Fall 2010
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It’s Our Time TV Rots Your Brain Books ≠ Movies Summer Camp Lights, microphone, Sing Around Austin Review: You Again Review: Harry Potter 7 The Literary World's Best and Worst
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3 Bios
Averi P
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veri is a quiet freshman who prefers a quiet corner with her iPod to polite conversation. More often than not she can be found outside, watching Avatar the Abridged Series or Full Metal Alchemist with her friends or failing to focus long enough for that exam next period. Lacking much of a social life, Averi had a lot of difficulty writing about where to go in Austin, having happily lived her life so far without leaving her house. Averi prefers to spend her time playing World of Warcraft or wishing she could write well.
Carelyn H
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arelyn is sad that the two page layout for the bio pages she desigened will not be used because it was her creative brain child but she is slowly recovering. She is sorry you did not get to see it’s radient beauty. She is tired of talking in third person but her group told her to so she will continue to do so. What elese can she say? She likes to read but she has so much homework now that she can barley fit it in anymore. She is saying bye now and wondering how many words she misspelled.
Jasmine W
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asmine is a freshman at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy. She enjoys hanging out with her friends, listening to her ipod, watching movies and of course going shopping. She’s loves laughing with her friends. She can’t wait to drive which next year because she is getting her permit. She would love to travel around the world when she is older and go places like Paris, France and Italy.
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Hello Reader, Welcome to the first issue of EntertainInk. While this magazine started out trying to bring you the best of Austin entertainment, it has expanded to be just Austin, including anything from Austin City Limits to Colarado summer camps. So, welcome and enjoy.
5 OPINIONS
It’s Our Time Austin City limits is our History By Jasmine W
ACL Holiday Weekend Photo byJasmine W
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t’s a hot, humid October day in Zilker park as you are walking trying not to bump into people because it’s so crowded and your trying to hurry up and get your favorite bands stage before they start. As you listening to the music you start to talk and introduce yourself to people you have never met soon you become fast friends. So as you see music isn’t the only thing that makes Austin City Limits(ACL) magnificent experience because, you get to meet people with the same music taste and you can get a nice workout going from stage to stage of you favorite bands and you get to enjoy other fun activities like getting you face painted. Most teenagers are in class wishing they could be there enjoying that experience but, they have school to attend too. So, clearly Austin Independent School District(AISD) should make the Friday of ACL a school holiday, because of high number of absences, it’s apart of Austin history and it helps the Austin economy.
named the “Live Capital Music of the World” because Austin produces the most live music venues in all of America. This produces a sense of truth with the music and i think that the people in Austin and around Texas prefer live music so we see a lot of it. Also, ACL originally showed an eye and an ear to Texas music(country and folk). Which i think was a proper way in letting the people of Texas come and listen to their favorite music, and hang around the folks who like the same type, it brought Austin people together. Having ACL go into the Austin economy can help with financial problems and this creates importance because without it we could be in more financial trouble then we already are.During the festival of ACL, Austin brings in 27 million dollars this brings in a lot of money for the Austin economy and brings attention to new artist to the public. By having millions of dollars come into Austin economy can help build homes and community centers around Austin. Having new homes being built will help Austin becomebigger city and create more jobs for this bad economy.
