First movie I have seen in 2018: ¨The greatest Showman¨ by Belen Delgado.

I could not have started the year watching a better movie than ¨The Greatest Showman¨. It is just what I needed : a powerful, joyful / beautiful musical that makes you want to join in and dance and sing along with them from the very first scene. The whole movie is directed as if it was performed on a stage, i found it very Broadway style: with passion, energy and colorful costumes and elaborated choreography. No wonder that this movie has been compared with "La,La Land"  given that Benj P. & Justin P. who are behind La La Land soundtrack, have written and arranged the soundtrack for this film, too. Needless to say that if you are not into musicals, you may not like this film! I'd like to point out that I very rarely go to see the same movie twice in the cinema and with ¨The greatest Showman¨ , I just did not have enough of it !The audience from the page www.rottentomaoes.com has given this film a score of 90% and critics only 55%. I do feel critics missed the point here.. this film does not have a complicated story-line, it is actually very simple but many people can relate to the fact that others may reject you if you look or act differently and the clash between different society classes is still quite present. This movie deserves a 100% score for me! A cast of talented singers & dancers! A movie for all ages that bring people together! I was very impressed to see how well Hugh Jackman sings! It is actually him singing all the time! He was even recommended not to sing by his surgeon due to some issues with his vocal strings, however, he put his health at risk and sang throughout the movie.

Handsome, young and talented "high school musical" actor, Zac Efron does not disappoint either with his charm ! Michelle Williams plays a beautiful role of Barnum's wife , they portray a beautiful love story. I do not want to spoil it for those who have not seen the film yet.

                                     

And of course, the whole talented cast of actors , singers and dancers that are part of the Circus's show blew me away. They have such chemistry together! Number one for me was the "beard lady" with her beautiful voice and persona played by Keala Settle ( https://www.express.co.uk/entertainment/films/905127/The-Greatest-Showman-bearded-lady-Keala-Settle-Lettie-Lutz-Hugh-Jackman-Michelle-Williams )

Let me highlight a few learnings and best scenes for me: There are many other lessons  you can take from this film regarding success : The importance of taking risks, do not be afraid of failure, embrace it and learn from it. Do not let yourself by blinded by ambition and forget about the importance of spending time with your family. Success takes time , hard work and effort.

Some of my favorite scenes/songs:

1. This is Me : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLFEvHWD_NE
2. The Greatest Show : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E5Sc0G7w90
3. From now On : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG4u3KI44pw
4. Never Enough : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRcH3TJvIPk ** This song is not originally sang by the beautiful actress Rebecca Ferguson but by the singer Loren Allred **
5. Rewrite the Stars : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MrmIJ28hvk

Recommended readings/videos:

• https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_greatest_showman_2017/#audience_reviews
• http://www.jmlalonde.com/quotes-leadership-lessons-greatest-showman/
• https://hellogiggles.com/reviews-coverage/movies/greatest-showman-broadway/
• http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1485796/awards
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PluaPvhkIMU
• http://www.justjared.com/2017/12/20/meet-loren-allred-rebecca-fergusons-singing-voice-in-the-greatest-showman/ 

I hope they win a lot of oscars and that one day they start performing on stages in Broadway. So jealous that in USA there are  "sing along" sessions in the cinemas . I'd love to go to one!

If you haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting for!?

 

From the 2nd of January 2011 - Spain becomes SMOKE FREE!

From 2nd of January 2011 , Spain is finally going to join other European countries such as Ireland (that was the pioneer!), Italy, Germany, Uk or France and smoking is going to be banned in most indoor public places (bars, discotecs and restaurants) . It has not been an easy decision after an unsuccessful partial-smoking ban was introduced in 2006 which many bars failed to comply with. I only hope businesses get strict and make smokers respect this law because it has been too many years already of passive smokers suffering the consequences of this bad habit of smoking. Only in Spain in 2010 , five hundred thousand people have died due to smoking and still this is not enough to put off some smokers. ME, as a passive smoker who has suffered this bad habit since i was a teenager, I would have loved to be able to be at my university cafeteria having a coffee without having a dry throat or itchy eyes! Let's not talk about going out to clubs ..,next day you can feel the smoke in your hair, skin and clothes! Don't get me wrong if you want to be a smoker and you are happy with shortening your life and dying of lung cancer even though your cigarette packages are warning you of that , fair play with what but with what i don't agree with, is that smokers do not only put their health at risk but others, too who have chosen not to smoke. I feel sorry for the business who invested in their premises to have smoking and non-smoking areas (this is the government fault for putting a partial ban, with smoke only a full ban works!), they should be remunerated. It's not going to be easy for Spaniards to take on board this law and it's also up to the public to make it respected (I'll believe me if I see anyone smoking in a non-smoking area)! Spanish non-smokers friend that had to put up with the smoke, this is going to change! and believe me, smokers will get used to it and going outside for a smoke is not that bad after all, i'm sure many smokers will quit when they have to go in the cold weather to have a fag! but no worries according to the government there are still going to be some hotels with smokers bedrooms..in the end, you get something!

My last post of this year is about something positive and good for the coming generations ,such as my nephews and nieces! a smoke free atmosphere!!! and to my smokers friends : NEW YEARS RESOLUTION QUIT SMOKING!! do you know how much money you would save and how much better your skin and teeth would look like! and what about having a fresh breath all day long??!! think about it!!

Johnnie Fox Pub, probably the highest pub in Ireland - A must visit

Cuarto Salto Literario por Andrés Hernández :“Si tú me dices ven lo dejo todo… Pero dime ven" de Albert Espinosa

Su tercera y más reciente obra es la historia de Dani, un hombre auténtico cuyo destino lo marcan sucesos impactantes como la muerte imprevista de sus enanos padres en un accidente de tráfico y el encuentro con dos personajes de grandes enseñanzas durante su vida: El señor Martín, un viejo obeso y moribundo a punto de perder un pulmón y George un hombre mayor de mucha vitalidad que le enseña a luchar contra las vicisitudes y contradicciones de la vida, le enseña a aceptar su condición de enano y le vaticina un crecimiento (de estatura) durante su adolescencia.

Para mí se hace notar su talento de guionista porque es capaz de relatar tres o cuatro historias a la vez las cuales las entrelaza de una manera muy amena.

En la historia cuenta que su mujer lo acababa de dejar por los fallidos intentos de quedar en embarazo, el desgaste de la relación y el temor de que su primogénito llevase consigo los genes de enanismo. Su profesión es de investigador de niños desaparecidos; siendo su caso más reciente el rescatar al hijo de un juez que tienen secuestrado en la isla de Capri en Italia. Tiene un final feliz, repentino e inesperado… Un final que me gustó bastante y que no quiero que lo sepan porque recomiendo su lectura. Es libro muy sencillo de leer, dinámico, ameno, me lo devoré en una tarde de playa en Fuerteventura. Me gustó la manera descriptiva del libro y el manejo de los tiempos (no tan lineal como su segunda obra). Se nota que en su tercera obra Albert Espinosa logra algo de madurez. Si saca un cuarto libro, lo leeré con mucho gusto. Espero que no me defraudes Albert!!!