Cinemann
Fall 2010
Table of Contents
4 HM’s Dream Saturday Night Live Hosts 6 HBO vs. Showtime 9 Television’s Best Characters 17 Martin Scorcese 20 Harry Potter: The Series of a Lifetime 30 Gender Bending 32 Jack A** 3D 34 Due Date 35 You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger 36 Burlesque 38 Red 39 Megamind 40 127 Hours: The Unparalleled Will to Live 42 Waiting for Superman Cinemann 2
Cinemann: Volume VI, Issue 3
Editors in Chief
Andrew Demas
Maggie Reinfeld Senior Editors
Matt Taub Alexandra Saali
Associate Editors
Katie Cacouris, Tucker Caploe, Jessica Chi, Zoe Kestan, Staff Writers Alice Taranto, Sam Torres, Charles Sherr, Emma Specter
Faculty Advisor
Deborah Kassel
Contributing Writers
Rachel Buissereth, Anise Charles, David Feuerstein, Jacob Frackman, Abigail Greenbaum, Bennett Heller, Noah Margulis, Jay Palekar, Savannah Smith, Rachel Simerka-Smith, Henry Warder
Letter From the Editors Dear Reader, We are proud to celebrate the beginning of the end of a decade of Harry Potter movies with you. Cinemann looks to recount a series that has defined our era. From the fandom to the box office sell outs, this movie has redifined cinematic history. We hope you revel as you flip through Charles Sherr’s HM’s Dream SNL Host and our pick of T.V.’s Best Characters. Maybe you will find one of your favorites on these lists! As you continue sifting through the pages, you will discover Fall’s most laugh-out-loud, hyped, and heart-warming movies. We are thrilled to share the work of these talented writers with you. Please follow our magazine at issuu.com/cinemann. If you would like to write for Cinemann please contact us! See you at the movies! Andrew J. Demas and Maggie Reinfeld
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Daniel Radcliffe/Emma Watson/Rupert Grint/J.K Rowling/Dobby Harry Potter and his entourage take center stage this holiday season as the mega-blockbuster hit Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 emerges as one of the most highly anticipated movies in a while. Daniel Radcliffe, the star of the movie as Harry Potter himself, would be very interesting to watch taking on something comedic. Of course, seeing the potterish
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Jimmy McMillan Creator of the Rent is 2 Damn High Party, former governor candidate Jimmy McMillan would make for a very comical, if not interesting, show. Once parodied by Kenan Thompson on SNL’s Weekend Update, the real thing should come and deliver what would surely be a very funny and sermon-like monologue. The rest of the show could be a bit bland, but hearing McMillon speak for an hour and half is almost guaranteed to be funny, no matter what roles he plays.
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adored Emma Watson (Hermione) or Rupert Grint (Ron) make a guest appearance would be pretty great as well. Creator and writer of the series, J.K Rowling, deserves some face time on camera, too. And lastly, there better be a skit involving beloved hero Dobby, or else Harry Potter fans everywhere will be thrown into outrage.
HM’s Dream Live by charles sherr In the middle of their 36th season, NBC’s Saturday Night Live is enjoying its typical success. Already boasting hosts such as SNL legend Amy Poehler, Glee’s Jane Lynch, Easy A’s Emma Stone, and Mad Men’s Jon Hamm, producer Lorne Michaels has done a terrific job in luring popular, relevant, and funny celebrities to host his show. In light of Betty White’s unbelievable
Robert Pattinson International superstar and adored by millions of girls worldwide, Robert Pattinson would surely draw a whole new audience to SNL. His huge hit Twilight would definitely be the center of one skit and you’ve got to think teenage girls would stage in another. Regardless, his popularity and talent would lead to a very nice show.
Saturday Night Hosts success last year in hosting – and remember, she only did it because of the 500,000 people who joined the facebook group to have her host – I will take a look at whom HM wants to host SNL. Note: I am only picking people who have never hosted before (obviously, we’d all love to see the Justin Timberlakes and Will Ferrells host every weekend, but it’s not a perfect world).
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Ke$ha Having already performed once on SNL last year as a musical guest, we would love to see the “glitterqueen” take on the more significant role of host. Would she be similar to Taylor Swift’s joint host/musical guest performance from the past season? One thing is for sure: I could totally see her in an epic Digital Short with Andy Sandberg. And with the crazy mindset of Ke$ha (as a testa-
ment to her rather strange ways, just check out the spelling of her name), it is certainly valid that whatever she does could potentially surpass Justin Timberlake’s classic Digital Short from a few years ago. And even if the skits fail, at least we’d be blessed to watch her blast out lyrics to all our favorite catchy, guilty-pleasure, Ke$ha songs.
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Home Box Office
HBO
by charles sherr and matt taub HBO and Showtime have similar reputations as two extracost channels that central their programming around movies, shows, and documentaries. Always commercial free, both channels air movies that are never censored (as opposed to movies that air on normal cable, edited to strike profanity and nudity), and documentaries both interesting and provocative. Above all, these two channels air shows, the biggest money-makers for HBO and Showtime. In some cases, these shows are not suitable for cable TV, as they are filled with politically incorrect humor, language, and nudity.
Entourage
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Produced by Mark Wahlberg and written by Doug Ellin, Entourage, created in 2004, is one of HBO’s top grossing shows. The show is based around the life of movie star protagonist Vince Chase (Adrein Grenier) and his entourage, hence the title. Vince is flanked by pals from his hometown of Queens, NY, the group consisting of manager Eric Murphy (Kevin Connolly), half brother Johnny “Drama” Chase (Kevin Dillon) and friend Salvatore “Turtle” Assante (Jerry Ferrara). Of course, Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) is Vince’s lovable agent. Based of Wahlberg’s real agent, Ari Emanuel, Piven has done a remarkable job in the role, leading him to receive several Emmy Award Nominations. The group constantly deals with the difficulty of finding success and love in the celebrity fasttrack of Hollywood. This past season, which concluded in early September, was for the most part considered a success, and HBO confirmed that it will premiere Entourage’s eighth and final season in summer 2011.
Curb Your Enthusiasm
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Nominated for 30 Emmy Awards, Curb Your Enthusiasm stars Larry David (writer and co-creator of Seinfeld) as a crude version of himself, with David often finding himself in sticky situations that arise as a result of his obstinate belief in his own code of conduct and moral standing. As people living in the world, we find ourselves most often in the situations captured in Curb. After an extremely successful seventh season, in which David and his old Seinfeld pals reunite to produce a reunion show, it has been announced that Curb will premiere season eight in 2011, this time set in New York City. We shall look forward to a pretttty, prettttty good year for HBO’s incredibly successful sitcom.
Showtime HBO has nine movie channels, while Showtime has only seven. Both try to show new releases, but HBO does a better job in providing variety than its rivals at Showtime. Over the years, HBO’s shows have been far superior to Showtime. TV series such as Sex and the City, The Wire, and The Sopranos stand out not only as the best shows in HBO’s 38 year history, but as arguably some of the greatest shows in the history of television. Comparatively, Showtime has never produced a show with as much fanfare or popularity as HBO. Here, we take a look at each channel’s top grossing and most popular shows currently on the air.
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Dexter
Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall) is an average guy, a likeable cop whose expert blood spatter analyses help the Miami Police Dept. capture bad guys. Underneath this guise, however, Dexter is a bloodthirsty vigilante who seeks and destroys those who aren’t caught. His sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) loves him but she is suspicious, and Dexter’s adoptive father, Harry (James Remar), is not only aware of Dexter’s actions but is also partly responsible for them, having taught his son how to channel his violent tendencies. Hall’s performance as the title role earned him Golden Globe and SAG awards last year, and he has twice been Emmy nominated. Don’t miss Showtime’s most popular show ever this year as the now-single Dexter will strive to keep up his nice-guy act while a single dad. Dexter is off to a good start this season and has managed to retain its darkly funny, eerie aura that made it so unique and successful in the past. Hall is, as always, fantastic.
