½ - Half Hollow Hills

Transcription

The Half Hollow Hills Review Club Presents
0
Half Hollow Hills Review Club
“Off the Record”
January 2010
January 2010
1
The Half Hollow Hills Review Club
January 2010
Volume 5
Issue 1
Table of Contents
Topic
Page
The Ratings
Movie Reviews
Movie Flashbacks
FEATURE: We ask the club & staff
“What are your favorite movies EVER?”
Book Reviews
FEATURE: Book vs. Movie – “Twilight”
Broadway Reviews
Music Reviews & Flashbacks
FEATURE: Michael Jackson Tribute
FEATURE: We ask the club & staff
“What songs make you want to puke?”
Video Game Reviews
Sports
Vacation Reviews - IRELAND
Restaurant Review–LA FAMIGLIA
This Issue’s Club Critics
2
4
44
69
76
100
104
108
126
129
133
141
146
148
156
All reviews are the opinions of the writer. You may agree with their opinion or
you may not. Some reviewers often give high ratings, while others are much more
critical. Regardless, the reviewer is asked to be objective, fair, critical and as
professional as possible while supporting their opinion. If you want to express
your opinion, the Half Hollow Hills Review Club always welcomes new members.
2
January 2010
The Ratings
An absolute classic for all time.
perfection!
½
Exemplifies
Near perfection. Will be remembered in the
future and will be an example of what greatness is
all about.
Great! Amazing! A Superb piece of work! Totally
memorable and worth the money.
½
Wow! Wonderful! Very, very good. A must.
Now this is GOOD.
damned good!
½
Maybe not special, but
Average, but enjoyable.
Fair. You MAY like it, but you’re not really
missing anything.
½
Not good. Don’t bother.
Poor. Worthless junk.
½ star
So horrific, it is painful to endure.
0 stars
Beyond Abysmal. So bad it is insulting. Who is
the idiot that allowed this to be produced?!
January 2010
3
Meet the Review Club
“The Critic”
4
January 2010
Movie Reviews 2009
Transformers:
Revenge of the Fallen
½ To be quite frank with you, this wasn’t
a good movie. There was a lot of action and a
cheesy and predictable plot. Of course the
acting was terrible. And then there was just
Megan Fox. I say the words “there was just”
because she pretty much just stood there - she
didn’t act, just stood there and looked pretty.
Michael Bay should be ashamed. In fact I’m
writing a letter to him now that I want those
two hours of my life back a.s.a.p. The only
good thing about this trash was the special
effects. - Noah Berley
This was a good movie, however,
it wasn't as good as the first one. It is
action-packed and the graphics are
amazing. This is a fun movie to watch and
you should be able to enjoy it whether or not you have seen the original. –
Jason Zelamsky
It was a good movie with good graphics. It may not be the best, but it was
decent and the whole family can watch and enjoy it. – Ananth Nagaraj
¾
Let us be honest – this is a horrible movie. Yes, there was a lot of action and
explosions, but just having action does make a movie all of sudden good. The story stinks and
has so many plot holes it is an insult to anyone with half a brain. And the acting is so horrific I do
not know where to start. Just having tons of high speed action and cool effects does not make up
for it. Really – it was painful to watch. I guess it is what I should expect from Michael Bay (the
director) at this point. I do give him credit – he knows the formula for earning money at the box
office: Great effects, cool looking robots, a few stupid jokes, and a great looking female (so it
does not matter if she can act or not). I am sorry Michael Bay, just a terrible, stupid movie!
Actually I am not sorry. – Mr. Bund
¼ Underrated. Everybody said that it was bad and had a weak plot. This is true to an extent. I
definitely did not walk into it and expect to see a deep, moving, Oscar winning plot. I got exactly what I
expected, I thought I’d see a lot of explosions, and it was action packed, energetic and very fun to watch. I’m
not rating it as if it was a serious story. It wasn’t about the plot, it was about good special effects and
explosions. I don’t think that it deserves all of the criticism that it received for being a bad movie because it
did not essentially focus on plot. Every movie focuses on different things as there are many different genres
of movies and each of them has at least one good movie. Some movies are about being stupid and making
you crack up. Some are about making you cry. Some are about capturing your hearts and giving you a
warm loving feeling, and some movies focus on attracting little kids with pointless characters and plot points.
And finally, some movies focus on keeping you on the edge of your seat with explosions and being a fun
fast paced movie, like this one, and it delivered. – Brandon Fluhr
January 2010
5
Movie Reviews 2009
½ star
Absolute Crap!!! – Miles Essner
Transformers 2 was a total let-down. The action was really good, but honestly, the
storyline was disastrous. There were just too many things happening at once. First, Sam’s house
is destroyed, and then he’s going to Harvard. Not long after he ends up in Washington D.C. and
then out of nowhere he randomly appears in Egypt. It is almost impossible to keep up with this
movie. The acting was good, but this only goes as an O.K. movie. They better consider this
before filming the third movie. – Arthur Sarkisyan
Average HHH Review Club Rating: 2.00 stars
A Christmas Carol
½
This movie was great. It was clearly
the best take on the classic story I have ever seen! Jim
Carey executes all of his parts beautifully. The
animation was fantastic and the 3-D was dazzling. I
really can't think of a bad thing about this movie. I
think I see a few Oscars headed in this direction! I
absolutely loved it. - Daniel Rudin
This is one of many really bad movies out
right now. This movie has nothing to it. No comedy,
no excitement, no action and nothing to make this
movie special or good in any way. I saw it in 3-D, but
nothing really jumped out at me. It was just like if I
had not seen it in 3-D. This is supposed to be a
"holiday movie" but it did not exactly get me into the
holiday spirit. – Brandon Nomberg
½
In this movie, which I watched in 3D,
Scrooge, who is played by Jim Carrey, is visited by three spirits who try to give him a
chance to make a fresh start. The plot in this movie is obvious, but the amount of
suspense was overdone. The graphics were pretty good, it had some decent acting but I
have to give them some credit for actually staying with the play. – Ananth Nagaraj
This definitely a stud for Robert Zemeckis. Along with Forrest Gump and
Back to the Future. It was a perfect to have Jim Carrey as Scrooge he put
everything he had into it and he didn’t disappoint. What made it so great were all
of the unexpected features in the movie, it was like lion that couldn’t be tamed. It
wasn’t amazing but it was way better than a Polar Express, which is a good thing. –
Miles Essner
½ As if we needed ANOTHER rendition of this tired story…– Dean Essner
6
January 2010
Movie Reviews 2009
Inglourious Basterds
This
masterpiece
begins with the insane mind of Quentin
Tarantino thinking he could get away with no
spell check for the title. Well this review isn’t
about spelling, it’s about the movie. It stars
Brad Pitt as “Lt. Aldo Rain,” who rounds up a
bunch of shabby officers and turns them into
Nazi killing Jews. This is very much Tarantino
with credits in the beginning and a storyline
arranged into chapters. And yes, the blood in
this movie would be enough to fill a swimming
pool, but the awesome action, dialogue and overall idea of Nazi killers is
what makes this movie so darn great. – Miles Essner
Ahhh…the best movie of the summer and probably the year. It
was funny, witty, violent, irreverent, but most of
all…it was brilliant. If there is any writer better than
Quentin Tarantino in Hollywood, then he must reveal
himself immediately! In addition, someone should
give Christoph Waltz with the Best Supporting Actor
award because his legendary performance deserves
the sparkling Academy gold. – Dean Essner
The Men Who Stare At Goats
Looney, gooney and extremely
outrageous, this film is fun if you can
close your brain for 2 hours and enjoy
the madness on the screen. This, by no
means, is quality stuff though. Luckily,
George Clooney is there to half-save
the day. – Dean Essner
¼
January 2010
7
Movie Reviews 2009
Julie & Julia
¼
Meryl Streep is probably the
biggest heavyweight actress in Hollywood
today, yet she still proves she is also the most
talent ed as her portrayal of famed chef Julia
Child is both spot on and imaginative. And
instead of overpowering the role, she enhances
it with her veteran charm. Stanley Tucci also
enchants. – Dean Essner
Land of the Lost
0 stars
This is a very short review, however, I feel it
is necessary to provide a public service announcement avoid “Land of the Lost” at all costs. This just may be the
worst movie I have seen in years. (The same level as the
horrific flop “Gigli” – if you have even heard of that
travesty). I know it is supposed to be stupid funny, but they
just tried too hard and it completely did not work. Shame on
you Will Farrell! Please, do not waste your time – You will
never get those 102 minutes of your life back! You have
been warned. – Mr. Bund
Old Dogs
½
star This movie was a really bad movie.
Sure, it was a little funny, but it was a really stupid
movie. This movie had me sitting in my chair
checking my watch every two minutes hoping it
would end. The movie starts out funny, but as it
goes on, it just gets worse and worse. I don't know
how anybody could produce a movie this bad. This
was one of the worst movies I have ever seen. –
Brandon Nomberg
8
January 2010
Movie Reviews 2009
Michael Jackson’s This Is It
OK, we all know that Michael Jackson is the King of Pop and
probably one of the best artists of all time. That being said, this
movie was not that good at all. I am a huge fan of Michael Jackson.
He is one of my favorite musicians, however, when I saw this movie I
was pretty bored, considering it was all footage from the same
concert. He did not do the moonwalk or that lean he does in Smooth
Criminal. He sang all of the classics, but failed to capture my
attention. I love Michael Jackson, but not the movie. – Daniel Rudin
½
Michael Jackson the King of Pop almost made it to his This is It tour in
London in July, but sadly he died. The movie starts with interviews with all of the
dancers that dance behind MJ, but they only got to practice with him. The whole movie is about MJ’s
Rehearsals and him singing dancing and creating the transitions that would show up on the backscreen on
the back of the stage. Michael’s director is Kenny Ortega, the man that also directed High School Musical.
Michael had no problems singing, except during ABC he felt the mic in his ear was pounding in his ear. That
was when Kenny Ortega crossed the nice barrier... “Oh Michael were so sorry, anything for you, is there
anything else we can do for you? Do you want a little more bass? Michael anything, anything?” He said that
all in one breath and Michael just keeps going no it’s ok...ok...ok. Kenny also made jokes about Michael
when he got back on the cherry picker for Beat It. They also made new transitioning and backgrounds for
Smooth Criminal, Bad, Earth Song, and even Thriller! The coolest one was when they used a green screen
and put 5 guys in front of the green screen and on the computer they multiplied them to the highest amount.
The movie also featured him singing and dancing to all of his songs. I would go see the movie again! –
Andrew Faber
¾
It I’m not really sure how to rate this movie. I can’t rate it on its acting, because there
was no acting, everything was footage taken of the preparing for the concert. I couldn’t rate it on its
plot because there was no plot, the movie had no script and was never intended to be released. I
could only rate it on the way that the director managed to put it together with what they had. The
only way to describe this movie is think of a behind the scenes/making of special feature on a DVD.
This movie featured wonderful music and a spectacular performance by the King of Pop, Michael
Jackson. – Brandon Fluhr
Before I talk about this movie, I would like to express my opinion of why I think
this movie was made. Ever since Michael Jackson died June 25, 2009, many people have been
obsessed with him and started to listen to his music and practice his moves. This movie was made
in dedication of him, and I liked it a lot. The movie was about a concert that Michael Jackson was
setting up. In his planned concert he sang many songs he had written before and he did a lot of
nice dance moves. There were costumes and dancers for some of the songs. This movie showed
songs from the Jackson 5 and Michael Jackson himself. I think this concert would have been
really spectacular. There were a lot of special effects that they had planned and Michael Jackson
always seems to be ahead of his time trying new things. But as a movie it was a little slow. If you
are a real Michael Jackson fan I think you will love it. – Josh Cohen Average
HHH
Review Club Rating: 3.43 stars
January 2010
9
Movie Reviews 2009
2012
2012 was a stupid movie. There are a lot of
things wrong with this movie – too many to go into. It
is just a stupid movie. – Sal Liotta
The plot behind the movie is based on a father
and his family trying to survive a worldwide catastrophe
predicted by the Mayans to occur on December 21,
2012. The special effects were really cool, especially a
title wave scene. They try to get to China before the
world floods. There are super strong submarines (arks)
built to withstand the flood. The movie was good and
exciting. – Joe Anderson
2012 is an action packed movie with tons of special effects. As in most movies the
story takes a while to take off. They always see something they have no clue what it is and then
they find one clue or meet somebody that helps the journey. The main family has to get to these
space rocket things in China, but they have no tickets or anything and they always find somebody
that helps. The story was weak and you could pretty much predict what was going to happen.
There’s an earthquake in California and the main character, Jackson goes to pick up his family
right after they walk out the door the house collapsed and then they got into the car when he
pulled away the earth behind him cracked. Then they got into a plane and right when they took
off you now know the earth cracked behind them! And when the world is in the middle of
crumbling a car passes by that just happens to have tickets to the ship. In another scene when
Jackson and his little daughter were in an RV a volcano erupted and they got through and dodged
everything. Some of it wasn’t even possible to pull off in real life. The most suspenseful parts
were at the end when the earth was blowing up piece by piece and the scenes kept switching from
America to India to China. In the end all the rich people board the ships and all the poor people
are left behind. I give it 3 stars, because the special effects were amazing. – Andrew Faber
½
The movie is basically about what scientists believe will happen on the winter
solstice (December 21, 2012) based on the Mayan calendar. This movie also shows an
average Californian family going through the many challenges of the chaos.
Based on the movie, this tragic day starts in California with mini earthquakes, a
humungous explosion in Yellow Stone Park, (where the father and kids of the family happen
to be staying) and finally, a big earthquake splitting the Pacific plate completely. It ends with
a big tsunami and a big flood between the Himalayan Mountains.
The acting needed work and the special effects were pretty good. This movie is rated
PG-13 for intense disaster sequences and some language. If you think you would get scared
from this movie, you shouldn’t watch it. Only watch it if you believe that the theory of
December, 2012 is true, and you’re willing to find out what might happen. – Nick Robinson
10
January 2010
Movie Reviews 2009
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
½
Here are the 3 words to sum it up:
boring, predictable and unoriginal.
Producers still think cheesy humor,
making the boy and girl fall in love, and
the “Believe in Yourself” moral will get
them to the top of the box office. Kids
will eventually realize that these horrific,
cheesy movies go in the same pattern:
Boy has a goal in life; Dad discourages
it; Boy meets girl; Boy achieves goal; Boy
becomes famous; Boy and girl have fight
while piano music plays during a
montage of them walking with their
backs to the camera; Problem seems
like it can never be solved; Boy and girl
make up; end of movie with makeout
session. BORING! These writers need a
reality check! – Sam Leifer
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was a very good movie. At first, I thought it
was just about a bunch of meatballs falling out of the sky, mainly because that was how
the poster depicted it, but the plot was actually way more interesting and complex than
that. The majority of the movie had humor and action, but surprisingly, there were some
emotional and romantic parts that touched your heart. The 3-D effect also contributed to
the splendor of the film. So people, don’t think that this movie is basically about
meatballs raining from the sky, because it’s far better than that. Due to the fact that it’s
not in the theaters anymore and because it was such a good movie, I recommend buying
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs on DVD. – Kevin Liang
This movie was definitely not the best movie I have ever seen, but it was good. It
is about a kid who loves science. He invents a machine where you can make
food by just typing it in and adding water. What happens is that the invention
launches into the sky and turns the weather into food! Will this be good for a
small, little town or will it destroy it? See for yourself, because I am not telling.
Overall, I thought it was a pretty fun movie. – Justin Wieder
January 2010
11
½
This was not the best movie, but it was somewhat good. Basically, an
experiment goes wrong it starts raining 3-course meals and now Flint, the
hero, has to save the world. If you are someone who loves cut animated
movies with a happy ending, then this is for you. – Victoria Korine
Not the best, but not awful either. A boy grows up trying to
invent ridiculous things like flying rats, but one day creates a machine that
makes food fall from the sky. Overall, the worst thing about this movie was
that it was too predicable. It was just not very thrilling. If you are going to see
this movie, see it at home. At least you get free food there. – Tyler Morgan
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was a good movie. There were funny
parts, action parts, and some chicken kung fu fighting parts. If you read the book, then
the plot was predictable, with some exceptions, but it’s such a great story that it’s so
much fun to watch. The movie is about a genius, Flint Lockwood, whose inventions are
almost perfect. He is a very unusual person who wants to prove himself to his town and
his father. Lockwood invents a machine that makes food out of water, then he shoots it
up in the sky and it rains food that the town desperately needs. Everyone loves him but
when the mayor gets greedy there’s a BIG problem... I recommend this movie for
families and kids ages 6 to 13 who want to see their book favorite characters come to life.
– Aaron Berley
¼ star
This was completely uninteresting. Predictable, extremely unoriginal, waste of money,
waste of time, stupid, annoying, and terrible– Brandon Fluhr
12
January 2010
Movie Reviews 2009
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
½
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood
Prince was an average movie. The film was
basically a flight of stairs; each event was a
step, and the “steps” in the movie ultimately
led to the most important event of all. My big
complaint is that the movie didn’t really
correspond with the book! Also, the movie
lacked in action and violence, but the cool
visual
effects
(spell-casting)
mainly
compensated for that loss and were probably
what kept this movie intact and from falling
apart. Was the film terrible? No, but it wasn’t
extraordinary either. – Kevin Liang
½
Being a Harry Potter fan, I was
very excited when I heard this movie was coming
out. I ran to the theater the first night I was able to get there! There was a lot of hype for
this movie. It pains me to say this, but I thought this movie would be better. Overall, it
was dark and the dialogue was not easy to understand. I felt that if I had not read the
book, I would have had no idea what was going on. The storyline that you actually could
understand was not too bad, and the action was good, but there was just too much
missing. I was deeply disappointed by this movie, and I hope the 7th will be better –
Morgan Rampolla
¾
Look, I understand you Harry Potter fans were very excited for this
flick, but I gotta tell you, this movie was a waste of time and money. It was
only a big build up to important events involving Dumbledore. OK – now
what? Sure, there were some cool special effects, but the plot was so simple,
that it was not worth it. – Elliott Vogel
This movie did not have enough action and did not live up to
its expectations. I thing they should have showed Lord Voldormort
more. Overall, it is not the best in the series. – Brandon Ozley
½
You have to admit this it was not the best Harry Potter movie. – Tina Ranjbar
January 2010
13
½
Totally fun. I thought it was going to be bad, because of the PG
rating. I was wrong. – Tana Ranjbar
½
Harry Potter and the Half- Blood Prince
was an okay movie. However, it is definitely not my favorite
out of all the movies. It didn’t have enough action; there
was way too much drama. The story was focused on Ron
and Hermione’s “feelings” more than the main conflict,
involving
Harry
and
Dumbledore
searching
for
Horcruxes. Overall, this is a decent movie. –Jason
Zelamsky
½ I have always lo ved the Harry Potter films and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood
Prince was another great one. This movie is about Harry, Ron, and Hermoine returning to
Hogwarts School for their sixth year. There is a lot in store for these characters, with surprises
around every corner. There is a new professor who teaches a Potions Class, and Harry finds a
textbook which belonged to a former student. But, this student was no ordinary student. It was
the Half-Blood Prince who was a master at potions and his notes helped Harry to excel in this
class and beyond. Harry uncovers his spells which are useful, but have a very dark side. There
are also scenes which reveal Snape’s Defense Against the Dark Arts position. So many aspects
of the Harry’s and Snape’s relationship are explored and add to the drama. As the year continues
Harry, Ron, and Hermoine learn to Apparate (transport), visit Fred and George’s Joke Shop, play
Quidditch, and learn more about Voldemort’s dark past. Dangerous secrets are being uncovered
and you can’t believe what they find. Also, rivalries continue to develop and grow. The movie
was exciting and thrilling with all the new spells like Episkey (fix something that is broken) and
Aguamenti (produces a jet of water). This movie, unlike the previous ones in the series, focused
more on drama than on action, which was a bit disappointing, but it did have some romance.
Plus, the movie ends with the biggest surprise! You might be shocked for days. If you are a
Harry Potter fan you won’t want to miss it! - Ryan Winthrop
After being disappointed from the last movie, I was expecting a lot for this
one. The movie fulfilled my expectations but not as much I was hoping for. The Imax
Experience was TERRIBLE. Only 5 minutes of the movie was in 3-D. It was not worth paying
an extra ten dollars for. But the plot of the story was a little better. In the movie, Harry is
going to confront the dark wizard Voldemort. Headmaster Dumbledore wants Harry to
be prepared to battle Voldemort. Harry goes through memories of Voldemort as a
student in Hogwarts, in order to learn more about him. . Then soon some romance occurs
at Hogwarts, where Harry has a secretly loves Ron’s younger sister. Then at the end I was
very disappointing. The beginning and middle were true to the book but then was ruined
by the ending. If it wasn’t for the ending this movie would be the best Harry Potter film of
all time. Despite the OK plot the visual effects made it up. The visual effect in the movie
was AMAZING. It was the best I have seen in the film series. Despite the OK plot the
movie was pretty good and I enjoyed it. - Umer Chaudhry
14
January 2010
Movie Reviews 2009
Harry Potter Continued…
¼
Here it is…another
movie from J. K. Rowling’s book series. I am
an average fan, but I thought this movie was
very good. It is about Harry Potter, who
connects with Dumbledore (the headmaster of
Hogwarts School). Harry, Ron, and Hermione
are going into their sixth year as students at
Hogwarts.
They learn all about Lord
Voldemort‘s past and how it relates to Harry’s
life. Harry and Dumbledore can capture other
people’s memories and use them as puzzle
pieces in otherwise incomplete memories to see the true meaning. The new secrets can be very
shocking, but in the end, it makes sense by pulling it altogether. A new professor comes to teach
the Potions Class which Harry seemed to like and “lessons” learned there played an important
part of the story. A lot of new secrets roam the halls of Hogwarts and some are too hard to
believe. And, a certain character changes incredibly as the year goes by. It seems as the
character is racing against time and experiences something new. A shocking ending lifts you off
the seats and has the audience begging to know the big question…WHY??? You will not believe
the ending.
I gave these movie 3 ¼ stars because it was well done. It had a lot of drama, a lot of
romance, some action, and unbelievable dedication by some of the characters. I recommend this
movie to anyone who loves magic, drama, and anything that will make you gasp. You did not
have to read the book to enjoy the movie. Its fast pace and vivid storytelling was enough to keep
anyone involved. This movie may have been a hit for dedicated Harry Potter fans, but it was not
a classic movie. For me, it was an enjoyable movie worth watching. - Dana Winthrop
Although not anything spectacular this movie did a decent job of recreating the book.
This movie had a deep plot and good acting. It was less violent than the last two movies in the
series. Some moments might be disturbing for little kids. Overall, a mediocre adaptation of a great
story. – Brandon Fluhr
Tara Ranjbar rates all the Harry Potter movies:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – 2 ½
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – 2 ½
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – 2 ¾
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – 2 ½
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – 2 ½
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - 3 ½
January 2010
15
Movie Reviews 2009
District 9
½
The summer kicked off with an action
packed thrill ride called District 9. With the
director taking a walk in the park with his gore,
it brought more into the story. It was about an
agency that only deals with aliens who are lead
by a British analyst, trying to move the aliens
over from District 9 to District 10. In this
review, I can only go so far into detail because
there are so many important things that can’t be
said. I would like to give it a little more credit,
but these kinds of movies aren’t usually my cup
of tea. Still, it was quite good. – Miles Essner
½
If one were to grade District 9, it must be done so in three
separate acts. Act 1- 4 stars. Act 2- 4 stars. Act 3- 2 ½ Stars. Why the dip
in rating? Well, District 9 through most of the way is without a doubt one
of the most important portrayals of alien life since E.T., one that melds
together political ideals and tongue-in-cheek humor. In the end, however,
it attempts to wow with special effects. It is still awesome overall though.
– Dean Essner
The Blind Side
A heart warming movie that does not
necessarily only meet the interests of football
fans, far from it, since football has little to do
with this film. This is all about the changes that
Michael Oher and his adopted family went
through in order to give him the family he never
had. A touching film that has everything from
comedy to tears, and possibly the best movie
I’ve seen all year. The only part I did not like is
that the Patriots traded their draft pick to
Baltimore so they could get him, ughhh! – Brett
Levine
16
January 2010
Movie Reviews 2009
Paul Blart: Mall Cop
This movie is hilarious. Paul Blart gets a
job to be a mall cop and is trying his best. What can
happen? There are good stunts, and the good
relationships between the characters. It is a great
movie for the whole family. This movie makes me
crack up! - Justin Wieder
½
It had its funny moments. Not many, but
there were a few in there. I think Kevin James can be
very funny, but this movie did not really show how funny
he can be. A few laughs, but do not go out of your way
to see this. – Mr. Bund
¼
Kevin James provides one laugh in
this movie and yes it includes him getting hurt…end of story. – Dean Essner
Mall cop was a great comedy for the entire family. A real "blockbuster." It
was much better than most people expected. It was an exiting movie with an
unexpected ending. - Brandon Nomberg
½ star
Mall Cop was the worst movie of 2009. In this movie, Paul Blart is an officer at
his local mall and Black Friday is coming. On Black Friday a bunch of thugs take over the mall
as everyone runs out, but they do hold hostages. Paul Blart is the only one left and it’s up to him
to save the prisoners with the mall. This movie does deliver a few cheap laughs, but come on,
honestly, one of the worst movies of all time. – Arthur Sarkisyan
¼
Stupid kids’ movie which provided a few immature laughs which involved Kevin James
getting hurt. The rest of the content was very predictable and pointless. – Brandon Fluhr
Average HHH Review Club Rating: 1.75 Stars
Fantastic Mr. Fox
¾ An absolutely brilliant portrayal of the
Raold Dahl book by director/writer Wes Anderson, this
movie is both heartwarming and hilarious, as it uses the
stop-motion form of animation to create an unbelievably
realistic movie. And did I mention there are talking
foxes. Doesn’t matter, its still more realistic than any
other animated movie this year because the script is so
personable and so relatable that it seems connect the
story it to the real world. – Dean Essner
January 2010
17
Movie Reviews 2009
The Invention of Lying
This movie was surprisingly good. I had a
bunch of laughs and almost even cried. This
movie is about a world in which people don’t
lie. For the first time in the world a man
named Mark lies about the amount of money
in his bank account because he needs to pay
off his rent. He falls in love with an attractive
woman, Anna, although she isn’t attracted to
him. She doesn’t love him because he is fat
and has a large nose and doesn’t want his
genes because she doesn’t want fat children.