“Austin brings in 27 million dollars”
Take the Liberal Arts and Science Academy (LASA) for example on the ACL Friday of 2009 there were over 100 absent students and 10 teachers were absent based on the information given to me by LASA high school on a regular Friday in September of 2009 only 13 kids were absent. So, I hope you can see the big difference from a regular Friday to a ACL Friday. This creates a problem for the students who don’t go to ACL because they can’t learn and go ahead because, it will cause the other students who did go to ACL to fall behind. That isn’t fair either why should kids have to suffer on their learning time for the kids who feel it’s necessary to go and be a part, of Austin History. Also we have a total of 4 bad weather make up days in whole school year and they are rarely used so why don’t we just move on of the bad weather make up days to the Friday of ACL. By putting a bad weather make up day on the ACL Friday we are saving students from a useless day of learning. ACL is a big part of Austin culture and it makes Austin what it is today so, therefore it is apart of Austin history. ACL was started in 1976 and brodcasted at the KLRU studios, then by 2002 they decide to extend it and have a two day festival at Zilker park and a year later extended it to three days. these three days are suppose to show-cast the music of America. As you can already tell ACL is a big part of Austin history, it is
The money can also help build up the production rate in Austin and keep the economy at a reasonable rate. ACL also gets new artist out to the public and help make a name for themselves. This is good because it will get ACL more attention when a artist will say they got there face known by ACL. This also helps us so that when if we ever need an extra artist for ACL they might remember what ACL did for them and perform for Austin again. So at the end of the day your probably sunburned and your feet are killing but you already know that when you get home your going to buy your tickets for the next ACL festival. You really enjoyed the music, met tons of new people and you need to hurry up and wash off the paint on your face your starting to itch. After hearing all these amazing things about ACL on how it helps the economy, it’s apart of Austin history and the high number absences in schools, Don’t you think AISD should make the Friday of ACL a school holiday.
1. first aired in 1976 as a television music program 2. Awarded the National Medal of Arts by President George Bush in 2003 3. Initially created to open an ear and an eye to Texas music
7 OPINIONS
TV Rots Your
Brain By Carelyn H
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ccording to the A.C.Nielson Co. the average child spends more than an entire day a week watching TV. That was not a type-o more than a whole day of solid TV! Why does it matter? Can it be all that bad? Yes. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, reducing your screen time to two hours a day will greatly improve your health. According to Dietz and Gortmaker, every additional hour spent watching TV a week increases the likely hood of becoming obese by 2%. When it comes to watching TV all these previously mentioned cons ought weigh the few pros like a way of improving the English language skills of emigrants and improving vocabulary. But why, according to the A.C. Nielson Co., does the average child spend 25 hours a week watching TV, which is clearly doing more harm that good? Every hour spent doing homework is matched with 6 hours of TV and the average child spends 25 hours a week watching TV. People are watching their lives away. TV becomes the teacher but how is it teaching? It is giving kids the answers to everything on a silver platter causing attention spans and work ethic to suffer. And we are paying for it with money and intellect. Think of all the better ways to spend your money, time, and energy. Some people watch TV because it relaxes them, this is because their brains are actually asleep. According to Dr Miller, family physician and author, when people watch TV their brains are being lulled into a deep state of relaxation, much like hypnosis. Even after the TV goes of they are not fully alert. As a result of this people will find it harder to focus. The ironic part of it though is that we are doing it to our selves and even paying for it. Think about it how much your cable (or whatever you have) costs? Could you be paying to make your self dumber? Children are very impressionable and often imitate what ever they see or hear,this is how they naturally learn. When young children watch violence on TV it natural that they act violent afterward for they are simply imitating what they see because they have trouble seeing the difference between TV and real life, and why shouldn’t they? It looks just like it only more flashy and more exciting.According to Dr.Miller the average child spends 25 hours a week watching TV. No wonder they imitate it, it practically raised them. Photo by Averi P
If you go home and watch TV you have just wasted the five minutes it took you to read this article and time is precious. So go home and do something. Read a book, climb a tree, do work if worst comes to worst, just do not watch to much TV, scratch that do not watch any TV!