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Californication
Novelist Hank Moody (David Duchovny) has moved to Los Angeles from New York after plans are announced to move his popular new book to the big screen. The movie stinks, and Hank is left stuck in Los Angeles raising a rebellious daughter, Becca (Madeleine Martin), chasing Karen (Natascha McElhone), an ex he still loves, and indulging in his own vices. Duchovny was awarded a 2008 Golden Globe Award for his role. We still have to wait a little for Californication, but judging by the past seasons, we’re in for a season of moments that are often funny, often poignant, and always well acted. Don’t miss one of TV’s most acclaimed series when it returns in January.
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True Blood
Started in fall 2008, True Blood has blossomed into one of HBO’s fastest growing shows. Set in a small Louisiana town called Bon Temps, the show follows local waitress Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) as she falls in love with a man named Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer). This relationship, however, is controversial, as Bill is a vampire, living off the newly formed synthetic “tru blood,” instead of human blood. Characters pick sides in the debate as to whether or not vampires should be able to “come out of the coffin” and become normal people now that they have stopped drinking real blood. Completing just its third season in mid-September, True Blood will return in the summer of 2011 for a fourth year.
Weeds
Weeds follows Nancy Botwin (Mary-Louise Parker), a widowed suburban mother who deals marijuana in order to support her sons, Silas (Hunter Parish) and Shane (Alexander Gould). Over the course of the series, Nancy begins to involve herself with more and more severe illegal activities. Season 6, which aired in mid-August, finds the Botwins moving from California to Seattle, Washington, on the run from the law. Parker won a Golden Globe Award for her role in 2006, and the show has accumulated a total of nine Emmy Award nominations. Like many of Showtime’s series, Weeds is dark-comedy at its best. While the plot of an episode may sometimes stretch into the ridiculous, Weeds is another one of Showtime’s great unpredictable, creepy-yet-funny shows.
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T.V.’s Best Characters
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Sue Sylvester “I’m not going to do this. Even your breath stinks of mediocrity”
“I will no longer be carrying around photo ID. Know why? People should know who I am.”
“You think this is hard?! I’m passing a gallston as we speak. That is hard!”
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by jamie gropper Sue Sylvester: the name alone brings fear to the hearts of the students and faculty at William McKinley high school. Sue is played by Emmy winner Jane Lynch, who has portrayed similar characters in previous acting endeavors. On Glee, Sue is the intense champion coach of the Cheerios, McKinley’s cheerleading squad. When the Glee Club at the school starts to steal some of her attention and funding, Sue makes it her job to destroy it. Mr. Schuester (Matthew Morrison), a Spanish teacher who runs the Glee Club, and Sylvester are constantly at odds while Sue attempts to take down the club. However, the Glee club and its members, who are at the “subbasement of the social pyramid,” according to Sue, manage to survive. Sue’s need to be a winner and to have total power and control leads her to act like a sadistic bully. Wearing her trademark Adidas sweat suit and carrying her bullhorn, she torments everyone who crosses her path with mercilessly cruel and appallingly prejudiced remarks. Sue even manages to acquire a local talk show where she promotes her outrageously crazy and heartless ideas to the world, such as making caning legal and instituting a holiday where “uglies” and “fatties” stay home. Sue’s bold and witty comments are not always directly mean, but are usually considered unacceptable in modern society. Every encounter with her leaves a person wondering, “Did she really just say that?” And yet, we love her anyway. Sue’s character is so likeable because Jane Lynch can somehow pull it off. She manages to be the evil, ridiculous character we love to hate, yet also a woman with a soft side. But Sue needs to be number one because it is all she has. Except for her Cheerios and countless trophies, Sue has no real family except for a disabled sibling. We learn that Sue does have the ability to love with the compassion she shows for her sister, and thus we can relate to her more. Through rare moments of kindness and vulnerability, Sue becomes the woman we hate to love. To have a character with such diversity is rare because characters with Sue’s persona are not created often. Sue is the funniest character on Glee and her crazy antics add a special spark to the show. Each episode, we can look to forward Sue Sylvester’s commentary to make us smile out of disbelief.
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The Soprano: Kurt by victoria mckaba
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Although witty and confident, Kurt (Chris Colfer) is often bullied by the jocks on a daily basis due in large part to his flamboyant behavior and his being the only openly gay student at William McKinley High School. Viewers see him thrown against lockers and into dumpsters and mocked for his overthe-top outfits that never fail to make Kurt stand out. Somewhat superficial and arrogant, Kurt is obsessed with the latest fashions, which are normally of the highest quality and the most expensive brands. Kurt is a tough guy in designer clothes. He puts on an overconfident persona, but underneath it all, he’s the same anxious and scared teen everyone is/was at some point. Kurt’s mother died when he was six years old, and so he lives with his single father, Burt. It is revealed that his fear of coming out comes from a fear of disappointing his father. In order to hide the truth from his dad, Kurt goes so far as to join the football team. However, when Kurt finally comes out to his father, Burt reminds him that no matter what, he loves his son. Chris Colfer is able to make the tough guy act very believable and he is great at drawing viewers’ attention. With his intense monologues, Colfer’s performance gives the audience a thrill as they watch him battle his way through the hallways. As he struts on the stage and stands up for himself, Kurt gives viewers encouragement to fight for what they believe is right. The visual act of bullying isn’t very common here at Horace Mann, but the way gays and outcasts in general are beaten down in other schools has been evidenced through the several suicides lately throughout the country. As the only out homosexual at his school, Kurt tries his best to keep strong, a trait that the other Glee Club members, as well as viewers, value in him. Kurt is not the first gay teen on television, but Glee’s popularity allows his character to ignite more conversations about sexual identity. He does fit in with his peers, although not to the point where his homosexuality is a non-issue. At the same time, Kurt is not an after-school special. Like the rest of Glee’s outcasts, he is your ordinary hyperbolic teenager, but just a bit more fabulous.
The Surgeon: Meredith by rachel buissereth
Grey’s Anatomy is one of the only things that I look forward to on a Thursday night after a hard day’s work. The show is a Medical Drama which is focused on Meredith Grey played by Ellen Pomeo. Throughout each season we follow Meredith Grey through her medical and personal life, learning every little detail. We learn that Meredith is a confident, zealous, but equally pessimistic person and never ceases to amaze the people whom she is with. From the very start of the show Meredith Grey is picked out of the crowd as a supposedly amazing surgeon, because he mother was a prodigy. Slowly but surely Meredith lives up to this expectation, helping to solve medical mysteries, and even participating in a clinical trial. Regardless of her utter brilliance, Meredith also battles with a pessimistic part of her, which sometimes forces her to be suicidal and morbid in the hospital. In Season Three, after accidently falling into the harbor, Meredith stops fighting the current and allows herself to drown after thinking of how flawed her life and her world were. She was only saved by her boyfriend Derek Shepard, the very man who had left her many times before. Throughout Season Three, Meredith battles her almost suicide and but she gets stronger after her mother’s death in the same season. Meredith realizes that she must enjoy life. Countless times Meredith’s life is affected by those around her and events that interrupt her life and her happiness. From Season Three to Season Six the events slowly get worse climaxing at her miscarriage and the shooting of her husband. But Meredith put the feelings of others before her, and pushed the recent events out of her mind and put the emotions of her friends before her. She continues to impress all the people that she is with, and continues to be one of the best surgeons in Seattle Grace Hospital, just like her mother. But like her mother, Meredith runs the risk of contracting the Alzheimer’s disease and losing her mind. The viewers are kept in the dark about this crucial fact, and Meredith continues her general excellence throughout the entire show and it makes her a better surgeon, a better friend, and a better person in general.