Mark uses his lies to change his fortunes, and
the wonderful message that people are more
than what they see on the outside - Noah
Berley
Bruno
¼
It was disgusting! It was
funny! It was almost impossible to
watch! But, overall Bruno just pushed
the envelope too far. When Jody Hill
pushed his comedy (Observe and
Report) passed its mainstream breaking
point, he found frightening bliss. But
Sacha Baren Cohen this time was not as
successful because, well, he always goes
too far, and when he decided to go
further… - Dean Essner
18
January 2010
Movie Reviews 2009
The Hangover
The Hangover was refreshing to
watch. There are too many “Comedy” movies that are
not funny, but the Hangover had me laughing the entire
time. The movie doesn’t have a great plot but it sure is
funny. The movie is basically about a guy who is getting
married and has a bachelors party in Las Vegas with his
two best friends and his brother in law. After a few
drinks they wake up in the morning in a trashed
apartment with no Hank(The Bachelor) and can’t
remember a thing. The friends must find Hank and get
to the wedding in time. Overall I give I give it 3 stars. –
Paul DeCarlo
¼
I am quite frankly sick and tired of
hearing how The Hangover is the breakout comedy
of the year because that award belongs to either
Duplicity or Observe And Report.
But, for
mainstream hilarity, The Hangover is a funny bone tickling winner. I will even go as far
to say that Zack Galafiankas as the chunky, idiot brother-in-law- to-be deserves a Best
Supporting Actor nomination. – Dean Essner
One of the funnier movies I have seen in years! – Mr. Bund
Angels & Demons
½
This is a yet another Ron Howard dud. This
movie was whipping you back and forth leaving
you after a scene with loads of questions.
Although, it was like National Treasure (WHICH
SUCKED!!!) it seemed show signs of thrill in
several spots. That’s why I’m not going to trash
it. – Miles Essner
½ Better than The DaVinci code, but just
an OK movie – Mr. Bund
January 2010
19
Movie Reviews 2009
Public Enemies
½
Dark, deceptive and super cool, Public
Enemies was as impeccably shot and written as it was
awesome. And when Johnny Depp is his reliably
brilliant self, along with Christian Bale (in his thankfully
not OVERLY serious mode), Billy Crudup and the Oscar
winner Marie Cotillard, anything less than this excellent
movie would have been a major disappointment. – Dean
Essner
¾
A good movie with another very good
job by Johnny Depp. It kept my attention, but not
the best movie of the year. A decent rental movie –
Mr. Bund
½
Johnny Depp was a perfect fit to play John Dillanger, the money stealing,
bank robbing, and jail-breaking maniac. The action was endless, and so was the brilliance. It gave
us a glimpse of life in the 30s and how crime war was incredibly fierce. Nothing else needs to be
said for this awesome film except, SEE IT!!!! – Miles Essner
Up
¾
With its heart-wrenching opening
monologue, to the outstanding CGI effects, Up
continues the Pixar streak even with a main
character that is possibly Pixar’s most nondescript
protagonist ever (played by Ed Asner). It doesn’t
matter one bit as Up is just as wonderful and
endearing as WALL E if not better. Plus, the score by
Michael Giacchino is hands down Oscar worthy. –
Dean Essner
½
I’ve officially come to the conclusion
that Pixar can’t make a bad movie. It seems like every time they have an idea it’s an
Oscar win a GG win etc. They all are so gifted and they used those talents in Up. It
seemed that the story was a little too bleak, but the talents of the filmmakers covered it up
with symbolism and entertainment beyond the normal standards. I hope that Pixar can
keep on striving to reach new heights in the future. – Miles Essner
20
January 2010
Movie Reviews 2009
Terminator
Salvation
½ Action-packed, cheesy
and gobs of fun, Terminator
Salvation definitely does justice to
the Terminator franchise. Yes the
script is weak and the acting is
laughably campy, but the action is
wonderfully done securing interest
for me in the next series
installment. – Dean Essner
½
This thrilling final
chapter of the Terminator series shows us
what the world they spoke of in the last
three is really like. You really should
watch the first three before this one
otherwise it will just seem like some weird
sci-fi cliché. It does have originality and will be placed close to the last three on what I
call the “nostalgia meter,” but it lacks a certain something. Let’s see - it has action, a
good story line, but still… WHERE IS ARNOLD? They gave him a computer-generated
cameo, but that only proves that he could have been in the whole movie. Instead we get
John Connor, Kyle Reece, and some mute girl. I mean they’re good actors, but what
comes to mind when you hear the word Terminator? – Nick Frankel
½
The latest installment in the venerable scifi action franchise turns out to be a straight-up war film,
grim and muscular and thundering and joyless. It’s the
color of cement, and it weighs as much, too. – Arthur
Sarkisyan
¾: This was not a great movie, but it definitely was not as
bad as everyone said it was. It was not nearly as good as
Terminator 2 but it was far better than Terminator 3 which was just awful. Going into the war with
the machines itself instead of waiting until the aftermath would have been a better idea in my
opinion. The ending was very predictable, it is just like every other Terminator movie where
progress is made but the final goal is never fully accomplished. This of course leaves room for a
sequel, and a very unfulfilling movie. – Brandon Fluhr
January 2010
21
Movie Reviews 2009
Taken
¾
Action packed and enjoyable
although completely unrealistic. Having one
gun, killing everybody with machine guns, and
not even getting hit once is a stretch even for
Hollywood. Though ending was very
predictable, it was a fast paced movie that was
fun, but wasn’t excellent. Neeson’s acting
definitely brought something to the table,
otherwise it would just be another weak action
thriller. – Brandon Fluhr
Sorry, but just not that good. It
was enjoyable, and I liked some of the
action sequences, but the characters were poorly developed and I feel that
they could have done so much more. Overall just an OK movie. If you
want to see it, wait for a rental. – Mr. Bund
I thought Taken was an ok movie. It is about an ex government agent who’s daughter is
kidnapped in Spain. The action was very good… except I don’t really know how he was killing guys
with his bare hands while they’re shooting at him with UZIs and MP5s, which leads me to my next
point. It was like there was almost nothing really stopping him. None of those moments when you
say “Oh $*#% it’s over… he’s going to fail.” They could have done much more with this movie than
they did. There was too much fighting and not enough speaking. - Eric Hechler
Madea Goes To Jail
¾
From the commercial it looked as though it was
going to be extremely hilarious. Having seen the movie I learned
that every single funny moment this film contained was featured
in the trailer. It was two plots in one that partially intertwine. Part
one was about an obnoxious old fat lady (Madea) who is
constantly breaking the law and finally gets sent to jail, and her
story is very entertaining. The other part centers around a
prostitute who winds up in jail with Madea whose plot was
extremely boring and unentertaining. – Brandon Fluhr
22
January 2010
Movie Reviews 2009
Year One
Jack Black is great, and Michael Cera
(who was in Juno - which I hated) played the
role of the passive wimp was pretty good. The
history was pretty messed up though. The first
book of the Bible all took place before year one.
Also the comedy was gross – Just to warn you
all in advance. Jack Black does eat err…
unwrapped chocolate. Also it doesn’t have a
story - just two guys are banished after eating
the forbidden fruit and go around and be stupid.
– Nick Frankel
Since when was Jack Black in a
movie this bad? – Dean Essner
It had its moments where I actually laughed, but still a bad movie. – Mr. Bund
½
Jack Black and Michael Cera made some of the worst career moves by
being a part in the film. The script was terrible the acting was terrible. To sum it
up, everything was terrible. – Miles Essner
Race to Witch Mountain
If you’re expecting a remake of the classic
then think again. The bad guy is more like
the one from Hellboy and the plot is kind of
like The Fugitive, yet it still keeps
originality. The kids are good, The Rock is
good, and even the minor characters were
memorable. A good family movie. – Nick
Frankel
January 2010
23
Movie Reviews 2009
Fast and Furious
½
A great movie starring Vin
Diesel and Paul Walker. A race for $2 billion,
but as Vin Diesel and Paul Walker discover the
truth, it becomes a race for their survival. –
Ananth Nagaraj
This was a good movie, not
special, but very good. It was easy for me to
understand only because I saw the other “Fast and
Furious” movies. If you have not seen at least the
first movie this will be hard for you to follow.
Some parts may be inappropriate for younger
kids, other than that it was a great movie. – Vishnu Nagaraj
Fast cars and Vin Diesel’s definition of acting. Oh, there was a
story in there too, but who watches this movie for a plot? – Mr. Bund
½ star
Who is Vin Diesel? What is this movie about? What are they even racing
for. This movie has no plot, they just said “Hey let’s put some big explosions and girls in
bikinis and call it a movie. This is the bottom of the barrel! Do Not Watch!!! – Nick
Frankel
Paranormal Activity
1/4
This movie was about an engaged couple
named Katie and Mica. Katie revels that she has a demon who
follows her, and after seeing a ghost hunter, Mica decides to catch
it himself. If you enjoy perfectly angled shots, and a planned out
script, don't watch this movie. But if you want to feel as though you
are there, and walk out the theatre scared out of your mind, than
go see it. This movie will keep you awake, as I am now, with lights
on all around you. Every noise you hear, water dripping, door
opening, a breeze, will cause your mind to jump. When I returned
home, my sister opened her door, and I jumped to the ceiling and
started hyperventilating. The special effects in this movie are very
minor, due to the fact that it is supposed to make you feel as if it is
a real home video. The actors are amazing and very talented and
will make you believe it’s real. It has some very funny points, and throughout the whole movie you
will be laughing, but at the end, you will walk out scared, and unable to go to sleep. - Zach
Appenzeller
24
January 2010
Movie Reviews 2009
X-Men Origins
Wolverine
½
This was a very
highly anticipated movie, but unfortunately it
did not live up to the hype. The special effects
drove the movie to a point where it was getting
a little annoying. But the fierce role of
Jackman was one of the good points the movie
had to offer. I will give the movie interesting at
best but to adore the series you'll have to watch
the other movies. – Miles Essner
“X-Men Origins Wolverine” is the 4th movie in the X-Men series.
Logan/Wolverine (played by Hugh Jackman) and Victor/Sabertooth (played by Leiv Scheriber)
play mutant brothers who fight together. They fought in the Civil War, World Wars 1 and 2, and
the Vietnam War. William Stryker invites them to join a team of mutants with special powers.
Logan leaves and the group breaks up. Six years later, Logan is living with his girlfriend and is
now a logger. But when his girlfriend gets killed by Victor, and their old group is being hunted
down, again by Victor, he agrees to become invincible. When Logan is invincible, nothing can
destroy him. The conflict is Brother vs. Brother in the final showdown. When Stryker reveals his
plan, Logan escapes. Now he has to defeat Victor with the help of others and save the world.
I gave this movie 4 Stars. One reason is that Hugh Jackman is an amazing actor as usual.
Also, the stunts are fascinating! They keep you on the edge of your seat the whole time. For
example, Logan throws a bomb in a grounded helicopter and as he walks off, it explodes right
behind him with a cloud (like an atomic bomb). What happens to Victor? What is Stryker
planning? Will Wolverine save the world? Only way to find out is to watch “X-Men Origins
Wolverine” unravel. - Ryan Winthrop
½
If you like superheroes or ever wondered what James Howlett’s (a.k.a.
Wolverine) life was like before he joined the X-Men or how he got his adamantium claws
and skeleton, then X-Men Origins: Wolverine is the perfect movie for you! This movie is an
action-packed thriller and will appeal to any avid X-Men/Wolverine fan. Also, I
personally thought that this movie was one of the most outstanding of all the Marvel
superhero movies I’ve watched, and believe me, I’ve watched many (Fantastic 4, SpiderMan, X-Men: I, II, III). This film will keep you interested and on the brink of your seat for
the full 107 minutes. Your eyes will stay open the entire time; it will be impossible to close
them. This just proves how stellar X-Men Origins: Wolverine is. After the movie concluded,
all I could say was, “Wow! Definitely going to get that on DVD.” – Kevin Liang
January 2010
25
½ I enjoy the X‐men movies, and Wolverine is my favorite. Hugh Jackman is perfect for t he role. Learning about Wolverine’s origins was fun and entertaining. That being said, it was overall an OK movie. Honestly, I like these kinds of movies, but that does not make them 4 stars. There is a difference between enjoying a movie, and being honest about the rating. X‐men Origins was worth seeing if you like the comic book movies, but it is still only a 2 ½ star movie. – Mr. Bund Average HHH Review Club Rating: 2.63 stars
Movie Reviews
Hotel for dogs
½
An ok movie. Good for kids under the
age of 9. If you are an adult or older than 9, you will
probably find this movie very boring. It does not
have much of a plot, and there are no exciting twists
anywhere in the movie. It’s good if you love dogs,
but otherwise it is pretty boring. It was not the worst
movie ever, but nothing great. - Brandon
Nomberg
This movie was good for little kids. I
thought that it was predictable, but there were
some immature funny moments that can be
entertaining to younger audiences. A great family movie. – Brandon Fluhr
26
January 2010
Movie Reviews 2009
Monsters vs. Aliens
¾
Fun, fun, fun movie! Yes it is childish
and the jokes are sometimes bland,
but it also is a perfectly good reason
why Seth Rogen is one of the funniest
people in Hollywood today. – Dean
Essner
¾
I think the idea of this movie was very good,
but the producers got too caught up with
being in 3-D and that ruined it. Everything
just revolved around the 3-D. I must admit, the movie was very comedic
and there were many funny parts, but still just an OK movie. – Elliott
Vogel
¼
This movie did not live up to my expectations. I felt they
tried to funny, but it was just lacking. I also felt that it barely had a
storyline, although the president played by Stephen Colbert was great.
Do not waste your time or money on this movie. – Sal Liotta
A cute and amusing movie for little children. It actually
did have a few laughs, but I recommend it for younger kids. – Noah
Berley
½
This is a movie about a bunch of monsters who fight an army of cloned
aliens. It's not the best movie to see, but it's a good movie to see with a bunch of little
kids. It has a few funny moments, but not a very interesting plot. A bad thing about this
movie is that it's so short. I sat down and felt like a few moments later the credits were
rolling. In all, this movie is for little kids, but it has its funny moments. – Josiana Lecrete
January 2010
27
Movie Reviews 2009
Coraline
Wow. Such a great movie. Tim
Burton never stops impressing me. Coraline was very bizarre
and creepy, in an artistic way which I always love. Anyone
who loved the artistic vision that was thrown into Nightmare
Before Christmas must see this movie. - Daniel Rudin
¾
Animation is a dark art of wisdom, creativity
and sometimes, if the movie is good, magic. Coraline doesn’t
have magic…it IS magic. To say that a movie is magical is to say
that it is so original that it causes jaw-dropping awe, and to say that this film was aweinspiring would be an understatement. Made by the creative genius Henry Sellick who
created the wonderful Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline has the looks and the feel of a
movie that was generated from a psychotic dream. But it isn’t a cute one, as Coraline is PG
for the squeamish. The tale is about a young girl named Coraline who wanders through a
mysterious door to an alternate world of hers. Her parents in real life are overworking,
uptight people, where in the alter world they are fun loving. But the catch is drastic;
everyone in the world has buttons for eyes, which symbolizes their conformity as well as
the removal of their individual soles. The story is captivating and overstuffed, but the
magic is ever present. And as young Coraline discovers what the alternate world really is,
the plot twist is frightening and yet beautiful. It will GLADLY haunt your dreams. – Dean
Essner
¾
I was too late to see this movie in 3-D, so that made it
just 2-D for me. Still, the movie was good, and looked very real from
claymation. The only problem that I had, though, is that there is a very
disturbing scene; too disturbing for young children. Otherwise, it was a
good movie. – Elliott Vogel
½
Coraline Jones (Dakota Fanning) is an adventurous girl who finds a secret
doorway that leads to another world! At the other world she has an “Other Mother” and an “Other
Father.” The other parents are the opposite of the real parents – they are better. Coraline meets
new friends and a talking cat! Will Coraline have to choose a world to stay forever? Why did I
rate it 4 stars? I loved the animations, and it was a great family/fantasy movie - Tara Ranjbar
I saw this movie during my 11th birthday slumber party with 11
of my best friends. This was an outstanding movie, with all sorts of plot twists
and some scary parts. I now title this The Best Movie I Have Ever Seen. – Brandon
Epstein
28
January 2010
Movie Reviews 2009
Knowing
½
I love Nicholas Cage so this was kind
of a letdown. My dad loved it, but I was confused and
could have literally fallen asleep at some parts. There are
2 stories going on at once. First they can predict
disasters, and then the kids were the supposed chosen
ones. I would not say this is a must see. – Nick Frankel
½
An interesting psychological
thriller. Is all of history pre-ordained, and there is
nothing you can do to stop it – even if you know it is
going to happen? I saw this movie with a friend
going to seminary school (to be a priest), and there are some very interesting
subjects addressed about God’s will, the Genesis story of creation, and the
existence of angels. If you see it, it will spark an interesting discussion.
Overall, an OK movie, but it will make you think. – Mr. Bund
½
This movie is great. It has action, adventure, mild violence, and
is a little scary. I think that most people would enjoy this movie. Nicholas Cage did a
great job in it. – Zach Levitan
½
Knowing was a good movie. It made me think about the
future. The movie was a little scary at first, but as the movie progressed, I
could see the point of it. This movie could have been better, if it weren't for
two very violent scenes which were simply too graphic and unreal. The
ending of this movie was very logical, but when it came, the image was
very strange and I could have dealt without it. -Maya Gasiorowski
Dance Flick
The Wayan brothers trying to remake the ________
movies (Epic, Scary, Superhero…). It
was funny as it
parodies many dance movies such as Step Up, Save the Last
Dance and many more. It was not as entertaining as Epic Movie
but much better than Scary Movie 1 and 2 which were dreadful.
– Brandon Fluhr
January 2010
29
Movie Reviews 2009
Watchmen
There sure was no shortage of hype
for this action feature, but is Watchmen really
worth watching? If you were to sum up the
movie Watchmen in one word it would probably
be “disappointing”.
Director Zack Snyder
presents the famous comic book with loads of
special effects and big explosions, but he simply
ends up with a conventional, average effort at
best. Why? Well all fingers must be pointed at
the terrible (and I repeat) terrible script that is so
preposterous on the screen that it sounds like the
comic book was copied directly for the
screenplay. Don’t get me wrong, it is gold on
paper, but it just doesn’t transcend well to the
screen. Other quibbles include movies length,
which was almost 3 hours and I can safely say my
interest began to wane after one, and the bland acting of Billy Crudup as Dr.
Manhattan (which is a shame because he is such a talented actor). But are there any
positive aspects? Yes, and the biggest is the brilliant acting of Jackie Earl Haley,
who’s face still bares the same hard nosed expression as he portrayed in 1976’s Bad
News Bears. So…is it worth watching? You make the call because Watchmen is an
incoherent mess of a movie that is very disappointing and even disgustingly out of
place at worst, but it’s also a feisty, first rate apocalyptic portrayal on nuclear war. It
is enough genius rapped in garbage to make you cry and long for what could have
been. – Dean Essner
I thought this was a terrible movie. There was so much blood and killing, it was
hard to watch. Also, the plot was so fuzzy and hard to understand. At the end of the
movie I said to myself, “What just happened??!!” - Noah Berley
¾
Very faithful to the book and a great interpretation of a graphic novel.
IF you did not read the book, I think you may not find it easy to follow and not enjoy
it entirely. IF you did read the book and loved it, then add a star to the rating. – Mr.
Bund
This movie was not very entertaining. It was extremely hard to follow because the plot
jumped around a lot to the point that you find yourself lost. It was very annoying with a
disappointing ending. – Brandon Fluhr
30
January 2010
Movie Reviews 2009
Star Trek
If you ever watched the TV series,
you'll highly enjoy this movie. It
follows the story of the characters
very well. Personally, when I walked
into the theater I was expecting a
lame movie with the same old
storyline. But this had action,
romance, sadness, and confusion all
wrapped up in a spaceship. The
problem with this movie is that the
plot, like all science fiction films, is
full of holes. The complication of
going back in time mixes things up a
little. I don't want to ruin the ending
for you so lets just say, "if I went back
in time and killed my mother, then I
would never be born and therefore couldn't kill her, so she'd still be
alive." Keep this saying in mind when watching this movie. - Josiana
Lecrete
½
Total action, great special effects, a very good story,
and good acting. This brings you back to the time before the original Star
Trek series (the one from the 1960’s). You will learn where Kirk, Spock, and
the rest of the famous crew came from. It was expertly directed to
combine the action and amazing visual effects with humor and an effective
story. What I felt was possibly even more impressive was the casting. The
actors seem like they really could have been their younger versions –
especially Spock. Even if you are not a Star Trek fan, you will find this
movie exciting. I look forward to further adventures with this new
Enterprise crew. – Mr. Bund
January 2010
31
Movie Reviews 2009
¼
Overstuffed with Star Trek references, this movie is good
enough to tickle series newbie’s and hard core Trekkies. Is it the greatest
movie ever? No…but in its own sphere on endearing uncoolness, it is
undoubtedly a fun and well-done 21st century update to a tired franchise. –
Dean Essner
For some Star Trek fans this may have been just another attempt to
overshoot the success of a classic. Well, they are wrong. This was a very good movie
maybe not perfect but it was good. It had lots of action with more cannons than the
Revolutionary War. Simon Pegg played the best character of the whole movie. He just
turned the frown of the moment, upside down in the movie. At times the movie did get a
little drippy and emotional (which was when my app Run Pee started to go crazy) but all
in all not my cup of tea but a movie to watch. – Miles Essner
Obsessed
If you're looking for a "chick flick" to laugh with
your friends about, this isn't your movie. It may
seem harmless and funny at first, but it goes into
a serious and sad plot. It starts with a man
named Derek, his wife Sharon, and his son. But
then a temporary Secretary enters the movie
and is determined to get close to Derek. Her
obsession puts his job is jeopardy, and
eventually she turns into a psychotic stalker.
You'd be surprised at the plot of this movie. –
Josiana Lecrete
Predictable garbage. – Mr. Bund
If you think that this is a light, enjoyable movie you could not have been more wrong. This
movie was about a stalker after a business executive which angers his wife, which leads to a fight
between the two at the climax. This film could very possibly scare little kids, it was far from boring
but still a terrible movie. – Brandon Fluhr
32
January 2010
Movie Reviews 2009
Seventeen Again
This was a pretty good movie. It
had some really good laughs (due to language) and
mild violence. Zach Effron proved that he can do
more than just sing and dance, but he can act as
well. – Zach Levitan
A very good movie with a lot of
tension building moments. There was no bad
part of the movie, and Zac Effron acting
was great (as always). This is a must see
movie for any middle school kid who wants
some real entertainment. - Brandon Nomberg
¼ I went into this movie with low expectations, but was pleasantly surprised. A fairly basic and familiar plot about a man (Matthew Perry) who gets another chance to relive his lost high school dreams, but instead makes him realize how special the family is about to lose is to him. Solid acting by Zac Efron and the supporting cast, and it was a heartwarming story. Not a must see or anything original, but not a bad rental movie. – Mr. Bund ½
Honestly, the plot was fine. Nothing special, but not boring
either. The actors were great. Maybe some of the content was a little
inappropriate for under the age of eight. If I were director, I would have made
several changes, like still have the adult look like himself to him, but to other
people he looks 20 years younger. That would be more interesting, huh? The
bottom line: It’s good, but Zac Efron is 20 or 21 and wants to start acting as an
adult, not a teen jock that gets all the girls. – Sam Leifer
I like how Mike goes back too being 17 and tries to make the best out of it.
The bottom line: Inappropriate for little kids, but still good. – Madison Leifer
This movie was not entertaining in any way. It was boring, had an unintelligent plot and
was very predictable. The movie was a waste of time, weak, and nothing more than an unoriginal
chick flick. Zac Efron’s popularity was the only factor that provided for any money this film made. –
Brandon Fluhr
January 2010
33
Movie Reviews 2009
Taking Woodstock
This movie was utterly boring! How do you make a
movie about Woodstock boring? Well, just ask the
producers of this sleep-festival. It starred Dimitri
Martin and it still was not funny. Martin played the
son of an immigrant who lives upstate New York,
and they own a motel that is not making enough
money to pay the rent. When a big festival in the
nearby town of Fishkill gets cancelled, Dimitri
decides to run the festival in his town to make
some money. The rest of the movie is just Dimitri
getting high and having some fun at the festival.
The only funny part was when his parents eat
some hash brownies and went crazy. – Noah
Berley
If someone told me that brilliant
director Ang Lee was making a film about
Woodstock starring Eugene Levy and
comedy-central funny man Demetri Martin, I
would have considered that a shoe-in for the
most awesome movie of the year. Unfortunately, flat characters, no music (its
Woodstock right?), and miniscule screen time for Eugene Levy equal to a film suitable
for the Golden Raspberry awards. Well, maybe more like the “Most Disappointing”
movie awards. - Deaen Essner
Planet 51
0 stars
I was expecting a little more out of this movie than I got. The
humor isn’t even so funny, and they don’t even give a clue
what is going to happen. You can’t seem to catch up with
what is happening. In fact, to actually realize the plot you
have to go to this movie’s Wikipedia page. You know how
the main character feels about the girl protagonist from the
start, and as soon as you smell the coffee, you know that the
movie ends with the traditional animated movie make-out
session. If you think that I forgot to give it a rating, you are
wrong. This movie gets NOTHING!!!! Not even a ¼ star.
This movie was worse than Ice Age 3!!!! In fact, it is
basically the devil of all animated movies!!!!!! – Sam Leifer
34
January 2010
Movie Reviews 2009
Zombieland
¼
Somewhere between pure (stupid) fun and
brilliance lies Zombieland, a movie where the
laughs aren’t because of the flesh eating creatures
themselves, it’s the excellent script that allows
Jesse Eisenberg to relieve the shackles of involved
in “adolescent” films (The Squid and The Whale,
Adventureland) for a much lighter brand of acting.
– Dean Essner
Fun Fun Fun Fun Fun. It was the
right dosage at the right times. Woody
Harrelson was incredibly funny for his
mission was not only to kick the butts of
every Zombie he sees, but also to get the
last Twinkie left in humanity. It wasn’t the
best Zombie movie ever, Shaun of the Dead
holds that spot. But it’s hard to review a
movie that you can’t break down; you just have to enjoy it. – Miles Essner
The Time Traveler’s Wife
½
The Time Traveler’s Wife was a very
touching story about how a man has the
curse of traveling through time. The
catch is he can not control when or where
he travels. He has to live his whole life
with this horrific gift – disappointing
loved ones, almost missing his wedding,
and even his son’s birth. It is such a heart
warming story that may make you cry,
with a twisted ending. – Paige Botie
January 2010
35
Movie Reviews 2009
The Proposal
½
Starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, The Proposal is
an absolutely hilarious movie and a summer hit! In this
comedy, Margaret (Bullock) has been so focused on her
career that she has been ignoring the fact that her Visa for the
United States is past due. The only way she will not be sent
back to Canada, and keep building her career, is to marry.
