Battle Royale

Battle Royale

Hey there boys and girls, back again with another movie review. Now this one’s good see, Battle Royale. It’s made by the Japanese, basically it’s about a 9^th grade class being entered in to BR. They were selected by the government because they were one of the most horrible classes, and I mean their students were bad. Now in this movie, students were all horrible, so that is why the government came up with it. Anyhow, once you enter, you are forced to fight and kill, all your other classmates until one is left standing.  Refusal in participation results in death. You also were necklaces that explode if one person is not left standing in 3 days, you’re in a danger zone, or if you try to take it off.  You are given a bag full of bread and water, a map, and a weapon. These weapons are random, some are good, some suck, and some are special. This was a great movie in my opinion. It’s got some good blood and gore, so that’s why I liked it.  But there’s also the idea that the hunger games was based off this. That because this came out before the hunger games, and yes it has a book. There is also a second movie. Either way, it’s much better than the hunger game (this is just my opinion, and I hope it does not offend anyone). So you should check it out sometime, they’ve got it on Netflix. It also something to think about, imagines this happened in real life? 9^th grade class is pit to kill each other for horrible behavior… Hey, I’m not intending something, but I find it comical. Alright then, be sure to check this out and my other post.

-Oscar O.

Read More

The End of the Twilight Saga!

 Last Friday, the last Twilight film, Breaking Dawn Part II, was finally released.  After a year of waiting for the second part, it is finally here!  Of course, I am a huge Twilight fan, so I had to see this movie.  It was a lot better than I expected.  I honestly thought it was the best Twilight film that was released in the last four years that this film franchise has existed.  Many other people as they strolled out the theater murmured the same words of how this was the best Twilight film they have ever seen.

                In this film, Bella wakes up as a vampire after turning into one when she gave birth to her daughter Renesmee.  Everything is new for her and she has to adjust into being a vampire after she has acquired so many things that she has never had before.  Everything seems perfect for Bella now, she has Edward, a new daughter, and Jacob does not feel any jealousy towards Bella and Edward anymore for a reason that was revealed in the film.  Up until a cousin of the Cullens see Bella and Edward’s child and mistakes it for an immortal child which was banished by the Volturi.  They are a group of very powerful vampires that pretty much are the head of the “vampire government”.  This means trouble and the Cullens have to gather witnesses to help them fight against the Volturi’s misjudgments.

                This film was amazing and beautifully directed.  It kept you on the edge of your seat the whole time.  It was such an enjoyable film to watch.  I went to see the movie with a person who dislikes Twilight Saga franchise, but even he admitted that it was a great movie.  I really recommend you go and see this movie especially if you watched the previous one.

- Giselle Barkley, Entertainment

Read More

Movie Review: The Grudge

Hi everyone,

I hope you all have been safe and warm this past week! Unfortunately for me, I had a power outage in my area, so I've been without Internet and electricity for about 5 days! My heart goes out to all of you who had to go through that too! I never realized how dependent we were on electricity until it was gone.

Anyways, this post was meant to be submitted during the week of Halloween, but we all know how that went (no electricity, no posting for me). I was going to review a scary movie for the occasion, but even though Halloween's over, I still am, as you can watch scary movies any time.

Alright, it's been a while since I've watched The Grudge (I watched it in 7th grade), so my summary's going to be a bit fuzzy since I don't want to watch it again (it scared my pants off the first time).

*SPOILER ALERT BELOW~*

Summary:
It starts with this quote that says something about how a curse is started every time someone is killed in extreme anger or something like that. Then there is this old lady that lives in this house, and her caretaker, who is this Japanese girl (I think), hears some noise coming from the attic. She then walks into this closet (I think the phone is ringing above it), and when she looks up, a pair of arms reach down and pull the girl, who is now screaming, into the ceiling (to the attic probably). It then fades out to another scene of the police investigating the house. (This paragraph may be horribly inaccurate, so sorry about that.)

