Seraphina’s civilized dragons lure a reader in

April 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment

SeraphinaBy Emily Thyrum

According to Rachelhartmanbooks.com, Seraphina is the winner of the 2013 YALSA Morris Award for Best Young Adult Debut Novel and a New York Times bestselling children’s chapter book. These awards are well deserved because the book absorbs the reader into its pages.

Seraphina tells the story of a teenage girl in a mythical world where dragons and humans live together in an awkward type of peace, the dragons taking form of humans. This awkward peace is at its breaking point, however, when the treaty that keeps the citizens of Goredd in line needs to be renewed. Seraphina takes on not only her position as court music composer’s assistant, but also an investigator of the death of Prince Rufus, along with Prince Lucian Kiggs. Along her way, Seraphina must face the problems of her identity and parentage, along with the lies that they have brought her to tell.

The book’s incredible length might push some readers away, but every page adds to the suspense that makes the reader forge ahead in the book. The beginning is confusing and a bit boring, but as the novel continues, the reader will realize that the slow beginning is worth the wait.

The development of the characters is a strong aspect of the story because you will find yourself wrapped up in the character’s relationships with one another. The characters, mostly Seraphina, are easy to relate to, which makes the story seem much more real.

The fictional world is also well developed for a fantasy novel, because of the details related to the dragons vs. humans feature of the story. All in all, the book was exciting and will make you want to continue turning the pages.

Filed Under: Arts and Entertainment, Featured, Reviews

Downton Abbey Returns to the U.S.

February 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment

DowntonAbbeyBeware Downton Abbey viewers — beware the Internet. Downton Abbey returned to PBS Masterpiece on January 6, 2013, several months behind the United Kingdom premiere last September.

The Grantham family is full of intrigue as ever, and so far the third season has surpassed the second in narrative quality. Those craving the pure drama that comes with both servants and upper class need not be disappointed.

Unfortunately, because of the long gap in airdates the Internet is rife with spoilers and plot details. Even a simple Google search for the online version of the show can be hazardous — spoilers can be found in the second or third links of most search engines. Not even Facebook is safe. Don’t trust your Facebook friends, don’t trust Tumblr, don’t even trust Pinterest. The spoilers are everywhere.

Fear not, dear reader, this review will be free of any major plot details or character developments. Some minor spoilers are inevitable, but don’t worry: there won’t  be any earth-shattering revelations. However, this warning only pertains to season three — since it has been several months since the air dates of season two, I consider anything before season three fair game.

My main problems with the second season were the series of improbable and slightly ludicrous plot jumps. Matthew is suddenly able to walk, anyone? There was also the little matter of the entire episode devoted to an officer claiming to be one of the Crawley’s dead relatives, which I found creeped ever so slightly into the soap opera territory. The cast itself stayed up to their standard excellence, but the plot writing was ridiculous at times.

Season three — so far — fails to have the shortcomings of the last season.

Despite the show’s best attempts to have Matthew be my favorite character, I cannot help but be fascinated by the footman Thomas. He has been handled quite cleverly, and whoever came up with his character development is a mad genius. Thomas is easily the most complex character in Downton Abbey. First introduced as That One Gay Character, then the scheming footman, then the soldier, then the medic, Thomas has become fascinatingly  sympathetic to the viewer. It’s telling that the one gay character on this show isn’t made The One Gay Character, or characterized by his sexuality. It’s just a detail of his character like the scar on his hand. He’s scheming, but Downton shows us why he’s scheming and how.

The airing of the February 3 episode marked the first filler episode yet this season, but it plays to good effect after the intense drama of the episode before. Even filler episodes have their place — but sparingly, few and far between.

The root of the popularity of Downton Abbey lies somewhere between the appeal of a soap opera and the intrigue of the British Royal Family. The writers of the show are very smart — they mix the two worlds of the upstairs noble family and the downstairs servants well enough that it doesn’t feel like an awkward transition at all. By all rights, there are two shows in Downton Abbey, but the smooth transitions and overlapping storylines make it work.

Downton Abbey has returned to the U.S. airwaves.

Downton Abbey has returned to the U.S. airwaves.