This boss on a rampage impulsively ‘confesses’ that she is
marrying Andrew (Reynolds), her underappreciated assistant.
Margaret bribes Andrew with the position he dreams of
having – editor. The complicated of marriage and ‘love’
sends the couple to Andrew’s home in Alaska, where
Margaret has to endure Andrew’s family, Alaskan weather, all the while hiding their true
feelings. With the comical styling of icon Betty White, this movie will surely make you
laugh. This is a great comedy and is worth the money. – Paige Botie
½
This was hysterical! A very good movie. Sandra Bullock was
too good. I will definitely see it again. – Daniel Rudin
½
Funny and entertaining. Sandra Bullock is very good as a self‐
centered, high stakes, big city boss. Ryan Reynolds was also pretty convincing and likable as the underappreciated assistant. A full and good date movie. – Mr. Bund ¼
Chick flick that featured a predictable plot that was very boring and not at all
creative in an way. Though unoriginal, it contained moments of weak light humor that made it
somewhat funny. – Brandon Fluhr
I love you, Man
½
Funny movie, but with all of the ads and hype, you
would have expected more from this movie. Some
very funny scenes, but this movie was alright at best. –
Brett Levine
36
January 2010
Movie Reviews 2009
Extract
This movie was really funny. It is about this guy named Joel (Jason Bateman) who owns a manufacturing company that makes extract used in cooking. He has some problems in his life, including his marriage and his ridiculous friends (including Ben Affleck). The movie is very funny as he tries to solve his problems. Ben Affleck was the best part of this movie. – Josh Cohen With its hit and miss style, Extract is
Mike Judge’s return to the dryer than dry style
comedy that made him a genius after Office
Space. Not to mention Ben Affleck and Jason Bateman are supremely hilarious. –
Dean Essner
The Box
½
This is guaranteed to make you angry.
At first it is a simple story. Press the button
and someone dies, but you get $1million. I
read the original story and the book’s story
was over half an hour into the movie, so they
made all this confusing filler about the villain
kidnapping their son, her foot missing,
bunch of people with nose bleeds, and the
man in a box of water. I hated it and would
gladly recommend biting a mouthful of nails
than watching it again. – Nick Frankel
The Box was an OK movie. I read the
original short story first.
There was not
enough in the story to make it into a movie.
They tried their best, but it did not work. I
did not hate it, but did not love it either. – Sal Liotta
January 2010
37
Movie Reviews 2009
Where the Wild Things Are
¾
Not a really great movie. I
walked in thinking it was going to be
much better, but left disappointed. There
was very little plot. When the boy
became king I felt it was just boring and
nothing happened. Overall, it is not a
movie to see. – Evan Alcazar
¼ Spike Jonze’s film adaptation of
Maurice Sendak’s amazing children’s book is
nothing short of a masterpiece. Unfortunately,
the raw emotions associated with the movie are
not for everyone, and I was left teary eyed as a
result of sadness, not because of the story’s beauty. Luckily the vast ambitions of
Spike and company are easy to grasp, as you may not understand what he is
doing, but you can certainly acknowledge that he is doing it well. – Dean Essner
Echelon Conspiracy
This is one of the best movies I've ever seen this year.
The plot was very original, and the actors were
amazing. Max gets a phone that texts him to tell him
what to do and when to do it. After Max uses it to win
about 3,300,000 Euros, the owner of the hotel (a former
FBI agent) becomes very suspicious. The texts start
threatening Max that if he turns the phone off it will kill
him. Can he and a few members of the FBI find out
who or what is sending Max the texts? If so, can they
stop him or “it?” – Sal Liotta
38
January 2010
Movie Reviews 2009
Night at the Museum
Battle of the Smithsonian
½
Many of you saw the first “Night at the
Museum”, and now the sequel came out. The
first movie was fun and exciting. It had me
wanting more, so I had great expectations
when the second one came out. In my
opinion, I thought the first one was a lot
better. In this movie, most of the artifacts and
wax figures go to a new museum called the
Smithsonian, and there everything turns to life
just like in the first film. The waxed figures
try to take over the whole museum.
Old
characters come back and try to help Larry
Daly (Ben Stiller). This movie does have
some adventure, comedy, and a little bit of
history. I think in this movie they tried to add
too many events in such a short time frame. It
would have been better if they focused on one
main story line and developed it, however, some of you might enjoy it and some of you
may have even loved it, but I got my hopes up too high and I was let down. Again, it
could be a good movie if you like that type of silly humor, but in my eyes, it could have
been a lot better. It had a few laughs here and there, but it wasn’t “a must see” type of
movie. New characters came along with a new plot but they did not add anything. I
don’t think they should have made a sequel. This movie had a very slow start, but it had
a better ending than I expected. This is one of the reasons why I thought it was okay, but
not great. This movie didn’t have me at the edge of my seat, nor excited about what
would happen next. It was not a thrilling piece of work. – Dana Winthrop
Its lamer than lame and tamer than tame…or its
simply terrible, and destroys any of the cuteness earned in the
first movie. You choose… - Dean Essner
¼ Star
¾
The first one wasn’t a hit so this review clearly won’t be very positive.
General Custer was probably the funniest for being in love with himself when he led two
hundred Americans to their death. I wish that Robin Williams were in this for one
minute total. Ben Stiller is a good actor and this movie was worth the money but…
sequels. They just don’t work – Nick Frankel
January 2010
39
Movie Reviews 2009
Push
½
Push is a science-fiction, action thriller about
a group of telekinetic teens who band
together in an attempt to take down this
government agency that's genetically
transforming normal citizens into powerful
psychic warriors. These human experiments
develop special powers: Watchers can see
pictures of the future, Movers can
manipulate inanimate objects around them,
and maybe the most rare of all, Pushers, who
can control people’s minds. This is the most
powerful kind of psychic. These are a few of
the mystifying powers shown in the film.
Nick Gant is a Mover, a second-generation
telekinetic who went into hiding after the Division killed his father more
than a decade earlier. He lives his life in Hong Kong, a busy city that is
overly populated, where psychics such as himself are safe as long as they
can keep their unique gift a secret. Suddenly Cassie (a Watcher) comes into
Nick’s life, in need of his help in tracking down the escaped Pusher, Kira,
who may hold the key to bringing down The Division once and for all.
When Cassie and Nick come out of hiding to find Kira, the Division's
bloodhounds are hot on their trail. In order to not be found by the authorities,
they'll need to disappear into the city while relying on a team of other
psychics to help cover their tracks. With many obstacles in their way, this
team strives to stop the evil Division. This film is for sure a thriller. You
may be confused at some parts of the film, but all in all it is quite an exciting
movie and is worth the 2 hours of your time. – Paige Botie
½ Cool, sci-fi, action thriller. I thought it was a fresh
and different type of superhero movie than I am used to seeing.
Overall, not too bad and if you like comic book movies you should
check it out. – Mr. Bund
40
January 2010
Movie Reviews 2009
Moon
This was a wonderfully intriguing
science fiction flick. With homages to both
2001: A Space Odyssey, Duncan Jones’
directorial debut is the most original portrait
of outer space in quite some time. – Dean
Essner
½
The Informant!
¼
Dark, funny and slightly
unbelievable, Steven Soderbergh’s look into the
world of corporate lying and price fixing is
nothing short of slapstick comedy heaven. Too
bad it had to drag on a bit too long. – Dean
Essner
A Serious Man
The Coen Brothers are the best
directors around today.
Yes this is a bold
statement, but with a miniscule budget with unknown
actors, they are able to make a film that is both
personable and intriguing, funny and devastating.
How’s that for dedication to cinema? – Dean Essner
January 2010
41
Movie Reviews 2009
TV MOVIE
Spectacular
½ star
I rated this 1/2 a star because it was a stupid, like
another High School Musical Movie. After losing their star singer to
another group, Courtney decides to find a replacement. She finds a guy
that cannot be trusted. Oh please! She is such a sore loser. She cares
about winning, not about anybody else! – Tara Ranjbar
Best Of 2009
(from January to November)
by Dean Essner
1. Inglourious Basterds
2. A Serious Man
3. Fantastic Mr. Fox
4. Up
5. Coraline
6. Public Enemies
7. Moon
8. District 9
9. Duplicity
10. Where The Wild Things
Are
Honorable Mention List:
1. Observe And Report
2. Star Trek
3. The Informant!
4. Julie & Julia
5. The Hangover
42
January 2010
Movie Reviews 2009
MICHAEL MOORE
By Matthew Tierney
In my opinion, Michael Moore deserves four stars since
his films are about what Americans cease to realize at the first
glimpse of a political or economical issue. His films since I
started watching them are amazing and hilarious, and many
people think his films were fabricated for the sole statement
that they are too true. No one can accept that really his films
are about everything people hate and everything people
support.
Michael Moore in my opinion is a great filmmaker. He has made many amazing
documentary’s on the faults of the American Government and Business, from Roger and
Me to his latest film. Michael Moore has great talent and puts humor into many of his
great films, you can’t turn down watching a movie by him unless you hate him.
CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY (2009)
Michael Moore has done it again and has put together an amazing film! Capitalism: A Love Story is the latest film from director Michael Moore. It focuses on the American Economic problems that have been occurring over the past year. When I first saw that movie, I really didn’t know what is was all going to be about. When I came out, I was amazed. Capitalism: A Love Story is the best film of the year in my opinion. It gives hard facts about the American Government, and wall street, in various ways taking money and homes from citizens. This is no doubt the best movie of 2009!
SiCKO (2007)
Michael Moore has created a spectacular film on American
Healthcare. This movie makes a statement that cannot be
ignored! American citizens that have health insurance
cannot even use it at times and those without it have to pay
nearly 10,000 dollars, even more! It also shows how every
other country does have a better healthcare system than
America, even Cuba. This film defiantly stands out as an
amazing movie, and makes a bold statement.
January 2010
43
A Focus on Michael Moore by Matthew Tierney continued…
¾
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
We remember the September 11th attack s, don’t we?
Well Michael Moore has directed another amazing film
about the first Bush presidency, and how terrible it
was. When Bush was elected president, he went on
vacation. When the World Trade Center was hit, we
went in a war under false facts. Michael Moore has
proven all of that true, and that the Bush
administration is an administration filled with
propaganda and false information.
½
Bowling for Columbine (2002)
Is America a nation of gun nuts? Or just nuts? Well that’s Michael Moore’s film slogan. Bowling for Columbine is a great film about America’s obsession with violence and weapons. It focuses on the 1999 Columbine High School Shootings, and the events following filled with crime and violence. This film is spectacular, and everybody should defiantly watch it! ½
Roger and Me (1989)
SPECTACULAR! This hilarious documentary was focused
on the American Motor Industry and how it laid off
thousands of works in Flint, Michigan, the General Motors
home town. Michael Moore goes searching for the
chairman Roger B. Smith of GM to ask him about the
issue. This film is hilarious and is perfect in too many
ways, a must see film!
44
January 2010
2009 was a big year for MOVIES,
but look at some of the amazing MOVIES that
were out 5, 10, 15…45, 50, 55 years ago!!!
How many have you seen?
5 years ago - 2004
The Passion of the Christ
Meet the Fockers
The Incredibles
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
The Day After Tomorrow
The Bourne Supremacy
Shrek 2
National Treasure
Shark Tale
Polar Express
I, Robot
Troy
Oceans 12
50 First Dates
Van Helsing
Fahrenheit 911
Lemony Snicket
Dodgeball
The Village
The Grudge
The Aviator
Million Dollar Baby
Princess Diaries 2
Anchorman
Man on Fire
Hidalgo
Miracle
Kill Bill 2
Butterfly Effect
Chronicles of Riddick
January 2010
45
10 years ago - 1999
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
The Sixth Sense
Toy Story 2
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
The Matrix
Tarzan
Big Daddy
The Mummy
Runaway Bride
The Blair Witch Project
Stuart Little
The Green Mile
American Beauty
World is Not Enough
Double Jeopardy
American Pie
Sleepy Hollow
Fight Club
15 years ago - 1994
Forrest Gump
True Lies
The Santa Clause
The Flintstones
Dumb & Dumber
Clear and Present Danger
Speed
The Mask
Pulp Fiction
Maverick
Interview with a Vampire
The Lion King
Ace Ventura
The Crow
Natural Born Killers
Angels in the Outfield
Timecop
City Slickers 2
The Professional
46
January 2010
20 years ago - 1989
Batman
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Lethal Weapon 2
Look Who's Talking
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
Back to the Future Part II
Ghostbusters II
The Little Mermaid
Driving Miss Daisy
Parenthood
Dead Poets Society
When Harry Met Sally
Born on the Fourth of July
Uncle Buck
Field of Dreams
Pet Sematary
The Abyss
Major League
Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure
25 years ago - 1984
Ghostbusters
Beverly Hills Cop
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Gremlins
The Karate Kid
Police Academy
Footloose
Romancing the Stone
Purple Rain
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Splash
Purple Rain
Amadeus
The Natural
Revenge of the Nerds
Terminator
January 2010
47
30 years ago - 1979
Kramer vs. Kramer
The Muppet Movie
The Electric Horseman
The China Syndrome
Love at First Bite
Manhattan
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
The Black Stallion
The Black Hole
Apocalypse Now,
10
The Jerk
Rocky 2
Life of Brian
Moonraker
35 years ago - 1974
Blazing Saddles
The Towering Inferno
Young Frankenstein
Earthquake
The Godfather: Part II
The Longest Yard
Benji
Herbie Rides Again
Murder on the Orient Express
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
40 years ago - 1969
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Midnight Cowboy
Paint Your Wagon
Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
True Grit
The Sterile Cuckoo
Run, Angel, Run
Alice's Restaurant
Marooned
48
January 2010
45 years ago - 1964
Mary Poppins
Goldfinger
A Shot in the Dark
Marnie
Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte
Viva Las Vegas
The Fall of the Roman Empire
Per un pugno di dollari
Roustabout
Kissin' Cousins
50 years ago - 1959
Ben-Hur
Some Like It Hot
Operation Petticoat
Pillow Talk
Sleeping Beauty
North by Northwest
A Hole in the Head
Porgy and Bess
The Immoral Mr. Teas
The Killer Shrews
55 years ago - 1954
On the Waterfront
Vera Cruz
A Star Is Born
Casanova's Big Night
King Richard and the Crusaders
Rear Window
The Long Wait
Men of the Fighting Lady
Sitting Bull
Phantom of the Rue Morgue
January 2010
49
Movie Reviews
5 years ago – 2004
Harry Potter and the
Prisoner of Azkaban
“Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” is the third
book/movie in the Harry Potter series. Harry and his friends,
Ron and Hermione, are going back to Hogwarts for their thirdyear in the Gryffindor House (one of the four “teams” in the
story). This year, the whole school has to be careful and on
alert because Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban, a prison for wizards, and the
dementors (creepy ghosts) are around. They have targeted Harry and want to kill him.
Luckily, with the help of the new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin,
Harry can take on the dementors to hopefully prevent their plan from succeeding. But,
there are secrets so shocking that you would never believe! What are those secrets?
Those who have not read the book will have to watch this movie to find out. Even diehard fans of the book would enjoy watching the story come to life.
This movie is great and did a very good job of catching my attention with all the
special effects. However, I feel that the “Harry Potter” books are always better. There
are more places, adventures, dialogue and detail tucked deep into those pages. In my
opinion, “Azkaban” is the best story in the series because new characters were
introduced, new spells and settings, and familiar characters revealed more about
themselves. This is definitely a movie worth watching. – Ryan Winthrop
This was a pretty good movie. Then again
most Harry Potter movies are pretty good if not better.
Daniel Radcliff plays Harry Potter in third year at
Hogwarts. Harry Lots of action and cool special
effects. – Matt Avallone
50
January 2010
Movie Reviews
The Incredibles
The Incredibles (from the creators of Finding
Nemo)is about a family of superheroes that
each have their own power. Bob Parr(A.K.A
Mr. Incredible)has super strength, Helen
Parr(A.K.A Elastigirl) can stretch her body
to great lengths, Dash Parr has super speed,
Violet Parr has invisibility and can make
force fields, and Jack-Jack Parr has unknown
powers. Due to past superhero incidents
and lawsuits, they have to stay undercover because of government
law. Everything is good for the Parr family and their friend Lucius
(A.K.A Frozone) who can control ice, but when the world needs
saving from Syndrome (a new nemesis) and his giant robot, the
Omnitrix, the family will have to do what they do best.
This movie is full of humor, adventure and teamwork. It is also
great superhero movie. It is a movie that anyone, even parents, will
enjoy watching. - Ryan Winthrop
Predictable and only good for kids. – Nick Frankel
¾
One of my favorite cartoon movies to be
released. It was clever, funny and had a very good and
enjoyable story. – Mr. Bund
January 2010
51
In my opinion, this is one of the best Disney/Pixar movies. It is a lot
fun and very funny. It is clever with some pretty clever lines. Overall, just a solid movie.
– Daniel Rudin
This was a good movie especially for kids, because Disney made
it and also because the plot was easy to catch on to. When I first saw
the movie about 5 years ago I loved it. Now I just like it, and not because
it was an ok movie, but because I am starting to outgrow it. The movie is
about these superheroes who everyone loved until someone was saved
when he did not want to. Finally after numerous lawsuits against the
superheroes they finally go into hiding and act like normal people. Then
15 years later a once big fan of Mr. Incredible
finds him and tricks him into going to this
island. His wife and kids thought he still was
working for a job as an insurance guy, but he
got fired. Eventually they go to the island but
that is all I will say. The movie had some funny
parts in it which made me laugh. I actually own
the DVD of it too. That is why I gave it three stars. – Matt Avallone
The Day After Tomorrow
When many people think of this movie, they
don’t think of a good one but I do. It was really entertaining
and fun. Although the science is all b.s. because it would
take decades for a climate change like the one in the movie to
happen and its all way overexaggerated. The acting was
alright and it had me at the edge of my seat during some
parts. Overall this is a good soli d movie. – Noah Berley
52
January 2010
Movie Reviews
Dodgeball:
A True Underdog Story
½
This was an amazing movie. It was
hilarious. A couple of “Average Joes” come together to
form a dodgeball team and go all the way to the National
Championships. How do they do? You will have to watch
the movie, but if you like a good and funny movie, this is
it! – Vishnu Nagaraj
A group of underachieving normal
“Average Joes” form a dodgeball team and enter
a tournament to win $50,000 in order to save
their beloved gym. Vince Vaughn is amusing,
and Ben Stiller plays a cocky idiot quite well. – Mr. Bund
In my opinion, the funniest movie ever made. I could
not stop laughing when patches o’ hooligan was on the screen. –
Brett Levine
Dodgeball is a well known movie that has classic lines that
people still quote. It stars Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller, a hilarious duo.
Dodgeball is a true underdog story of Peter LaFleur (Vaughn) who enters a
dodgeball competition in hopes of winning a big money prize. He takes
his Average Joes to the ADAA against the Purple Cobras, led by White
Goodman (Stiller). Dodgeball is a timeless movie that never gets old no
matter how many times you watch it. – Ricki Berkenfeld
½
Why is there no sequel? – Nick Frankel
January 2010
53
Movie Reviews
National Treasure
½
Awesome. Hard to follow for
kids, but Nicholas Cage is really great! – Nick
Frankel
A
fun,
predictable
Saturday
afternoon adventure. Nicholas Cage’s acting
is okay, at best, but the supporting cast is good. Please be aware
that this is a Disney movie, so do not plan on seeing too intense
action or any violent scenes. What you can plan on is a
predictable ending. – Mr. Bund
The Butterfly Effect
½
Now here's a good movie. The
storyline is very interesting and really gets you into the
movie. You won't fall asleep in this movie. And if you
do, you are completely oblivious. The story is about a
man named Evan who as a kid he has memory
blackouts and keeps diaries about these blackouts.
Eventually, when he reaches college, he starts to have
flashbacks that allow him to change the past. But every
time he tries to change things for the better, life just
turns out worse. After seeing this movie, it really makes
you think, "If only I could change that one thing I did in
second grade..." – Josiana Lecrete
Wow! Ashton Kutcher can really
act. This really is a very good thriller. Evan has
the ability to go back in time and change his
past, but the consequences are not always desirable in the future. I highly
recommend this the very smart physiological thriller. – Mr. Bund
54
January 2010
Movie Reviews
i-Robot
½
Wow! I-Robot is a fantastic movie, and
the graphics and the loud action
sequences made it even better. I could
not wait to see what happened next. The
movie takes place in the future. There are
hovercrafts and, of course, robots. One
of the robots murdered the scientist who
made him, but things get worse. Can Will
Smith save the day? – Justin Zelamsky
¾
Entertaining, fast-paced and interesting sci-fi
thriller with a good plot Will Smith does a good job
also. I have no real complaints and would recommend this movie. Still, is not in the
same caliber of The Matrix or The Terminator. – Mr. Bund
Napoleon Dynamite
½
Napoleon Dynamite is a very strange movie.
There isn't any other movie like it. It is a very
stupid movie, but that's what makes it funny.
The movie is about a kid in high school who isn't
exactly the coolest kid, and who makes new
friends with two other uncool kids named Pedro
and Deb. Napoleon tries to get someone to go to
the dance with him while helping Pedro win the
race for class president. I would recommend this
movie to other people. – Sal Liotta
January 2010
55
Movie Reviews
Toy Story 2
This was a good movie even compared to the first
one. Buzz and Woody were great as usual. The story
line was good as were the new additional characters.
This movie really grabbed my attention due to the
works of Pixar and Dreamworks. Andy's toys once
again sneak away from their home, and they get
themselves into a real jam when Al from Al's Toy
Barn buys Woody and almost sends him to Japan. I
would recommend this movie to anybody who enjoys
animation or any 7 year old. – Doug Notti
This movie, a sequel to “Toy Story,” is about how Woody (voiced by
Tom Hanks) gets kidnapped by a toy collector and shop owner named Al.
What’s a toy to do? Well, Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) and the rest of the
gang set out to save him. While in supposed toy captivity, Woody meets
some new friends like Jessie, Bullseye, and Prospector Zeke. The scary
thing is Woody might want to leave the toys and start a T.V show. The gang
has to snap him out of it and return him to Andy’s (their owner’s) house.
The villain, Zurg, also returns with a shocking secret.
It was hard to follow up on the success of the original movie, but this
sequel was quite popular when it debuted in 1999. It was a fun kid movie,
but it was a bit corny at times. Overall it was humorous and I even had a
few laughs myself. Adults might actually enjoy this movie because there are
jokes that only an older generation would understand. If you want to watch
a family movie watch Toy Story 2! The toys await you. – Ryan Winthrop
56
January 2010
Movie Reviews
Shrek 2
In Shrek 2, your favorite green ogre is
back on another wild adventure. In the last
movie, Shrek (played by Mike Myers) married
the beautiful Princess Fiona(Cameron Diaz)
and she turned into an ogre. Now, along with
Donkey (Eddy Murphy), the three of them
travel in an onion carriage to Fiona’s homeland
Far Far Away. There, everyone is shocked,
especially her parents the King and Queen,
because she is an ogre. The King and Shrek
don’t like each other and get into a heated
argument about how Shrek and Fiona will raise
a family. Later, Shrek is worried because he
finds out Fiona used to love Prince Charming
and sets out become a better husband.
Meanwhile, The King sends Puss in Boots (a
cat assassin) to get rid of Shrek. The fairy godmother then sends Prince Charming to
capture Fiona’s love. But, Shrek and Donkey befriend Puss, get the magic potion, and
they both turn handsome. Fiona also turns back to human and gets tricked into thinking
that Prince Charming is Shrek. But, will good prevail? Will everyone live happily ever
after? This movie has action, romance, and funny moments. I only gave it 4 stars
because a few parts didn’t make sense. Otherwise it is a great family movie for all to
enjoy. – Ryan Winthrop
½
It was good, but childish and pointless. You do not need
to see the original Shrek to understand it. Not a must see. – Nick
Frankel
January 2010
57
½
Shrek 2 is an entertaining movie adventure. In this
comedy, Shrek (Mike Myers) goes to Far Far Away land to meet his in-laws,
Fiona’s (Cameron Diaz) parents. While there, Shrek has a difficult time
fitting in.
The evil Fairy Godmother and her arrogant son, Prince
Charming, try to sabotage Shrek and Fiona’s relationship. Shrek 2 is an
amusing, memorable move for all ages. – Ricki Berkenfeld
This movie was okay. The plot was unnecessary and unimaginative. Fiona’s
parents wanted to meet Shrek, and he refused to visit until a lot of
convincing. Now the Shrek I know kicked anyone in his way, but now he's
going to meet the king and queen of Far Far Away? Come on! I think that this
was a waste of my
money
to
see,
because
everything
could
have
been
improved,
especially
the
story line. Donkey
was funny, but
Eddie Murphy has
to step it up. The
same lines are
used and I felt
that it could have
been better. But,
that's just my
opinion. – Doug
Notti
58
January 2010
Movie Reviews
Star Wars
Episode I:
The Phantom Menace
½
This was a good
movie, but it was not one of the
best Star Wars movies. It is the
story that started everything for
Star Wars.
It is where the
tensions between the Republic
and the Trade Federation begin.
Also, this is where you meet Jar
Jar Binks, one of the funniest
characters. Overall, it is a good
movie, but compared to the other episodes (especially 3
and 5), it was not good. – Vishnu Nagaraj
January 2010
59
Movie Reviews
Star Wars Episode I…continued
½
There was so much anticipation for this movie. People
were literally lining up on the sidewalks in front of theaters to be the first
to see it. The excitement was palpable. The enormously successful
original Star Wars Trilogy (episodes 4-6) was not just amazingly
successful, they became an international phenomenon. Who has not
heard of Darth Vader, or Luke Skywalker, or Han Solo or Princess Leah?
You can ask someone from the middle of Himalayas and they would
know. Finally Producer and Star Wars creator, George Lucus, was going
to give us the back story with episodes 1, 2 and three. The world could
not wait!
But what happened? I still remember sitting there in the cinema
as the credits rolled and a having that feeling a being completely let
down. I counted on you George! You did just not deliver. Overall, the
movie was just OK; entertaining, but just OK. Compared to the original
trilogy, it was practically insulting.
What happened? The biggest issue (and I am not alone with this
complaint) was Jar Jar Binks. I know George Lucas wanted to have
some humor in the movie, but this was just ridiculous. Actually, it was a
downright travesty and insulting to Star Wars fans worldwide. He did
not need to have this stupid
humor
in
the
original
movies, and he did not need
to do it here. Issue #2 was
missed opportunities. What
do I mean? Darth Maul was
a super cool villain.