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9 OPINIONS Photo by Averi P
Books ≠Movies Why movies can never match print. By Averi P
10 In this day and age one has to wonder, “What beloved classic hasn’t been rewritten for the big screen?” More and more directors have turned to books for their next great film and in the process created something different from the book. Given the difference between the two forms, no one can reasonably blame the directors or the writers for the many changes that must occur for the movie to have a chance to be successful and entertaining. Fans need to think realistically. Movies are faced with far more time restraints than books. While the length of a book can vary from around a hundred to over 800 pages, the length of a movie cannot go beyond the attention span of its viewers. Costs often keep movies from being more than an hour or two long. As a result, many favorite lines or scenes are cut from the film, the characters’ complex backgrounds and development may be cut from several chapters to a few minutes, and the storyline can be rushed. Just look at the Legend of the Guardians movie that was released in September. Within the series the climactic battle didn’t take place until the fifth book or so. If these parts were to be included in the movie, the writers had to fit the first half of the series into an hour and a half. Entire sections were cut, and a couple of the books within the first half of the series were condensed to a few minutes of flying and a brief epiphany. Does this make it a bad movie? No. It may be shorter or different but the basic essence of the story and the characters are still there. If people want the detail and depth of the book, then they will read the book. Very few people go to the movies expecting a basic regurgitation of the book. Fans of a book need to realize that they aren’t the only ones watching the movie as well. Movies aim to make money. This often means expanding their target audience beyond the fanatics. In Dan Kois’s article “Bewitched, Bewildered and Hot and Bothered“in the Washington Post, he says that “adapters of beloved stories cannot, should not, target the fanatics in the audience” which is entirely true. While the movies often interest many fans of the series, it often aims to interest many people who have never read the book because the more people who see the movie, the more money it makes. The pace of the movie
is often changed and new scenes are often added to appeal to the wider target audience. If the movie were to jump straight into the plot and depth of the book, it would only confuse the people who haven’t read the book. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is a perfect example of this. Throughout the movie, more romance was added than was originally in the book and the development of characters like Voldemort and Snape was cut out. In her Wall Street Journal article, “Harry Potter and the Rival Teen Franchise”, Lauren A. E. Schuker points out that in order to compete with the Twilight series, the movie was given a more grown-up tone and a stronger romantic plot line. Although many fans and critics note this and complained, the movie still serves its purpose and tells a story. It may not have been quite the story fans were expecting but it still told a story which is all we can expect from a movie. It’s entertainment. Finally, there is one key difference between a book and its movie adaptation: the writers. The scripts for the movie adaptations are never written by the books author. The directors have a say in how the movies turn out as well. There are times when this is a good thing. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy lacked a character to fill the role of the hero in the story and to make the adaptation work, it was rewritten to make Arthur more of a hero, which is an essential character in almost all stories. When Avatar: The Last Airbender, an animated television series, was made into a movie, there were few fans who didn’t immediately complain about changes in character appearance but many people didn’t realize that when you’re turning an animated show into a live action movie characters are going to look different. Contrary to the complaints, the characters’ appearances did very little, if nothing at all, to distract from the other elements of the movie. If the movie and the book become nearly identical, then why would people bother reading the book? In the end, it all boils down to one simple fact: movies are not meant to replace books. Instead of expecting the movie to create something that is little more than a basic regurgitation of the book, we should look to the movie to do what it is meant to do: entertain us.
11 FEATURES
Summer Camp
By Carelyn H
Every year millions of children and teens go to camp and Lasa students are no exception. Following are the memories of two lasa students of their camp experiences. JCC ranch camp is located in colorful Colorado and stands for the Jewish Community Center which owns the camp. Camp Tejas is another summer camp very different from JCC ranch camp in light that it is in Texas not Colorado and is Christian not Jewish. JCC ranch camp comprised of 400 acres of rolling hills of Colorado Forrest to explore, horses and bikes to ride, and rock walls to climb and more. All these things and more are offered at the JCC ranch camp and it is not alone in offering awesome activities. Like many summer camps, JCC ranch camp is about helping a person grow, learn, and develop friendships while being fun. Maddie T. who has gone to the JCC ranch camp for six years said, “...at camp you make really good friends and it is really hard to leave.” New friendships are not the only ones cultivated at camps old ones also grow. ”A lot of my friends live in Colorado so that’s when I get to see them.” This is a great example of camp bringing people together despite great distances..” In 8th grade we went on a 4 day backpacking trip in the Rocky Mts.’’ When Maddie T. broke her foot it did not stop her, she still did not miss a summer, instead she was in the leadership program.