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a i r o l G : s s e c tr
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by charlotte frankel Gloria Delgado-Pritchett (Sofia Vergara) is the much-loved Columbian mother from the Emmy winning show Modern Family. Her hilarious accent mixed with her Columbian jokes creates a unique character no one can duplicate. Gloria and her son, Manny, moved to America, where she married Jay Pritchett, a much older man. Jay and Gloria are not a normal couple, due to the large gap in their ages, but they are a loving one. Gloria has a strong mother-son bond with Manny, a small, chubby boy who is very intellectual and relates poorly to other kids his age. Gloria also holds a strong relationship with Mitch, Jay’s gay son,
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and Cam, Mitch’s partner. Although Jay is uncomfortable with his son’s sexuality in the beginning of the series, Gloria has always loved them. American television has changed drastically since the 1990’s, and Modern Family is a great example of a program that shows this. Sofia Vergara’s acting is spectacular. Her unique brand of comedy keeps the show young and alive. Although she may not be as relatable a mother as others on television, she is the wacky side of each of us. The way she pronounces words never ceases to get a laugh from the audience. As the saying goes, Gloria puts the “fun” in dysfunctional. Gloria is a very strong,
outgoing woman. She can be mean, but her general personality is kindhearted. Sofia Vergara’s performance gives Gloria a stereotypical Columbian feel, yet it is never offensive. Gloria brings everyone in the Pritchett family together with her own brand of comedy. Her relationships with the other characters throughout the show are always comical. Gloria Delgado-Pritchett is that final piece of the puzzle a show needs to be great. Without her, Modern Family would not be the success that it has been for the past year. My prediction is that Gloria will be a beloved character for many years to come.
The Vampire: Katherine
by alexandra saali The Vampire Diaries, another infamous CW melodrama, attracts the largest audience of any series in the network’s history. Boasting a particularly attractive male cast, paranormal activity, and teen drama, it shamefully became one of my guilty pleasures. In fact, I vehemently denied watching it until some friends found it on my DVR list. Over the course of the first season, main-character Ellena Gilbert proved she was loyal, kind, tender, and brave. Viewers admire such traits, especially in someone so young and pretty, but these characteristics alone could also make her painfully boring in TV terms. To solve the issue, the network killed her “parents” and put her in a supernatural love triangle with two vampire brothers, Stefan and Damon Salvatore, both of them vying for her affections. As a matter of fact, these vampire brothers turned me and many other viewers on to the show. In the first season’s finale, we finally meet Katherine Pierce, who serves as Ellena’s doppelganger. Personally, I’d call her Ellena’s BAMF alter ego because this Katherine character is a total boss. Lacking inhibition, worries, or loved ones, Katherine is the sexed up version of Ellena. Pierce’s effrontery and power make her the highlight of every episode. How could an infamous man-eater like Katherine not arouse one’s interest? Despite all her evil doings, we cannot hate Katherine because we also associate the “good” qualities of Ellena with her identical counterpart. Katherine Pierce, born Katerina Petrova, is a vampire from the Salvatore brothers’ past. In the early 1880’s, the two brothers fell tragically in love with her, even ending their own mortal lives trying to save her from death. Although it is later revealed that she had merely staged her capture, the gorgeous brothers spent centuries yearning for her love while desperately trying to free her. Over the course of season two, we quickly learn that they are not the only ones she has bewitched. She appears to have seduced every hot cast member. Jealous yet? The Vampire Diaries, which initially received average reviews, gradually improved over the course of the first season. Continuing this pattern of improvement, its second season premiered to generally favorable critic reviews and a huge bump in audience size. The show, which has received numerous award nominations, winning a People’s Choice Award and seven Teen Choice Awards, is definitely on the up and up. My personal hypothesis for this season’s success: people can’t get enough of Katherine, the keystone of the current season. Since the good old days of The OC and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I haven’t been able to watch channel 11 for more than five minutes. Perhaps the blood hasn’t been drained out of the CW yet?
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by josh anon When most teenagers (and a good amount of adults) hear the name “Stewie”, they think of the hilarious evil baby that is Stewie Griffin. But how exactly did this comedic one-year-old become one of the most popular TV characters in modern day pop culture? Stewie started out in Family Guy as an evil-genius hell-bent on taking over the world and killing the person who always stops him: his mother, Lois. However, as the show progressed, his original character changed in several
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ways. One evolution comes in his relationship with the Griffins’ talking dog, Brian. The series begins with Stewie treating Brian the same as he treated everyone, strongly disliking him and making his superiority obvious. But later, a friendship forms between them, as Brian is the only member of the Griffin household that knows of Stewie’s dubious, yet intelligent, intents. There are suggestions of Stewie being attracted to Brian in many episodes, which raises the question of whether Stewie Grif-
fin is in fact gay. However, Stewie has admitted that he loves Brian, not as a lover, but as a close friend. Stewie has become one of the most popular television characters in modern day pop culture because he’s not the average baby. He’s like Maggie from The Simpsons, taken a step further. He is a baby obsessed with taking over the world and murdering his mother. And he’s hilarious! These factors have created memorable character, and, a pop culture icon.
Martin Scorsese
by matt taub Just as Michael Jordan epitomizes the athlete and John Lennon the musician, Martin Scorsese defines the American filmmaker. And the fact that there are few directors with careers as storied or accomplished as his is a distinction Scorsese deserves. Since the early seventies, Scorsese has presented the world with classics as old as 1973’s Mean Streets and as new as 2006’s Best Picture winner, The Departed. All the while, he has helped to shape and develop the American crime genre with his gritty realism and believable characters who even at their most violent and evil are still the object of the audience’s admiration and fascination (see Departed’s Frank Costello, played by Jack Nicholson). As he is a Queens native of Italian descent born in 1942, it comes as no surprise that Scorsese’s films almost always include themes of ethnic identity and how it affects the ways in which characters live in America. Often, the effect is an attraction to the local mafia which, though risky, pays the bills. This is not the life, however, Scorsese knew as a child. Both of his parents were workers in the
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garment industry who exposed him to cinema as a child, inspiring him to go to New York University’s Film School, from which he graduated in 1966. Shortly thereafter in 1972, he collaborated with producer Roger Corman on the low-budget Boxcar Bertha. At the time, Corman was producing films by other young directors, such as Francis Ford Coppola and James Cameron. Corman taught Scorsese that a good film could be made on a small budget, a lesson that came in handy on the set of Mean Streets, costing a mere $500,000. It was this film which allowed Scorsese’s career to take off, landing him helming status on 1974’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, for which lead actress Ellen Burstyn won the Best Actress Academy Award. Though Mean Streets and Alice were both successful, well-received films, it wasn’t until 1976 that Scorsese directed his first true classic, Taxi Driver. Featuring a young, intense Robert De Niro as lead role Travis Bickle, delivering classic lines like “you talkin’ to me?,” Taxi Driver was nominated for four
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Oscars, including Best Picture. While his next film, a 1977 musical entitled New York, New York, was poorly received, he recovered with the 1978 classic concert film The Last Waltz, which documented the final performance of legendary classic rock group The Band. It was only a matter of time until Scorsese made a concert film, considering that even his earliest films featured heavily classic rock-based soundtracks. Despite the success of The Last Waltz, Scorsese was going through hard times. Due to the disappointment met with New York, New York, he had developed an addiction to cocaine and became depressed, as he doubted whether he would ever make another movie. It was De Niro who convinced Scorsese to get his act together and return to filmmaking, and a glorious return it was. In 1980’s Raging Bull, starring a not-so-young but even more intense De Niro as middleweight boxing legend Jake La Motta, is a film of Taxi Driveresque legendary status. Shot in black-andwhite, it portrays La Motta’s epic rise and violent fall as De Niro gives a performance so
raw and powerful, it is actually frightening. The movie was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, with De Niro winning for Best Actor. On a recent list by the American Film Institute, Raging Bull was ranked the fourth greatest film of all time behind only Citizen Kane, The Godfather, and Casablanca. It is still widely regarded as Scorsese’s best film. Scorsese would follow Raging Bull with yet another film starring De Niro, 1983’s The King of Comedy. Though it flopped at the box office, King has earned respect from many critics and audiences over the years and has been applauded for the experimentalism with which it was made. Like Raging Bull, it found itself on many top films lists (Empire magazine ranked it at eighty-seven on its list of 500). Scorsese decided not to return to the mainstream after the artsy King. Instead, he released 1985’s After Hours, yet another film that was more appreciated by critics than by audiences. It was with his following film ,The Color of Money, starring Paul Newman in an Oscar winning performance, along with