He
really was. But you felt kind
of cheated with him. He did
not have enough screen time
and his development could
have made the movie so
much richer. I suggest you
take all of Jar Jar Binks screen time and give it to Darth Maul. Also, I
felt they could have further developed the relationship with Qui-Gon Jinn
(Liam Neison) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor). They allude to
how Qui-Gon has a history of defying the wishes of the esteemed Jedi
council (the good guys). Neison and McGregor are excellent established
actors. If allowed, their acting ability would shine despite Lucas’s
unexciting script. I feel that if they just made the movie 10 minutes
longer, they could have had 20 more 30-second scenes. These scenes
could have made the movie immensely deeper and more exciting. It
could have easily made the movie better than 2 ½ stars. – Mr. Bund
60
January 2010
Movie Reviews
The Matrix
½
I don't know if this film won any
Oscars, and I would be VERY disappointed if it didn't.
With a wicked soundtrack, some insane shutouts, and an
overall incredibly original and creative plot, this movie
doesn't disappoint! But when you take all of this away, you
just get some so-so acting from Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity)
and Keanu Reeves (Neo). However, Laurence Fishburne
(Morpheus) and Hugo Weaving (Agent Smith) did a pretty
good job. – Kuba Gasiorowski
I’ve seen all three, but this one is the
best. After seeing it, I think the world may not be
what it seems! If you do not watch it you are
really missing out. – Nick Frankel
This movie was great but it had a slow plot. Great action from Keanu Reeves,
and the graphics were very nice, but to get full quality watch it on blue ray. It does not
catch your attention too quickly but is still very interesting. – Ananth Nagaraj
The Sixth Sense
This movie is undoubtedly one of the greatest
movies I have ever seen. The past of the psychiatrist is
mysterious, and the ending has a great twist. What I love
about the movie is the clues that you might never catch onto
the first time you see this movie. These clues give you hints
about the ending. I highly suggest this movie for a scary story
around a campfire, even though it's not that scary. – Josiana
Lecrete
¾
Director M. Night Shyamalan’s
masterpiece. It is the perfect blend of terror, joy, humor and confusion.
Haley Joel Osment and Bruce Willis are brilliant in portraying
Shyamalan’s vision. One of the best thrillers you will ever see. See it
once, and you will have to see it again – Mr. Bund
January 2010
61
Movie Reviews
Shawshank Redemption
¼ A classic. It was action
packed, with surprises here and there. There are
sad parts, gross parts, and even some confusing
parts. If you love jail movies where things are given
away at the end and people die for various reasons
and the main character climbs through a tube full
of..... well, I won't tell you that much. So go watch
The Shawshank Redemption, and you will like it
too. – Elliott Vogel
A wonderful movie.
When Tim Robbins is sent to
Shawshank Prison for the supposed murder of his wife, he finds ruthless
enemies and trusted friends. Morgan Freeman narrates and sets the tone
of the movie as it goes through the decades at a steady and methodical
pace. This is a movie of the highest caliber and is rightfully placed on a
list of one of the greatest movies you have the privilege of seeing. Go
look on imdb.com – it is #1 for all-time with thousands of votes. – Mr. Bund
Do I even need to write a review?! – Daniel Rudin
Forrest Gump
My opinion, the best movie ever made. I
could watch this movie over and over and over again. Tom
Hanks, thumbs way up. – Brett Levine
“Run Forrest, Run!!!” Tom Hanks wins
best actor and Forrest Gump wins best movie Oscars
for 1994 – and it was well-deserved. The lovable
Forrest Gump stumbles through American history from
the 1950’s to the 1980’s. A movie we should all see, and movie that will be
remembered. – Mr. Bund
62
January 2010
Movie Reviews
Pulp Fiction
A classic. I absolutely loved this movie. Although it
could get confusing at some points, it was still very
interesting. – Brett Levine
Some people love it. Some people
hate it. I love it. Probably Quentin Tarantino’s best film. And
what a great cast – Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce
Willis, Ving Rhames, Christopher Walken and Harvey Keitel, and
the comeback of John Travolta. Tarantino has the ability to write
interesting, creative, violent and powerful scenes, and in Pulp
Fiction it just all worked. This is not a movie for kids, and if you
are not patient with developing scenes and dialogue you will find it long and
unnecessarily graphic. An excellent mature movie. –
Mr. Bund
Brilliant, Amazing, Weird,
Suspenseful, Funny, Violent, Clever, should
I say more? – Miles Essner
Oh my God! These are the only
words that can be used to describe Samuel L.
Jackson, John Travolta and Quinton Tarantino all in
one big mess that was transformed into a masterpiece.
It was unbelievable! I will not die until I see this
movie at least 20 more times. A must see! – Daniel Rudin
The Lion King
¼
This movie was a great one, great for the entire
family to view. It has witty, funny characters intender for viewing
pleasure. It was a great thing to come out of Disney, as expected. The
movie’s main character, Simba, is an adventurous lion cub whose father
is killed by his own brother Scar; Simba’s uncle. Zazu helps young
Simba in fleeing the area, because Simba is convinced he killed his
father. Zazu tries looking out for him, which does not work out well.
Years later, Simba returns to his home, to overthrow Scar, who has
taken control of the mighty kingdom. – Brandon Beck
January 2010
63
Movie Reviews
UHF
½
This movie is about a guy named George
Newman (‘Weird Al’ Yankovic) who is a failure and
can’t keep a job. His uncle wins channel 62, a faltering
UHF station, in a poker game and makes George the
manager of the channel. George makes some of his
own shows put they are all failures. One day out of
desperation George puts the janitor on air. He is an
instant hit. The local channel 8 tries to take over by
buying the station from George’s uncle Harvey.
Harvey makes a deal with the owner R.J. Fletcher.
R.J. Fletcher will pay for Harvey’s debt if Harvey
gives him channel 62. Then at the last second, literally
he backs out. He lets George try to raise 75,000 dollars
in two days. So George tells every one to buy a stock
of channel 62 for 10 dollars a piece. Time runs out and they are still about 2,000 dollars
short, but the local hobo decides to use all of his money (2,000 dollars) to buy some
stocks. He saves channel 62 and channel 8 finishes because R.J. Fletcher forgot to renew
his permit for the channel. The movie was really funny, of course with Weird Al. It was
entertaining and worth watching. - Noah Berley
½
Finally Weird Al is in a movie! It is about a guy
with no job, life or career, who inherits a TV station that goes no
where until he gives the janitor (Michael Richards-Kramer from
Seinfeld) a show and makes the channel sky rocket. My
personal favorite of 1989. – Nick Frankel
64
January 2010
Movie Reviews
½
This is the Terminator that
started it all. A perfect science-fiction
thriller. IF you have never seen this
movie you have to remember this is
1984. James Cameron was not the
critically acclaimed director yet, with
the freedom to make what he wants
with an unlimited budget. The story
may be very familiar now, but it was a
risk to make a movie about an android
that goes back in time to 1984 to
murder the mother of the unborn son
who will eventually lead the human
forces against the machines in a postapocalyptic world. It sounds confusing
just writing it! On top of this, Arnold
Schwarzenegger was cast as the movie
villain – the terminator who goes back in time to murder Sarah Conner.
Schwarzenegger’s only real movie success at this point was “Conan the
Barbarian,” and his Austrian accent was as thick as his biceps. It all worked
though. Even giving Arnold like 17 lines was perfect, and his accent just
seemed to make perfect sense. The action was intense. The story held
together and was engaging. If you saw it once, you had to see it again.
OK, some of the special effects may seem weak by today’s standards,
but get over it - you have to remember this is 1984 and James Cameron was
not given the budget of George Lucas or Stephen Spielberg. Terminator
became a cult classic and a fresh action thriller. Cameron would get his big
budgets in the spectacular Terminator 2, and Titanic (Two of the biggest
blockbusters of all time). This was the start of the whole “Schwarzenegger
movie” genre also. It is difficult to truly measure the impact of this simply
great movie. One of my favorites. – Mr. Bund
January 2010
65
The original was the best by far. Fantastic
movie. – Brett Levine
½
The Terminators were some of the greatest movies ever created ‐ especially the first one. The movie is a classic and I love it. There is lots of action throughout the movie and the plot is very interesting. The movie is about how in the future there will be a big war: humans vs. machines. The leader of the humans name is John Connor. The terminator goes back in time to kill Johnʹs mother Sarah so that John will never be born. Another robot from the future comes to protect Sarah. I definitely recommend this movie. – Sal Liotta Trivia:
Schwarzenegger has only 17 spoken lines in the first Terminator!
66
January 2010
Movie Reviews
Rocky 2
This movie and the others were all great
sports movies. They all tought that you should never give
up and try harder. It takes in the early 1989's where a
south paw from Philadelphia whi had just went 15 rounds
of boxing with Heavy Weight Champ Apollo Creed. Rocky
Balboa was a nobody who became a hero when he was
chosen by Creed to fight an exhibition match. Now he
has retired nut can not find a job since he doesn't even
have a high school degree. He would eventually come out
of retirement to fight him again this time for the Heavy
Weight Title. This is and will be one of he greatest
sports movies and series of films in sports history. – Matt Avallone
¼
A nobody, unrated club fighter stunned the world with his
gutsy performance versus the champ in Rocky I. The champ, Apollo
Creed, says he did not take the fight seriously and wants a rematch to
prove to the world that he deserves to be the champ and that Rocky is
nothing but a fluke. Emotional and memorable. The first 2 Rocky
movies were the best of bunch (but the first one was still the best of all).
– Mr. Bund
The Muppet Movie
¾
This movie is a great musical number telling the story
of Kermit’s journey to Hollywood, and becoming famous. He meets many
of his future friends along the way. These Muppets include Fozzie, Gonzo,
Rowlf, Miss Piggy, and many more. There are many great cameos in this
movie, including Mel Brooks, Edgar Bergen, Steve Martin, and Bob Hope.
Steve Martin, a comedian, plays a quirky waiter that serves Kermit and
Miss Piggy on their dinner date. Mel Brooks, who is one of the few people
to win an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Tony award, plays the zany
Professor Max Krassman, tries to brainwash Kermit. This is an all around
great movie, and I highly recommend it. – Brandon Beck
January 2010
67
Movie Reviews
Murder on the Orient
Express
Incredible! Unbelievable movie! When I first saw it, I
knew nothing except that it was an Agatha Christie story
– which is a plus. The movie kept me on the edge of my
seat (or shall I say ‘sofa’) the entire time. The film is
about a mysterious murder on a train, and a detective
that is really put to the test to solve the murder. With so
many twists and turns, this movie is a must see. – Daniel
Rudin
Some Like it Hot
Yes, I am giving this movie 5 stars, because it was probably the
most perfect movie I have ever seen! This movie is probably one
of the funniest, seamlessly crafted, classic movies of all time.
When Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon accidentally witness the St.
Valentine's Day Massacres in roaring twenties Chicago, they
escape Spats Colombo (George Raft) and his gang by disguising
themselves as woman in a traveling "girl band." There, they meet
the sexy, vulnerable and all around liked Sugar Kane (Marilyn
Monroe). Monroe has this way of turning a supporting actress
into the center of attention on the screen, and not many actors can do that. Her acting is
quite underrated, but I don’t see how that’s really possible from watching this movie! She
is the superlative example of what an enticing ditzy blonde should be, and she sets the
standard that so many other actresses have failed to live up to. Some Like It Hot has got
to be one of the best movies of any genre in cinema ever made, as it succeeds on so many
levels! The plot and script are witty and sharp, the characters are easy to identify and
HILARIOUS, the acting is a master class a comedy and the laughs are constant
throughout. Comedies nowadays are usually all about teenagers, sex, and drugs. This
movie was like a breath of fresh air for me. It was interesting to see how a movie as able
to be so sophisticated yet so funny. This is the kind of movie the entire family can watch
and enjoy, I definitely recommend it! – Sue Ranjbar
68
January 2010
Movie Reviews
The Wizard of Oz
This is a classic movie!
It is my favorite movie of all
time. There is no one who
does not know the story of
Dorothy’s journey in the
mysterious land of Oz. Even
though old, it is still close to
everyone’s hearts.
I love
Margaret Hamilton as the
wicked witch. This movie
deserves 5 stars – it is an alltime classic. – Evan Hirsch
January 2010
69
The HHH asks the club and the staff…
What are your favorite movies ever?
From the Club:
Douglas Notti
1. Eagle Eye
2. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
3. Austin Powers in Goldmember
4. Forrest Gump
5. Toy Story
6. Toy Story 2
7. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
8. Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
9. I Am Legend
10. Taken
Justin Silberlust
1. Slumdog Millionaire
2. Forest Gump
3. Bad News Bears
4. Longest Yard
5. Shrek
Nick Frankel
1. Stand by Me
2. The Matrix
3. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
4. Pirates of the Caribbean 3
5. Big
Paul DeCarlo
Star Trek: The Future Begins
Dodge Ball
Friday Night Lights
The Star Wars Saga
The Longest Yard (New Version)
70
January 2010
The HHH asks the club and the staff…continued
Matthew Tierney
1. Marie Antoinette - A spectacular period piece based on the life of the ill-fated Queen
Marie Antoinette of France. Kirsten Dunst plays the queen wonderfully. The
costumes and sets are amazing!
2. Inglorious Basterds - Spectacular! Brad Pitt plays a Nazi killing colonel in Nazioccupied France. It is hilarious and a must see.
3. Titanic - This movie is amazing! Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio play Rose and
Jack, two people from different social classes who fall in love, but the ship hits an
iceberg and it is all downhill from there.
4. The Patriot - Mel Gibson stars as a plantation owner in South Carolina who forms a
militia to combat the British after the murder of his son. A great war film.
Matthew Smith
1. Kicking and Screaming
2. School of Rock
3. Rocky 4
4. Spider-Man 2
5. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
Kuba Gasiorowski
1. The Matrix (First one only)
2. The Fifth Element
3. Help! (Beatles)
4. Pirates of the Caribbean (First one)
5. Shrek (First one)
Deal Essner
• Fargo • The Truman Show • There Will Be Blood • Toy Story • Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street • Ratatouille • Best In Show • Pulp Fiction • Finding Nemo • The Godfather
January 2010
71
From the STAFF:
Mr. Greene
Casablanca
Wizard of Oz
King of Hearts
Cool Hand Luke
Pink Panther
Dr. Roth
1. Gone With the Wind
2. 2001 A Space Odyssey
3. Goodfellas
4. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
5. Nosferatu
Mrs. Shaw
Blues Brothers
Casablanca
Miracle on 34th Street
Three Days of the Condor
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
runners up include: Seven Brides for Seven Brothers,
North by Northwest, Wizard of Oz, No Way Out,
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Mrs. Casazza
1. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
2. Summer School
3. The Wedding Singer
4. Steel Magnolias
5. Sixteen Candles
6. Better Off Dead
7. The Breakfast Club
8. Dreamgirls
9. Shawshank Redemption
10. A Beautiful Mind
72
January 2010
From the STAFF:
Mr. Uhrlass
1-Braveheart
2-Robinhood (with Kevin Costner)
3-Gladiator
4-The Patriot
5-Jaws
6-Godfather 1,2,3
7-Star Wars
Mrs. Gacek
1. Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the original)
2. The Breakfast Club
3. When a Man Loves a Woman
4. Back to the Future
5. Steel Magnolias
Mrs. Dunn
1. Pan's Labyrinth - in Spanish with subtitles
2. The Truman Show - brilliant story line and Jim Carrey is great in it
3. The End - I used to love Dom Deluise and Burt Reynolds
4. Life Is Beautiful - in Italian with subtitles (make me sob every time)
5. Papillon - Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman - True story about a prison in French
Guyana? - I don't know why - but I'll never forget this one.
6. SpaceBalls - "Ludicrous Speed"
Mr. Brozzoski
1. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest - The acting is absolutely flawless.
2. Magnolia - I mean...it rains frogs at the end. What's better than that? Not to mention
the way the story unfolds.
3. Mulholland Drive - I'm a huge David Lynch fan so I could have named any of his films
4. Less Than Zero - Had to get an 80's flick in there. I could have named a few, but this
one came to mind first
5. No Country for Old Men - I know a lot of people wouldn't agree with this one, but the
Coen Brothers intended for this to be a silent movie with a dark overtone and I think they
couldn't have done a better job.
January 2010
73
From the STAFF:
Mrs. Pilgrim
1) Casablanca - "Here's looking at you, kid." This movie is perhaps the greatest love
story of all time and a good war picture. Clever dialogue and just an all-time classic. I
will watch this whenever it is on. A classic of all classics.
2) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid - My favorite buddy movie and one of the only
westerns I enjoy. Terrific chemistry between all the main actors.
3) Gone with the Wind - One of the great epics. Classic characters and really great
dialogue. Love Rhett Butler!
4) Monty Python's The Holy Grail - My favorite comedy. Really clever and I never get
sick of it. I know it all by heart.
5) To Kill a Mockingbird - One of the few good book to movie adaptations. Love the
book, but may love the movie even more. Gregory Peck is a perfect Atticus.
Mrs. Krawitz
Bananas-Woody Allen
Producers -Mel Brooks ( original)
Gone with The Wind
Pink Panther -Peter sellers
The Sound of Music
Mr. Bund
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Star Wars Movies
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Terminator 1 and 2
Braveheart
Godfather 1 and 2
Gladiator
74
January 2010
From the STAFF:
Mrs. Teer
Ever After - The "True" story of Cinderella. I love that Leonardo
DiVinci has a role in this story and how strong and wise
"Cinderella" (Danielle De Barbarac) is. Favorite line: "My greatgreat-grandmother's portrait hung in the University up until the
Revolution. By then, the truth of their romance had been reduced
to a simple fairy tale. And while Cinderella and her Prince DID
live happily ever after, the point, gentlemen, is that they LIVED."
Field of Dreams - Just try and watch this movie without
laughing and crying and wishing you had a cornfield in
Iowa. The advertising tag line said it all "If you believe
the impossible, the incredible can come true." Too m
any other great lines to mention, like “If you build it, he
will come,” and “Go the distance”
A Few Good Men - Great story, great acting, a who's
who of actors you'll recognize, and written by Alan
Sorkin - so, great script! The Jac k Nicholson minimonologue is classic: "Son, we live in a world that has
walls and those walls need to be guarded by men with
guns. Who's gonna do it? You? ... I have a greater
responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep
for Santiago and curse the Marines; you have that luxury. You have the luxury of not
knowing what I know: that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives and that
my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want
the truth because deep down in places you don't talk
about at parties you want me on that wall, you need me
on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We
use then as the backbone of a life trying to defend
something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither
the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man
who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very
freedom I provide and then questions the manner in
which I provide it. I would rather you just said "Thank
you," and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest that
you pick up a weapon and stand a post. Either way, I
don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to."; Kaffee: I want the truth! Col.
Jessep: You can't handle the truth!"
January 2010
75
Apollo 13 – True and accurate story of the
1969 Apollo moon mission that got into
serious trouble and of the incredible bravery,
intelligence and ingenuity that saved the
astronauts on board. You know what's going
to happen, but the suspense still keeps you on
the edge of your seat. Tom Hanks, Ed
Harris...just amazing. Best lines:"We live in a
world where man has walked on the moon.
And it's not a miracle. We just decided to go."
"Houston, we have a problem." "We've never
lost an American in space, we're sure as hell not gonna lose one on my watch! Failure is
not an option."
Pleasantville – A brother and sister living in the 1990s end up traveling back into a
1950's sitcom and as they learn that what first appears
as an idyllic time and place to live is anything, but just
by being there they start to change things. A really fun
and deeply thought provoking look at what it would be
like to be in a world that only exists on TV and how the
things we believe make modern life better may not be.
Blank books, firemen who've never seen a fire, color...I
LOVE this movie!
Jennifer: What's outside of Pleasantville? Miss
Peters: I don't understand. Jennifer: Outside of
Pleasantville? Like, what's at the end of Main Street?
Miss Peters: You should k now the answer to that! The
end of Main Street
is just the beginning
again.
AND.... Time Travel Movies (!!!!)
Frequency
Somewhere in Time
Time Traveler's Wife
Time After Time
Back to the Future
Kate and Leopold
76
January 2010
Book Reviews
My Side of the Mountain
By Jean George
This is a great story about a boy named Sam Gribley, who decides to run away from home to live in the wilderness on his great grandfather’s plantation. There he plans to hunt for his own food and make animal friends. Sam has it all planned out. He knows how to fish, hunt, and even make his own clothes, but when Sam thinks he can tough it out for the winter he does not realize what lies ahead. Fierce storms and bitter coldness push Sam to his limit, and he starts to wonder if he will live though it all. – Morgan Rampolla Missing
½
By Catherine MacPhail
This was a good book for the most part.
Overall, it felt into the “freaky-scary – don’t read
it at night” category. It starts out with a girl
named Maxine. It has been 10 months that her
brother, Derek, has been missing, when the police
call Maxine’s parents to identify a body. Her
parents say it is Derek, but about a week later
Maxine starts getting strange phone calls from a
boy who claims to be her brother. When Maxine
gets the number and calls back she is told it is a pay phone at a cemetery.
It is quite freaky. Is it Derek’s ghost that wants to talk to Maxine, or is
Derek really not dead at all?
Once I started the book, (though it was a bit scary) I could not put
it down. I stayed up all night just to finish reading it – Morgan Rampolla
January 2010
77
Book Reviews
Emperor:
The
The
The
The
Gates of Rome
Death of Kings
Field of Swords
Gods of War
¾
The Emperor series was a great set of books. It was an amazing story of
Julius Caesar from the time he first entered Rome until his murder.
Although some things in this story are slightly different than what really
happened, it taught me many true things about the life of Julius Caesar.
It is amazing to believe that a man could have led a life like he did. The
one thing that I could not believe was that he was captured by pirates
and ransomed. This story was beautifully written and made you feel like
you were right there. Even though some real people were taken out, and
even a few fictional characters were added to the story, it made it all the
better. – Eric Hechler
¼
I enjoyed this series from the first book, right to the end. OK, so it was not historically
accurate, but there was some truth in there, you just don’t always know where it is.
Either way, it was an exciting and easy to read story following Julius Caesar’s life from a
boy, to a general, to the dictator of Rome. – Mr. Bund
78
January 2010
Book Reviews
Diary of a Wimpy Kid:
Dog Days
By Jeff Kinney
½
Have you ever had a summer that was just horrible?
In the newest Diary of a Wimpy Kid book, Greg deals with
another terrible summer. Greg has to face trips to the town
pool, a “great” birthday, and a new pet dog that he despises.
However, all of this mayhem turns out to be an amazing book.
In my opinion, this is a very funny book. This sequel brings in new
characters, new events, yet the same comical humor that makes this a wonderful
series. I find this funnier than the second and third books. However, it’s humor falls
a bit flat compared to the original. Despite that, I was fully interested. When I
finished the book, I wanted to read more.
This book was truly awesome. It could’ve had a little more humor, but it was
funny enough to make me laugh. I’d say that Dog Days (and the whole series) is
geared towards middle school students from the ages of 10 to 13. I recommend this
book for preteens too. – Matthew Bielskas
Sliverfin
By Charlie Higson
It is about James Bond as a teenager. He goes to
a new school called Eton and goes to Scotland
for Easter break. There he found people
disappearing in the lake Loch Silverfin. The Lord
does no action to try to solve it. James tries to put
actions in his own hands and soon to find a
sinister secret under the lake of Scotland. This is a
great book to read. This book keeps you on the edge of your chair. Each
page was suspenseful and kept you asking questions. If you are a James
Bond fan this is the book for you. The only bad thing about the book was
that there were many characters so it got confusing at times. Other than
that it was a good and enjoyable book to read. - Umer Chaudhry
January 2010
79
Book Reviews
The Face on the Milk Carton
By Caroline B. Cooney
½
The Face on the Milk Carton is a great fiction book. A girl named Janie
Johnson has the experience of a lifetime. At lunch, they have faces of
missing children that were kidnapped on the back of the milk carton. No one
ever really looked at them except for that day. When Janie looked, she saw
herself on the carton. It said she was kidnapped when she was three. Janie
goes through a huge adventure trying to find the truth. Her discoveries are
unstoppable and brilliant. Caroline B. Cooney came up with a great plot that
made me read longer and longer, breathing fast and excited to know what
will happen next. Who are her parents and are they her real parents? The information on the carton is a
little different than her life. Her birthday is a day or two off and her height was off too, based on what she
was when she was little. With the help of her friends, she figures out the truth. And, throughout the book,
Janie has been having flashbacks, remembering the moments at the mall where she was “kidnapped”. She
remembers the dress and how the collar itched her neck and how spinning on the stool made life so much
more fun. She remembers faces, but don’t know who they are. Do you want to find out what happens??
Read this great book to find out!! This is the first book of the all of the three books in the series. The next
book is Whatever Happened to Janie? And then, The Voice on the Radio. I know it isn’t a classic like other
books, but I really enjoyed reading this novel. People Magazine recommended this book to me, and I
recommend it to others. This book is a great for mystery lovers. I can’t wait to read the next book in the
series! – Dana Wintrop
Armchair
Reader:
The Book of Myths &
Misconceptions
by Jeff Bahr
Sometimes I just have to read a book like this
straight through. Each story was short and to the
point – only 1-3 pages each. It is loaded with cool
stories and answers to about 450 jeopardy questions.
I read it in about 5 days, but it is the kind of book
you can leave in the bathroom and every time you
walk out will have a few cool facts to amaze and
annoy your friends and family. – Mr. Bund
80
January 2010
Book Reviews
Night by Ellie Wiesel
½
Night is the heart-wrenching story
of Jewish man named, Elie Wiesel, who recounts his
struggles through the Holocaust starting when he at
the age of 12. In this autobiographical novel he
describes the horrors he witnessed, his family’s
forced separation, and the winding trail of neverending tragedy. Through this calamitous experience
Elie loses very much, but through his novel he inspires us all. He tells us to
appreciate what you have, because it can be taken away in an instance, like it
was for him. This book was a true superb work of literature. His writing is
simply addictive and visual. He uses imagery to capture the reader’s
attention and to describe the horrific events of his time during the
Holocaust. He depicts his struggle very well and shows his growth from boy
to man in the concentration camps. You must read this book! It is an
inspirational story that will absolutely warm your heart. A MUST! – Paige
Botie
The Giver
By Lois Lowry
¼
Jonas lives in the perfect community. There is
no war, lots of rules, and a bunch of systems to do
everything (assign jobs, name babies, release the old,
etc.). When Jonas is selected to become the Receiver
of Memory, he starts to see a whole other side of The
Community, and eventually he can’t take it & decides to
flee the community.