The police are looking for the Japanese girl, who has been missing for a few days, and the company that employed her filed a missing persons report on her. I am not exactly sure what the setting is, but it is probably Japan. This police officer chief guy goes into the closet and looks up, seeing a big pitch black hole in the ceiling. When they investigate it, I believe they find dead bodies of people, including the Japanese girl. I don't remember what happens after this, but I do know a new woman has been assigned to be the old lady's caretaker.

This new woman (who is pretty much the main character) goes inside the house to take care of the old lady, who seems to be somewhat mute and senile, and during the night, this scary shadow thing that appears out of nowhere attacks them both, killing the old lady. The police come over again later on, and the woman sets out to find out what happened and why.

The movie also shows how the old lady moved into that house in the first place. Apparently, she comes with her relatives (I think it was her daughter, and her son and his wife) to visit the house first. They decide that the old lady will move into the house. Sometime later, the daughter gets off work, and in the building she works in, she starts to see that there is this ominous force after her. She rushes home, and in her apartment elevator, there is this creepy boy's face every time it passes a floor window. Running into her home, she quickly locks the doors. She then hears her brother's voice outside the door, telling her to let him in. She is relieved to hear his voice, but when she opens the door, there is no one there. She locks the door again and jumps into her bed, hiding under the blankets. However, the ominous force (this creepy lady) grabs her legs from the beneath the blankets, and pulls her down. They disappear into the blanket.

Eventually, the woman (the main character) finds out that this wife and her son was killed in anger by the husband, who later committed suicide. They all died in the house that was mentioned earlier. She discovers that anyone who enters this house is cursed to die very soon after entering it, which explains all the sudden deaths. As she has also entered the house, she must find a way to stop the curse and save herself.

What I liked about it:
This movie lived up to its label of being scary. Then again, The Grudge was the first scary movie I had ever watched in my life, and I watched it when I was 12, so maybe it's not as scary as it seemed back then.  This was pretty much all I liked about the movie.

What I didn't like about it:
Although there's not much I liked about it, there's practically nothing I disliked about it either. The only part I disliked was that it was scary enough to make me afraid of my bathroom, of being alone, and of the dark for like a long time, but most scary movies will do that anyways, so I guess my one dislike doesn't really count.

Overall:
This movie is scary and is probably not meant for the faint of heart, but for those of you looking for a scary movie, you should probably watch this. I will never get over the creepy lady and her death rattle (the sound she makes; it's called a rattle because her neck is broken).

- Melissa He, 12th Grade, Editor/Writer for Entertainment

Read More

Paranormal Activity 4: Movie Review

The horror film franchise, Paranormal Activity, released its fourth film last week.  This film tells of what happened after the events of the first and second movie.  Unlike other film franchises, this franchise shows the beginning of the story in the third movie and works its way backwards.  Together, they all inform the audience on the origins of the ghost that has been haunting one family.  Now in this film the ghost returns, but it haunts a next door neighbor as well.

            

The movie was not scary at all.  It only scares people if they get frightened by loud noises and/or images that pop out suddenly during the movie.  This film only scares the audience for a split second and then it is over.  Overall, the plot of the story was pretty interesting.  I find it more of an interesting movie to watch and wonder about than a movie that is watched to be scared out of your mind.  It may be frightening to some people, but others not so much.  However, it is a good movie to watch during the Halloween season with your friends or family.  If you enjoy horror movies or the previous Paranormal Activity movies, you should go watch this movie!