Downton Abbey is a show of small moments. Maggie Smith’s Dowager Countess of Grantham is meant to represent the old Victorian values, but instead show us a woman full of wit and vinegar, willing to compromise for family while still being Old World. Though perhaps my favorite Dowager Countess moment is from season one, when she says, “Your quarrel is with my daughter, Rosamund, and not with me. So put that in your pipe and smoke it.”

The old Victorian values are rampant through Downton Abbey. The first episode sets it up admirably, when the Dowager Countess treats the brand new electric lights with skeptical aversion. It still carries through to season three, with new technological advancements of the day making their way through the Downton house.

Season three: so far, so good. The only worry I have is for the rest of the season. The actors are at the top of their game as per usual, but the future writing and plotting in general is a reason to be uneasy, given the show’s track record. But as long as the roller coaster is going up, I might as well enjoy the ride — and the ride is good.

Downton Abbey airs Sundays at 9 p.m. Eastern.

Filed Under: Arts and Entertainment, Featured, Reviews

Seven Habits a helpful read for teens

February 7, 2013 by Leave a Comment

By Emily Thyrum

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens

Most busy Penn Manor students probably don’t prioritize keeping positive attitudes and maintaining healthy relationships with parents and peers while they have homework, sports, and other clubs or activities to think about. When the Keystones came along, most students probably reacted as I did with fear and exasperation. However, the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens gave me new insight on how to handle these anno
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens was written by Sean Covey, whose father wrote The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, a popular book of advice on how to live well. In 2003, this new edition for teenagers was released by Running Press Miniature Editions, and many of its reviews are positive. A reviewer on Amazon.com says “Flip open to any page and become instantly absorbed in real-life stories of teens who have overcome obstacles to succeed, and step-by-step guides to shifting paradigms, building equity in ‘relationship bank accounts,’ creating action plans, and much more.”ying aspects of life.

The book explains that the seven habits all build upon each other, and each changed how I perceive things the world.

Habit #1: Be Proactive. This includes being positive and taking charge of your life. If the Keystones brought your general attitude down, or you were expecting to fail them as you went into them, rule #1 addresses this issue. Do not allow other people/things to ruin your day. Keep your expectations of how you will do on the Keystones high, and they are likely to be higher.

Habit #2: Begin with the End in Mind. These days, college is quite competitive, so maintaining high grades is a necessity. Extra-curricular activities also improve a resume, so joining one of the many clubs in Penn Manor High School or being a member of a sports team can be beneficial. This school district has educated the students about not doing drugs and trying your best in school, so just listen to this advice.

Habit #3: Put First Things First. This habit is all about prioritizing. I learned about this habit during marching band season when my amount of work exceeded my amount of time to finish this homework. If I had caved into my desires to watch television instead of finishing my homework, I wouldn’t have done well in my classes. Although prioritizing over what you would like to do might be tiresome at the time, you will find that you will appreciate your sacrifices in the long run.

Habit #4: Think Win-Win. It is very common to think of school as a competition, but this is an unhealthy way of thinking. Class rankings enforce this attitude, but school should be about pushing yourself and not just beating your classmates on a test. I urge Penn Manor High School students to stop comparing themselves to others and focus on improving themselves.

Habit #5: Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood. Listening to your friends about their problems means much more to them than you probably realize. I spend time listening to my friend’s problems, and I try to really understand what they are going through, which makes us better friends. While listening to other’s problems, try to feel empathy for them, and then you can share your problems with them. You will be surprised at the benefits of listening to your friends.

Be prepared to face the classroom with these seven habits.

Be prepared to face the classroom with these seven habits.

Habit #6: Synergize. Synergizing is a method of solving problems between people without either side giving in to the other, without compromising. This habit may benefit you when you are about to have a difficult upcoming test; you can study with a friend from your class. This way, you both might have the chance to find facts from each other’s notes that you might have missed in class, so as a result, both of your test grades will be higher than if you had studied alone.

Habit #7: Sharpen the Saw. This habit is about renewing yourself by resting or taking part in activities you enjoy. Penn Manor High School offers many different clubs and sports, so joining one that you find pleasurable to be a part of can boost your inner happiness. Some of the clubs in this school are volunteer clubs, including Serteen, and helping others is beneficial for your health.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens  is a great book to read because it can help you improve yourself and your relationships. The setup of the book is worthwhile because the author provides many interesting stories from real teenagers related to the topics that make the habits come to life. The only negative aspect is that at times there are more analogies than are needed to understand each concept.  However, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens should be high on your list of books to read.