I found this book very interesting because I
realized that no place can be perfect, and we had many
things The Community didn’t have. We have color, love, and family. The
Community does not have those things. It got more intense as we went along,
which I enjoyed. -Sam Leifer
January 2010
81
Book Reviews
The Last Ember by Daniel Levin If you liked “The DaVinci Code” then you will like this. Jonathan Marcus, a lawyer/ archaeology scholar, searcheing for a great artifact lost since the Romans conquered Jerusalem in the first century AD. Most of the fast‐paced story takes place over the course of extremely full day in Rome and Jerusalem. Of course, Jonathan is not alone is searching for this artifact. There is the beautiful woman, an evil terrorist and the authorities. Islam, Christianity and Judaism will all be dramatically be affected by the discovery of this great object! This is author, Daniel Levin’s, first novel and it is quite good. I am looking forward to his next one. – Mr. Bund My Life in Pink and Green
by Lisa Greenwald
I thought My Life in Pink and Green by Lisa
Greenwald was an enjoyable book to read. It’s
about a girl named Lucy that tries saving her
family’s pharmacy by starting a makeup business
at only twelve years old. I feel like the whole
concept is something new, refreshing, and
different from all the other books that most teens
like. If you don’t read this book, you won’t miss
out on much, but I feel that it is nice to read and
take on something a little different and interesting
once in a while. - Victoria Korine
82
January 2010
Book Reviews
Yankee Years
By Joe Torre and Tom Verducci
Non-Fiction/Sports
¾
½
for Baseball fans
For 12 years Joe Torre led the New York Yankees.
Despite the relentless New York media, an overbearing
George Steinbrenner, disagreements with higher
management,
volatile
and
distinctive
player
personalities, steroid scandals, and monumental
changes to the way teams construct and develop
players, Joe Torre still led the Yankees to 12 post-season appearances and 4
World Series victories.
This is an easy to read book and a must for Yankee fans. It is more than
just a Joe Torre’s memoir, it includes stories and quotes from dozens of players.
For me, it was like reliving those glorious years of the second half of the 1990’s
with Paul O’Neill, Tino Martinez, David Cone, Bernie Williams and this young
promising kid named Derek Jeter. It also brought back all the emotions and
turmoil of the following years with Gary Shefield, Jason Giambi, Roger Clemens,
David Wells, and A-Fraud (I mean A-Rod, aka Alex Rodriguez). Through it all, Joe
Torre would persevere. You will relive those years also, but there is so much more
going on in the baseball world and behind the scenes, which Sports Illustrated
writer Tom Verducci informs us. This is a book which will show you what it takes to
lead a major league team with honesty and integrity. Thank you Joe for those 12
years. – Mr. Bund
Cornelia
and
the
Audacious
Escapades of the Somerset Sisters.
By Lesley M.M. Blume
Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters is
one of those books that you just can’t put down. Throughout the
whole story, there was not one moment without suspense, although it
did sometimes did move at a slow pace. This book is generally about
a girl named Cornelia that has no friends, and keeps to herself. She
meets her new neighbors and they become friends immediately,
which helped her with making friends in the long run. I felt that this
book was very inspirational and caused me to start having deeper feelings on everything around
me. Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters is a great book for people that
love a happy ending. -Victoria Korine
January 2010
83
Book Reviews
The Alexander Cipher
By Will Adams
Fiction/Thriller
¾
A fast-paced, relentless, actionpacked archaeological thriller to discover
the tomb of one of the greatest conquerors
in history – Alexander the Great. D’s debut
novel is a successful blend of The DaVinci
code and Indiana Jones, and once I started,
I could not put it down. There is much more
to it than just finding the tomb. Opposing
forces will do anything to find it first – lie,
deceive, murder – and whoever finds it first will uncover more than just
priceless artifacts.
I look forward to Will Adam’s next novel, with his flawed
archaeological hero,
David Knox. If you read The DaVinci code, give this
novel a try. You will not be disappointed. – Mr. Bund
Stiff: The Curious Lives
of Human Cadavers
By Mary Roach
¼
Interesting – to say the least. What happens to you
after you die? If you donate your body to science, what do
they do with it? If you were to die in a field, how would you
decompose? This may sound like a science textbook, but it is
cleverly written and often quite funny. If you have any
interest in a medical career or in the sciences, or just looking
for something quite different you should give this book a try.
– Mr. Bund
84
January 2010
Book Reviews
The Breadwinner
By Deborah Ellis
½
The Breadwinner is about Parvana, an
eleven year old girl who lives in Afghanistan in a small and one
room apartment with her family. Parvana’s father is the only one
that is able to work because women in Afghanistan are not allowed
to work Then Parvana’s father gets sent to jail for no inhabitable
reason. Their were no other men in Parvana’s family that can work
so Parvana has to cut her hair off and dress as a boy in order to
support her family. I really enjoyed reading the Breadwinner. The
book was very descriptive and detailed. I enjoyed how the
characters seem very real. The book described poverty and showed
how life is like in Afghanistan with the Taliban in power. .
Afghanistan today is still ruled by the Taliban which made it interesting because it is current. This
book made me really open my eyes and realize I should be thankful for what I have. I would
recommend this book to anybody who interested in history. - Umer Chaudhry
Black Hawk Down:
A Story of Modern War
By Mark Bowden
Non-Fiction/War
½ A true story. It was like reading a
high-paced action movie. The action starts
immediately and does not let up for a minute. I
could not put it down. There were times when I
just had 2 minutes to read and I would pick it up
anyway. – Mr. Bund
½
This was a very good book, and a
true story. It was a higher level book, but it was easy to understand.
Black Hawk Down is about a group of US Marines who raid the city of
Mogashiu, Somalia in Africa. It shows what soldiers have to go through
in war. It also shows how much courage they have. I would recommend
this book to anyone. – Vishnu Nagaraj
January 2010
85
Book Reviews
Red Mars, Green Mars and Blue Mars
By Kim Stanley Robinson
1/2
This Mars trilogy is intriguing and impressive. What would it be like to live
on Mars? Purple skies, 25 hour days, 15 month dust storms, floods, seasons? One hundred
Earthlings head out to Mars to create a permanent settlement. Doctors, scientists, psychologists,
machinists, horticulturists, and the occasionally crazy person are chosen for this forever mission.
The battles begin before lift off and carry on for decades.
After decades of hard work and sacrifice, plants begin to take root in the unforgiving planet
followed by a habitable atmosphere, all the while a new civilization erupts from the rusty surface of
Mars. Thousands of Earthlings flock to the promise of new life on Mars. Many start families with
children who are very tall and lithe due to the reduced gravity.
Tons of great science, but enough drama to keep you involved. – Mrs. Dunn
Revelation Space
Chasm City
Alastair Reynolds
½
Alastair Reynolds is a Welsh astronomer living in the
Netherlands and works with the ESA (European Space Agency).
He writes this true sci-fi series that is challenging, complex,
complicated, but doable. In Revelation Space, archeologist,
Sylveste tries to solve the mystery of an entire civilizations mysterious disappearance.
He strikes a dangerous bargain with cyborgs and may uncover more than he bargained
for. Chasm City, a whole book on the weirdest place you never want to go to. Bounty
hunter Tanner, makes some unusual friends and dangerous enemies in this godforsaken
place somewhere in the universe. Lots of awesome science, neutron stars, gravity,
genetic augmentation, time warps, etc., etc., etc.
Definitely going to read some more Alastair Reynolds books. – Mrs. Dunn
My Life in Pink and Green
86
January 2010
Book Reviews
Catalyst
By Laurie Halse Anderson
I really enjoyed this book about a girl named Kate who is
trying to apply to MIT when her life starts to head downhill.
Kate is a mixture of many things, she is a long distance runner, a
science and math geek, the minister’s daughter and girlfriend to
the “Early Decision Harvard” Mitchell. Kate was always able to
handle everything, until Teri Litch and her little brother Mikey
move in. Teri has always bullied Kate ever since Kindergarten
and now because her house burned down, Teri has to move in
with Kate. Kate doesn’t like it one bit but, she is going to have
to deal. When MIT doesn’t want to take her in, Kate Malone’s
life is flipped inside out.
I liked the way the book was written and how Kate has two sides. In the novel,
when Kate makes a decision, she has a “Good Kate” and a “Bad Kate” and she has to
choose between both of them. I feel that this is the kind of book someone should read if
they are stuck and don’t know what to do. The book was worth it and I really liked it. Amanda Troendle
3 Willows
By Ann Brashares
Fiction
½
This book was pretty enjoyable. It is almost like a
continuation of “The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants,”
but with a different plot and characters. This book
contains the lives of three best friends over the summer
that changes them forever. They each find different
paths to follow. Polly believes she can be a model. Ama wanted to be in an
academic camp but accidentally is put in a wilderness trip and must survive
the wilds of Wyoming. Jo learns how to work at a job in a restaurant.
Throughout the book, there are little paragraphs that tell stories about things
that happened in the past to all the friends. These paragraphs usually relate to
things that are happening in the story. The book was a good read but a little
boring. I like fast-paced, exciting books so I suggest that if you are like me that
you read something a little more…captivating. One thing I did enjoy about the
book was that it always referred to a tree and how it grows, just as friendships
grow. If you liked “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” then you will
probably like this book. - Amanda Troendle
January 2010
87
Book Reviews
Frozen Fire
By Tim Bowler
½
Fiction/Mystery
This book is truly a mystery. It
managed to capture my eye when I saw the hint, “He’s Not Of
This World….” The book is about a girl who is struggling in
school as well as in life. Dusty (the main character) believes
that a strange voice she hears on her cell phone on Christmas
Night knows about the whereabouts of her brother, who
disappeared two years ago. Now she is setting out for this boy
who is said to be dangerous and who has escaped the police for
years. People say that he can read your mind and can move at
the speed of light. They say, “He is not of this world.” She
tries to put together the pieces of this mysterious boy while
trying to find her brother. While the entire town is trying to
find and destroy this boy, Dusty wants to protect him to find
her missing brother. This book was exciting, upbeat and a very good mystery. I highly
recommend this book to anyone. From the first line, “I’m dying,” to the very shocking end, this
book was well worth it and defiantly deserves 4 stars. - Amanda Troendle
This book was an extra ordinary book. It was much different from
Twilight and the other books for teenagers. This one is more mature and more
complex, so I wouldn't recommend it to younger children. The way the author wrote it,
made it the most interesting book I've ever read. I couldn't put the book down for
even a minute.- Maya Gasiorowski
Speak
By Laurie Halse Anderson
The book, Speak, caught my eye when I saw the award
placed in the left corner. When I actually began reading the book, I
was a little surprised by the way the author wrote it. It wasn’t set up
as a book normally is and was a very strange read. To sum the book
up in just a few short sentences, it’s about a girl who wants to be
mute. She only speaks to certain people and tries not to speak to
anyone at home or in school. Her grades in school are awful and her
situation at home is terrible. No one knows why she decides to be
mute and throughout the entire book, she only has a little explanation of why she is mute. She
“says” it’s because whenever she talks to someone, she gets nervous that she’ll mess up on a word
or two and so decides what’s the point of speaking anyway? The ending was just weird and the only
part where there was any action was short and barely understandable at first. I admit that I like the
way Speak was written, it just wasn’t as complex of a story I thought it would be. Unless you’re the
kind of person that doesn’t mind any action in a book at all, then I suggest you read this. Or if you’re
a big mouth yourself (like me) you won’t really understand it. - Amanda Troendle
88
January 2010
Book Reviews
The Eragon Series
Fiction/Fantasy
Brisingr
(The third book of the Eragon series)
Another AMAZING book in the Eragon series!
After losing his sword in the previous book (I’m not
telling you how) there is a search for a new sword, while
he travels the land once again and attends the dwarven
clan gathering, once again meets with his trainers, and
still manages to cross the entire land and save the day.
Once again, all ages will love it, and I know I did. Again
you must read Eragon and Eldest before you read this
one. This is a book that will keep you on the edge of your
seat and you will never forget. – Eric Hechler
Eldest
½
(The sequel to Eragon – The second book in the series)
This book was great. Once again, this is a book for
all ages, but you MUST read Eragon first. Otherwise you
will not understand a thing. This book was very good, and
takes place after Eragon leaves the Beor Mountains with
his companions. They travel all over the land, and Eragon
and Saphira meet their new trainers. This book is
AMAZING and a great gift to all. – Eric Hechler
January 2010
89
Book Reviews
Eragon
(The original book)
½
Eragon is one of my favorite books. It has
adventure, action, and such imaginative settings.
Eragon is a book/movie about a boy named Eragon
who lives with his uncle and cousin. One day,
while hunting in The Spine, Eragon finds a blue
stone. But, this isn’t an ordinary stone. It’s an egg
which hatches into a dragon. Eragon names it
Saphira for her sapphire colored scales. Together,
with Brom (a storyteller), they set out to find and kill the dark and
mysterious foes called the Ra’zac, find the Varden (the good guys), and
complete Eragon’s training as a dragon rider. They meet many characters,
travel to many places, and learn many secrets. Also, there is happiness and
misfortune. Eragon also has different races like humans, dwarfs, and elves.
These characters have a variety of personalities, skills, and habits that keep it
interesting. One of the best reasons to read Eragon is that it has such thrills
that make it difficult to put down. To find out those big secrets, you need to
pick up and read Eragon. - Ryan Winthrop
½
THIS book was great. It will be appeal to all ages,
especially if you like dragons and war and such. I
personally loved the book, and anybody who reads it
will. It is so detailed, from start to finish. A great book
that everyone will love. – Eric Hechler
90
January 2010
Book Reviews
The Troy Trilogy
By David Gemmell
Historic Fiction/Ancient History
¾
Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow
(Troy Trilogy, book 1)
This is an astounding piece of
historical fiction. It is addictive reading.
From the first page, I was hooked, and it
just got better and better.
David
Gemmell has a history of creating highly
respected fantasy worlds and novels,
and here he takes this experience to
produce imaginative, colorful and
deep characters. Think of this as a prequel to the Iliad and the Odyssey,
or for those of you don’t know those classics, think of it as a prequel to the
movie “Troy.” This is the book that renewed my faith in the historical fiction
genre. I have suggested this book to dozens of people, and not one has
told me they have been disappointed. Highly and enthusiastically
recommended! – Mr. Bund
Troy: Lord of the Silver Bow takes place before the Trojan War
began. I am uncertain of the historic accuracy of this book, however, I do
think that it is a very possible account of the events leading up to the
Trojan war. I learned about the great warrior, Helikaeon, and the
Trojans. About King Agamemnon and how the Mycenaeans played a
large part in the events leading up to the Trojan wars. This book also
taught me about how Mycenaens (The Greeks) not only conspired against
the enemy, but also themselves.
I thought that the book was a very good retelling of the events that
resulted in the Trojan War and that it is a good substitute for the story of
Helen of Troy. It is much more likely and believable. I would definitely
recommend this book to anyone who would like a new and refreshing
opinion on the cause of the Trojan War. – Matthew Ross
January 2010
91
Book Reviews
The Troy Trilogy continued…
Shield of Thunder (Troy Trilogy, Book 2)
Troy: Fall of Kings (Troy Trilogy, Book 3)
Excellent!!! Historical fiction at its best. I thoroughly enjoyed
reading it.
Unfortunately, the author David Gemmell died while
completing the third and final book to this wonderful trilogy, but his wife
finished it with the detailed notes he left. I was hooked from the first
page, and I love the way Gemmell weaves very believable and alternate
interpretations of events that happened so long ago, but still intrigue us
today. The characters are wonderful and the story keeps you hooked
from the first page of Lord of the Silver Bow to the last page of Fall of
Kings.
Call Peter Jackson now (he made the movies for The Lord of the
Rings Trilogy) and turn these into blockbuster epic movies. Everything
about them – the rich characters, immense battles, and intrigue all put
to the incredible backdrop of the beautiful Aegean Sea – just begs to put
on the big screen. – Mr. Bund
92
January 2010
Book Reviews
A Song of Ice and Fire
By George RR Martin
This is one of the best epic fantasy series ever created. Its vision, depth and detail
are breathtaking. The best fantasy to compare it to is Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Just
mentioning any book in this category is an honor, and Martin’s series exceeds all
expectations. Some are proclaiming him “The American Tolkien.”
This masterfully written adventure is not as clean cut as Lord of the Rings - it is
much more gritty, violent and mature. Each chapter is titled and written from the point of
view of a different character, and the morally complex characters do not easily fall into
the category of good or evil, black or white. Instead, there is a lot of grey area, and you
will find yourself rooting for a character at one time and wishing they were dead later.
These fantasy books do not overwhelm you with the magic and the supernatural. The key
characters are human and their weapons are their words, wits and occasionally their
weapons. Just a warning – do not get used to everyone. Martin has no problem killing
anyone.
Like Lord of the Rings, these books are not quick reads at about 1000 pages per
book, but the benefit is a rich tapestry that will totally satisfy you and immerse you in the
action.
Originally the series was only planned to be 3 books, but now Martin plans to
make it a 7-book series. The 4th book, “A Feast of Crows” was released in 2005, and was
good, but not a riveting as the original three. The 5th book in the series, “A Dance with
Dragons,” was scheduled to be released in April 2009, but we are still impatiently
waiting. HBO has plans to create a mini series, and the script for “A Game of Thrones”
is now being completed. HBO plans to give each novel a full season. – Mr. Bund
January 2010
93
Book Reviews
A Song of Fire and Ice Continued…
A Series Review by Eric Hechler
A Game of Thrones
A Game of Thrones is book 1 in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and
Fire series. This was a very good book, although at times it is very slow,
and you may want to stop reading, but the rest of the series is definitely
worth it. This book takes place mostly over the Seven Kingdoms of
Westeros, with tons of adventure and mystery. People are not who you
think they are, they will die when you thought they might come out on
top many more things. Every chapter is from a different characters point
of view. There are about 8 characters that it cycles through. This is
definitely worth your time to read. - Eric Hechler
A Clash of Kings
This is book 2 in George
R.R. Martin’s “A Song of
Ice and Fire” series. This
book is even better than the
first one with tons more
mystery and fighting. This
book moves much faster
than the first one, and is
much better. It has the
most action with many
small,
but
important,
battles leading up to the
real Clash of Kings in the
Battle of the Blackwater.
This book ends with some
incredible events. Another
great book worth your time
reading. – Eric Hechler
94
January 2010
Book Reviews
A Storm of Swords
This is book 3 in George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire series.” This
one is the best of the current 4 books by a mile. This book takes so many
twists and turns, you will think you know exactly what is going to happen…
and then BAM someone dies or something like that and you feel like an
idiot. I have to admit that this is the best book I have ever read in my life.
The thing that I’m very happy about with this series is that the author kept
the series going after this book. If he had wanted he could have stopped
the series at the end of this book. I would have been disappointed, but I
would have been satisfied. I am surprised that I feel this way because they
didn’t even end the war or anything like that. But the series keeps on
moving on and the war continues…. - Eric Hechler
A Feast for Crows
This is book 4 of the George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of
Ice and Fire” series. This is the last available book at
the moment in the series, but the fifth one (A Dance
With Dragons) will be out eventually. The first good
thing about this book is it breaks the annoying chain of
books that start with “A ___ of ___.” Since in this
series every chapter takes place from a different
characters point of view. Each character has their own
story although their stories cross many times. FFC and
DWD take place at the same time. Originally they were
supposed to be the same book but it was too big, so
they split it in half. But, (try to follow me here) instead
of telling half the story for all of the characters, he
tells the whole story for half of the characters, and that
is the reason that FFC and DWD take place at the same time. I was very happy with this
setup because It has many of my favorite characters in each, like Jaime and Cersei
Lannister and Samwell Tarly in FFC and Tyrion Lannister, Daenerys Targaryen and Jon
Snow in DWD. It has taken almost 6 years for George R.R. Martin to write DWD, and he
is in his early 60s. He better not die before he finishes this series, or I’ll kill him again.
Another great book. - Eric Hechler
January 2010
95
Book Reviews
A Feast for Crows
A Song of Ice and Fire (book 4)
By George RR Martin
Books 1-3
½
I read the first 3 books in a single
summer, and had to wait years for
this fourth book. After reading the
first couple of pages, I paged
through the rest of the book,
searching for some of my favorite
characters. I wouldn’t say I was
entirely disappointed, but the
satisfaction wasn’t there after the
anticipation. In retrospect, Martin
tried to develop some of HIS
favorite characters in a way that he
did not do in the first three. In the
first 3, he jumps around from
character to character, leaving the
reader hanging after nearly every
chapter. I admit, I skipped some
chapters in order to find out what
happened to a particular character,
then went back to finish the
skipped ones.
I read the authors comments about the need to break the story into 2 books.
I don’t buy his excuse. I could have handled a 1500 page book. What about you?
By far, the best fantasy series I have ever read. – Mrs. Dunn
“Of those who work in the grand epic-fantasy
tradition, Martin is by far the best…this is as good a
time as any to proclaim him the American Tolkien.” –
Time Magazine
96
January 2010
Book Reviews
The movie comes to theaters very soon.
Here is a review on the book from our May 2006 issue
The Lovely Bones
By Alice Sebold
½
This is one of those books that puts you
through a whirlwind of emotions. I have never read
a better written no vel. One of the things I loved most
about this book was the fact that I did not know exactly
how to categorize its genre. It could be classified as
mystery, as well as horror, as well as fantasy. I
concluded that it was predominantly on the murder
mystery side. The novel is very unique in the sense of
how it is told. Its main character Susie Salmon is
raped and killed in the very first chapter. Susie was 14
when she was murdered by a man named George
Harvey; her neighbor. The best thing about this book is
that there isn’t a need to ponder the identity of the
murderer. For Susie and her father the frustration is proving the murderers’ guilt. The
story is told from Susie’s point of view. How, you may ask, if she was killed in the first
chapter? Well, Susie tells her story from heaven as she watches everyone else’s lives.
Susie watches as the perfected serial killer who murdered her, without being suspected by
a single person on earth but her father, goes on with life, as she could not. What she
wanted most, as she admits in heaven, was Mr. Harvey dead and her alive. Now every
book written about heaven in some aspect has a different way of describing it. By far
Alice Sebold’s (the author) way is the most creative and mind boggling. In this book
everyone’s heaven is different. It has everything you want it to have if you understand
why you want it. The people who are in your heaven are the people whose heavens cross
with yours. They are not exactly the same as yours but they have different things.
Basically everyone see’s something different. You also have kind of a tour
guide/guidance counselor. Susie’s councilor’s name was Franny. She is the one who
basically explained the, “if you understand why you want it concept.” I loved this book
because of how every aspect of it was interwoven with something else. I found myself
laughing sometimes because of the irony, especially in its ending. I recommend this book
for anyone who is mature enough to handle the topic of rape. This is one of the most
phenomenal books it has been my privilege to read. – Tara Blumstein (class of 2010)
January 2010
97
Book Reviews
Gladiators of the Empire Novels
Sand of the Arena (Book 1)
The Fight for Rome (Book 2)
By James Duffy
Historic Fiction/Ancient History
I would highly recommend the
“Gladiators of the Empire Novels.” James
Duffy knows his history, and expertly weaves
fact and fiction in these thrilling, easy to
read, fast-paced and exciting historical
fiction novels. Even if you are not an ancient
history fan, I think you will find these novels
a very satisfying read.
In Sands of the Arena, young
Quintus loved watching the gladiators with
his father, but when tragedy strikes and his
life it taken away from him by his scheming
slave Lucius, he unbelievably finds himself
rebuilding his life as a gladiator. Along with
his friends Lindani, a kind-hearted African
beast-hunter, and Amazonia, a beautiful but
deadly female gladiatrix, Quintus develops into one of the most popular
gladiators in the empire.
With the death of the depraved
emperor Nero, Rome descends into chaos. It
is the year 69AD – The Year of Four
Emperors – and The Fight for Rome has
Quintus and his gladiator friends in the
middle of this bloody Civil War. Meanwhile,
Quintus’ lifetime nemesis, Lucius, is again
plotting his rise to power.
The third novel, soon to be released,
fast-forwards to 79AD, the year of Mt.
Vesuvius’ catastrophic eruption, and is aptly
entitled Rain of Fire. I look forward to the
further adventures of Quintus and his
friends, and expect another fast-paced and
fun novel. – Mr. Bund
98
January 2010
Book Reviews
NEW MOON
By Stephenie Meyer
1/2 star
(gasp, yes I did just rate one of the twilight
books a ½ a star!)
It is official ‐‐ Stephanie Meyer is the oldest emo teenage girl on the face of this planet. How else could she have written a book like ʺNew Moon,ʺ the second sparkle‐
vampire romance in her bestselling Twilight series? Unfortunately this is no deep and intense romance ‐‐ itʹs basically a big oozing lump of teenage melodrama and horrendously purple writing style. And the stubbornly obnoxious heroine Bella Swan doesnʹt help with her endless moaning. After Bella’s birthday party is ruined, the Cullen’s leave Forks because they realize it’s too dangerous for them to be around her. Cue emo music, for Bellaʹs life is empty and worthless without Edward. No, but you don’t understand, it’s LITERALLY empty. There are blank pages with month names on them, presumably to show how meaningless and pointless her life has become since her true love has left her. Firstly, this is fated “true” love. In my world, fated true love isnʹt romantic, itʹs lazy. It says ʺhey, instead of working out why these characters are attracted to each other and showing how their relationship develops, Iʹm gonna just put it in the hands of FATE and have them fall in love for no reason whatsoever!ʺ Edward loves Bella because she smells good, which means Edward loves Bella like I love freshly baked bread. Bella loves Edward because heʹs beautiful. God‐like. So beautiful...really BEAUTIFUL, in case you missed it in all the numerous descriptive reminders. But really, why do they love each other? I have no idea. Shakespeare was all too aware of the ridiculousness of star‐crossed Half Hollow Hills Review Club
January 2010
99
love, which is why he was smart and killed his teenaged lovers off. But Bella and Edwardʹs happiness hinges entirely on their togetherness. What a strong, solid message to send to the young women of the world: happiness isnʹt something you create for yourself, oh no, itʹs something you can ONLY find in a beautiful, immortal man. Bellaʹs slow recognition of Jacob as a potential suitor was far more interesting and realistic, and it was disappointing to see Bella repeatedly insist to herself that no one would ever do it for her again but Edward. In this book, Meyer is CLEARLY trying to use literary comparisons and to turn her characters into representations of Shakespeareʹs. And hey, I love Shakespeare, but if you’re gonna do that; you might as well not fail miserably. Bella, Edward and Jacob are not Juliet, Romeo and Paris, but Meyer tries desperately to make them so. Where Romeo and Juliet is a play about how hatred and outside forces can destroy something pure, New Moon is just an embarrassing display of teen melodrama. Bella was always a whiny, insipid little baby; always needing a man to literally prop her up. In New Moon she takes this to a frightening new level. Bella simply cannot go anywhere without either being carried or supported by a man. Hell, even in the car thereʹs always a guy with his arm around her while heʹs driving (howʹs that for road safety?). She actually clings to whatever man is near her, and when thereʹs no man sheʹs sitting on the lap of and clinging to, there is Alice, her female friend. We are supposed to see Bella as Juliet. Sheʹs NOT. Bellaʹs misery is embarrassing. She goes walking at night in dangerous places, trying to attract men who previously tried to rape her. She rides ‐ and repeatedly crashes ‐ a motorcycle she does not know how to operate, and she jumps off a cliff. All so she can hallucinate her ex‐boyfriendʹs voice. She wakes up screaming ‐ EVERY NIGHT. She does things that put her in the hospital every week. Why? Because her boyfriend left her six months earlier. This is not a broken heart; this is the worldʹs most stupid girl being as melodramatic as it is possible to be. And anybody whoʹs hallucinating a boyfriend should be medicated. In the end, belatedly, Meyer realizes that post‐breakup angst is not enough to carry even this thin plot. So she quickly spins up a bunch of Bad Evil Restrictive Vampires, and Edward attempting suicide by the most hilarious method possible ‐‐ public sparkling. Such scenes almost mock themselves. And then both of them are fine. Nope, nothing happens. So what have we learned? ʺNew Moonʺ is a prolonged, near‐plotless slog of teenage melodrama. This book MIGHT have just been worse than Twilight, and that’s saying something. ‐ Suedeh Ranjbar 100
January 2010
Special Feature – Book Vs Movie
TWILIGHT
By Stephenie Meyer
Some of you may have heard the buzz about Twilight.