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Tom Cruise, that he finally broke through to a mainstream audience. In 1990, Scorsese returned to the gangster genre with the classic Goodfellas. This masterpiece epitomizes both the gangster genre and the Scorsese style, with witty and profane banter being exchanged between the big-living male mobsters who merely set themselves up for their demise. Remarkably, Scorsese has not slowed down since the release of that latest landmark. He has continued to release successful, award-winning films like Cape Fear, Casino, Gangs of New York, and The Aviator. Filling the shoes of former partner De Niro, Scorsese has chosen a new leading man in Leonardo DiCaprio, who has starred in Gangs, Aviator, and 2006’s The Departed (my favorite Scorsese film). It tells the story of two men: Billy (DiCaprio), a cop infiltrating the mob, and Colin (Matt Damon), a mobster infiltrating the cops. Both undergo an epic struggle in remaining loyal to their own side of the law while risking all to track down the enemy’s mole. Along with winning Best Picture, The Departed scored Scorsese his first
Best Director Academy Award. Departed is Scorsese’s most recent exploration of what are seemingly his favorite topics, paranoia and guilt, particularly in men on the wrong side of the law. Even in this year’s Shutter Island (also starring DiCaprio), it seems as though paranoia and guilt are what drive the film’s heart-pounding intensity. Scorsese’s leads all have this shared conscience, which is only fed by a life in America where opportunity never ceases to exist. It is the case for many of Scorsese’s classic antiheroes, like Raging Bull’s La Motta, Goodfellas’ Henry Hill, and Departed’s Costello, where the indulgences brought on by success in America lead to both a demise in the eyes of the law, and a collapse of each character’s moral values, but not without insanity taking its toll. The way in which Scorsese approaches this trend in his films proves that he is a true master of his craft. No matter how despicable and evil these characters are, their respective downfalls are usually met by sympathy from the audience. Not many directors can build a character to be so strongly
hated and then so suddenly pitied. In scanning his IMDb profile, one can find that Scorsese has a handful of exciting projects in the works. Among these are documentaries about Beatle George Harrison and iconic filmmaker Elia Kazan, a biopic of Frank Sinatra, and several fictional features of which little details are known. His latest, Shutter Island, has garnered critical acclaim and has hit a grand slam at the box office. Scorsese isn’t heading for Florida anytime soon, and judging solely by the quality of his recent movies, neither is the audacity or strength of his filmmaking. It is clear that Martin Scorsese’s contributions to America’s film library are invaluable, with an already long but still growing list of classics. His films give us pleasure and escape in an over-the-top underworld, but always ground us in the end with their human tragedy. This balance is what makes Scorsese special. At once, American life is full of both opportunity and oppressive characters who are charismatic yet insecure, and evil that is both a reward and a death sentence.
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Harry Potter
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The J.K. Empire
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Joanne Rowling was born on July 31st 1965 in Gloucestershire, England, and her sister Dianne was born two years later. At the age of four, the Rowling family moved to the town of Winterbourne and Joanne started school in St Michael’s Primary School and later the Wyedean School where her mother worked. Even as a young child, she loved telling stories to her sister and “often the stories became games in which we both played regular characters” Rowling says on her website, ”I was extremely bossy when I stage-managed these long-running plays but Di [her sister] put up with it because I usually gave her star parts.” Immediately after secondary school, she attended the University of Exeter and got a BA in French and Classics and after year of study in Paris, Rowling moved to London to work as a researcher and bilingual secretary for Amnesty International. In 1990, while she was on a four-hour-delayed train trip from Manchester to London, the idea for a story of a young boy attending a school of wizardry “came fully formed” into her mind. From the moment she returned to her Manchester flat, she started writing, and planning a seven part book series that would one day be the Harry Potter series. However, in December of that year, her mother lost her ten year battle with Multiple sclerosis. Rowling said this death heavily affected her writing and that she introduced much more detail about Harry’s loss in the first book, because she knew about how it felt. Rowling then moved to Portugal to teach English as a foreign language. While there, she married Portuguese television journalist Jorge Arantes. Their child, Jessica Isabel Rowling Arantes in July of 1993. Her divorce in November of 1993 was what brought her to move to Edinburgh, the city where her sister lived. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (the American Sorcerer’s Stone) was finished in 1995. After finding an agent in the Fulham-based Christopher Little Literary Agent company, the book was submitted to twelve publishing houses, all of which rejected the manuscript. In the mid 90s, there wasn’t a market for children’s literature, especially one which just surpassed 300 pages.
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A year later she was finally given the green light by editor Barry Cunningham from Bloomsbury. Soon after, the American publication rights were bought by Scholastic Inc. for $105,000. In the process of publication, Rowling was advised to chose a pen name which would be more gender neutral, as to appeal to both sexes. She decided on the name JK Rowling, the K standing for her Kathleen, her grandmother’s name. In June 1997, Bloomsbury published Philosopher’s Stone and five months later, the book won its first award, a Nestlé Smarties Book Prize. Its sequel, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was published in July 2, 1998. In October 1998, Scholastic published Philosopher’s Stone in the US under the title of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. On December 1999, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, published on July 8, 1999, won the Smarties Prize, making Rowling the first person to win the award three times running. The fourth book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was released simultaneously in the UK and the US on July 8, 2000, and broke sales records in both countries. Some 372,775 copies of the book were sold in its first day in the UK. In the US, the book sold three million copies in its first 48 hours, smashing all literary sales records. A wait of three years occurred between the release of Goblet of Fire and the fifth Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, finally published on June 21, 2003. The sixth book, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was released on July 16, 2005. It too broke all sales records, selling nine million copies in its first 24 hours of release. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was released on July 21, 2007 and broke its predecessor’s record as the fastest-selling book on all time. It sold 11 million copies in the first day of release in the United Kingdom and United States. Harry Potter is now a global brand worth an estimated £7 billion ($15 billion), and the last four Harry Potter books have consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history. The series, totaling 4,195 pages, has been translated, in whole or in part, into 65 languages.
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by radha itwaru Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone started the on-going saga and epic phenomenon that has had viewers worldwide struck with a lust for magic. Everyone has become intrigued and fascinated by the mysterious and magical realm of witchcraft and wizardry. The Sorcerer’s Stone begins with poor Harry Potter as a lonely, mistreated member of the Dursley household. Little does he know, his eleventh birthday will reveal his magical past and mark the beginning of an extraordinary legacy upon the wizard community. As an avid Harry Potter reader, I
naturally fell in love with the books. The topic drew me in as I had always loved novels revolving around supernatural worlds. Harry Potter always keeps you on edge and wanting more. J.K. Rowling has an amazing writing technique; her words, creativity and illustrative language attracted me and I couldn’t put it down. The first Harry Potter movie was a highlight of the series’ progression from the novel to the big screen. The film really brought the book to life. It was a great adaptation to J.K. Rowling’s original ideas, as many scenes were just as I
had visualized them. The cinematography was well done; the scenes and shots were an incredible realistic version of the unbelievable book. The series has managed to keep the same wonderful cast members for all six movies, and it seems as if its members have left quite a lasting impression on their world audience. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint have truly become Harry, Hermione, and Ron, and they have grown up as their respective characters in our eyes. No wonder Harry Potter has become an international bestseller, as well as a blockbuster.
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3: Prisoner
by savannah smith Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is the third installment in J.K. Rowling’s renowned Harry Potter heptalogy. It tells the story of Harry’s third year at Hogwarts. Sirius Black, supposed criminal and death eater, has escaped from Azkaban and he’s headed straight towards Harry at Hogwarts. Extra protection, such as the terrifying dementors, is placed at the school in order to keep the students safe from Black. The movie, originally released in June of 2004, about five years after the book was first published, was directed by Alfanso Cuarón. As in every Harry Potter movie, playing the leads are: Daniel Radcliff as powerful protagonist Harry, Rupert Grint as the positively hilarious Ron, and Emma Watson as the bookworm Hermione. The screenplay is done by Steve Kloves, who is also the screenwriter for every other Harry Potter movie with the exception of the fifth, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. At the
2: Chamber of Secrets by radha itwaru
the cinematography of the second movie is not as amazing as in the first. The filming techniques were primarily great, but the actual portrayal of the novel in a visual perspective is not as significantly extraordinary as the captivating image of the first movie. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was phenomenally successful worldwide and universally enjoyable.