 - Giselle Barkley, Video Entertainment

Read More

Movie Review: The Avengers

Hi everyone,

I'm back with an actual review! :D No one sent in any suggestions, so I'm going to review a movie I watched over the summer. :)

*SPOILER ALERTS BELOW~*

Here's MY summary of what happened in The Avengers movie. (It's been a while, so my summary may not be accurate.) So this will pretty much be about the way I saw the movie. Bear with me guys, my summaries are always weird. :)

Summary:At the start of the movie, I see someone with a lot weird armor and this terrible headdress (this is Loki), talking to this creepy monster thing (I think it is called "the Other"), who gives Loki the task of retrieving the Tesseract in return for reign over the Earth. The Tesseract is this super powerful energy source. Then the scene changes, and I see this eye patch guy (apparently his name is Nick Fury, director of S.H.I.E.L.D., an organization), along with this woman (Maria Hill), a man (Phil Coulson), some old guy who is like a researcher or something, and this creepy guy in the like upper corner of the room (I found out he was Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye...). They are currently conducting some experiment on the Tesseract, which is quite shiny and blue. Then, all of a sudden, the Tesseract gets TOO shiny, and (dun dun dun) Loki appears from this portal thing. Loki is wielding this staff that creams everybody in the room. With the staff, he pokes Barton and the old researcher guy, and puts this mind control over them. They leave with Loki, who takes the Tesseract along with him.

At this point, Nick Fury is like, "NO, THIS IS NOT HAPPENING!", and he escapes the place, which is now crumbling (for a reason I do not remember) with Maria. They chase after Loki for a while, but fail to get ahold of him. Eventually, Nick issues an order for the Avengers to assemble in response to Loki.

I think the scene then changes again to this woman (Natasha Romanoff, aka Black Widow) who is currently strapped to this chair. Some creepy mobster looking people are apparently threatening her for some information. She gets a call from someone (I forgot who), telling her to do something (probably to find the Hulk I think). She then beats up the mobsters in this awesome fighting scene, while still strapped to the chair. Later on, she finds Dr. Bruce Banner (aka the Hulk), who has been hiding for a while. After some persuading, Banner agrees to come along. Coulson goes to visit Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) and asks him to find the Tesseract, and Nick Fury asks Steve Rogers (aka Captain America) to help retrieve the Tesseract as well.

At some point, Thor comes along (describing how would make this TL;DR summary even longer), and with the team assembled, they have to put aside their difference and work together to retrieve the Tesseract.

What I liked about it:This movie was hilarious (to me). I thought each Avenger was unique and each contributed to the humor of the movie.

Clint Barton (Hawkeye): This guy was pretty much a bad guy throughout the movie. In my opinion, he didn't really do much as an Avenger as he only became a good guy again at the end of the movie.

Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow): This woman kicks butt. I don't exactly remember much about her (it's been months since I saw the movie), but what I do remember is that she was always running away from stuff. Fortunately, the job of saving the world was pretty much handed to her.

Bruce Banner (The Hulk): He worked diligently to find the Teaseract. It was funny when he became the Hulk on the ship (everyone was pretty much on this flying ship for most of the movie) and destroyed everything. There was this one scene where he jumped onto this aircraft, and they spiraled towards the ground. Banner then woke up in this random place (I think a barn) and he was naked. After a really long time (so long, that everyone had already gotten off the ship), he came back on this old motorcycle.

Tony Stark (Iron Man): Okay, this guy is hilarious. I don't remember if he was considered part of the actual Avengers because I think he was just needed to help Bruce Banner track the Tessseract, but he just joined them anyways, trying to command the team as the leader. He also suggested for everyone to eat at this shawarma restaurant at the end of the movie.

Steve Rogers (Captain America): He's not as funny as the other characters because he's very serious and earnest. He's at odds with Iron Man, as they both want to be leaders.

Thor: I remember at one point in the movie, when the Avengers were arguing with each other, he laughed at them and remarked, "You people are so petty and tiny." That was easily my most favorite quote in the movie.

What I didn't like about it:Nothing. I thought this movie was hilarious and awesome.