Filed Under: Arts and Entertainment, Featured, Opinion, Reviews

“Bully” – a Real Look at Mean Kids

April 5, 2012 by Leave a Comment

By Alicia Ygarza - 

It’s the movie documentary that’s trying to take a stand.

Bully is Lee Hirsch’s new film that documents the life of five different families, and concentrates on their struggles with bullying.

Bully has been called “a nonfiction look at a real-life problem,” by NJ.com, and was called “eye opening” by CNN Entertainment.

“Bully forces audiences to face actions that are unthinkable, inexcusable and excruciatingly sad. It offers no solutions, only the testimony of brave youths. But by presenting an intimate glimpse into the dark heart of cruelty, the film hopes to inspire substantive discussion among parents, children and educators on how to deal with this dire and insidious problem,” said Detroit News Press.

Alex Libby, courtesy of advocate.com

Numerous assemblies throughout elementary, middle, and high school have lectured kids on how bullying is inappropriate.

Each day, about 160,000 students don’t go to school because they fear being bullied, according to American SPCC.

Six out of 10 kids witness bullying at least once a day, states SPCC.

The rating of the film has flipped because it’s very controversial.

It’s currently unrated, but started out as rated R. It was changed when Alex Libby, a bullied middle schooler who was documented in the production,  said if the film would remain R rated, it would prevent adolescents from seeing it.

In the film, Libby is constantly poked with pencils, hit and threatened. He even believes his bullies are his friends, and asks his mom who are his friends if his bullies aren’t.

Besides Libby, the film documents the Long family, a family that has carried  much sadness. Their son, Tyler, committed suicide at the age of 17 because he was harassed for too long.

The film shows Ja’Meya, a 14-year-old, who brought a gun onto her bus in order to protect herself from bullies. She’s now facing 45 felony charges.

A photo from the film, courtesy of advocate.com

Ty Smalley’s parents and best friend speak about him and his suicide throughout the documentary.

Lastly, Kelby Johnson was documented since she’s been tormented by her teachers and peers for coming out as a lesbian.

The bullies are not the only ones doing wrong in this documentary.

Libby’s assistant principal denies to his parents that he has been bullied on the bus by saying the children are “good as gold.”

With the cruel reality of Bully, it seems schools can do much more to try and prevent bullying.

 

 

Filed Under: News, Reviews

Everybody Cut Footloose Again

November 15, 2011 by Leave a Comment

By Amber Brenner-

The original footloose cover from 1987. Courtesy of Paramount Pictures.

If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.

That’s exactly what director Craig Brewer did to his remake of the 1984 movie Footloose. There are few differences between the 1984 original and the 2011 remake.

First off, it’s obviously more modern. The music, dancing and clothing were all inevitably updated. The music that the kids in the movie listen to was mainly hip-hop, with the exception of a few scenes with genres like pop and country. The dancing, of course, was more provocative. The styles of dancing included lots of hip-hop, some krumping and even some country line dancing. Some of the dances were taken from the original movie.

Under the same umbrella, the language was modified a little, adding an occasional swear word, which was generally taboo back in the ’80′s. The movie was also updated socially. Although racial segregation ended in the mid-1960′s, all of the actors and actresses used in the original Footloose were Caucasian. The remake seemed to cover all races and ethnicities.

The new 2011 Footloose cover. Courtesy of Paramount Pictures.

As for the actual screenplay, there are very few differences between the original and the new remake, but the ones that exist are blatantly obvious.

To start, the new movie opens with the accident that killed the town’s preacher’s son that the original only referred to. In the original movie, the main character moves to the small town of Bomont with his mother after a divorce. In the new movie, they do away with his mother completely. He moved in with his aunt and uncle after his mother passed away.

There aren’t many other differences and the ones that are there don’t change the story much at all.

All in all, Footloose (2011) is a refreshed and modern spin of the original made in 1984. It’s worth a trip to the theater.

As a warning, you may feel the spontaneous urge to dance, but don’t worry. That’s completely normal.