“I felt really sad because I had been looking forward to TASC since fifth grade but a couple of my friends were doing the other program so it was okay.” Because she broke her foot she could not go on the multi day backpacking trip so instead she went to an alternate leadership program where they did community service projects. They went to a library and dusted shelves, lead disabled children on horses, and helped sort and distribute food at a food bank. “Something I learned is that there are a lot of people less fortunate then us and we should not take things for granted.” She hopes to be a counselor in the 12th grade because she wants to likes working with kids and wants to stay at camp as long as possible. ”I want to be a counselor because all of the little kids are so cute and it’s looks really fun, and also I want to stay at camp for as long as possible because it is so fun.” While JCC Ranch camp sounds great for some going all the way to Colorado would be a bit much. Located closer in Texas is Camp Tejas. Kathy H. who went to camp Tejas said, ”My friend Maddie (not Maddie T.) and I like totally became Biffels (Best Friends For Life).” She has not been to this camp since sixth grade but her memories of it will live on forever. Both the fond memories of smores and the less than nice memorie or huge aunts still recalled with a smile. So all these reasons and more are reasons to go to a camp but you do not have to go all the way to Colorado there are plenty around Austin, look at the sidebar for more information.
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A few camps around Austin Fine Arts Camps Dougherty Arts School Art Camps Austin Film Festival’s Summer Film Camp Austin School of Fashion Design
Sports Camps Austin aztex Youth soccer program Austin Rowing Learn -to -Row Camps
Misilanious iD Tech Camps Brandy Perryman Shooting Camp Television Summer Camps and workshops
Google the UT summer Acadnames of the camps for more emy in Architecinformation. ture(17 and older)
For a compleat list of Austin area summer camps go to www.news8austin.com/ content/living/summer_ camp_guide/
13 FEATURES
Lights, Microphone,Sing
By Jasmine W
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he lights are bright. While she is singing her heart out she sees her mom’s smiling face. Oksana Adams does not have confidence problems, she is just having fun. All eyes are on her as she sings one of her many solos. Singing is a passion because she is good at it and loves to perform on stage, but there are other things she wants to focus on such as academics and playing volleyball for her high school because she feels that singing would be a big risk and she might not make in the industry. Singing didn’t become a really big deal for her until she got to second grade. She decided to join choir because she liked to sing and thought it would be a fun experience. She said, “I’ve always enjoyed singing but didn’t really start until I joined the Palm School Choir.I still sing and am apart of Akins High School Choir and I’m still always going to sing. It’s just not a big thing in my life. It’s just for fun.”
She presented herself very well on stage by always having a smile and being confident the audience loved her. “I always have fun. I don’t think about doing bad or good I just think about doing what I learned and have fun,” she said Oksana would always get ready for a concert by putting on the Palm School Choir shirt, a nice pair of jeans and sometimes a little make up. She would always try to look beautiful for a live performance. She has performed live with the Palm School Choir on the Today show and at many places in Austin like Ruta Maya. People are always very nice by cheering for her at the end of her solo and going up to her at the end of a concert and telling her how well she did, they’re was never a disappointing show.
“I felt like a star”
While singing for the Palm School Choir she had many solos, but none by choice. By having a lot of solos it really effected her relationship with her friends.
She said, “I like singing, but then I didn’t like singing solos all the time. I just felt like, like I know it wasn’t my fault you know but I felt like it was kinda selfish. People were like I wanna sing I wanna sing. I tried to get friends to sing with me but it just didn’t work out that way.” Even though many people were jealous because of all the attention she received from the choir director, and all the solos the choir director gave she still loved being in Palm School Choir. She also got to experience a lot for a young child because she lost many friends from the success she got in the choir and all the experience she got as a performer. “It was fun, I did a lot of things I’ve never done before and met a lot of people. I met Al Rocker and Lyle Lovett by performing on the Today Show with the Palm School Choir. It was fun of course,” said The Palm School Choir was good for Oksana’s type of personality because she was not a shy girl and loved to make an entrance and being in the choir gave her that opportunity.