Honestly, it was painful to read at times. The
characters were boring, the storyline was dull until
the end, and there were no unexpected events. You
wasted about 450 pages out of the 497-page novel.
For half the book it described how “beautiful”
Edward was and how in love Bella was with him and
the other half was spent on Edward’s over-protective
moments. The end was the only part I liked. First of
all because it was the only good part, and second of
all it meant that the book was over. The movie of
“Twilight” is not great either. The acting was dull,
there was no emotion and the directing was absurd.
Scenery was eerie, but in a boring way, too. The
movie followed the same trend as most of the book.
More of boring. YAWN! I’m not saying I don’t like
the Twilight series as a whole. I am in the middle of
the third book, Eclipse and it’s not half bad. It’s just
that Twilight and New Moon were not a good way to start off a series. If I can summarize
Twilight and the movie up in one word it would be BLAH. Don’t waste your time unless
you want to read the whole series. Otherwise, you’ll just fall
asleep, drool hanging out of your mouth, in the middle of Twilight.
– Paige Botie
THE BOOK
½ Okay, I’ll admit that I never had any intention of
reading Twilight, but once I did I thought it was amazing! All the
suspense, emotion, action and romance! I thought it was really
good, although everything does have its flaws. There were a lot of
boring and mooshy-gooshy parts that went on FOREVER! Also,
some parts are so predictable it’s pathetic, and OMG the worst
thing I hated about this book is the FANS! You know the really
obsessive ones? I have one thing to say to all of you…get over it
and get a life- it is just a book! – Lauren Toscano
January 2010
101
Book Vs Movie – Twilight continued…
Okay I’ve got to admit, the first time I read this book I was crazy about it too. But
then I suddenly realized that there are A LOT of problems and plot holes. So this “average” girl
moves to Forks and suddenly she is beautiful and popular. Girl finds interest in boy. Boy says “I’m
too dangerous for you.” Girl says “I don’t care I loooooove you.” Then they make out for the
remainder of the book. The end.
Now let me explain. First we’ll start off with our narrator, Bella Swan. The teen protagonist
has NOTHING going for her outside of the fact that she catches a vampire's eye. She has no hopes,
no aspirations, no dreams, and no hobbies. She cooks for her father and placates her shallow
mother, and that's IT. Bella is annoying and so whiny. She’s self-centered, quite rude to her 'friends'
at times, and totally lacking a sense of humor or a small amount of intelligence or any genuine
concern for anyone other than herself or her pretty- boy boyfriend. I could understand why no one at
her old school liked her. I couldn't understand, though, why everyone at her new school seemed to
treat her like royalty and wanted to be with her constantly, right from day one of her arriving there.
And what is up with her clumsiness? What does she have a neurological problem or something? It’s
also ironic how she faints at the sight of a drop of blood but doesn’t mind the fact that her boyfriend
could suck the living day out of her at any moment. I believe that using a first person narrative can
be very effective, but this author completely wasted it with this so called “500 page novel” - that
really should be 200 pages max. I mean 500 pages with 12 words on each page doesn’t really count.
Let’s move on to our knight in shining armor, the dear Edward Cullen. The most boring
character in existence! Yes, he's supposed to be gorgeous, yet I have no picture of him in my head.
Also, he doesn't have one interesting, charming, or funny thing to say. His dialogue can be divided
into three categories: 1.) "Bella, you are my moon, my stars, my sun, my pearl among swine, my
angel amongst the unwashed masses...You are marvelous, you are amazing, I adore you...of course,
I don't know you at all, because I just met you two weeks ago, but I love you very, very much. Oh
and I'm perfect." 2.) "Bella, you silly, silly girl. Who told you that you get to think and state your
opinions? I'm the vampire, I'm the one who knows everything, I get to make all the
decisions...remember, I'm perfect." 3.) "Behold my [pick one] beauty, strength, power, speed,
marvelous, endearingly quirky sense of humor, my amazing family...have I mentioned that I'm
perfect?" But we can’t forget the “Do I DAZZLE you?” So why is he described as “perfect” if he’s
plain and dull? Personally, I like flaws in guys. It makes them cuter and most importantly REAL!
Something you’ll never be Edward!
Do I sound like a pessimist yet? Well I’m not done, thank you very much. Now that we’ve
established both characters, let’s move on to their relationship - Corny, CLICHÉ, boring, predictable
(not that anything is wrong with predictability) and sort of ridiculous. I mean they just recently meet
each other and fall head over heels. I do know the meaning of love at first sight, but their
relationship is all fluff and smooching. Once they realize their ‘love’ for each other, they only care
about themselves and no one else. True love is never selfish.
There could have been so much done with this novel. The Cullen family could have been SO
MUCH more interesting! They could have had the BEST personality if only Stephanie Meyer could
have done so. I’m sorry to all of those people who think this is the best book they have ever read,
but I hate to break it to you guys, some just don’t like it. Although I have to admit, Meyer did make
some good points with the venom and vampire stories. It also finally started to pick up with an
ACTUAL event from pages 370 to 450. That’s why I am giving her 2 stars, one for her good points,
and the second because she had some events that made the book some what enjoyable. I know I
sound like I am completely hating on this book, but I just wanted to state my opinions. Think about it
when you read the novel and then tell me how hot or how perfect Edward is. – Suedeh Ranjbar
102
January 2010
THE MOVIE
I adore the Twilight Saga....but let’s
face it, the movie sucked!!! The
actress who plays Bella in the movie
showed no emotion. Throughout the
whole movie she was talking in
monotone. You could tell they had a
budget because of the crappy effects.
When Edward was supposed to
glimmer in the sunlight, it just looked
like he had a disgusting sweating
problem. They could have also used
some common sense when writing
the movie. Nobody falls in love in 2
days....not even vampires. Even though the actors and effects
sucked, I still have to give the movie some credit for keeping the
book similar with movie. - Dominique Suapengco
½ star
The worst movie I have ever seen.
There is what, 5 minutes of action in the entire movie?
There is no real plot of the story, because everything
that happens is so predictable. I thought it was the
most boring and overrated movie I have ever seen in
my entire life. Twilight was a horrible movie and I
would not even think of seeing the second one when
it comes out. - Brandon Nomberg
January 2010
103
The MOVIE continued…
Everywhere I look, someone is reading the Twilight series. All ages. OK, mostly girls, but all ages. People can not seem to get enough. The books are everywhere. It truly has become a national phenomenon. When the movie came out about the first book, it was hyped everywhere and had very high expectations. I have to admit I have not read the books, but decided I had to see the movie and see what all the fuss was about. I went into this with an open mind. Honestly! So what was the verdict? It was…just OK. It was not terrible, but it was not anything memorable. It could have been a made‐for‐television movie. I think fans badly wanted this movie to be great, but it simply was not. I liked the idea of the conflict between the good and bad vampires. This had some potential, but they did not develop that part of the story enough and I do not think they gave the bad vampires enough screen time. Instead the movie turned into a long drawn out teen love story and, oh yea, there were vampires. I can see that there is going to be a whole werewolf thing in the next movie, but I will not be running to see it. What is the bottom line? Unmemorable, and they have to do a whole lot better on the next movie in the series. – Mr. Bund 104
January 2010
Broadway Vs Movie
9 to 5
¼
The Movie: This was a very good movie. Starring Lily
Tomlin (Violet), Dolly Parton (Doralee), and Jane Fonda
(Judy), these 3 women do what they can to eliminate their
sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical, bigot of a boss (Mr.
Hart). I think this a good family movie and even better for
someone who really does work from 9 to 5. – Evan Hirsch
BROADWAY
½
This was even better than the movie. I loved it.
Starring Sphine J. Block (from the hit “Wicked”) as
Judy, Megan Hilty (also from “Wicked”) as Doralee, and
Allison Janney as Violet, made it a pleasure to see. It
was the same story as the movie, but it popped out at you with more color
and more flair. – Evan Hirsch
Broadway Reviews
Camelot (ON TOUR)
¼
This was a good musical. I took home some
catchy songs and witty lines, but the first act was
too long. I was yawning every 6 lines. At the
intermission I crawled out of the theater. Then
the second act was only 30 minutes. It had a clever little story about
King Arthur, but it could have been better. – Evan Hirsch
January 2010
105
Broadway Reviews
Opening night at Tilles Center was
wonderful. Bernadette Peters put
on a beautiful performance. She
is a true entertainer and lady. She
looked and sounded fabulous.
The Tilles Orchestra was great. I
really enjoyed her talent. –
Mrs.Hirsch
Bernadette Peters was great! She is wonderful! She
has a great voice and had a most entertaining
show. I loved all the songs she sang because they
were classic Broadway songs and they fit her voice
perfectly. In between each song she either told a
funny story or made a funny joke (which I found
both to be hilarious). I never got bored once. If she
ever came back to my area I would not hesitate to
buy tickets to her next concert. She is a great
actress and singer and I would hope she shows off
her beautiful voice to the world! – Evan Hirsch
½
106
January 2010
Broadway Reviews
South pacific
Father – Son Review
Dad’s point of view: ½ South Pacific’s revival at Lincoln
Center proved to be the Classic Musical hit
that it was when it opened many years ago.
The music by legendary composers Roger’s
and Hammerstein was both energizing and
beautiful. Aided by a major orchestra the
lively play kept your interest throughout
the 3 hour show.
The story line was provocative
covering ever present social prejudices but
at times was still able to inject humor and
comedy at just the right times. Dancing
sequences were acrobatic and the scenery
was engaging. I thoroughly enjoyed this
classic musical and would recommend it to
all ages. - Ron Hirsch
Son’s point of view: ½ It was a fun and cool musical. I thought it was pretty good but
a little hard to understand. It is the story of a man who lives on
the South Pacific who falls in love with a girl during the war. The
acting was very good and so was the scenery. It is a musical I
think older people would like more but, in some cases like mine
some kids can enjoy it too! – Evan Hirsch
January 2010
107
Broadway Reviews
Wicked
¾
Being a Wizard of
Oz fan I enjoyed
this musical. The
special
effects
were amazing! The
musical
numbers
were
very
nice.
Some acting even
scared me that's how convincing it was! Some parts
were a little unnecessary and hard to understand.
True Wizard of Oz fans like me will recognize most
of the scenes. This musical took place right before
the Wizard of Oz. It is the life story of the
Wicked Witch and Glinda who were actually
friends in college. It is a very good musical with
small bumps along the way but can be overlooked
by the great acting, costumes, and sets. - Evan
Hirsch
108
January 2010
MUSIC REVIEWS
Arctic Monkeys
Humbug
¼
With Josh Homme and the helm of
production, the Monkeys veer from their brash two
minute punk songs to something darker and weirder.
Fine with me as on tracks like “Crying Lightning”
and “Cornerstone”, front man Alex Turner’s lyrics are
smarter than they have ever been. In addition, the melodies are louder and more
psychadelic, evident on the overstuffed tune “Pretty Visitors”. The overall idea
is a but messy, but the album as a whole is intriguing than anything they have
ever done. – Dean Essner
Download: Cornerstone
Dirty Projectors
Bitte Orca
½
Best band of the year, best album of the year.
On tracks like “Useful Chamber” and “Temecula
Sunrise”, this is the best new band in
alternative rock. – Dean Essner
Download: Useful Chamber
My Morning Jacket
Evil Urges
Jim James is the most innovative
singer/artist besides Thom Yorke in rock
and roll. The one-two punch combo of
Smokin’ From Shootin’ and Touch Me I am
Going To Scream Pt. 2 is the best back-toback song combo of the year. Rock on
Jimmy! – Dean Essner
Download: Touch Me I am Going To
Scream Pt. 2
January 2010
109
MUSIC REVIEWS
Grizzly Bear
Veckatimest
½
Quiet, melodic and oh so beautiful,
Grizzly Bear prove they create some of
the sweetest melodies in all of indie
rock on tracks like “Dory” and “Two
Weeks”. – Dean Essner
Download: While You Wait For The Others, Dory
TV On The Radio
Dear Science
The best dance record of the past few years. This is
probably my favorite band right now because they
are extremely unique, and they still hold that title
after this album, which is their most accessible yet.
The best tracks include: “Crying”, “Halfway Home”,
“Dancing Choose”, “Lover’s Day”, “Stork and Owl”,
“Family Tree” and the incredible “Golden Age”. –
Dean Essner
Download: Golden Age
Top 10 Albums of 2009
by Dean Essner
1. Bitte Orca- Dirty Projectors
2. Merriwhether Post Pavilion- Animal
Collective
3. Veckatimest- Grizzly Bear
4. Monsters Of Folk- Monsters Of Folk
5. Wilco (The Album)-Wilco
110
January 2010
MUSIC REVIEWS
Phish
Joy
This album is the bands first since their
five year hiatus. They team up with Steve
Lillywhite, the producer of their 1996 album Billy
Breathes. The song “Sugar Shack,” a reggae
funky groove could pass for Steve Miller/Bob
Marley if it were catchier and the lyrics were cleaned up a bit. “Time Turns Elastic” is
very impressive, but at times can be jumbled and confusing. At the end of the song
you’ll be gasping for a breath of air. I did like the song “I Been Around”, a cool little
piano vocal piece. “Kill Devil Falls” sounds pretty good and gives you a pack of some
60’s psychedelia. “Backwards Down the Number Line” sounds like a Grateful Dead
tune, which is awesome that Phish can replicate the Dead’s sound pretty well. Overall
the album is alright, but obviously if you want to hear good Phish you have to go to one
of their spectacular and mind blowing concerts. This album shows Phish’s strengths and
most notably their limitations. -Noah Berley
Lilly Allen
It’s Not You, It’s Me
This girl is so sarcastic! I love it! Her songs are very
upbeat and sort of indie, but her lyrics are almost so
sarcastic, it’s unnoticeable. It’s an interesting
version of British pop. Lilly Allen seems like this
pampered little doll that gets everything she wants
and more, and maybe she is, but it definitely doesn’t show in her music! I
must admit, her songs are not for everyone, but if you listen to her for 2
minutes you’ll know whether or not you like her. She has a light and mellow
tone of voice and knows who she is and what kind of music she wants to
showcase. She doesn’t sound like anyone I’ve ever listened to, which makes
her stand out a lot. Give her a chance, maybe you’ll like her. – Sue Ranjbar
January 2010
111
MUSIC REVIEWS
Miley Cyrus
Breakout
½ star
Oh you have got to be kidding me. NO, I do not listen to her, but my sisters do, and I cringe every time I hear it. First of all, I would like to say that if you listen to this girl, you have no taste in music. She has absolutely no range and she doesn’t know what her style of music is. She switches from “rock” to pop, to a terrible cover of ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun’, that is just a pop explosion of umm… nothing. This is an abomination to the millions of children in the world who look up to, and idolize this teen girl. She doesn’t write any of her songs, but she would like to make you think that she does, but if you’re going to have someone write your songs, at least make them good. I mean, the songs are basically all about boys, oh and the title track Breakout? Haha silly little girl, remember, youʹre famous for now, you donʹt go to school! (Every weekʹs the same/Stuck in schoolʹs so lame/My parents say that Iʹm lazy /Gettinʹ up at 8amʹs crazy /Tired of beinʹ told what to do/So unfair, so uncool) Take a look at those genius lyrics! Wow, watch out John Lennon, she’s got you beat! – Sue Ranjbar Kiss
Sonic Boom
They are back! Sonic Boom is a really good album.
Kiss’s new music is definitely harder than the
classic Kiss. It is a solid album and I would
recommend it to Kiss fans. – Sal Liotta
112
January 2010
2009 was a big year for MUSIC,
but look at some of the amazing ALBUMS that
were out 5, 10, 15…45, 50, 55 years ago!!!
How many have you heard?
5 years ago - 2004
Arcade Fire – Funeral
Modest Mouse – Good News for People Who Love Bad News
The Killers – Hot Fuss
Green Day – American Idiot
Wilco – A Ghost is Born
U2 – How to Dismantle and Atomic Bomb
Franz Ferdinand – Franz Ferdinand
Jimmy Eats World – Futures
Velvet Revolver – Contraband
Kayne West – The College Dropout
Usher – Confessions
10 years ago - 1999
Wilco – Summerteeth
Fiona Apple – When the Pawn
Moby – Play
Eminem – The Slim Shade LP
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication
Dr. Dre – 2001
Stone Temple Pilots – No. 4
Rage Against the Machine – The Battle of Los Angeles
Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile
Metallica –S&M
Tom Waits - Mule Variations
David Gray - White Ladder
Sting - Brand New Day
Foo Fighters - There Is Nothing Left to Lose
Dido - No Angel
Backstreet Boys - Millennium
January 2010
113
15 years ago - 1994
Soundgarden – Superunknown
Weezer – Blue Album
Portishead – Dummy
Oasis – Definitely Maybe
Nine Inch Nails – The Downward Spiral
Hole – Live Through This
Green Day – Dookie
Beck – Mellow Gold
Seal (his second album)
Morrisey – Vauxhall and I
Tori Amos – Under the Pink
Stone Temple Pilots – Purple
Sarah McLachlan – Fumbling Towards Ecstasy
Notorious BIG – Ready to Die
Pearl Jam – Vitology
The Cranberries – No Need to Argue
Tom Petty – Wildflowers
Nirvana – MTV Unplugged in New York
Dave Matthews Band – Under the Table and Dreaming
Beastie Boys – Ill Communication
REM – Monster
Live – Throwing Copper
Bush –Sixteen Stone
The Sign – Ace of Base
114
January 2010
20 years ago - 1989
Pixies – Doolittle
The Cure – Disintegration
Madonna – Like a Prayer
New Order – Technique
Tom Petty – Full Moon Fever
Janet Jackson – Rhythm Nation 1814
Nine Inch Nails – Pretty Hate Machine
Jesus and Mary Chain – Automatic
B-52’s – Cosmic Thing
Edie Brickell & New Bohemians – Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars
Neil Young – Freedom
The Cult – Sonic Temple
Aerosmith – Pump
Black Crowes – Shake Your Money Maker
Nirvana –Bleach
Chris Isaak – Heart Shaped World
10,000 Maniacs – Blind Man’s Zoo
Bonnie Raitt – Nick of Time
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Mother;s Milk
Billy Joel – Storm Front
Rolling Stones – Steel Wheels
Queen –Miracle
The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses
Beastie Boys – Paul’s Boutique
Fine Young Cannibals The Raw & The Cooked
Don Henley The End Of The Innocence
Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble In Step
Bobby Brown – Don’t Be Cruel
January 2010
115
25 years ago - 1984
Metallica: Ride The Lightning
Bruce Springsteen: Born In The USA
Pretenders: Learning to Crawl
Violent Femmes: Halloweed Ground
Prince: Purple Rain
Rum DMC: self-titled
Cars: Heartbeat
Echo & Bunnymen: Ocean Rain
Red Hot Chili Peppers: self-titled
Smiths: self-titled
Tina Turner: Private Dancer
Huey Lewis: Sports
Joan Jett: Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth
Twisted Sister: Stay Hungry
Bryan Adams: Reckless
Madonna: Like A Virgin
Depeche Mode: Some Great Reward
Ratt: Out Of The Cellar
Bangles: All Over The Place
Wham: Make It Big
Don Henley: Building The Perfect Beast
Cyndi Lauper: She's So Unusual
Thompson Twins: Into The Gap
Van Halen – 1984
Mirror Moves - The Psychedelic Furs
30 years ago - 1979
Billy Joel – 52nd Street
The Clash - London Calling
Pink Floyd -The Wall
The Specials - The Specials
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Damn The Torpedoes
The B-52's - The B-52's
Michael Jackson - Off The Wall
Neil Young - Rust Never Sleeps
The Police - Reggatta de Blanc
Supertramp - Breakfast In America
AC/DC - Highway To Hell
The Cars - Candy-O
The Knack - Get The Knack
Molly Hatchet - Flirtin' with Disaster
Journey - Evolution
116
January 2010
35 years ago - 1974
Elton John – Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic
Bob Marley & The Wailers - Natty Dread
Eric Clapton - 461 Ocean Boulevard
Supertramp - Crime Of The Century
Lynyrd Skynyrd - Second Helping
Queen - Sheer Heart Attack
Joni Mitchell - Court And Spark
Al Green - Al Green Explores Your Mind
Blue Öyster Cult - Secret Treaties
The New York Dolls - Too Much Too Soon
Bad Company - Bad Company
Frank Zappa - Apostrophe
Linda Ronstadt - Heart Like A Wheel
Rick Derringer - All American Boy
George Harrison - Dark Horse
Barry White - Can't Get Enough
40 years ago - 1969
The Beatles – Abbey Road
The Kinks – Arthur or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire
The Rolling Stones – Let it Bleed
Led Zeppelin I
Led Zeppelin II
Dusty Springfield – Dusty in Memphis
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Green River
Creedence Clearwater Revival – Bayou Country
The Who – Tommy
Yes –Yes
Deep Purple – The Book of Taliesyn
Joe Cocker – With a Little Help from My Friends
Pink Floyd – Ummagumma
Iron Butterfly – In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
The Stooges – The Stooges
Bob Dylan – Nashville Skyline
Frank Zappa – Uncle Meat
Miles Davis – In a Silent Way
The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground
The Allman Brothers Band
35 years ago - 1964
Hello Dolly!
Peter, Paul and Mary - In the Wind
Barbara Streisand – The Barbara Streisand Album
West Side Story
January 2010
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MUSIC REVIEWS
A flashback of flashbacks - An Article
from our first issue – 5 years ago
Green Day
American Idiot
Green Day's newest CD, “American Idiot,” is full of political
"punk pop", unlike all their earlier CDs. Some of the songs
have a good beat and are fun to listen to, but there are
others that are just plain bad, one example is “Give Me
Novacaine.” It doesn't fit in with the rest of the CD's type of
music. Some of the songs, however, are great, but
overplayed on the radio, such as “Holiday.” One of the best
songs on the CD that the radio stations didn't decide to play is “Letterbomb,” a faster,
somewhat "poppish" song. I would recommend seeing them in concert, because they
play all the songs with more attitude and they sound better (believe it or not), and they
play some songs, like “Holiday” faster. They also have some awesome effects. – A.J.
Ortiz-class of 2008
Green Day
Dookie
One of Green Day's older albums,
“Dookie,” was released 15 years ago and
almost every song on it is better than the
“American Idiot” CD's songs. If you listened
to Green Day before American Idiot, this is
where most of the songs you like are
from. This CD has many "Green Day
originals" such as “Welcome To Paradise,”
“When I Come Around,” “Longview,”
“Basket Case,” and “She.” If you like
Green Day and haven't heard this CD,
chances are, you'll love it. – A.J. Ortiz
118
January 2010
MUSIC REVIEWS
Primus
Hallucino-Genetics
½
This album is Primus’s first concert DVD, released in October 2004 and
filmed on June 26, 2004, it is their last show of their ’04 tour. The album is two and
a half hours packed into two sets. Despite a long absence from the concert scene,
Primus manages to be as wild ‘n’ wacky as ever, but not afraid to veer off into an
extended jam at any moment. The album starts off with underrated songs like “Sgt.
Baker” and “American Life”, but then goes into two of their best know singles “Jerry Was a Race Car Driver”
and “My Name Is Mud”. Then comes the core of the concert DVD with “Mr. Knowitall”, “Frizzle Fry”,
“Spegetti Western”, “Too Many Puppies”, and “To Defy the Laws of Tradition”. This album depicts Primus’s
successful 2004 reunion tour. – Noah Berley
Tom Petty and
The Heartbreakers
Echo
½
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers try to put a
new kind of pop spin on their 1999 album Echo. The
balance between the ballads and the all out rocker
moments are perfect. Even though the album is filled with sadness it still
manages to feel pure and not forced. The album also shows that The
Heartbreakers are a very versatile band. Overall the album is pretty good
one. – Noah Berley
Twisted Sister
Stay Hungry
This was an awesome album and Twisted Sister’s biggest album.
The album has both of their biggest hits, “I Wanna Rock” and
”We’re Not Gonna Take It.” A must for metal heads. – Sal Liotta
January 2010
119
MUSIC REVIEWS
Supertramp
Breakfast in America
This album is definitely Supertramps best by far.
I don’t really like Supertramp but I enjoy this
album a lot. This album won the 1980 Grammy
Award for Best Recording Package, beating out
albums most notably by Talkng Heads and Led Zeppelin, among
others. This album has great hits like, “The Logical Song”,”Goodbye
Stranger”,”Take The Long Way Home”, and “Breakfast in America”.
– Noah Berley
Molly Hatchet
Flirtin’ with Disaster
This is one of Molly Hatchet’s best albums, released
at their peak. When this album was released Molly
Hatchet was becoming recognized as a serious
southern rock band. Their fan base was nearly on
par with Lynyrd Skynard and the Allman Bros.
