We have the second official teaser for the University of Toronto Lip Dub. Check it out below and let us know what you think:

I can feel it in the air – that distinct sense of shifting, as students are handing in their last essays and attending their last few lectures; the end of the semester is finally approaching, and as usual, it looks gruesome. The exam period – not only the actual writing of the tests, but the process of studying – overnights at Robarts, rewriting and rereading, cue cards, highlighters, coffee, sweatpants, snow, slouching – is just around the corner. It’s not a pretty time for U of T students, but it’s always laced with the comforting knowledge that winter break, that brief pause in our otherwise non-stop academic year (pardon me – there was that oh-so-satisfying “micro reading week”) where we might do a bit reading for year-long courses, but mostly can sleep, breathe, eat, and do all those other things that normal, non-U of T students do regularly and might consider, in fact, necessary to human survival.

I’m hoping to maintain my peace of mind during exam season this year, and while I know those moments of panic are unavoidable, there are certainly a lot of opportunities on campus for students to relax and defeat the stress plague, if only momentarily.

Hart House offers a variety of programs to soothe the stressed student:

• Massage Mondays – Yes, this is exactly what it sounds like. Free massages, because U of T knows – you deserve it.
• Lunchtime Crafts – Personally, I find arts and crafts to be really relaxing – though, of course, I have never produced anything presentable. Distract yourself with a little A&C, and who knows, maybe you will produce a great work!
• ThursTeas – Enjoy a warm cup of tea at Hart House while chatting with some new friends or reading a (non-school related, perhaps) book.
• Let Shakespeare distract you with the production of Macbeth playing at Hart House Theatre until November 26.
• Jazz at Oscars – This free event every Friday night brings all sorts of different music to the Hart House Arbor Room. Be entranced by live music to distract yourself from stress. The monthly Sunday concert in the Great Hall might also be of interest.

It’s difficult for students to keep up exercising during exam time, but sometimes going to the gym is exactly what you need to wake you up and keep you studying productively. Both the Athletic centre and Hart House offer a wide variety of drop-in fitness classes. The AC has free yoga among its repertoire, certainly a relaxing pastime.

The Multi-Faith Centre offers a variety of yoga and meditation courses over the term, designed to help you relax and find peace of mind.

The Angela Grauerholz exhibit is still on the University of Toronto Art Centre until November 26, and the centre remains open until December 10, for your perusing pleasure. Take your mind off exams by taking a brief tour through this great U of T resource.

Every Friday night at Innis Café, story tellers come deliver tales for “1001 Friday Nights of Storytelling”, a tradition which has been running since 1978. A well-told story could be just the right thing you need to wind down and distract yourself from the looming stress of exams. Innis Town Hall also has inexpensive movies playing throughout the exam period, which may also serve as a welcome distraction.

Exam period is one I clearly characterize as bleak, but I think there are definitely ways to limit your stress. You do yourself a disservice by climbing under a pile of books in a library for a week and not facing the light of day until you are forced to enter the outside world in order to walk to your exam destination. Taking some time during the exam period to not study for exams will make the time you spend studying all the more productive. It’s always a pleasant feeling to realize that the world is going on when you feel like it’s ending, so allow yourself to bear witness to that comforting truth by taking a break. Whether it’s a yoga class, or just a walk around our beautiful campus, indulge yourself this exam period, if only for a moment.

‘Good comedy should put its toes in taboo waters,’ asserts John Cho, seated next to his Harold and Kumar co-star Kal Penn, on October 20th in Toronto. ‘You have to transgress a little bit and that area shifts with culture. There’s so much full-frontal male nudity now.’ His attitude is reflected in the latest installment of the cult-favourite Harold and Kumar franchise: A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas. As usual, the movie contains plenty of nudity, gross-out humour, stoner and racial jokes, and, of course, Neil Patrick Harris.

The movie finds its protagonists six years after their last adventure, which itself picked up seconds after the end of its predecessor. ‘We’re aged,’ Cho comments, ‘he [Kal Penn] looks decrepit.’

Penn laughs, ‘He’s still beautiful after all the surgeries.’

‘It felt like we couldn’t do that age anymore, so our hand was forced a little bit by real life, and I’m glad of it, ‘ Cho admits. The characters being aged suits not only the actors and audience having grown since the first film came out in 2003, but also the very public changes which the central actors have undergone since then. During this time, Penn worked for the Obama administration in the White House, Cho acted in Star Trek, and Neil Patrick Harris came out of the closet.

Fittingly, therefore, at the onset of the film, the characters have been separated from one another, creating a different dynamic than previous installments. Cho comments, ‘I think it’s a very unique take to start a Harold and Kumar movie off with Harold and Kumar estranged from one another.’

Harold is dedicated to his Wall Street job and establishing a family with his wife, while Kumar remains in their dirty apartment keeping up the pair’s old habits. The two have each adopted new best friends who Cho describes as ‘the ghosts of Christmas Future for the characters’. Amir Blumenfeld, of the College Humor web series ‘Jake and Amir’ and MTV’s Pranked, is hilarious, delivering delightfully cringe-worthy humour; while Thomas Lennon, who has had minor roles in a slew of comedies and is known for Reno 911!, is also really entertaining in dealing with his young daughter’s entanglement in the plot. The new additions, both masterful comedic actors, enliven the movie, getting significant screen time and bringing some demonstrably necessary spark, or as Cho puts it, ‘new blood,’ to the Harold and Kumar canon.