“It’s really fun, it feels really powerful and its music and the energy everybody is having is fun and they are all singing along,” she said on singing live. “I felt like a star.”
After all the experiences and all the fun she has had, she is sticking with the decision not to sing professionally because it would take a long time to make it big and she wants to live a normal life. As she texts her friends, she explains that if she ever pursued her singing career she would not be able to go out with her friends and things would be total different. Her life would be different because cameras would always follow her and everything about her life would be in the next issue of Seventeen Magazine. No matter what Oksana decides she knows her mom is her number one supporter in anything she does, especially singing. “Yea my mom is really supportive in my singing and choir. She is really sad that I’m not going to continue singing,” she said Sometimes people who are born with a gift do not want to use it for their career life. As she lies down on the bed she talks about all the things she wants to do in her life. She feels that if she was a famous singer going shopping without being stopped for a photograph wouldn’t be possible. A normal and relaxed life is in Oksana’s future.
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Oksana recording in studio
15 FEATURES
Around Austin
By Averi P
Standing in the cool air pouring from the trailer, Megha is enjoying a half lemon-lime half bubblegum snow cone from her favorite food trailer, Bahama Freeze. At that’s just one of the great places to go in Austin. From Bahama Freeze, to Toy joy, to Ballet Austin or Barton Springs, Austin has a little bit of everything.
Photo by Bahama Freeze
Eat
Bahama Freeze is locally owned and operated in Austin. The little food trailer on Brodie Lane has become well known for their wide variety of snow cones. Any flavor, from spearmint to tiger’s blood can be found at the food trailer. “It always feels like the pavement is radiating heat. When I go up to the little window to order my snow cone, I can feel the cool drafts from the inside of the trailer,” says Megha A, an eighth-grader who frequently visits Bahama Freeze, “And good god, they have every flavor imaginable. Sure, there are the standard ones: bubble gum, cherry, lemon-lime, blue raspberry but, they also have insane, exotic flavors: root beer, tiger’s blood, coffee, spearmint, ice cream, peanut butter cup, dill pickle and so many others.”
A snow cone from Bahama freeze.
Another Austin favorite is Amy’s Ice Cream. Since it opened in 1884, Amy’s Ice Cream has become a part of Austin’s unique culture, and like other Austin businesses, it has supported several local non profits. Sporting everything, from the standard French vanilla, to seasonal flavors like Girl Scout Thin Mint and egg nog, Amy’s is definitely the place to go for great ice cream and a taste of Austin. “The place perfectly fits Austin’s motto: Keep Austin Weird,” says Eve G, “Everybody comes here, and you haven’t been officially inaugurated as a citizen of Austin until you’ve been properly weirded out by Amy’s craziness. And had their ice cream. The people at the counter are always so friendly, and they’re usually college students with piercings and everything, but they actually aren’t scary. If they think it will amuse you, they will even play tricks with the ice cream, throwing it up behind their backs and catching it in the bowls.”
Photo by Cheri Lucas
Amy’s Ice Cream
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Photo by Averi P
Shop
Toy Joy
Photo by Cassidy P The Ballet Austin Studio
Photo by Averi P
Just next door to Toy Joy is Buffalo Exchange. At Buffalo Exchange people can sell their old clothing or buy used clothing. Many interesting and unusual items show up in the store. “There are great clothes there and the place is so exotic and a little bit crazy, and it’s really unique. And to me, uniqueness is the most important feature anyone could have,” says Eve G, “The thing is, all of their clothes are kind of hit and miss, they either have something that looks good on you or they don’t. When you’re lucky, the clothes will be completely fabulous.” Because they pay a lot of attention to the quality of what they buy, the clothes, hats, shoes, and other accessories there are always in great condition, and far less expensive than retail. Any clothing that they don’t buy can either be kept or they will donate it to a local charity.