These crazy hillbillys rock hard with a triple guitar
attack and the raspy southern vocals of Danny Joe
Brown. They start of slow with “Whiskey Man” but
then take off into the hard rocking “It’s All over All
Now”. The rest of the songs on the album will keep any dude hillbilly or not
rocking until the sun rises up on the bayou. – Noah Berley
120
January 2010
MUSIC REVIEWS
Bad Company This is Bad Company’s debut album, a strong way to start off a
long career as a band. This album peaked as #1 on the
Billboard’s Pop Albums chart for North America in 1974. This
album contains great songs such as, “Bad Company”,”Rock
Steady”,”Can’t Get Enough”, and “Ready for Love”. This album is an example of good
classic rock. If you like this band another good band to listen to is Mott the Hoople. Noah Berley
Allman Brothers Band
As They Were
Live at the Cow Palace
½
This is one of the
best live albums I have ever heard! It almost can’t be any better. The
band is complimented with some members of The Grateful Dead. This
concert is turned into a total jam session with the two of the greatest jam
bands of the time. It is the perfect hippie concert. The guitar is
absolutely mind blowing. During the concert there were guest
appearances from: Jerry Garcia, Steve Miller, Boz Scaggs, John Lee
Hooker, Charlie Daniels, Elvin Bishop and Buddy Miles. – Noah Berley
Gong
You
½
One of the strangest albums I’ve ever list ened to. From
mysterious animal noises to rambling guitar this is one
weird album. Although I still enjoyed it a lot. Even though
there aren’t many left, for all those psychedelic junkies
out there this is the perfect album for You. – Noah Berley
January 2010
121
MUSIC REVIEWS
The Greatful Dead
Live/Dead
This is the Deed’s first album, one of the best live albums of all time. This
album shows how great the Dead are live. There improvisation is amazing and the
recording of this album is beautiful. With Jerry’s fiery solos and Ron “Pigpen”
McKernan’s great vocals the conundrum of how to bring a lengthy and awesome
performance experience to the listener had been answered. This was the first band to solve this tricky
problem. A very big critic of American rock, Robert Christgau commented on parts of this album and said,
“....the finest rock improvisation ever recorded.
A special microphone splitter that fed both into the PA and the record inputs with no loss of quality
was invented by Ron Wickersham to record this album; I think it worked pretty well. Everyone and anyone
should check at this live masterpiece. Recommended Downloads: Everything!!!!!!!!! - Noah Berley
The Flying Burrito Brothers
The Gilded Palace of Sin
Although this is a great band, they are only known
for their influential debut album The Gilded Palace of Sin. This band fuses
traditional sources of music like folk and country, but adds a more popular
sprinkle of gospel, soul, and rock and roll. Although this album hasn’t
been RIAA certified as gold, it still has had a huge influence on popular
music over the years on bands like The Eagles. Also in the 80’s, during
the New Traditionalist movement, mainstream country was clearly influenced by this album with
artists such as Travis Tritt, Vince Gill, Alan Jackson, Clint Black, and Randy Travis. Even newer
“alt-country” bands like Wilco, Son Volt, Whiskeytown, the Jayhawks and many others have
become somewhat of a ramification of this early country-rock album. Many people will read this
review and say, “Well this album is strictly country and I HATE country.” Well listen to this,
the album is a mix of country, rock (which I know most people enjoy), folk, soul, and
psychedelia. So give it a try and you probably won’t even notice that you’re listening to country.
– Noah Berley
Crosby, Stills, & Nash
This is CSN’s first album, which immediately led to their superstardom as a
band. This is one of my favorite albums from the sixties. This album sparkles with
the band’s beautiful and magnificent harmonies. “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes” is a must
download from this album. This seven and a half minute song contains the most
mesmerizing and tear jerking vocals accompanied by the powerful, yet playful, full
sounds that come from Stephen Stills acoustic guitar. This album, and a few
others like The Byrds Sweetheart of the Rodeo and The Band’s Music From Big
Pink (my dads favorite album of all time) initiated a dramatic change in popular music, away from late sixties
bluesy-rock with blasting electric guitars, to a more subtle style utilizing folk, jazz, blues, and rock in a
completely different way than ever before. – Noah Berley
122
January 2010
MUSIC REVIEWS
The Beatles
Abbey Road
One of the greatest, if not, the greatest album of all
time. The music is forever to be remembered. It is a
classic that all people should have on their ipods, no
matter who you are, it is perfect. With “Come
Together,” “Here Comes the Sun,” and “Octopus’s
Garden” it is irresistible. – Daniel Rudin
Do not think I am just giving this 5
stars just because it is the Beatles. Come Together, Here
Comes the Sun, I Want You, and Because are just a few
of the songs that make the 60’s amazing. The Beatles
have stumbled on every form of rock in the album – from
ballads to psychedelic. If one band has changed my life, it
is the genius of John Lennon, the spiritual George
Harrison, the charming Paul McCartney, and, oh yea,
Ringo too. – Nick Frankel
Throughout the history of music things have made a huge
impact like ode to joy but in recent times and in all of history the greatest album
EVER is Abbey Road. The album cover is now a symbol of perfection. The music
itself is arguably the best of its time and in history with John Lennon’s Come
Together, McCartney’s OH!! Darling and Maxwell’s Silver Hammer , Ringo’s last
song Octopuses Garden and Georges Something and Here Comes the Sun make
this the greatest album ever, suited for the Beatles last recorded album.(Let It
Be was made first but due to fighting was released last.) Overall , this is an
amazing album staring Here Comes the Sun and Come Together. I give it 5 stars
– Paul DeCarlo
Theres not a lot to say about this album. It is debatable whether or not
this is the Beatles best album but it is certainly their most produced and most tightly
constructed and recorded. Any music fan can appreciate the musicanship and awesome
songwriting that went into the making of this masterpiece. – Noah Berley
January 2010
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MUSIC REVIEWS
The Beatles Greatest Songs by Paul DeCarlo
The Beatles transformed a generation of people all over the world with a couple guitars and a drum set. You could ask somebody there favorite Beatles songs and they could go on and on because the way the Beatles impacted the world is second only to the way there music did. Here are the ten best Beatles songs of all time. Song (Album) 10: Yesterday (Help) 9: When I Saw Her Standing There (Please, Please Me) 8: Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band/With A Little Help From My Friends (Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band) 7: I Am the Walrus (Magical Mystery Tour) 6: Hey Jude (Single) 5: Get Back (Let It Be) 4: Come Together (Abbey Road) 3: Revolution (White Album) 2: Here Comes the Sun (Abbey Road) 1: Let It Be (Let It Be) 124
January 2010
MUSIC REVIEWS
Paul McCartney LIVE
½
Paul McCartney at FedEx Field
Going to the Paul McCartney concert was an amazing
experience. Paul got things started with great songs like “Jet”
and “Drive My
Car”. That was
pretty
entertaining, but
it was nothing
compared
to
what would be
playing later. Paul
played
songs
dedicated to his
past
Beatles
members.
He
played” Give Peace A Chance” for John Lennon, and
“Something” for George Harrison. Paul also brought out great
hits like “Eleanor Rigby”, and “Band on the Run”. For” Live and
Let Die”, he surprisingly had awesome special effects. First,
there was fire on the front of the stage, and right after,
fireworks burst into the sky. The downside however, was that
the whole stadium was completely filled with thick smoke. The
whole crowd sang along to songs like “Day Tripper” and “Hey
Jude”. Even though the concert in general was stupendous,
he did leave out some of his better songs like “Penny Lane” and
“Uncle Albert”. Overall, Paul put on a terrific concert with
lots of special effects, but his music choice was not his best. Matthew Bielskas
January 2010
125
Paul McCartney Summer Live 09
In the summer of 2009 on August 17th,18th, and
21 Paul McCartney played the first concert ever at the
new Mets stadium, Citi Field. In 1965, McCartney
played the first concerts ever at the former Mets home,
Shea Stadium, with the historical Beatles in 1965, and
last year he appeared at the final Shea Stadium concert
hosted by Billy Joel. The concert this year had many
different kinds of music going back to the ‘60’s and
coming back to his new album Electric Arguments that
came out in November 2008. There were also songs
from the ‘70’s when he was with Wings, and also some
of his songs from the ‘80’s and ‘90’s.
The concert was a sold out performance and
they even added more seats on the actual field. There
were big screens next to the stage so everyone could
see. The sound was amazing and you could hear every
word Paul said. The crowd clapped and sang along, but
they didn’t yell. In 1965 the Beatles couldn’t even hear
themselves playing over the screaming girls.
Paul McCartney was at his best during this 2 ½
hour concert (I saw the last night). He started the show
with Beatles’ Drive My Car, followed by a Wings
classic, Jet. During the show, Sir Paul played a lot of
other Beatles songs like Helter Skelter and Eleanor
Rigby, The Long and Winding Road and Hey Jude. He
kept switching instruments, from bass guitar to piano to electric guitar. The coolest song
for me was Live and Let Die, a Wings song from the 70’s that’s also a James Bond movie
theme song. During Live and Let Die they had fireworks and flames popping out of the
stage near the outfield. I also liked Band on the Run, another great Wings song I did not
know before the show but has now become a regular selection in my ipod. Paul also
played about 8 songs I never heard of before, mostly from the new album, but I thought
they were great.
During the show, McCartney talked about his Beatles mates who have passed
away. He played a classic Beatles song that was sung by John Lennon, A Day in the Life,
followed by Lennon’s song Give Peace a Chance which got the whole crowd singing. He
also played a cool version of George Harrison’s Something that started with Paul playing
a ukulele and then his whole band joined in.
The main concert was about 2 hours, followed by 2 sets of encores, which
included 8 songs. The concert concluded with the reprised version of Sgt. Peppers Lonely
Hearts Club Band and The End. Coincidently, The End also is the encore performance in
Beatles Rock Band.
I found that Paul McCartney live at Citi Field was an amazing performance and I
feel lucky to have seen this legendary star of rock ‘n’ roll. – Andrew Faber
st
126
January 2010
By Daniel Rudin
In the eyes of millions of people, Michael Jackson is one of
the greatest entertainers of all time. Born on April 29, 1958,
Jackson was instantly a hit when he was only six years old having
performed with his brothers in The Jackson 5. They had hit songs
like ABC, I Want You Back, and I’ll Be There. He then moved on
to being a solo artist releasing his first album as Got To Be There.
He then released albums like Thriller and Bad. Thriller was
number one on the charts in every country in which it was sold. It
became the best selling album of all time and it still has not left it’s
position. Michael performed in numerous music videos that
changed music history. Billie Jean was one of the first music
videos that the public took interest in; especially because of the
moon-walk. After that, he filmed Bad, Thriller, and Smooth
Criminal as well as many more. Smooth Criminal is very well
known for the revolutionary dance move called the anti-gravity
lean. Later his music career became less and less popular until
2007 when he decided he was going to have a comeback tour. It
was going to be called This Is It. Just when the tour was going to
hit America, Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009 and shocked
the world. Instantly, sales on Michael Jackson music on iTunes
shot up and took over nine of the ten spots of bestselling songs.
The life of Michael Jackson will forever be recognized as well as
his musical talents.
January 2010
127
Michael’s Greatest Hits
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Thriller
Man In The Mirror
Billie Jean
Smooth Criminal
P.Y.T
Scream
Bad
Beat It
Facial Transformation
Music Videos
•
•
•
•
Billie Jean
Thriller
Smooth Criminal
Bad
Best Albums
• Thriller: 110 Million Copies Sold
• Off The Wall: 20 Million Copies Sold
• The Essential Michael Jackson:4,560,000
Copies Sold
The Bestselling Album of All Time
128
January 2010
MICHAEL JACKSON
(TRIBUTE TO THE KING OF POP)
by Paige Botie
1958-2009
It is hard to believe that Michael Jackson died just over five months
ago. On June 25th, 2009 we lost a significant man in pop music. Michael
Jackson was an American musician and one of the most commercially
successful and influential entertainers of all time. His unique contributions to
music and dance, along with a highly
publicized personal life, made him an
important figure in pop culture for
over 40 years. In 1964, alongside his
brother, he was the lead singer and
youngest member of Jackson 5. Many
hit singles were produces such as I’ll
Be There, ABC, 123, and I Want You
Back. The Jackson 5 changed
Motown dramatically.
In 1971, Michael started his
solo career. His album Thriller
remains the best-selling album of all
time! Other successful albums were Off The Wall, Bad, Dangerous, and
HIStory. Michael Jackson was also known for his dancing skills. With stage
performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of
complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His
distinctive musical sound, vocal style and choreography inspired numerous
artists, while also breaking down cultural, racial and generational barriers. It
is hard to imagine that the King of Pop is gone, and at such an early age.
Even though he is not with us, his dance and music styling will remain
forever and influence generations to come.
January 2010
129
What Songs make you want to Puke?
We know there are songs out there that involuntarily stimulate your gag reflex!
It pains me just to write these down!
From the CLUB:
By Sue Ranjbar
1. The Climb- Miley Cyrus
2. The Macarena- Los Del Rio
3. You’re Beautiful- James Blunt
4. Sweet Child O’ Mine- Guns N’ Roses
5. Do You Believe In Magic- The Lovin Spoonful
6. Dancing In September- Earth, Wind and Fire
7. Wake Me Up When September Ends- Green Day
8. Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing- Aerosmith
9. Roll With It- Oasis
10. Billy Joel- Piano Man
11. Pour Some Sugar On Me- Def Leppard
12. Stairway To He aven- Led Zepplin
13. Let Em In - Paul McCartney
14. Birthday- The Beatles
15. Hey There Delilah- Plain White T’s
16. Creep- Radiohead
17. Mr. Jones- Counting Crows
18. Hot For Teacher- Van Halen
19. Scars- Papa Roach
20. Makes Me Wonder- Maroon 5
Justin Silberlust
1. Hey Macarena
2. Cha-Cha Slide
3. Final Countdown
4. Rock&Roll All Night
5. Disturbia
130
January 2010
From the STAFF:
Mr. Greene
My 5 worst songs...anything sung by Barry Manilow and Michael Bolton!!!
Mr. Bund
Rich Girl – Reggae version
24S – Rich Girl
Murder She Wrote – Chaka Demus & Pliers
Action – Tera Fabulous
Macarena – Los Del Rio
Electric Slide – Neville Livingston
The Bodyguard – Whitney Houston
Rump Shaker – Wreckz-N-Effect
Hangin’ Tough – New Kids on the Block
Paradise by the Dashboard Light - Meatloaf
Rico Suave - Gerardo
Ice Ice Baby – Vanilla Ice
Who Let the Dogs Out – Baha Men
Heartbeat – Don Johnson
Achy Breaky Heart – Billy Ray Cyrus
Thong Song - Sisco
Ghetto Superstar – Mya & Ol’Dirty Bastard
Informer – Snow
Whoop There It Is – Tag Team
Soulja Boy Tell’em
Cha Cha Slide – MC Lyte
Anything that comes out of Britney Spears and the KING OF CHEESE - David
Hasselhoff.
Anything that Hot 97 or WBLI get there grimy hands on and ridiculously ovrplay
so much it can literally drive you insane!
Mrs. Dunn
Uptown Girl by Billy Joel (Songs from the Attic this is NOT - Billy used to be cool
before this pop nonsense)
Wind Beneath My Wings by Bette Midler - way too syrupy
Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis - the words are simply ridiculous - they are like the
words from a serial axe murderer.
Hungry Like the Wolf by Duran Duran - another stupid stupid song - I remember
liking the video though.
Anything and Everything by Milli Vanilli - they were gorgeous to look at but, what a
sham!
January 2010
131
From the STAFF:
Bill Ulrich
1. "Butterfly" by Crazytown
*Definately a one-hit wonder, they actually made fun of it in the movie "Orange County" by playing
it constantly and showing how ridiculous people looked dancing to it.
2. "Barbie Girl" by Aqua
*Makes me want to wreck an entire aisle in Toys-R-Us.
3. "Thong Song" by Sisqo
* Thank God this ended his career, if it didn't, we may have seen other songs dealing with articles
of clothing.
4. "mmmmmbop" by Hansen
* I hope the Jonas Brothers read this list so that they can have an idea of where THEY'LL be in 5
years. What am I talking about, in 10 years they'll do a comeback tour with Hansen, Miley Cyrus,
and Lady Gaga. I know people will say "I'm not spending money to see that comeback show" but
then, these are the same people who packed out arenas to see the "New Kids On The Block"
comeback!
5. "Macarena", "The Chicken Dance", "The Electric Slide" and "The Cha Cha Song"
* I put this all together as one because I can't stand any line dancing or any song that encourages
people to organize in one place and look like idiots together. We Mets fans did enough of that this
year at Citi Field by showing up and expecting something different the second half of the season.
Mrs. Pilgrim
1) Brittney Spears "Hit Me Baby One More Time" Actually, I hate anything from
Brittney. This song was just the most overplayed song when it first came out. It just
showed how far a lack of talent could take someone.
2) Whitney Houston "The Greatest Love of All" These lyrics are just completely sappy.
It should be called 'The Greatest Hate of All" because I hate it.
3) Captain and Teneille "Muskrat Love" It's about two muskrats who fall in love. Need
I say more? What is a muskrat anyway? Why not chipmunks or bunnies? It's like having
a love song for wombats.
4) Bobby Mc Ferrin "Don't Worry, Be Happy" They played this to death back in the
day. It's also a comma splice which drives me crazy.
5) Gwen Stefani "The Sweet Escape" I hate this song. I hate the chorus. I hate that it
gets stuck in your head. I don't understand it at all. I want to lunge a cinder block into
the radio when I hear it.
132
January 2010
Video Game Reviews
Beatles Rockband
½
This is a good game. The graphics and the
instruments are great. It takes so long to set
up, but is worth the wait, and it is an easy
game to beat. The thing that is bad about the
game is that “Hey Jude” and “Let it Be” are
not on the game, because there is no piano. If
they had a piano, the game would be so much
more popular. Overall, I feel that there are
too many great Beatles songs missing. The best part of the game is the scenery and how
the Beatles’ looks changed. I would recommend this for people who love the Beatles. –
Justin Wieder
Video Game Reviews
Wii Music
If
you
play
an
instrument this is a must have
game for the Wii . With over
sixty instruments to choose
from you might just want to
play this game instead of
practicing your instrument.
Some instruments in this game include: electric guitar, piano, flute, violin, Sitar,
bagpipe, Castanets, Reggae drum set, and much much more. One moves the Wii
remote and nunchuck in the same motion as if you were playing that instrument in
real life. To unlock new instruments you can play fun games like conducting an
orchestra, guessing an instruments pitch, and more. Also this game has the ability to
jam with other musicians and they will follow and play to your tempo. You can also
record and make your own music video. I recommend this game to any avid Wii
player. – Noah Berley
January 2010
133
Video Game Reviews
Mario
and
Luigi
Bowser’s Inside Story
I had been waiting a long time for this
game and it did not disappoint! “Mario and
Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story” is an awesome game and I enjoyed every
minute trying to beat it. Sounds like many others felt the same way as it
received 9.5-9.8 out of 10 on the gaming rating scale. It’s the third in the
Mario and Luigi Trilogy which has many followers. It starts out with the
Mushroom Kingdom getting the Blorbs (a disease that makes you swell up
into a ball) and then Bowser invades the castle. Things aren’t going right
today, huh? Bowser eats a Lucky Shroom that makes him inhale everything
he sees. So, naturally he inhales Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toads. Fawful
(video game’s funniest character) is back as the main villain. Mario and
Luigi must work with Bowser inside and out to help save the Mushroom
Kingdom. While Bowser explores the 3-D world, the Mario Bros. explore
the 2-D world of Bowser’s inside. Special Attacks are back with a lot of
new ones like Jump Helmet, Yoo Hoo Cannon, Snack Basket and more.
Bowser also obtains special attacks, but you use them with the stylus.
There’s Goomba Storm, Shy Guy Squad, and more. They also got creative
with the enemies this time. For example, I liked Treevil (a walking evil
tree), and Toothy (a pokey made out of teeth). The bosses were creatively
done and deserve some credit, too. There’s Birdo Wiggler mix (Durmite
and Wisdurm), and copies of Mario and Luigi (Bowser Memory M and L).
There are three reasons why I rate this game so highly. One is the
humor. I found myself laughing out loud at the dialouge. The second
reason is that the game play format had great sequencing. The third reason
is that Bowser and the Bros. get to work together and are linked throughout.
The only weakness was that it was a bit easier than expected. But, all in all,
it was classic kick-butt Mario and Luigi action. This game is a must if you
like these characters and want to get the “inside story”. - Ryan Winthrop
134
January 2010
Video Game Reviews
Batman: Arkham Asylum
½
Face it. We all know it. Eighty-five percent of the time
superhero games based on movies are just bad. With this game,
that is not the case. Arkham Asylum is an amazing game, with
amazing graphics and a unique combat system that reminds me
of Assassin’s Creed. We all know that Batman is not called the
Dark Knight for no reason. One of the high points of this game is
the stealth combat. Hanging from gargoyles on the ceiling, you
drop down and grab one of Joker’s henchman and hang him from
the gargoyle. As other guards realize that their friends are
missing, they become much more aware, start to work together and shows how amazing the AI
is in this game. One fun part of this game is the Riddler’s riddles. You never actually see the
Riddler, but you hear him over the loudspeakers of Arkham Asylum, teasing you as you try to
figure out all of his stumping riddles. This game is well worth every single penny you put into it,
and even when you beat the game, you will still be coming back to trump the Joker, Harley
Quinn, Poison Ivy over and over again. And if you are creative enough (and patient enough) you
can try to solve more of the Riddler’s riddles. - Eric Hechler
Ghostbusters:
The Video Game
Who here who has ever seen the Ghostbusters movies
has not wondered what it would be like to step into their
shoes. Well now you can, as the newest Ghostbuster of the
squad. Although I definitely enjoyed playing this game, it
was not as impressive when you truly analyze it. Much of it
is just catching waves of ghosts just in different places. Your
allies are complete idiots, not even helping you through
tough fights. They do shoot your enemies so it seems like
their doing something, but they don’t do much except talk,
which brings me to the voice acting. The voice acting is amazing, casted by the original
four Ghostbusters, which makes the game feel very real. My favorite part of the game
was… Stay Puft. Yep, he’s back again, whiter and fluffier than ever. He was by far the
best level in the game, climbing a building while he smashed the walls in, until you
finally reach the roof. He climbs the building and you shoot him off and you have to hang
from the building and fight him vertically. This game overall, was pretty good, and
although it had its faults I think it is worth a good three stars. - Eric Hechler
January 2010
135
Video Game Reviews
Assassins
Creed II
½
Assassins Creed 2 is a game I personally
have been waiting on for a long time. I
loved the first game with its great
action and unique combat and
controls. One thing many people as well
as myself were sad about is the games
main character is no longer Altair from
the original game. You are now Ezio Auditore di Firenze. This game takes
place in Renaissance Italy during the late 1400s. I got the game the day it
came out and played it for hours. Unlike the first game, you do not start
as a highly trained assassin, you are the common son of banker. Or so you
thought. The beginning of the game starts out pretty slow… just running
errands for your mother and father with a few very funny jokes and a
little bit of language I did not expect. One part about this game that I
thought was one of the most genius things in gaming was including
Leonardo DaVinci in the game. As a friend of the family, he gives you
many new tools and weapons like smoke bombs. In one part of the game
you must pilot his flying machine! This game is amazing, and I feel you get
to know Ezio much better than you got to know Altair in the original
game. The only thing I actually hate about this game is the new health
system. Instead of your health regenerating quickly over time like Altair,
you must now use health potions or visit a local doctor when your health
gets low which slows down the game immensely, causing you to be much
more careful and less free than you were while playing as Altair. Overall
this was is an amazing game that I love. – Eric Hechler
136
January 2010
Video Game Reviews
Call of Duty:
Modern
Warfare 2
½
This game has been one of the
most anticipated games of all time, and the original
sold almost 500 million copies worldwide. This
game is great, but does not live up to the
expectations. Then again, I don’t think any game
could live up to this game’s expectations. The one
thing I prayed for and I got was a longer campaign.
The campaign of the original only lasted about 6
hours, which I could have easily completed on a
Saturday afternoon. This games campaign is much
longer and more action packed than the first one. There is not much to be said about
the multiplayer, as it is the same as the first. Great. The new mode added to this game
is Special Ops as you fight off waves of terrorists. I know many people have been
waiting for this for over a year, and love it, but I am not as impressed as I expected. –
Eric Hechler
Star Wars: The Force
Unleashed
The Force Unleashed is a game about a boy who
was kidnapped and trained in the Jedi/Sith arts.
There are different modes in the game. There is
“Duel” mode, in which you go head to head with
your friends with 27 different characters and 9 different arenas. There is “Tutorial” mode where
you learn different move and skills. And there is “Story” mode where you are the secret apprentice
in has quest for power. You get to witness the adventures of the secret apprentice and learn that
every being has a purpose in life. One question remains: “Is he good, or evil?” Find out in Star
Wars: The Force Unleashed. Available for all systems. – Ananth Nagaraj
January 2010
137
Video Game Reviews
Halo 3: ODST
¾
For people who already fans of the Halo series,
ODST is much different from the first three
games. The biggest change is that you do not play
as the main character of the previous Halo games,
Master Chief. In fact, he does not appear at all.
Instead you play as an ODST (Orbital Drop
Shock Trooper) on Earth between the end of Halo
2 and the end of Halo 3. This game plays out
much differently than the old Halo games… much
more like a mystery. You are separated from your
squad of ODSTs and are out to find them. As you
travel around the city of New Mombasa, you find
different clues like a helmet, and a broken sniper
rifle which cause flashbacks and allow you to see
what happened to your squad. There were two things about this game that people wanted
to see that were not in the other games. One was the final Vidmaster Achievements,
which allowed you to unlock Recon Armor (The only way you could get this before
ODST was to have it given to you by a Bungie employee). The second thing as called
Firefight mode. It does not matter what you call it. Firefight, Horde Mode(Gears of War)
or Nazi Zombies (Call of Duty World at War), they all mean the same thing: survival.
You can team up with your friends and fight endless waves of Covenant soldiers from
annoying little Grunts to Wraiths to Brute Chieftains and Hunters. Overall, even though
the Campaign was very short, Firefight mode and the Halo 3 map pack pick up the slack
to give this game its grade. - Eric Hechler
¾
ODST is a really cool game. You play as various ODST squad
members and find out clues about them. The reason I did not give it
a full 3 stars is that you play the same levels more than once, and that
all the guns are the same as Halo 3. I think they could have made
some new weapons. I would recommend you still buy the game
anyway, because it is a lot of fun. – Sal Liotta
138
January 2010
Video Game Reviews
MLB:
The Show
½
This is arguably the best baseball game
of all time. The graphics are unbeatable.
You feel like you are in the ballpark.
There are few glitches, but they are
minor.
There are so many features
including RTTS (Road to the Show),
where you create a player and go
through the challenges of a major league
baseball player.
