit of each of the characters. Though it’s not a love story Wuthering Heights is about a love story. Truly, it’s the story of how the members of two families become pawns of Heathcliff, a man who is cold, calculating but at the same time immensely driven by his love for Catherine Earnshaw who in turn loves him, and yet such love is doomed to never be consummated, not at least in this worl...

 What's the next big thing in movies (here in Ecuador that is)? Well, it's not another superhero movie, that's for sure. The Social Network has already been released with great success in the U.S. and it tells the story of the founding of the very website that hosts this page. It begins with then student Mark Zuckerberg who created what first was called FaceMash. It covers also the subsequent events starting in 2003, the lawsuits Zuckerberg had to face, pretty much covering what has happened until late 2009 or early 2010. A good movie if you want to know about the origins of your beloved Facebook.

Momentos del Padre Este artículo está  pensado para quienes gustan del cine y a la vez saben apreciar los buenos puntos que incluso las peores películas pueden tener. En particular he escogido tres filmes que de común no serían asociados pero que a mi modo de ver se tocan al incluir las tres el tema del padre. Así pues procedamos… Momento No 1 - (Troy, 2008): Sí, esta es la película que protagonizó Brad Pitt, la parte masculina de la famosa pareja Brangeline . Sin duda es una película que entra más bien en  la clasificación de para pasar el rato, y que muy bien hubiera podido llamarse Bradoya pues parece dedicada a endiosar la figura de Brad Pitt quien en esta película interpreta al feroz héroe mitológico Aquiles. Es también otro filme que toca el tema de la guerra de Troya aunque no todo el conflicto sino únicamente su décimo año. Cuenta además con la actuación de Orlando Bloom como el pusilánime y oportunista Paris a más de Eric Bana como el noble príncipe troyano ...

Daniel Radcliffe como Harry Potter Tobey Maguire comoPeter Parker / Spiderman   ¿Qué es lo que se ha dicho de de las películas Harry  Potter que no se haya dicho ya? En Ecuador son un fenómeno social que es difícil ignorar y que al mismo tiempo es lo mejor que les podía pasar a los dueños de salas de cines considerando el daño que les hace la piratería. Es un fenómeno social que cubre un grupo específico: los adolescentes y en particular aquellos que están a punto de alcanzar la adultez. Basados en los libros escritos por J.K. Rowling estas películas muestran personajes a través de su vida escolar secundaria, en otras palabras los actores de estas películas crecieron con su público. Esto no podría pasar con personajes como Spiderman o James Bond. En el caso de Spiderman tenemos a un joven universitario con superpoderes, identidad secreta y enamorado de una chica preciosa con quien teme enredarse porque podría interferir con su vida como superhéroe. La tensión que re...

  He aquí una película que fue pensada para rivalizar con Harry Potter. Solo vean el filme y encontrarán el montón de similitudes que la hacen tan solo una imitación más del éxito del joven mago. La premisa es simple: un muchacho descubre un buen día que   tiene poderes insospechados porque es hijo del dios Poseidón y a la vez es sospechoso de haber robado el rayo, el arma más preciada de quien vendría a ser su tío, en este caso el gran Zeus, rey de los dioses griegos. Resulta que los dioses no se pueden robar entre sí pero sus hijos sí pueden. Por razones propias, Zeus imagina que el hijo de Poseidón es el culpable y tiene a sus agentes buscando al muchacho quien está oculto con su madre llevando una vida normal en alguna parte de USA. Pero un buen día es descubierto y a su vez Percy descubre que su mejor amigo es un sátiro asignado para protegerlo y uno de sus profesores donde estudia, es en realidad un centauro quien a su vez dirige un centro de entrenamiento para semidio...

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” is the latest blockbuster to arrive to cinema theaters everywhere. It must be the darkest in the Harry Potter series for even the moments of humor here and there leave very little space to rejoice. The photography, the scenes, the music and the several losses Harry has to face lead to sadness rather than happiness. There are moments like the death of Dobby, the elf that first appeared in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”, which is somehow softened when Luna, one of the characters, tells Harry “Close his eyes, now he looks asleep”. There are also exciting moments such the chase when Hagrid and Harry ride a magical motorbike. In general it’s a good first part, only one that leaves you a bit depressed and of course ecstatic with anticipation to seeing, rather than knowing, how things will happen in the following installment next July.                    ...

DC Universe Online is the name of the next MOMRPG video game that pits the superheroes of the DC universe against their evil counterparts. As a player you can be part of the game by creating your own character (an avatar of sorts) and in turn be another superhero or supervillain according to your preferences. The story begins with a future version of Lex Luthor that travels to the past in order to warn Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman (the Big Three) about a chain of events that will result in their deaths and as a consequence the doom of Earth. Presented as a promotional trailer, the beginning sequence of the game is one of the most superb pieces I have seen. My favorite part: seeing Superman realize his mistake when he returns to Earth just to fall inadvertently in a trap set by his greatest enemy. Priceless. 