Since the cheerful store opened on 2900 Guadalupe Street in 1987, Toy Joy has become an Austin favorite. Through those doors, one can find anything, from Gryffindor scarves to Tardis cookie jars. No matter how unusual, it can always be found at Toy Joy. “The store is like rainbow colored and no matter where you go there’s always something to look at and be amazed by and the people there are like so friendly and they all really act like they love to work there,” says Julieanne W, a freshman excited to talk about her favorite store. “I love just that they sell everything that every other store might find stupid or offensive or too expensive to order or weird. They take a chance on some pretty strange items and in the end everyone always loves them. Like the Nun Shooter, you wont find that anywhere but toy joy. Einstein action figure? Toy Joy. Bento boxes shaped like hamburgers? Only at Toy Joy,” says Julieanne, “They go out to find the coolest and weirdest candies or toys and makes them available to their customers.”
Buffalo Exchange
Play
Ballet Austin first opened its doors in 1956 and since then has become a home for anyone who wants to dance. “For pretty much all of middle school I practically lived there with [my friend] Miriam,” Cassidy P, a high school freshman, says. “We’d hang out in the study lounge upstairs which has huge windows looking out over downtown Austin and we’d talk and do homework and listen to music. After a while we’d go downstairs and watch the company rehearse for their next show. After a while other people from our class would start showing up and then we’d start stretching and getting ready for class. But yeah, for me, Ballet Austin is practically a second home.” Ballet Austin not only offers classes for everyone, they put on five major shows a year, including the Nutcracker which has been an Austin tradition for forty-eight years.
17 FEATURES Photo by Cheri Lucas
“I just think it’s really cool that anyone who wants to dance can go there,” says Cassidy P, “Like, you’ll see old ladies who maybe used to dance dancing in one studio, and in the next you’ll see all of the professional dancers rehearsing a show, and then in the next you’ll see academy students who are my age, and in the next four-year-olds skipping around, etc. You know? It’s like no matter who you are, you can dance here.” Those who don’t dance can spend a relaxing afternoon in the shade by Barton Springs. The cold, crystal clear water is home to salamanders, fish, turtles and other organisms that call Barton Springs home. “The water is cold at first then after you stop shivering it feels nice,” says Alex A, a freshman who loves the spring, “The people are all cool and local and then the fish are really cool to look at as I swim laps. I like to jump off the diving board and I also like to swim to the bottom and I like the clarity of the water and I also like to go there Christmas eve and take a swim.”
Barton Springs Pool
Austin is different and it is because of its local businesses and beautiful outdoors that it can be the unique city it is today. Alex agrees. “How many other cities do you know that have an all natural spring fed pool where you can see the cityscape from?”