Overall:Besides being really funny, this movie did have its really sad moments, like when one of the characters was killed, and the death was used to motivate the Avengers to work together. It also had its fair share of action as well (which is obvious, since it was an action movie). Anyways, in my opinion, this is a must watch movie. :)

- Melissa He, 12th Grade - Entertainment Editor

Read More

Taken 2 Movie Review

 This weekend, I watched the sequel to Taken. Taken 2 is basically the same movie as the original one, but then again it is also different. Well, in the first movie, the Albanian gangsters kidnap the daughter when she takes a trip to Paris with her friend. The gangsters specialize in human trafficking and plan to transport the girls to a prostitution ring and her dad only has 4 days to find them otherwise they will be gone. Being that he was a retired CIA agent, he was able to find his daughter and friend and kill their kidnappers. Now in the second movie, Bryan, the father,decides to have his ex-wife and his daughter take a trip to Istanbul, Turkey with him. All is good until he is driving around in a car with his ex-wife and he realizes that they are being followed, they immediately realize what is going on and he quickly comes up with a plan. But unfortunately, it doesn’t work out and he and his wife are both taken. The people that are taking them are the Albanian gangsters again but the reason they are striking again is because the leader’s son was shot by Bryan because he kidnapped his daughter so he wants to take revenge by killing him. He plans to painfully kill Bryan and torture him by slowly killing his ex-wife in front of him. Luckily, he gets in contact with his daughter who insists on rescuing them, so by following his instructions she is able to come rescue them. Then Bryan shoots all of the gangsters. Then they go back home like nothing ever happened. So basically it had the same plot: they go on a trip, two of them get taken and someone comes heroically and rescues them. I think we all know how Taken 3 is going to turn out now. I thought it was a good movie, but it could have been more interesting, like there should have been some twists or something. Overall, I enjoyed it and would recommend watching it.
- Eleftheria Kalaitzis, Entertainment

Read More

Aliens

Aliens; I am not talking about those with big heads and black bulging eyes. but I'm talking about those black lizard-like creatures with acidic blood that are most symbolically known for bursting out of people's chest. I wasn't particularly interested in these aliens until I saw the film "Aliens Vs. Predators" during middle school. And for some odd reason it became the only thing I can think of every time I hear the word "Alien". I find this fictional creature surprisingly fascinating , especially their unique life cycle, first they started out as an egg (lay by the queen like in ants/wasps colonies), then hatches face-huggers to attach themselves to a nearby host and lay embryos directly into the body, and next of course, the chest-bursters, taking some of their host's traits. It then reaches maturity in a fairly short amount of time and then it either kills anything that poses as a threat or captures any prey to be a new host for their species. 
It wasn't until the film "Prometheus", that came out June of this year, that I decided to watch the entire series. To be honest it really surprised me to see that the very first film was played more than 30 years ago (1979). I recently finished the first and second film but I trying to stop myself to continue, not because the series is boring or lame (I love horror movies) but I just hate the dark creepy settings and unexpected pop ups that made me nearly jump out of my seat. But in the end, I truly recommend people who enjoy science fiction and/or horror films to give a shot at the series.


P.S. Don't watch any of the films at three in the morning - trust me, it's a bad idea....

- Jay Wu, Entertainment

Read More

"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" Movie Review

Retrieved from Vanity Fair

Three weeks ago, the film adaption of The Perks of Being a Wallflower was released in theaters.  The movie, which stars Logan Lerman and Emma Watson, follows the story of a boy named Charlie who is just starting high school and is seen as being shy and unpopular.  Soon he begins to make friends with two seniors Sam and Charlie who introduce him to a whole new world in his life.  As the movie progresses, it becomes more complex and dramatic to the audience.  This movie was funny, interesting, and sad at points, but it was incredibly enjoyable.

Having read the book and loved it, I had to see this movie!  It was such a great movie and every teenager can connect to the events that were shown in the movie.  The characters were complex and emotional.  While watching the movie, you can connect with a lot of obstacles the characters are going through.  The movie was not exactly like the book, but it did the book justice and it was just as great as the book.  Even if you haven’t read the book you should still go see it! If you are making a trip to the movie theaters, make sure to go and watch The Perks of Being a Wallflower.  You will not regret it!

- Giselle Barkley, Entertainment

Read More