The film is a very untraditional Christmas movie – a genre one doesn’t typically attribute stoner humour and nudity to, but the plot plays on traditional Christmas elements that pay off, including an unforgettable parody of a certain scene from ‘A Christmas Story’, a claymation sequence featuring some clay nudity (in 3D), and a song and dance number helmed by Neil Patrick Harris.

The movie is shot in 3D, but with the approach being to mock the technology and its recent popularity. This is fitting for a Harold and Kumar movie, as these traditionally poke fun at pop culture.  Furthermore, having 3D smoke blown right in your face seems rather appropriate for the Harold and Kumar franchise.

When asked why they continue to return to Harold and Kumar, the pair clarify that they are bound to sequels by contracts, as Cho jokingly replies, ‘the law!’.

‘In addition to lawyers,’ adds Penn, ‘we like the characters. I have such a great time playing Kumar.’

Cho continues, ‘It’s a relief to come back to comedy… Making it your day’s work to find a laugh is a really good way to spend a day, and I appreciate it more going away and then coming back to it. It’s like a class reunion and you get to see all your friends again.’

Throughout the interview, the actors laugh and joke with another. Their repartee is very entertaining, and this sense that they are genuinely enjoying themselves comes through in A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas, which displays their humour and their hearty bromance.

In the movie, Neil Patrick Harris teases, ‘See you in the fourth’. When asked their ideas for a next installment, Cho suggests, ‘Harold and Kumar invent a time machine… Harold and Kumar go… get a mani-pedi?’ At any rate, it seems, Harold and Kumar are not quite finished yet.

On October 20th, from 7-9pm at the Isabel Bader Theatre, VUSAC’s Education and Equity Commission and Invisible Children are screening ‘Tony’, a 50-minute documentary that will open your eyes to a world of terror in Northern Uganda.

Northern Uganda has been a war zone due to the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) for the past 25 years. The LRA is largely comprised of child soldiers who were violently abducted from their homes.

Watch the movie, discuss the content, meet the Invisible Children staff, and buy some Invisible Children gear to support their work.

Click here to RSVP on Facebook.

Oh là là.

For those of you out of the francophone-music-loop, Serge Gainsbourg is often considered to be one of the world’s most influential popular musicians. He experimented with every genre of music, from jazz to reggae, to rock and roll to mambo, to so many more. And he did them all well.

So, basically, we have a ridiculously talented French man who somehow manages to look fierce in a pinstripe suit jacket. I guess it’s true that le français est la langue de l’amour, because I have fallen hard.

Excuse me while I swoon.

blogUT is teaming up with the wonderful members of EFUT (check out their new shirts – sont-ils pas magnifiques?) to give away five double passes to an advanced (subtitled) screening of Gainsbourg: Vie Héroïque at the Cumberland Cinema (159 Cumberland Street) on Wednesday, September 14 at 7pm. The film depicts Serge Gainsbourg’s life, from his childhood in Nazi-occupied France to his rise to fame, as well as his steamy love affairs with Juliette Gréco, Jane Birken and Brigitte Bardot, who’s played by French beauty Letita Casta. César Award-winning actor Eric Elmosnino is featured as the title role.

The perfect movie for date night? I think so.

All you have to do to enter your name into the draw is post a YouTube video of your favourite French song as a comment. Comments will be accepted up until 11:59pm on Sunday, September  11th and we’ll be emailing the contest winners on Monday, September 12th. Please note that we will only accept entries from those who provide us with a utoronto email address.

So post a comment so that you can whip out le champagne, throw on your beret, and marchez on over to the Cumberland Cinema with that quelqu’un de spécial!
Or you can just bring a friend. That works too.

On May 11, 2011, blogUT Featured Blogger Danielle Klein spoke with Bradley Cooper while promoting his upcoming film, The Hangover: Part II.

While promoting the much-anticipated sequel to the 2009 hit The Hangover, Bradley Cooper is relaxed and confident. Prior to the release of the first film, the actor was humble and quiet in interviews; he expressed both uncertainty and hope for the success of the film. This time around, he more than hopes for success – he expects it, declaring rather boldly, “you can’t even argue that The Hangover II isn’t as good as the first one; it’s actually better.” (more…)

72 Hour Timeline. 5 Minutes max. 2 Words. 1 Ongoing Short Film Challenge.

Think you can make a film in three days? The Hart House Film Challenge is an ongoing short film contest. It gives students the chance to be creative, while offering an outlet for their films.  By indicating interest in a challenge, entrants are contacted through email on Friday with a particular genre as well as two words that must be included in their short films.  Contestants then upload their videos onto Youtube by the following Monday and their video is embedded onto the Hart House Film Challenge’s website.  Each month, a draw is held for entrants to win prizes. Past prizes have included movie passes to Bloor Cinema and advanced screening passes to films such as Unknown and Sucker Punch.

The contest started up in December 2010 and has already had several entries.

“We are a place for filmmakers to grow. In less than 5 minutes, you are challenged to think outside the box by incorporating seemingly unrelated ideas in your film,” says Camille Johnson, a member of the Hart House Film Challenge committee. “There are infinite paths that our entrants may take and it has been truly amazing to see their unique interpretations. We are all ecstatic about the continued response and the amazing submissions we have received. Keep them coming!”

In addition to the challenge itself, each video submitted is eligible for consideration to be screened at the UofT Film Festival. This year the festival is being held Wednesday March 23^rd, 2011 at Hart House.  Amazingly enough, all entrants thus far have qualified to be part of the festival.

The Hart House Film Challenge is always looking for new entrants as well as volunteers with any level of film experience.

For more information and to see submission videos, visit the Hart House Film Challenge’s website. For information on the UofT Film Festival and their 2011 program, check out their website here.