More Info Bahama Freeze
Toy Joy
Amy’s Ice Cream
Buffalo Exchange
http://www.bahamafreeze.com/ 8213 Brodie Lane, Austin TX, 78745 6863 Highway 290 West, Austin TX, 78735 http://www.amysicecreams.com/ 1012 W. 6th St. Austin TX, 78703 3600 Presidential Blvd #20 Austin TX, 78719 10000 Research, Ste. 140, Austin TX, 78759 5624 Burnet Rd, Austin TX, 78756 2244 & 71, Building A Ste. 140, Austin TX, 78738 3500 Guadalupe, Austin TX, 78705 9600 S. IH 35, Building C Ste. 400, Austin TX, 78748 2765 Bee Caves #209, Austin TX, 78756 1301 S. Congress, Austin TX, 78704 3100 S. Congress #3A, Austin TX, 78704 44477 S. Lamar #790, Austin TX, 78745
http://toyjoy.myshopify.com/ 2900 Guadalupe St., Austin TX, 78705
http://www.buffaloexchange.com/ 2904 Guadalupe Street, Austin TX, 78705
Ballet Austin
http://www.balletaustin.org/ 501 W. 3rd Street, Austin TX, 78701
Barton Springs
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/parks/bartonsprings.htm 2101 Barton Springs Road , Austin, TX, 78704
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A movie to see again and again By Jasmine W
Director: Anfy Fickman Starring: Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Victor Garber, Odette Yustman, Sigourney WeaverBetty White A girl named Marni (Kristen Bell) turned from a geeky high school teen to a successful publicist in New York. She heads back home for her brother’s wedding which she is horrified about because she just learned he is marrying Joanna (Odette Yutsman) who used to bully her in high school. Marni is still not over it and holds a grudge, she is determined to show or tell her brother what a horrible monster Joanna is. Marni’s mom Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis) also has bad high school history that includes Joanna’s aunt Ramona (Sigourney Weaver). Supposedly Gail stole Ramona’s boyfriend/ date to the prom. This sparks an generational grudge match. The movie stars some of the best actors in Hollywood;including comic genius Betty White. Sigourney Weaver and Jamie Lee Curtis have some great comedic moments. Ramona is always stylish and flying to Paris and is living large which puts Gail in the old hag position. It was bad in some areas because some of the gags were predictable. The cat-fight scene at the end between the Marni and Joanna is kind of corny and ridiculous. Even though it has some flaws it’s still an enjoyable movie that you should see when it comes out on DVD.
19 ASF
By Carelyn H arry Potter is without a doubt one of the most famous literary characters of the twentieth century. The final movie has been anxiously awaited by thousands of fans since the final book and longer. To those who have read the book it has a lot to live up to. This movie has a whole different feel from any of the others. The things of adolescence are over,there is no more Quidditch to play or exams to study for,just the cold cruel world,especially hostile to undesirable number 1.(Undesirable number one is what they have on the wanted posters under Harry’s face. ) It starts of bleak inside the ministry of magic with a speech on the dark times.Then we see a heart breaking seen where Hermione obliviates(wipes their memories) her parents to keep them out of the wizard war.Although this part was added and was only implied in the book it was well done and really helped set the dark tone.Compared to other recent Harry Potter movies it did not make many cuts or adds but the scenes it did add made valuable contributions to the rest of the movie and the cuts were well justified,for example Harry’s good by to the Dursley’s was cut down considerable. It is extremely weird and almost feels wrong to see a Harry Potter movie without Hogwarts,you cant help but miss the Gryffindor tower,the Grand Hall,and Hagrid’s hut but this movie has a different main setting,the wilderness. After some high action near the beginning when in order to safely get harry to the Burrow his friends take polyjuice potion to confuse the death eaters on the way to the burrow.At the burrow they are visited by the minister of magic himself with most of the things Dumbeldor left them in his will.To Ron he left his deliminator,to Hermione he left his copy of Beedel the Bard, to harry he left the first snitch he ever caught and the sward of Gryffindor.The minister refused to give the sward to Harry (no surprise).They later discover that the sward is one of the few things that can destroy Horcruxes. Then days later death eaters invade Bill and Fleur’s wedding, Harry, Ron, and Hermione are forced to flee, taking refuge in number 12 Grimmuald place where with the help of Kreatcher, Harry’s inherited house elf, they find out the current owner and location of the locket aka a horcrux. Mrs.Umbridg, worker at the ministries of magic and