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Harry Potter is an addicting read and experience, and JK Rowling’s writing technique and intriguing ideas are brilliantly vivid in this sequel. Chamber of Secrets begins with Harry at his aunt’s house the summer before his school term, constantly being mistreated by his supposed “family”. After being rescued by
his friends, he ventures to Hogwarts once again for his second year. Regardless of his expectations, Harry finds himself trapped in a whirlwind of old mysteries and secrets. Confused about who the “heir of the Slytherin” is, he begins questioning and considering many possible suspects. I love the vibrant details, creative language, and intense storyline that keep the reader captivated until the end. However,
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box office, the movie made a total worldwide gross of $878,987,880. This makes the movie #28 on the list of the all time highest box office grossing films worldwide to this day. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban generally seems to be tied with the sixth film, Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince, in the “favorite Harry Potter movie” category. The reasons as to why are simple. In comparison with other Harry Potter films where entire plot lines have been cut out, these movies are close to the book. Character relationships are well crafted and shown in much greater detail than they are in the other movies. It is also the first film in the series where the trio doesn’t seem quite as young and immature as they do in the first two. Additionally, the plot of the third book on the whole was great and, in my opinion, it is one of the better books, which definitely helped out the movie. The film proves the idiom true, “the third time’s a charm.”
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4: Goblet of Fire
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ing held. Harry’s struggles are greater than ever as he finds himself in the midst of inexplicable events and a brewing turmoil he is at a loss to understand. The movie is a rollercoaster ride of adventure, mystery, and, as one would expect, magic. The film is in equal parts captivating and stunning, portraying an exciting and complicated storyline in a manner that shows thought and care. It is crafted to show the deepening of the plot, while still retaining the elements of normalcy audiences have come to love and expect. The movie shows a good portion of the students’ class life, the trials of teenage interactions, and the arousal of drama, friendship, and jealousy. The audience is given doses of wit and humor that everyone can relate to, from the embarrassment of procuring dates to the school dance to the further mortification of wearing humiliating dress robes in front of the entire student body. At the same time, this is no feel-good fairytale. The movie has a definite darkness to it, and the viewer plunges into the action alongside Harry, feeling the wide range of emotions captured in the film. From the festive atmosphere preceding the Quid-
ditch World Cup to the terror created by the Death Eaters, the audience experiences all the feelings of the characters. Another winning feature of the movie is its precision and extreme attention to detail. Every setting looks realistic, from the stunning landscapes of Scotland to the beautiful intricacy of the splendid, frostcovered Great Hall during the Yule Ball. The tall algae and murky, greenish water make the spooky depths of the lake seem to stretch on forever. The bare, sinister trees of the Forbidden Forest convey the endless possibilities of the creatures that lurk in the dense woods. This meticulous representation of the characters’ world is essential for drawing in viewers. The film does a superb job of telling the story. The actors express the deep emotions and subtleties of the tale with skill, engaging audiences of all kinds, not just devoted readers or children of a certain age. The movie contains universal themes we can all relate to, such as friendship and growing up, while the overall story provides excitement and adventure. I’d give two-thumbs up for this impressive interpretation of a popular story.
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by mayanka dutta Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a thrilling and thoroughly entertaining film. Directed by Mike Newell and released in 2005, the fourth movie installment of the epic Harry Potter series is satisfying to diehard fans and unbiased viewers alike. The story follows Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) as they return to Hogwarts for their fourth year, facing new challenges, making new friends, and coping with the heightened emotions of adolescence. All the while, ever-present danger lurks behind the scenes. The movie, like the book, is darker than its precursors, though just as dazzling in its depiction of the magical world. From the beginning, the viewer is thrust into a world where there is no longer a guarantee of safety for Harry and his friends. The opening scene is a testament to this, starting the movie off on a eerie foot. The murder of an old man sets the stage for an evil the earlier films lacked. The sinister events continue as terror pursues Harry wherever he goes, from the Quidditch World Cup to Hogwarts itself, where the Triwizard Tournament is be-
5: Order of the Phoenix
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by abigail greenbaum Unfortunately, the film version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is many viewers’ least favorite of the movies. While some consider it an alteredyet- entertaining version of the book, just as the other Harry Potter films, diehard fans recognize the true errors of the fifth movie. For starters, Order of the Phoenix is the longest book in the series, but the shortest movie. This troubled people from the very beginning, and with good reason. Many scenes were cut, and the pace became quite different from the book. Scenes transitioned at a breakneck speed, leaving the viewer somewhat disconcerted. This illustrates the necessary differences between the two mediums, however, certain significant moments were left out of the story completely. For instance, the chapter “Snape’s Worst Memory,” a scene that holds high importance for the resolution of the series,
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with entirely fabricated ones (the death eater fight at the Weasley house, anyone?). Some of the Harry/Ginny moments that I loved in the books were replaced with made up, less romantic versions. However, the movie obviously did some things right, because most Harry Potter fans consider it their favorite of the films. Maybe that’s because while some scenes are lacking compared with their book counterparts, others are close or dead on. The movie (and book) tells the story of Harry’s 6th year at Hogwarts. Voldemort has returned and, along with the death eaters, has wreaked
havoc throughout London. Draco’s doing the Dark Lord’s bidding. Harry has private meetings with Dumbledore to discuss Voldemort and his past. And love is in the air at Hogwarts as Harry, Ron, and Hermione all battle with misplaced or unrequited infatuation. The movie stars the usual gang: Daniel Radcliffe as Harry, Rupert Grint as Ron, and Emma Watson as Hermione. By now, after six movies, I’m so used to them as the trio, they are my mental image when I think of the characters. Like just about any other Harry Potter movie, it has its positives and negatives. But because this was my favorite book in the series, the negatives happened to seem more prominent this time.
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On July 15th, 2009, I sat in the movie theater, eagerly waiting for my chance to see the movie version of my favorite Harry Potter book in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Having read the book several times, I knew every scene and couldn’t wait to see how they would play out. The other movies were notorious for cutting scenes and moving parts around, but I had high hopes. Shortly, however, my hopes were crushed. The movie completely butchered the book. Slews of what I viewed as vitally important moments were cut out and replaced
was reduced to a short, useless clip in the film. However, the movie was not without its good points. Despite the numerous omissions, the focal point of the story is correctly placed on Harry’s relationship with his godfather, Sirius, and Dolores Umbridge’s tyranny at Hogwarts. Order of the Phoenix is one of the darkest Potter books, and Daniel Radcliffe portrays Harry’s anger with admirable talent. The new actors, Evanna Lynch and Imelda Staunton, play Luna Lovegood and Dolores Umbridge perfectly. Both became instant fan favorites, for they managed to epitomize their respective characters’ eccentricities and cruelty. As with each Harry Potter movie, loyal fans of the books must remember to separate the novel from the film in order to enjoy watching it. Other than the slight haphazard pace, Order of the Phoenix manages to capture the earliest movies’ magical touch, particularly when featuring the Ministry. Though probably the most flawed of the movies, it is still one that can be watched over and over.
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by cora bae and charlotte frankel As we stood in the midst of chaos, a little boy with a crooked scar on his forehead begged his mom if he could buy popcorn. Behind us, two teenage girls were furiously texting while trying to keep on their oversized wizard hats and wigs. We tried to keep our place in line as kids attempted to move people out of their way by pushing them with decoy wands. It was 6:30 p.m., and we were an hour early for the premiere of what begins the end of the most successful film series of the century, Harry Potter. Voldemort’s power grows stronger and he is gaining control over the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts, places used to be thought of as safe. As Voldemort and his deatheaters try to dominate, Harry Potter, Hermoine Granger, and Ron Weasley are rushing to finish Dumbledore’s job of locating and destroying the remaining Horcruxes. By tracking down the horcruxes, the trio can defeat the Dark Lord. Though it seems simple,
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the group has little hope, for these horcruxes are hard to find and it seems as if no one is trustworthy. People who seem honest backstab and loved ones die, diminishing the remaining stability Harry Potter holds. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 had very high expectations from those who followed the series from the beginning. Starting off with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the 7th top-grossing movie of all time at $974,733,550, the Harry Potter movies have been very successful throughout the years. Our opinion: we loved it. The whole film was exhilarating, frightening, and even depressing at some moments. The acting was brilliant and significantly better than the amateur 11-year-old performance Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint gave in the first movie. HP7 Part 1 had aspects not shown in the previous Harry Potter films. In one
scene, Hermoine is reading “The Three Brothers” from a book Dumbledore left her in his will. For the fable, the movie shifts to a cartoon with Hermoine’s voiceover. Though a cartoon might seem foolish in a PG-13 movie, it works well for the tale and it contains a dark aspect to it that most animations don’t. Ron Weasley’s character goes through an evolution in this film, going from the most-often-scared ginger kid to proving himself courageous throughout many moments. This movie balanced seriousness with humor well with scenes like when the Order drinks polyjuice potion to morph into Harry. We definitely recommend seeing this film, even if you haven’t seen the previous six. HP7 is a thrilling movie that will keep your heart racing until the end. We really appreciated Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and can’t wait to see how the journey finishes in Part 2.