The game is only
available for the Playstation Systems (PS2, PS3, PSP). – Vishnu Nagaraj
MLB 09 The Show
This is one of the best baseball games ever made. It has great graphics, the rule 5 draft
and 40 man rosters. This game has everything a baseball fan could want. You can make
your own player and try to make it to the big leagues or be the general manager of your
own team and make trades, sign free agents and battle it out for the World Series title. Brandon Nomberg
Madden NFL 10
½
The next version of the very popular Madden series is
definitely one of the best. It features things that we have
always wanted in the game. One thing is a mode where
you can play with former greats such as Dan Marino
and Jerry Rice. This was put into the game to
commemorate the 50th anniversary of the AFL
(American Football League). The graphics are, of
course, unbelievable. However there are still a few
minor glitches, but I still recommend this game to
anyone with an interest in football. The game is
available for PS3, XBOX 360, Wii, PSP, and even your
IPod Touch. - Vishnu Nagaraj
January 2010
139
Video Game Reviews
MLB 2K9 for Xbox 360
½
Many people do not like MLB 2K9, but I do. It has great
graphics and makes you feel as if you are in the game. It has
some glitches but for the most part, it is fine. I really think this is
a well designed game for Xbox 360 because for other systems do
not have as good graphics. Friends that I have recommended it to
have thought it was a great game. So overall I think this is a
great, must-buy game. - Evan Alcazar
NHL 10
¾
This is an amazing game. It has awesome graphics, accurate
statistics and just about everything else a hockey fan could want.
It has "Be a pro mode," where you create your own player and
hope you get drafted. It has "Be a GM mode," where you get to
make trades, scout prospects, draft players and sign free agents
as you try to win the Stanley Cup. You can even pick a team and
skip right to the playoffs and try to win the Stanley Cup from
there. The one downside is that they do not include the 2009
draft picks, like John Taveras. This is one of the few good
hockey video games out there. - Brandon Nomberg
Brandon Nomberg’s
games (All systems)
1. Madden 10
2. NHL 10
3. MLB 09 The Show
4. MLB 2K9
5. The Bigs 2
140
Top
5 sports
video
January 2010
Video Game Reviews
World of Warcraft
This game is one of the best MMORPGS
(massive multiplayer online role-playing
game) on the market. This game has been
around since the early 2000s. This game has
had many improvements over the years and is
now one of the most elite games ever created.
Over 8 million people play this game and
Blizzard, the creators of Warcraft, are
expecting many more people to join this
gaming sensation. There have been 2 versions
of this game, the regular Warcraft, and the
amazing expansion that came out January 11,
2006 called World of Warcraft the Burning
Crusade. And on November thirteenth we are
expecting another expansion, World of
Warcraft Wrath of the Lich King. There are
many playable races and classes for you to
enjoy in this game. Every class has a different
play-style so it will never get old. This game
may be one of the best online games ever
created. - Eric Hechler and Justen Tomazic
Mario and Sonic at
the Olympic Games
(Wii)
½
What can we say, this game has no real point to it. All you
do is shake the Wii remote and break fake Olympic World
Records. We wouldn't recommend this game to people who
are serious gamers. If you never play this game, you really
wouldn’t have missed out on anything. - Jason Zelamsky
and Doug Notti
January 2010
141
Sports Reviews
The New York Mets
By Brandon Nomberg
What do the Mets need to do
over the off-season to become a
playoff team again?
Left field: First off, the Mets need a
big bat in left field. There are 2 big
power hitters on the free agent market
and they are both left fielders. They
are Matt Holliday and Jason Bay. They
are the two overall best free agents
this year. Unfortunately, that also
means that they will be asking for a lot
of money. I am guessing that Matt
Holliday will ask for about $20-25
million per year, while Jason Bay will
probably ask for $15-20 million per
year. Although Matt Holliday would be worth every penny, Jason Bay might not.
Second Base: The Mets have got to get rid of Castillo. He is old and worn
down and getting paid way too much. They should just trade him for an okay
reliever. I recommend signing Orlando Hudson, who is younger, better and
cheaper than Castillo. Orlando Hudson is also a better fielder than Castillo, who
dropped a simple pop-up against the Yankees, as we all know. I think that
Hudson would have been able to make that play.
Pitching Rotation: The Mets have a horrible pitching rotation! Maine is
always injured, Perez is inconsistent, stinks and gets paid way too much and
Pelfrey has not lived up to any of the Mets expectations. I suggest that the Mets
trade Pelfrey, Perez, Bobby Parnell and a prospect for Roy Halladay, who the
Blue Jays are open to trading. The Mets should also sign either John Lackey or
Joel Pineiro. They are both very good pitchers who the Mets could use in the
long run. I also suggest that the Mets sign a high risk-high reward pitcher, like
Rich Harden or Ben Sheets. Rich Harden would be less risky and a better overall
pitcher than Ben Sheets who is injury prone. But when Ben Sheets is not injured,
he is a great pitcher.
Bullpen: The Mets need at least one more decent reliever. I recommend
signing Rafael Soriano, who is one of the most consistent free agent relievers out
there. He could be the set-up man for K-Rod and the Mets eighth inning role
would be filled. Not to mention that he would be a great set-up man for K-Rod,
who is one of the best closers in the game.
142
January 2010
Sports Reviews
What the Mets need to do to
be successful in 2010
By Matthew Jarvis
(Who I think the Mets absolutely need going into 2010)
Starting Pitchers: First off the Mets are going to need at least two quality
starting pitchers. Some guys I had in mind were Erik Bedard, Chris Capuano, Justin
Duchsherer, Rich Harden, and possibly Ben Sheets. John Lackey I believe is strictly
an AL pitcher. Roy Halladay is probably one of the few guys who would be traded.
Relief Pitchers: The Mets definitely need to upgrade the "pen". Some quality
relievers are Rafael Betancourt, Octavio Dotel, Brandon Ryan, Joe Beimal, John
Grabow, and Darren Oliver. Not many teams are willing to trade a quality reliever so
they better jump on these guys quick.
Catchers: Some interesting catchers the Mets may want would be Victor
Martinez, Ivan Rodriguez, Bengie Molina and Greg Zaun. I know of one catcher that
may be tradable and that would be Brian McCann.
First baseman: Some guys on this list are probably some of the best players
you've never heard of like Russell Branyan, Nick Johnson and Dmitri Young could be
some of the candidates for first base
Third baseman: There is some talk of the Mets trading away David Wright so
that would mean the Mets would need to fill his shoes. I think Pedro Feliz would be a
great fit for the Mets with his Veteran know-how.
Left Fielder: People keep on saying
that the Mets need Matt Holliday, I think
not. All they need is either Randy Winn or
Jason Bay. Both are veterans who are well
suited for the New York atmosphere.
Right Fielder: So you really think the
Mets can survive with Jeff Francour? There
are a few guys on the market who I think will
change your mind, like Vladimir Guerrero
and possibly a former Met Xavier Nady.
Key trade: David Wright and Josh Thole for
Brian McCann. In most situations you don't
trade within your division, but in this
situation you do. The Mets haven't won
since the days with Piazza so that tells you
right there what they need.
Trade David Wright???
January 2010
143
Sports Reviews
What the Yankees need to do
to be successful in 2010
By Matthew Jarvis
(Who I think the Yankees absolutely need going into 2010)
Starting Pitchers: There is only one guy that
sticks out in my mind to replace Andy Pettite who I
expect to retire and that is John Lackey. John Lackey
is an experienced AL pitcher who knows how to win.
He is a Yankee killer every time he steps out onto the
mound against them he beats them. This guy knows
how to win games.
Relief Pitchers: I've heard this to many times
put, “Joba Back into the bullpen,” but I completely
disagree. Yes we need another fireball reliever, but
there are free agents. Rafael Sorian o is the only
guy I think that can fill that important bridge-toMariano role in the Yankees bullpen.
Left Fielder: Carl Crawford I feel is best suited
to become the Yankees everyday left fielder. He is
exactly what the Yankees need. He gets on base and Put Joba in the pen???
steal, making him a perfect table setter for the
Yankees. He is not the biggest superstar, but he gets the job done also in the field.
Will Petite retire???
144
Key trade: The Yankees definitely need
relievers. Joey Devine of the Oakland
Athletics is a guy I had in mind to trade
for. He will be 25 by the start of the
2010 season and could help to pick
up the Yanks pen. They would not
have to give a lot in return except
maybe a few minor leaguers that could
be average or slightly below average
major leaguers, but I would still like to
see Rafael Soriano come to New York.
January 2010
Sports Reviews
2009-10 NHL Predictions
By Arthur Sarkisyan
Standings
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
1. Pittsburgh Penguins
2. New Jersey Devils
3. New York Islanders
4. New York Rangers
5. Philadelphia Flyers
Northeast Division
1. Boston Bruins
2. Buffalo Sabres
3. Montreal Canadiens
4. Ottawa Senators
5. Toronto Maple Leafs
Southeast Division
1. Washington Capitals
2. Tampa Bay Lightning
3. Atlanta Thrashers
4. Florida Panthers
5. Carolina Hurricanes
Do the Rangers have what it takes to
make the playoffs?
Western Conference
Central Division
1. Chicago Blackhawks
2. Detroit Red Wings
3. Columbus Blue Jackets
4. Nashville Predators
5. St Louis Blues
Northwest Division
1. Calgary Flames
2. Vancouver Canucks
3. Colorado Avalanche
4. Minnesota Wild
5. Edmonton Oilers
Pacific Division
1. San Jose Sharks
2. Dallas Stars
3. Phoenix Coyotes
4. Los Angeles Kings
5. Anaheim Ducks
Will John Tavares help the Islanders
become a contender again?
January 2010
145
Sports Reviews
NHL predictions continued…
Final Standings
Eastern Conference
1. Pittsburgh Penguins
2. Washington Capitals
3. Boston Bruins
4. New Jersey Devils
5. Buffalo Sabres
6. Montreal Canadiens
7. New York Islanders
8. New York Rangers
9. Ottawa Senators
10. Tampa Bay Lightning
11. Atlanta Thrashers
12. Philadelphia Flyers
13. Florida Panthers
14. Toronto Maple Leafs
15. Carolina Hurricanes
Western Conference
1. San Jose Sharks
2. Calgary Flames
3. Chicago Blackhawks
4. Detroit Red Wings
5. Vancouver Canucks
6. Dallas Stars
7. Columbus Blue Jackets
8. Colorado Avalanche
9. Phoenix Coyotes
10. Nashville Predators
11. Minnesota Wild
12. Los Angeles Kings
13. St Louis Blues
14. Edmonton Oilers
15. Anaheim Ducks
Is Alex Ovechkin the best player in the world?
Can the Pittsburgh Penguins win the Cup again?
Top 8 teams in each conference make the playoffs.
Is this the San Jose Sharks big year?
146
January 2010
Vacation Reviews - Ireland
The Epstein Family Trip to Ireland
At the end of the past summer,
the Epstein family embarked on a trip
to scenic, southern Ireland. We flew
into Dublin airport and arrived early in
the morning. We were met by the tour
director, and along with several other
tourists arriving with us, we took a
tour bus to the hotel. We were all
pretty tired from jet lag, but after a
brief rest we explored Ireland. The
highlight of the day was a tour through
the Guinness brewery. Over the next
Beautiful ruins
few days, we explored Ireland,
including Trinity College and saw the famous Book of Kells.
We then traveled along the southern coast of Ireland to the city of Cork, where the
Titanic made its last stop before its ill-fated voyage to America. At night we enjoyed
some wonderful dinners with the
Trinity College
other members of the tour, along
with nighttime entertainment.
During the day, we traveled to
some of the most beautiful and
scenic points of interest on earth,
such as the Ring of Kerry and the
Cliffs of Moher, which are
several 800 foot precipices over
the Atlantic Ocean. The tour
ended in Limerick with a trip to
the Blarney Stone (we all kissed
it!) and a wonderful medieval
dinner theater show.
We said good-bye to our
friends, our family then took a two day trip to Galway, where we stayed for one night.
There was a wonderful town to explore, and we had the best dinner of the trip at
McSwiggan’s restaurant. The next day, we took a ride to
Mayo County and stayed at the world famous Ashford
Castle, an 800 year old medieval castle, which is now an
opulent resort. We all had a wonderful time in Ireland! –
by Elyse and Mark Epstein (Brandon Epstein’s Parents)
January 2010
147
Vacation Reviews – Ireland continued…
I thought this was a great vacation! We went to
Dublin, Cork, Cliffs of Maher, Guinness Brewery, and many
other places. We even stayed in Ashford Castle, built 800
years ago, for the last night!
I thought the food was great (and it was the first
time I tried spare ribs). I loved the bread rolls so much. My
mom loved the picture-taking and sight-seeing. I liked
Blarney Castle and kissed the Blarney Stone. The only
thing I hated about this vacation was there were so many
people smoking. We went to a monastery with tombs
Cliffs of Moher
dating back to several hundred years.
We went on a tour bus, and even met new friends living in Sayville. At their
hotel room, I had a pillow fight with them. It was one of my best experiences in
Ireland.
It was a fun vacation. I wonder where we’re going in the summer of 2010 –
Brandon Epstein
Mr. Bund visits Ireland
Ireland is one of the most beautiful countries I have
ever visited. Using Dublin as my homebase, every day
I would wander throughout the gorgeous countryside.
If you are visiting wonderful medieval ruins or
wandering through a cemetery filled with magnificent
Celtic crosses, you will not be disappointed.
Cemeteries of
Celtic Crosses
Everything is so green and alive. Pictures do not
capture the seemingly endless variations and shades of green. I was not on a tour, but I
did book some day-tours (with only about 10 people) for the trips out to countryside.
They were wonderful and the tour guides were knowledgeable and passionate. At night I
would return to Dublin and enjoy the always active nightlife. If you are either with the
natives or the tourists, people just had a great attitude and
you will enjoy their company while hanging out listening
live band after live band. A great live music scene! I got
over to the west coast and the Cliffs of Moher only for 1
day, and when I return to Ireland I will spend more time
there. I wondered what people were growing on their farms
on this side of the island. It just seemed like fields of green
grass separated by old stone walls. Probably potatoes, but
whatever it was, it was beautiful. Just a warning – I was
there in the summer and it was still jacket weather. You are
pretty far north, and it gets cool even in the summer. Also,
prepare for rain. I had some fantastic weather, but a
Dulbiner put it something like this to me, “We have rain
only 2 days a week – Sunday thru Wednesday and Thursday
thru Saturday!” - Mr. Bund
All Photos by Mr. Bund
Climbing on the Ruins
148
January 2010
Restaurant Reviews – LA FAMIGLIA
On November 17, 2009 the HHH Review Club
sampled the food of La Famiglia – a Family Style
Italian Restaurant at 250 West Main Street in
Smithtown. There was an enormous amount of
enthusiasm with us reviewing our first Italian
restaurant and many wanted to participate. I met
with the owner, John, and we decided that it would
be best if I picked up the food and brought it back
to school. So on that Tuesday after school I picked
up 6 huge trays of food:
Penne a la Vodka
Fried Calamari in a red sauce
Rigatoni Campagnola – with meat, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic and oil sauce
Chicken Francaise - Chicken in a lemon sauce
Eggplant Parmesan
Chicken Famiglia - Chicken on the bone with sausage, mushrooms, onions, peppers
and potatoes
The portions were enormous, and even though there were about 30 of us dining, there
was still a considerable amount of leftovers. It is hard to say what my personal favorite
was. The Calamari was fantastic and I highly recommend it. I am not usually an
eggplant fan, but the eggplant was perfect and will order it again. Several people were
reluctant to try eggplant for the first time, but after trying it they were going back for
more. The Chicken Famiglia was also very good and I loved the combination of the
sausage and mushrooms. Overall, the excellent variety of dishes was perfect. It was not
just an extremely satisfying dinner, but the leftovers kept me full for days. On behalf of
the Half Hollow Hills Review Club I want to say thank you John and La Familgia for a
fantastic experience. – Mr. Bund
January 2010
149
La Famiglia Restaurant Review Continued…
All the food was delicious. Here is what I sampled:
Penne Ala Vodka – Very rich and creamy. Very
good tasting
Chicken Francese – Great chicken with an excellent
tasting sauce
Eggplant Parmesan – Amazing eggplant with fresh
cheese and marinara on top
Friend Calamari – Fresh taste with crunchy
breading, amazing marinara sauce with a little kick
Rolls – soft and doughy
I would definitely go back to this restaurant!!! –
Justin Silberlust
For our Fall 2009 issue, we reviewed a restaurant. However, this time, instead of
the club going to the food, the food came to us. We had it in Mr. Bund’s classroom. The
theme this time was Italian with fare from a Smithtown restaurant named La Famiglia.
There were six delectable dishes to try. They were called Penne a la Vodka, Fried
Calamari in a red sauce, Rigatoni Famiglia, Chicken Francaise, Eggplant Parmesan, and
Chicken Famiglia. Now, I am Italian so I truly enjoy that cuisine. I had the Penne a la
Vodka first. It was pasta in a creamy, pink sauce with some spicy peppers thrown in. It
was delicious, and I even went back for seconds. Next, was the Fried Calamari which
was in a red sauce. I am not a big fan of seafood, but I did have a taste. It had an
interesting flavor with the sauce having some “bite.” Next up was the Rigatoni Famiglia
which had meat and spinach. It was very good with a juicy flavor and was complimented
by the spinach. Then I ate the Chicken Francaise which was in a tangy, lemon sauce.
The sauce really made the chicken quite good, and the lemony flavor was the key. It was
sweet and spicy at the same time. I didn’t try the Eggplant Parmesan or the Chicken
Famiglia, but I heard from others that it was quite a hit. I had a great time, and surprised
myself. I tried new dishes that I would not ordinarily eat. And, I enjoyed it. So, if you
want fine Italian food and a
place for a family, then go to
La Famiglia. It will be worth
the trip. - Ryan Winthrop
150
January 2010
I was very excited
that the club decided to
review the La Famiglia
restaurant, and I am
happy we did! There was
a variety of foods for us
to try. We chose from six
different delicious dishes:
Penne a la Vodka, Fried
Calamari in a red sauce,
Rigatoni Famiglia with
meat
and
spinach,
Chicken Francaise in a
lemon sauce, Eggplant
Parmesan, and last, the Chicken Famiglia. Already, the dishes even sounded good! I had
my favorites which were the Penne a la Vodka, Chicken Francaise, and the Chicken
Famiglia, but I must admit they were all very good. The penne a la Vodka has a great
sauce, light and pinkish. The penne had a nice taste and was a good choice of pasta for
this dish. The fried Calamari had an interesting taste. I normally don’t like this type of
seafood, but there was something about it that made me want to eat more. I think having
it in the red sauce made the flavor pop a little more than having the squid alone. The
Rigatoni Famigila was something I always like to have and I loved it. It was a nice
selection of sauce and it had a delectable taste with the flavor of the meat and the spinach.
The rigatoni played a nice part in that dish, too. The Chicken Francaise was one of my
favorites because of the way the chicken was prepared and the special sauce mixture. It
was actually one of the best chicken dishes I have ever tried. The lemon sauce bursts
with flavor in every bite. The Eggplant Parmesan, I have to say was okay. I have never
cared for eggplant, but this dish really opened my eyes to trying more eggplant. It had
Parmesan cheese on top, something that I like, so that helped me enjoy it more. The last
dish was the Chicken Famigila which was one of my favorites. This is really just a big
combo dish with mushrooms, sausage, and chicken on a bone. It really made my taste
buds love it.
This restaurant is a great place for a celebration, holiday, or really any occasion.
But no matter what the event, even for a night out, it’s a great place to go to. It’s a classic
Italian restaurant. I recommend it to all. I hope when you go there that you will enjoy it
as much as I did!! - Dana Winthrop
This year in Review Club, instead of going out to our restaurant, we
ordered take out. We had plenty of delicious Italian food. My favorite
was the Penne alla Vodka. It was delicious. The Calamari was good,
except it was drowned in too much sauce with a bit of spice to it. I also
really enjoyed the Lemon Chicken dish. The chicken itself was great, as
was the sauce it was in. La Famiglia had some great food so I would
definitely go back again. - Eric Hechler
January 2010
151
I
thought the
food was fantastic.
My favorite was the
Chicken Frances.
It
was chicken lathered in
lemon sauce - mmmmm!
I also liked the Penne a
la Vodka. It wasn’t as
good as the Chicken
Frances but it was good. The noodles were good and the sauce
was rich.
The calamari was ok too. That place is good and
recommend it. – James Madden
All of Tuesday, November 17th, I have been
waiting for one thing. That thing was for 9th
period to come to an end. I have been waiting
for the restaurant review after school. La
Famiglia’s food was great! There were 6 dishes.
There was Calamari, Penne a la Vodka, Eggplant
Parmesan, Lemon Chicken, Chicken on the Bone
with Sausage and a Spinach Dish. I tried the
Eggplant Parmesan, Penne a la Vodka, and the
Chicken with Sausage. These three dishes were
filling and great!
I never tried Eggplant
Parmesan but it looked so delicious. After I tried
it, I thought it was very good. I
recommend this restaurant to anyone
who loves Italian Food. - Justin Wieder
“All the food was excellent. I
strongly recommend the Penne
ala Vodka. That was the best!
You won’t be disappointed with
this restaurant.” – Sal Liotta
152
January 2010
“I would recommend this
restaurant to a family
looking for a place to eat
on a Sunday evening.” –
Noah Berley
This restaurant has good
Italian Food! My favorite dishes were Penne Ala Vodka and Chicken
Francese. The Penne Ala Vodka had just the right amount of sauce and
great taste. The Chicken Francese, I think was perfectly prepared with just
the right taste. I was glad to try La Famiglia’s food. I would love to visit the
restaurant with my family and hope they will enjoy the food as much as I
did! – Andrew Faber
On November 17, 2009, the Review Club at Candlewood Middle
School feasted on several dishes prepared by La Famiglia, a restaurant in
Smithtown. The first dish I tried was Penne a la Vodka, pasta in pink cream
sauce. It was very good, even though I rarely choose this dish. The sauce
was flavorful, and the pasta was cooked to perfection!
Another dish I sampled was the bread rolls. They were absolutely
delicious, especially to a bread-lover like me. These bread rolls had a flaky
crust and a moist, soft middle,
warmed to perfection. Both dishes
were presented in the finest of
aluminum platters with light
brown
corrugated
cardboard
borders. Other dishes presented
that I didn’t specifically try were
Eggplant Parmesan, Chicken
Famiglia, Rigatoni Famiglia, Fried
Calamari, and Chicken Francaise.
I heard from other people that they
thoroughly enjoyed these dishes
too.
I wholeheartedly recommend this restaurant to anyone who enjoys
Italian food such as Penne a la Vodka, Fried Calamari in red sauce, or
Eggplant Parmesan. – Brandon Epstein
January 2010
153
154
January 2010
Meet this issue’s Critics
Extra Special Thanks to:
Mrs. Anderson, Mrs. & Dr. Epstein, Mrs. Hechler and
Mrs. Hirsch for helping us at the La Famiglia
Restaurant Review Day.
ALL the PARENTS and PTA for their CONTINUED
SUPPORT and CONTRIBUTIONS .
John, the Manager of La Famiglia Restaurant.
Mr. Krautheimer, Mrs. Pilgrim, Mrs. Kelso, Ms.
Whitney, Mrs. Helf and Mrs. Silberman.
All the many teachers and administrators who
have contributed their time, help and support.
All the students from Candlewood Middle
School, High School East and High School
West for their contributions
All Review Club members of the past who have
contributed articles and are printed in this
issue.
Mrs. & Mr. Hirsch, and Mrs. & Dr. Epstein for their
REVIEWS.
January 2010
155
Meet this issue’s Critics – continued
All reviews are the opinions of the writer. You
may agree with their opinion or you may not.
Some reviewers often give high ratings, while
others are much more critical. Regardless, the
reviewer is asked to be objective, fair, critical and
as professional as possible while supporting their
opinion. Many are still developing their writing
and critical thinking skills, and it is one of The
Review Club’s goals help these writers. If you
want to express your opinion, the Half Hollow
Hills Review Club always welcomes new members.
Meetings for the HHH Review Club
are held at Candlewood Middle
School by Mr. Bund.
The Half Hollow Hills Review
Club and “Off the Record”
created and edited by Mr. Bund
at Candlewood Middle School, Dix Hills,
New York.
WORKS CITED: Almost all pictures were taken from Google.com. If there
are any questions concerning pictures or statistics please contact The Hal
f Hollow Hills Review Club.
156
January 2010
NAME – GRADUATION CLASS
Aaron Berley – 2016
Ananth Nagaraj – 2015
Andrew Faber – 2016
Arthur Sarkisyan – 2014
Brandon Beck - 2015
Brandon Epstein – 2016
Brandon Fluhr – 2014
Brandon Nomberg – 2015
Brandon Ozley – 2015
Brett Levine – 2011
Dan Chinitz – 2014
Dana Winthrop – 2016
Daniel Rudin – 2015
Dean Essner – 2012
Doug Notti – 2014
Elliott Vogel – 2014
Eric Hechler – 2015
Evan Alcazar – 2016
Evan Hirsch – 2015
Gabrielle Schneider – 2016
James Madden – 2015
Jason Zelamsky – 2014
Joe Anderson – 2015
Josh Cohen – 2014
Justin Silberlust – 2016
Justin Weider – 2016
Justin Zelamsky – 2016
Kerry Travaglione – 2015
Kevin Liang – 2014
Kuba Gasiorowski – 2014
Madison Leifer – 2018
Matt Bielskas – 2015
Matthew Avallone – 2015
January 2010
157
Matthew Jarvis – 2015
Matthew Smith – 2015
Matthew Tierney – 2016
Miles Essner – 2015
Morgan Rampolla – 2015
Nick Frankel – 2015
Noah Berley – 2014
Paige Botie – 2014
Paul DeCarlo – 2015
Ryan Winthrop – 2014
Sal Liotta – 2015
Sam Leifer – 2016
Suedeh Ranjbar – 2012
Tanner Asadorian – 2016
Tara Ranjbar – 2016
Tina Ranjar – 2016
Tyler Morgan – 2016
Umer Chaudtry - 2014
Victoria Korine – 2015
Vishnu Nagaraj – 2013
The Editors
Dean Essner – Senior Editor
Miles Essner – Co-editor
Brandon Epstein – Grammar
Jason Zelamsky – Video games/Sports
Noah Berley – Music
Brandon Nomberg – Video games
Paige Botie – Books
Evan Hirsch – Broadway
Brandon Fluhr – Movies
158
January 2010
January 2010
159
Wanted!!!
Critics for the Review Club
Attention Half Hollow Hills
We need critics
New members are always welcome
Movies, Music, Broadway,
Restaurants, Vacations, Books,
Sports
If you are interested please contact by
eboard or stop by Room 710 in
Candlewood MS and talk to
Mr. Bund
or you can contact
Mrs. Silberman
in High School East Room 105
160
January 2010
Wanted!!!
Critics for the Review Club
Attention Half Hollow Hills
We need critics
New members are always welcome
Movies, Music, Broadway,
Restaurants, Vacations, Books,
Sports
If you are interested please contact by
eboard or stop by Room 710 in
Candlewood MS and talk to
Mr. Bund
or you can contact
Mrs. Silberman
in High School East Room 105
January 2010
161

½ - Half Hollow Hills

Transcription

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