former defense against the dark arts teacher at Hogwarts.They then,with the help of more polyjuice potion,invade the ministry take back the Horcrux and for security reasons have to apparate in the middle of a Forrest and thus begin their wanderings. At this point in the story many people complain of slowness,they are not alone,things are not living up to expectations for our three heroes and tempers are running low. Part of this is because wearing a horcrux puts you in a bad mood but not all. Eventually Ron explodes and storms off. Because they change camp locations every day for security reasons they think they will never see him again. While Ron is away Harry and Hermione go on a Christmas eve excursion to Godric’s hollow to talk to Bathilda Bagshot, this was a bad Idea and in the fight that ensues Harry’s wand is broken without repair. Days later Harry is on watch with Hermione’s wand and sees a light in the woods. Upon following it he discovers it is a patronus in the form of a doe and although Harry does not know who’s patronus it is he continues to follow it. It leads him to a Forrest pond where he sees the sword of Gryffindor at the bottom. As it is impossible to retrieve it by magic he is forced to break the ice (It is not long after Christmas) and jump in. To everyone in the theaters horror he gets trapped under the ice and things are looking bleak. The next thing he knows he has been dragged to shore and is looking at a soaking and shivering Ron holding the sword of Gryffindor. Words can not describe how happy I was at that moment. Harry opens the locket using parseltongueg and, although the locket puts up a fight by reiterating to Ron his doubts and fears, destroys it. Here I will stop for fear of people attacking me for giving away the ending. All I can say is that I think this movie out of all of them is the most like the book and that is a tremendous compliment. Please forgive me for giving away any serious plot twists, I just got kind of carried away in the movies awesomeness. The only thing wrong were a few Little things that should have been in this movie were not because they had not been set up in previous movies. This movie was Defiantly better than fifth or sixth movie.I highly recommend it and promise I was not even colse to doing it justice in theis review, the few changes ther were frome the book were positive changes, no doubt about it and it is the first Harry Potter since the second one that I actually want to own so I can watch it again.
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21 ASF
Best
The Literar Katniss Everdeen
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins Katniss does a stunning job as a female protaganist. She is able to move the story forward. More importantly, she is an independent character and doesn’t constantly need the support of everyone else in the book. Throughout the story she grows as a character and possesses the courage and strength to overcome whatever is thrown at her. “At some point, you have to stop running and turn around and face whoever wants you dead. The hard thing is finding the courage to do it.”
Severus Snape
Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling Although we don’t leanr much about Snape until the six book, he becomes a very deep character. What makes Snape a good character is that despite seeming like a villian throughout the series, he does manage to redeem himself in the seventh book (although I won’t spoil the book for anyone). “Mr. Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people’s business.”
Artemis Fowl
Artemis Fowl - Eoin Colfer Smart, witty, and clever, he’s the evil villain that actually succeeds. And who doesn’t love criminal masterminds? Despite Fowl’s actions and supposed cruelty (kidnapping Holly Short and nearly dooming life as we know it) ultimately he is just a child who desperately wants to find his father. “If I win, I’m a prodigy. If I lose, then I’m crazy. That’s the way history is written.”
ry World’s By Averi P
Bella Swan
The Twilight Saga - Stephenie Meyer Where do I begin?! All Bella does throughout the books is cling to Edward, shut out all her friends, and clompelely miss the fact that he’s around a hundred years older than she is and has nothing better to do with his life than stalk her. and watch her sleep. When Edward leaves her she becomes horribly depressed and fails to realise that, hey, there are other, better, people out there. Twilight popularizes a horrible relationship where Edward is controlling and a little creepy. “I was consumed by the mystery Edward presented. And more than a little obsessed by Edward himself.”
Crabbe and Goyle
Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling Ok I know they’re minor characters and kind of have an excuse to be a little underdeveloped but as a friend pointed out to me, all they really do is keep Ron from giving Malfoy the beating he deserves. They don’t say much either.
Edward Cullen The Twiligh Saga - Stephenie Meyer I really am trying to stop hating Twilight so much but it’s just so easy. All I really have to say about edward is this: When you want a girl to like you you should totally stalk her and watch her in her sleep for weeks without saying anything. It’s totally not creepy that you’re around one hundred years older than her. Sarcasm. It’s annoying how he goes on and on about how Bella shouldn’t be with him then completely fails to do anything about it. “If I could dream, it would be about you.”
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