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marketing strategies. Of course, there are always exceptions; plenty of girls find Family Guy hilarious, and lots of guys would confess to getting caught up in the Grey’s Anatomy drama, but the Nielsens (TV ratings systems used to determine shows’ overall audience demographics) don’t lie. This type of niche broadcasting meant to appeal to a specific gender has a long and complex legacy in the history of American television. Television was originally considered to be primarily a women’s medium, as compared with the male-dominated film industry. The soap operas that first aired and rose to tremendous popularity in 1950s and 60s America were targeted at housewives who would be home to watch TV during the day while their husbands were at work. Over the years, television itself has become a more diverse medium, drawing in both men and women of all different ages, ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds. However, the content of many shows has remained highly gender-segregated. This is evident in broadcasting choices as well as in the content of scripted tele-
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Although many of us have heard the maxim “Pink is for girls and blue is for boys” when we were growing up, the old saying hardly seems applicable anymore. Our modern society is defined by its continuous change and growth, and the constricting gender roles of the past just keep loosening; women play football, men bake, and hardly anyone blinks an eye at a pink-clad boy or a Tonka-truck-toting girl. So why do our TV-watching habits still sometimes seem so rigidly gendered? A single hour of channel surfing through a typical weeknight’s TV listings seems to reinforce the old “pink=girls/blue=boys” stereotype in a new, media-driven way, with popular shows often being clearly geared toward only one sex. Character-driven emotional dramas, such as ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy, generally tend to draw in women, while controversial slapstick sitcoms like FOX’s Family Guy are usually aimed at a male audience. Channels like Women’s Entertainment and G4 get in on the gender-niche broadcasting as well, respectively targeting women and men with their programs and overall
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the creators of Mary Tyler Moore didn’t refer to it as a “guys’” show. It’s possible that 30 Rock has been described this way in spite of its actual demographic partly because its writing staff is mostly male. This disparity is an unfortunately common phenomenon in Hollywood screenwriting, with women making up only 19% of the writers represented in the Writers Guild of America. This sort of gender imbalance is all too common in scripted programming. Networks and executives often rely on stereotypical notions of what men and women will, or should, be watching, that then go further to feed into the gender norm. A man might be conditioned not to watch ABC’s Desperate Housewives when a more traditionally male-oriented drama, like FOX’s House, is on. Hopefully, as television continues to offer more and more diverse and exciting programming, we will be able to shake off the last vestiges of the gender confines that bind us, as men and women are “allowed”, and choose, to watch what they want, when they want.
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vision. The Super Bowl always incurs a broadcasting phenomenon known as “counter-programming”, in which traditionally female-oriented “chick flicks” are aired on other networks, attempting to hook in and capitalize on a female demographic that supposedly and stereotypically wouldn’t be watching the football game. A show often takes on connotations of being associated with a particular gender, even if its theme isn’t traditionally associated with that gender and the Nielsen ratings indicate there isn’t actually a very high divide in the demographics. The comedy writer/actress Tina Fey has referred to her popular NBC sitcom 30 Rock as being a “TV show for guys,” in spite of the fact that it airs on a network not traditionally associated with men’s or women’s programming and it revolves around a female chief protagonist trying to balance her career with her personal life, in the vein of classic 1970s-era workingwoman sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Although The Mary Tyler Moore Show and 30 Rock appear extremely similar in terms of plot and character,
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by nicholas mccombe s I strolled up to my neighborhood theater on 86th street, I couldn’t contain my excitement. Having watched the trailer several times, I was expecting Jackass 3D to be so funny I would laugh my lungs out. Hence, I walked into the theater with very high expectations. As I walked up to the ticket window with money in hand (and a large amount of money at that given the high price of 3D tickets), something unexpected happened: I got carded! I realized that it was a rated R movie, and justly so given the some of the very lurid scenes it contains. When I came back, with my father, I found that it was hilarious, though not as comical as I would have thought. For the extra five or six dollars that I paid for a 3D ticket, it wasn’t worth it. In terms of the 3D experience of the film, I found it lacking. Sure, at the beginning and end there were ridiculous scenes of chaos done on a set with very funny costumes over which the credits rolled. I found those to highlight the 3D technology best. And granted, there were some points in the movie where I couldn’t resist reaching my hand out at the objects that seemed to be coming so perilously toward me, like the shrapnel from the numerous explosions. But over all, I would say most scenes did not take advantage of 3D technology. Directors and producers most likely think shooting a movie in 3D, although creating some extra costs upfront, increases revenue to maximize their profits. Even movies
that don’t need to be shot in 3D are utilizing the approach. A day will come very soon when films get worse when made in 3D, or when they will lose money because of it. Having Jackass shot in 3D was better than it not, but it wasn’t worth the 50% premium in price. The actual content of the movie was funny, but not as hysterical as I anticipated. However, I partially attribute this to the number of trailers and clips I viewed before seeing the whole feature. The first three Jackass movies had a certain “wow factor” to them the latest did not. The most recent in the series seemed to contain more calculated humor, not offensive or particularly life threatening. Jackass 3D lacked the others’ logic defying absurdities. This film is made only for a certain segment of the population, but if you like stupid people doing predominately stupid things, then you will love this movie. The success of the series has been because of people who laugh at other people’s sufferings. Even the poster shows their humorous stupidity; it depicts Jonny Knoxville (the lead idiot) getting speared bull. Though the picture may have been amusing, watching the actual scene was less amusing. Unsurprisingly, he gets run over by the bull multiple times, but in typical Jackass fashion, he and others keep going at it. Overall, I thought the film was definitely worth seeing. However, I probably found it more entertaining than most would because of my sense of humor. It was not amazing in any way and I don’t think it will be nominated for any awards, but it was good laugh and I recommend seeing it.
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by sophie mann
Due Date being Todd Philip’s second road trip movie in a row did not bode well for the Robert Downey Jr./ Zach Galifinakis comedy. The plot brings almost nothing new to the table. An uptight guy, Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) needs to get across the country in time for the birth of his child. Because of Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifinakis), he is no longer allowed to fly from Georgia to California, but Ethan also might just be the only person who can deliver Peter to his destination. What else is new? The element that resurrects this movie from being just another mildly amusing cross-country flick was the brilliant pairing of the two leads. The hilariously sardonic Downey is in perfect equilibrium with the equally funny and outrageously unaware
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Galifinakis. What worked best in the movie was the consistency of the two major character types; Peter is the sort of cool guy, with an angry edge that sometimes gets him into trouble. Ethan is the classic jerk, unsophisticated in every way, naïve about his Hollywood aspirations, and totally unconscious of his own limits, while also being crude, yet oversensitive and a little too vulnerable to harsh words. Viewers empathize with Peter for the position he’s been put into, and as the movie progresses, his disdain for Ethan lessens as he finds himself doubting his wife’s marital loyalty and the paternity of his child. By the end of the two hours, Ethan is still complete with all his over-the-top, farcical quali-
Although overall I enjoyed the chaos and hilariously eccentric situations that Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifinakis get themselves into in Due Date, there are some major missteps in the movie’s plot and humor. If you enjoy thoughtful comedy, I would not suggest you see this film. It isn’t totally slapstick and idiotic, but for the most part, it contains mostly juvenile humor aside from the classically wry, suitwearing Robert Downey Jr. My biggest problem with the movie is the waste of a plotline involving Downey’s wife and his best friend, Darryl (Jamie Foxx). Many times, the plot leads on that
ties, but Peter has come to somewhat appreciate him for those quirks. The other aspect of this movie which makes the rather contained plot work are the compromising, if not truly unbelievable, sideline situations in which the characters are put. Some of the more memorable instances include a run-in with a handicapped war veteran who physically assaults Peter after accusing him of serving less than admirably in the war. (He does this from behind a window where he cannot see the man’s wheelchair.) In another scene, the two men are stoned and Ethan takes a wrong
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turn to Mexico, where the Mexican border control stops the duo to interrogate them. The witty writing in both situations is executed flawlessly by almost everyone involved. Though Due Date’s plot is a bit tired and predictable, the film overall is engineered cleverly and delivered perfectly. The balance between hyperawareness and no awareness at all was spot on and the two leads did an excellent job of carrying out their roles in a way that at different times make the audience hate them, sympathize with them, or just laugh at them.
