Populaire

On Tuesday, February 26, 2013, I went to see the film Populaire.

This is a French film about a girl from a small town, Rose Pamphyle who loves to type.  At the beginning of the movie, she was set to marry the mechanic from the town, but she flees because she doesn't want to have her marriage arranged.

She goes to the town and applies to work for M. Échard as a secretary.  She admits that she doesn't have much experience, but she demonstrates how fast that she types in the interview.  M. Échard hires her.

Eventually, M. Échard insists that Rose takes part in a typewriting competition.  So, first she takes part in the regional one, which she wins (but not on first try) and then she takes part in the one for the country...

And of course, on her course to this journey of typewriting competitions, there is also some romance along the way...  Whom does she fall in love with?  You'll have to watch the movie to find out...

A few big stars that were in the movie...  (I don't really know them because I don't know French stars but...)

In the role of Louis Échard (M. Échard - the one that hires Rose):  Roman Duris
In the role of Rose Pamphyle:  Déborah François
In the role of Marie Taylor:  Bérénice Bejo
In the role of Bob Taylor:  Shaun Benson

Safe Haven

On Tuesday, February 19, 2013, I went to see the movie Safe Haven, featuring Josh Duhamel and Julianne Hough.

This movie is based upon the story of the same name, written by Nicholas Sparks.

Now, in general, I don't really like Nicholas Sparks.  The only thing that I have liked him for is The Notebook.

The story is about the main character, Katie (Erin), who was in a bad relationship with Tierney in Boston.  Tierney is a cop, so it is very difficult to run away from him.  Finally, Erin runs away from her house and boards a bus heading towards Atlanta.  However, Tierney comes to and tries to intercept her.  He doesn't succeed, however, and Erin slips through his fingers.

Erin doesn't make it all the way to Atlanta.  She stops at Southport, North Carolina because she didn't have much money on her and she buys just an empty coffee cup.  The rest of the passengers on the bus board the coach again, but she didn't make it back on...  And she felt that it was okay...

She adopts a new alias, Katie, finds a job as a waitress there, rents a place, gets settled into her new life.  There, she meets Alex, a widowed father with two children, Lexie and Josh.  They fall in love, but Tierney is hot in Katie's trail...

What happens?  You'll have to watch the movie to find out...

I found it a bit typical Nicholas Sparks cheesy romance, with a bit of suspense thrown in...  But, that's what you expect, since it is a Valentine's Day release...

An open letter to the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT)

Today, I got an invoice from the Ontario College of Teachers (hereafter denoted OCT) reminding me that I have not paid my 2013 annual membership fee of $138.

I paid my fee and I also sent the following letter to info@oct.ca.  Of course, I do not expect a response, since in the past, similar inquiries were not answered.

The letter is found below:

To whom it may concern,

I just paid my membership fee for the OCT for 2013 and I was bombarded with a whole bunch of questions about where I am working and the like.

I am not working in Ontario at the present moment.  Why does the OCT require to know where I am working and for whom?  Why is this a bylaw?

I continue to pay my fee, so I can be a member in good standing.  You get your money.  Why do you need to be "big brother"?

Personally, in my opinion, the college can create such silly bylaws if it has helped me in my teaching profession.  What has the college done for me lately?

The teaching profession was under attack by the provincial government.  What did the OCT do?  Nothing.  The teachers' unions had to defend teachers' reputations.

The teaching profession in Ontario is overflowing with qualified candidates and not enough vacant positions for its members.  What has the OCT done?  Nothing.

The discounts that my membership are only for Ontario merchants.  I don't shop in Ontario since I spend much of my time in Quebec.  How is this useful to me?  It is not.

Last year, it was decided that the fee for teachers be adjusted from $120 to $138.  The reason for this was never made public, to my knowledge, to the members of OCT, faithful members who continue paying the membership fee.  Where is the transparency?  There is none.

As a member in good standing who pays his membership fees every year.  I expect accountability and transparency from my College of Teachers, who by the way has done nothing to assist me in any way, shape or form in the past couple of years.

It also seems like any time I send an e-mail to the info@oct.ca address, my questions just get lost in the void and I never get acceptable responses.  Is this how a professional body treats its fee paying members?

A timely response would be highly appreciated on all these questions, but of course, since my past experiences with the college is that it will just be lost in the void, I actually do not believe I will have an answer from ANYONE at the OCT.

On the Road

On Tuesday, February 12, 2013, I went to see the movie On the Road, based on the book by Jack Karouac.

This movie is about Sal Paradise (or Jack Karouac), played by Sam Riley.  He basically tells his story that he lives with his good pal Dean Moriarty, played by Garrett Hedlund.  Most of the adventures revolve around him, his long string of lovers:  Mary-Lou, played by Kristen Stewart, Camille, played by Kirsten Dunst and his good friend Carlo Marx, played by Tom Sturridge.

It's a life story of Sal's adventures on the road with his friend Dean in different parts of the States and the adventures that they live.  That is all.  Not much plot other than that...

Oh yes...  Lots of sex, lots of orgies...  That too.

The Impossible

On Tuesday, February 5, 2013, I went to see the movie The Impossible.  This movie features Ewen McGregor and Naomi Watts and it talks about the true story of a family who went to Thailand for holiday in 2004 and was victims of the giant tsunami.

The story is as follows, you have the family and they are spending time on a resort...  They have no idea that the tsunami is coming...  It hits them and people are dragged off to places...  This family gets split up...  The mother gets swept away by the water along with the eldest son and the father and the other two children were in the swimming pool when the tsunami hit.

I won't go into all of the details as to what happens in the movie, but I think the director did a very good job to recreate the atmosphere and the panic...    I also think that the director did a very good job of the smaller details (one particular scene in the hospital comes to mind, when Naomi Watts and the woman beside her both eat a bit of a tangerine and then they vomit out mud and chunks of seaweed)

This movie was good...  A worthwhile watch...  I didn't think it was as good as Les Misérables, but that's okay.  I know that Naomi Watts is up for an Oscar nod in the best actress category...  She did have a good performance.  However, I have not seen all of the other performances so I can't say whether or not she will get the Oscar for it...