One of the expressions of art that goes unnoticed, or better said unappreciated, is the art of comic book drawing. It requires talent, commitment, intuition, an eye for detail, love for the characters you're drawing and the capacity to translate stories into images. It’s not an easy job and even those who are good at drawing more often than not find that drawing comic book characters is too arduous and also too tedious. There are of course, those who don’t care about those little things because they are truly gifted artists. Among those we have Eduardo Barreto, John Byrne, Frank Miller, Todd Mac Farlane, George Pérez, Dave Gibbons and many others; but perhaps there is one that stands out especially for his capacity to draw superheroes in action and that one is Jim Lee. Here is a sample of his work to show his great talent. Just look at his rendition of Wonder Woman: no longer does she look like a chick in a swimsuit, instead she seems what she’s meant to be, an Amazon warrior...

Todo el mundo todavía habla de Vargas LLosa y su premio Nobel. Personalmente de su  obra me gustan Pantaleón y las Visitadoras , La Fiesta del Chivo y Los Jefes que es una narración corta. Leyendo a Vargas Llosa no encuentro nada extraordinario  en su prosa. Lo que encuentro interesante son los temas que aborda y la monumentalidad de su obra pues la mayor parte de la misma está compuesta de novelas  lo mismo  extensas que profundas. Si acaso alguien desconociese quién es él ni el valor de sus escritos bastaría con leer las tres obras que aquí menciono sin importar  el orden.  En particular Pantaleóny las Visitadoras es el trabajo que lo define, sobre todo porque son sus personajes quienes narran la obra y Vargas Llosa con gran estilo hace cada voz diferente a las demás volviéndolas así tan auténticas que su lectura no aburre. Gabriel García Marquéz,  Jorge Luis  Borges y él son los más grandes pináculos de la literatura latinoamericana de nuestr...

There are movies I would recommend and there are those I never would. I just don’t see the point in bringing more suffering and misery into this world. I have nothing against horror movies as long as they remain in the realm of the impossibility; nevertheless, there are ways to torture human beings that we know are possible and because of that shouldn’t be used as the plot of any film. The Human Centipede is an example. In this story a mad German doctor captures three people (a Japanese tourist and two US girls) and joins them surgically to form a longer digestive system. The reason why? Just to prove he can. I’ll spare you the details of the operation and result, but if you see the movie anyway, you will find that beyond its disgusting premise there’s nothing new in terms of plot or even acting and perhaps only some similarities with The Fly, Saw and Hostel . (Nov. 17, 2010)

Which of all the Batman movies is the best?  It’s really a difficult question. The problem with Batman is that he is a difficult character to translate into the big screen. Though he’s one of the good guys, Batman is dark and obsessed with justice, but also a superb athlete and detective. It’s hard to believe that someone with no powers and only wearing a suit can defeat opponents that are more physically imposing or bigger in numbers, even with all his gadgets and training. In this aspect, Spiderman or Superman are easier.  Tim Burton did a good job creating the shadowy world and twisted villains that Batman has to deal with (his Joker is still the best ever). Nolan made Batman more believable, though still there is something missing in his depiction of the Dark Knight (a true Batmobile, perhaps?). In my opinion, the best Batman film is one you can’t see in a regular cinema theater. It’s called Batman: Dead End and was directed and produced by Sandy Collora, an indepen...

Robert De Niro as the Frankestein creature The Modern Prometheus is the alternative title of the novel by Mary Shelley that we know as Frankestein . This work tells us about the tragic story of Dr. Frankestein, a man obssessed with finding a way to create life on his own, and he does it by animating a creature made up by the parts of different corpses.The creature, despised by his creator the very moment it comes to life, eventually learns to hate as it is hated and takes revenge on his own creator not by killing “his father” but those he loves the most instead. As you can see the creature is not the mindless monster that Boris Karloff impersonated: it can think, it can speak, it can feel resentment. Revered by most as one of the greatest classics in horror literature, there are those who think this novel is actually one of the first Sci-fi tales ever written. Now, how is that possible? 

I just saw that Machete movie. It’s really silly with lots of gratuitous violence and unnecessary bloodshed, though there are things that somehow redeem it such as how it brings about the problem of illegal immigration and the complex conflict of interests that surrounds it. There are also priceless moments: Robert De Niro putting on the rags of a wetback, Lindsay Lohan disguised as a nun and Steven Seagal dying a somewhat dignified death. Not a movie to see with your family but definitely something to watch if you're a fan of Robert Rodríguez.

Scott Pilgrim vs the World is yet one more of those lighthearted movies that is strictly aimed at teens. Originally based on the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels of Canadian fame, its premise is really simple: one of the members of a rock band falls in love with a girl, but before being with her he has to defeat her seven villainous ex-boyfriends (actually one of them is a girl). Each one is more powerful than the one before, but fortunately for Scott Pilgrim he has super strength, a gay mentor, a “fake” girlfriend and the other members of the band to lend moral support. If you can get your hands on the DVD, check the features and especially the alternative ending, better in my opinion than the director’s choice.  (NOV. 13/10)

Robert L Stevenson (born on Nov. 13, 1850) was the creator of classics such as The Treasure Island and The Bottle Imp though he is better known for another creation of his own: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde . This book stands out because it explores what could happen if we gave a way out to that intrinsic evil that dwells within all of us. It is also a warning against the idea that we can experiment on ourselves just because we can. In the end, Dr. Jekyll tragically discovers that he is Mr. Hyde, but Mr. Hyde is not Dr. Jekyll. A mad scientist and an experiment gone wrong: there is another novel like that entitled The Modern Prometheus, also known as   The Frankestein Creature and written by yet another British writer, Mary Shelley.