by abbe klein If you’re a fan of Woody Allen and appreciate his cinematic ethos, you will like his newest film, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger. It embodies Allen’s staples: quixotic men in search of a nod from a pretty face, fanciful (and not so fanciful) women in search of approval, fear of death, and a pervasive suspicion of all religion. Most appealing in this Allen movie of loveable peculiarities is the lead protagonist, Helena (Gemma Jones). Helena is a recently divorced woman in her sixties with a taste for scotch. In a desperate move, Helena’s married daughter, Sally (Naomi Watts), suggests Helena start seeking the help and advice of a fortune-teller, the cleverly named Cristal (Pauline Collins). Helena’s visits with Cristal become more frequent as she becomes more desperate to have someone to talk to. Sally attempts to talk to her mother but becomes easily annoyed with Helena’s push for Sally to find a new spouse. Helena’s son-in-law, Roy (Josh Brolin at his most unattractive) is a one hit author who is visibly annoyed by Helena’s frequent visits to their apartment. Sally finds herself caught between her mother’s desperation
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the two were having an affair, however, concludes with the speculation being false. This plotline adds nothing to the movie, except for a cheap joke when Downey walks into wrong delivery room to find an African American child. Another problem with the movie is its predictability, despite strange and original parts. It has similarities to many other road trip movies, including The Hangover, another movie of Galifinakis. His character is somewhat similar to whom he played in The Hangover, as both are completely oblivious to their own rather dysfunctional ways.
and her husband’s unemployment. To escape her mother’s bickering and her husband’s constant complaints, Sally develops an interest in her well-cultured boss (Antonio Banderas). All three characters consider themselves very different from one another. However, all three do the same thing to break free from their lives: they all manage to find a new love interest. The actors eased into their roles. It was effortless to believe Helena’s desperation and Roy’s internal torture. It is typical in most Woody Allen movies for the female character to be ditzy, but in You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, Roy proved to be the incompetent one, as he is unable to find work after getting fired from his part-time chauffeur job. The light plot develops quickly and retains a brilliant comic sensibility throughout, with one sensational dark twist of fate reminiscent of Woody Allen’s 2005 movie Matchpoint. You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger is at times a painful tale of human vulnerabilities, and yet an enjoyable tale of the unpredictable quirks life can bring.
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by valerie bodurtha Burlesque jumps right into things. Ali (Christina Aguilera) is a small town waitress who has an amazing talent for singing and a burning desire to get out of her hometown. In the first five minutes, she is already on her way to LA to “become a star.” This is followed promptly by an upbeat montage (the first of so many montages) of her running around LA looking for a job. Ali starts as a waitress after meeting up with the “oh so dreamy” bartender, Jack (Cam Ginganget). The beginning goes predictably. It seemed that things were turning out exactly as I thought they would. There isn’t much variety in the plot. Ali stumbles on the Burlesque Lounge, run by Tess (Cher) and her partner,
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Shaun (Stanley Tucci). Finding this club is surprisingly easy for Ali, and she just happens to fall in love with it. After that, there are a few musical numbers, which were my favorite part about the movie. The songs were enjoyable, though they became increasingly Chicago-like. In fact, every number and costume is derivative of the hit movie Chicago. Also, the film should have included people other than Cher and Christina Aguilera singing. Some diversity would have been nice. Stanley Tucci is delightful and funny, as usual. I’m game for any movie with him it in. However, he is the only good actor in this movie. I loved listening to two hours of Christina Aguilera and Cher belting, but
neither is a good actress. Ali is supposed to be a strong-willed girl who would do anything to be famous, but Christina Aguilera just comes off as whiny and annoying. A sappy story like this needs more filling in the plot, so little romances and dramas were added here and there. I liked them. Some of them were quite creative and enjoyable, like Shaun’s five-minute romance with Tess, or how Nikki, the former star of the club, resents Ali for overthrowing her. Burlesque probably would not appeal to males. It’s really more of a “girls’ night out” movie. Teenagers can take pleasure in watching it, but they probably would not fully appreciate Cher. Our generation
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doesn’t know Cher as we know Christina Aguilera. Unless the teenager is a huge Cher fan, her appearance in the movie won’t mean a thing. Anyone can predict the full plot of the story. One thing unpredictable is how much fun you have along the way.
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by valerie bodurtha From the moment RED started, I immediately knew what was going to happen. Our elderly, but fit, hero, Frank Moses (Bruce Willis), wakes up and begins his dull routine: walk down stairs, get dressed, eat cereal, ferociously pound a punching bag. At this point I knew the theme: They’re old, but look at all this cool stuff involving guns that they can do! He starts talking to Sarah (Mary-Louise Parker) over the phone about the social security checks he has been getting. There always seemed to be a problem with them. But he really likes her, and they can talk about the romance novels that she reads for hours! One night, he walks downstairs, and quite predictably, bad guys come in and try to kill him. He disarms and beats them (but doesn’t kill them!), when more bad guys come. He gets rid of them just as easily as the others. They all are knocked out (funny how he can do that and not kill one of them!) and he walks away unscathed. He meets up with Sarah and tells her the bad guys are coming for her, too, so they head for New Orleans together. At this point I was very confused, as there was no hint as to why people were after them. It was very hard to enjoy the bad jokes, even a little, because I was trying to
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hang onto every word to find out what I missed. This movie does not have an intricately made plot. What it does have is too little information. I could barely keep up. I couldn’t completely understand the storyline, as well as the explanation for why people were trying to kill Frank in the first place. RED seems as if it were just an attempt at creating suspense. This movie is trying to be too many things at once and it doesn’t work at all. Casting Bruce Willis as the main character is problematic because he doesn’t look old enough. However, the producers needed someone that was still able to run around and fire a gun. The only man who looked old enough to be retired was Joe Matheson (Morgan Freeman), and he didn’t have one action scene. Hence, the movie is selfcontradictory. Plus, Victoria (Helen Mirren) was a cliché: the little old woman who suddenly pulls a massive gun out of her flower arrangement. And I don’t know if Sarah is supposed to be an unlikable character, or if she is a very witty character who was cast wrong. Either way, it’s difficult to go through the movie ignoring her awful, cheesy lines. The only thing worth paying the ten dollars to see this movie is the action. I
will admit that the guns and the martial arts are awesome. Any movie with a bazooka in it deserves that much. The action almost makes up for the film not having a plot, or for its awful jokes. Almost. However, I did laugh, a little. The jokes are funny the first time, but like the plot, they are not very memorable. RED is about elderly people dodging CIA assassins and finding out why the protagonists are being hunted. A movie like this does not typically appeal to the teenage audience. My middleaged companion, however, absolutely loved it. For her, it was an empowering movie that made her feel she “still had some good years ahead.” Anyone that is below the age of forty will look through the astonishing abilities of the older actors and see what RED is: A hokey, bad excuse for a plot. RED was exceedingly predictable, but slightly enjoyable. I figured I could either struggle through it, wondering what on earth was going on, or sit back, ignore the story, and just enjoy some good explosions.
Megamin
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by emma garcia The plot of Megamind is completely unpredictable. What starts out as a typical super hero vs. super villain rivalry suddenly changes when Megamind, the clumsy villain, surprisingly defeats Metroman, the Superman-like hero. At this point, Megamind is free to do as he wishes with Metrocity. However, he soon finds going about unchallenged to be unfulfilling. As a result, Megamind seeks to create a new superhero, but things, as usual, don’t quite fall into place. I found Megamind to be very entertaining. I highly recommend seeing it if you enjoyed Shrek, as its humor and style of animation are similar. And the acting is absolutely spectacular. Even though the actors cannot be seen, their characters emotions, thoughts, and comicbookmovie
motives are poured through the CGI in the form of exclusively their voices. This film addresses different realistic personalities and situations that we encounter daily. It demonstrates the possibilities behind breaking outside of what you’re expected to do and pursuing what really motivates you. And it has the clear message of good triumphing over evil – but not in a cliché sense. Power leads to corruption, but with some effort, it can be overcome. Megamind’s new power enhances his greed, anger, and other corruptive qualities, quickly making him become tyrannical. But karma always comes into play, and eventually selfish interest leads to demise. This is precisely the message of Megamind.
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127 Hours 5 Days of Suffering, Reminiscence, and Unparalleled Inner Strength
by daniel ehrlich Danny Boyle and Simon Belfoy have a fascination with destiny. It’s a concept they have constantly explored in their two collaborations, 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire, and this year’s 127 Hours. This relatable theme is prominent, with much of the movie dedicated to showing the viewer how the main character, Aron Ralston, got into the predicament that unfolds during the course of the film. 127 Hours revolves around hiker and adrenaline junkie Aron Ralston, a reckless, energetic young man who spends his free time adventuring the natural wonders of Utah. Nature is clearly his first love, and accordingly, he is more focused on interacting with the environment than he is with humans.
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He rushes out of the house, ignoring his mother’s calls and leaving behind his Swiss army knife (which would have really come in handy). He traverses out with minimal supplies: a dull knife, a digital camera, a video camera, and some simple provisions. Alone, miles away from his car, and without anyone knowing his whereabouts, Aron crosses a crevice on a small boulder, which tumbles down, taking him with it. The boulder pins his wrist against a wall, and as the film’s title suggests, he is trapped for 127 hours before he escapes to be rescued. Over those 127 hours, he tries to stay sane and alive, watching previous recordings on his camera, reminiscing on his life and regrets, and rationing his single bottle of water. He
eventually escapes on the fifth day by amputating his arm from in between the wrist and elbow down. It should be noted that this scene is not for squeamish viewers. It is brutally, disturbingly realistic, and arguably more cringeworthy and gory than the majority of horror films. he first thing to notice about the film is how much of it depends on the visuals. When a filmmaker is forced to tell a story with just one character in one location (aside from flashbacks), an efficient way to convey emotions of the character is not just through acting, but also through images representative of the character’s feelings. Right from the beginning, the movie is aesthetically captivating, with fast-paced, hyperac-
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tive scenes reflecting Aron’s rushed behavior and exuberance for life. The screen shows footage meant to look like his personal camera footage, as well as split-screens. To show his connection to the wild, the rush slows down and we see stationary shots of him staring into the great expanse of the world in front of him. When he falls into his neardeathtrap, claustrophobic and shaky camerawork shows his initial shock at the scenario he has found himself in. The camera zooms out as he screams for help to show the isolation of his location, revealing just how dire Aron’s situation is. To show the mad scramble to adjust to the plummeting temperature, there is a temperature ticker at the bottom right corner of the screen, liter-
ally throwing the character’s problem in the viewer’s face. Sometimes, the visuals are simultaneously effective and gimmicky. When he is on the verge of death, Aron’s life literally flashes before his eyes, with him seeing all the people he loves, from his parents to his ex-girlfriend. He sees the son he could have, were he to survive, who gives him the motivation he needs to keep pushing for life. The method seems both moving and clichéd. The visuals of this film as a whole, however, are fantastic, and manage to keep it exciting all the way through. The other way in which this film succeeds is through its thorough examination of the protagonist. Furthermore, it remarkably shows the charac-
ter himself making realizations about his own behavior just as the audience does. Through the frequent flashbacks, Aron realizes that his own recklessness and selfishness contributed to his situation. Yet, he is a sympathetic character; whenever a viewer may be leaning toward blaming him for what happened, his sense of humor and positive outlook on life make it impossible to hate or accuse the man of anything. James Franco plays the character so superbly that I struggle to differentiate between Franco and Ralston. Overall, this film is simply riveting. 127 Hours is essential viewing for anyone who enjoys poignant character studies, but it should also satisfy even a casual film fan.
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waiting for superman
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celebritywonder
mlive
mlive
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Waiting for Superman is more than just a documentary; it’s a call to the American people, demanding a better school system. by hannah jun Waiting for Superman is a revelatory and explosive documentary about the failing American public school system. The film explores the history and problems of public education in the 21st century in the eyes of several kids across America. The movie dissects the problems that plague the institution and describes currently applied solutions. Directed by David Guggenheim of An Inconvenient Truth, the documentary that opened up the mainstream debate about global warming, Waiting for Superman elicits the same panicked anxiety viewers felt after An Inconvenient Truth. We should be worried about the future of public education. Waiting for Superman shows the urgency of this problem and how it affects an entire generation of children. Guggenheim’s skill lies in being able to reveal the depth of a problem and illustrate the intricate web of results caused by an issue. But what’s most important is how the end of the movie gives us hope. There is a solution for failing schools. A cinematic and informative documentary, Waiting for Superman is one of the must see and best films of 2010. The title comes from the idea that the American people are waiting for a superhero to save them from this educational crisis. However, the documentary reveals that no such educational Superman exists. Hence, we must work together as a country to solve this problem ourselves. The movie is told through the lives of five very different children across the country. From East Los Angeles to Silicon Valley, Washington D.C.,
Harlem, and our very own Bronx, the kids range from kindergarten to eighth grade. But even with many differences in ethnicity, class, and location, these kids and their parents have one thing in common: their hope for a better education. Each child faces a distinct problem with his or her respective local school system. The film sheds light on the options available as viable solutions for these children. Along with each child’s story, educators and schools across the nation deepen the colloquium. As well as puzzling through the facts of the present, Waiting for Superman also looks back at the history of American public schools, from discerning that many of our present schools are designed for a post war industry which we are no longer in, to analyzing past presidents’ failures to truly fix the educational system. With statistics, the documentary shows a sobering dark image of the education system in America. In the last generation, the USA has doubled its spending on education (inflation included), and yet, results have been the same, similar, or worse. And out of 30 developed countries, we now rank 21st in science, and 25th in math. Once leaders in public education, we have missed a giant step and are scrambling to keep up. This realization leads to the crux of the documentary: What, then, is wrong with our schools? Waiting for Superman goes to the bare bones of education by laying blame on the teacher unions, chaotic and intricate bureaucracies that in are charge of districts, and “drop out factories”
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– schools with a 40% student drop out rate before graduation – that are abound in the country. The movie cycles through the each child’s journey, creating a dynamic and heart wrenching narrative. The documentary weaves each child’s story into a bigger collection of stories that strengthen the argument of the documentary. The documentary follows a formula; they explain a phenomenon and the cold hard facts. Then, we see these problems manifest into tangible obstacles in kids’ lives. The documentary is a master at balancing the statistics and data – the brain – and the heart of the documentary, the kids. The product is a smart but emotional movie. The climax is the pinnacle example of this balance. We are given the numerical probability of each lottery and we feel the stakes heightened with each number called. For a moment as a hopeful audience you expect to hear their number called. But you are quickly shaken out of ideality. This isn’t a make believe film. This is real life, and in real life many of these kids aren’t lucky. It’s particularly important that Horace Mann students to watch this documentary because we are often isolated from the problems and faults of public education. We don’t experience a terrible education daily, or in some cases, ever. It’s important to be grateful for the education we are receiving, but we must also fight for better public education. Waiting for Superman is more than just a documentary. It’s a call to the American people to demand a better school system.
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Horace Mann School 231 West 246th Street Riverdale, NY 10471