Filed Under: Opinion, Reviews

Battlefield 3 Review

October 28, 2011 by 1 Comment

By Jacob Harvey -

The attempt at a realistic full-scale war video game has been attempted in the past but with its October 25 (27 in UK) release, Battlefield 3 seems to have outdone itself.

Battlefield 3 is a first person single-player shooter and action video game made by Electronic Arts with system link and online multiplayer capabilities allowing up to 24 players to play at once via Xbox live  or the PSNetwork on the console’s (PS3 and Xbox 360) and 64 players on the PC.

With full vehicle warfare with playable tanks, humvees, jets, boats, ATV’s,  and helicopters, Battlefield is the first video game released this year of it’s kind.

Battlefield is run on a new engine called Frostbite 2 which allowed the developers to program in better physics in the explosions and it allowed the developers to increase the amount of detail in the game.

image courtesy of battlefield3gameplay.net

Of course Battlefield’s multiplayer features full scale combined arm’s battles. It is possible to go from a boat to a jet to a tank.

Depending on the vehicle under the players control there are three sets of controls which are classified under infantry controls. There are ground vehicle controls, which consists of tanks and boats and other vehicles that don’t leave the ground. Then there are the aerial controls.

With all the great graphics and advances in the games physics there is a sense of loneliness on the larger maps where enemy players are in short supply and hard to find. With only 24 players on the console playing in a full map meant for 64 players on the PC the scale of the map is off putting at first but on the smaller map game modes like squad deathmatch and team deathmatch the sense of scale is similar to Call of Duty 4.

Console systems simply couldn’t handle a full 64 player battle though so the producers were forced to lower the amount of players allowed on a map to cut down on lag and bandwidth issues. Which has already been a problem on the Xbox because the server’s were down yesterday because of a bandwidth issue. If EA doesn’t fix its servers it could be a serious issue that could make or break a game.

Another new addition is it’s co-op mode. This is mode features multiple scenarios that force you and one other team mate to work together to complete the map’s mission objective. Don’t be fooled though just because it says co-op there is no split-screen multiplayer in order to play with your friends you must play over the internet or system link (LAN connection) the two devices.

image courtesy of 24hearsay.com

Battlefield 3 was released with nine maps, 55 weapons, 27 weapon attachments that are awarded separately for each gun. There are 22 playable vehicles, 28 vehicle specializations, and 14 soldier specializations according to the GameInformer Battlefield 3 preview.

Also there are five playable online game modes which are.

Conquest: The objective of this game mode is to capture and hold control points placed throughout the map and to decrease the opposing teams ticket (respawn) count to zero before your teams reaches zero.

Rush: There are two sides to this conflict, an attacker and a defender. Attackers are charged with destroying multiple sets of 2 M-Com stations at a time before their ticket count reaches zero. Defenders are supposed to make sure that the M-Com stations aren’t destroyed and to make the attackers ticket count reach zero.

Team Deathmatch: A new game mode to Battlefield the object of this game is for 2 teams to battle and kill the opposing team 100 combined times. The first team to reach a combined kill count of 100 wins.
Squad Deathmatch: Another new game mode to Battlefield. Features four squads of four players each fighting each other to get the highest combined squad kill count.

Squad Rush: In squad rush there are two teams with four players each one attacking one defending with similar qualities to rush just not as many people and thus more complicated and tactical than its larger game mode counterpart.

In all, Battlefield 3 is one of the most anticipated game’s of 2011 and with awards like Game of the Year from E3 it is a good way to spend your money and makes a great holiday gift for all FPS fans.

Filed Under: Opinion, Reviews, Science and Tech

Shangrila Restaurant is a new Favorite among Locals

September 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment

By Kira Hess -

There’s a Chinese restaurant in York that has a 4 star rating – and for good reason.

Shangrila, which is about 35-40 minutes away from Penn Manor, “warrants the drive out there,” said Andrew Bachman of Washington Boro. “The service is great. The servers, while timid, were very fast at getting drinks and refills and very friendly.”

Right when you walk in there’s a warm welcoming from the host who greets you at the door and seats you right away.

“The service is great,” said Dale Laughman who lives in East Berlin. Zach Perecinsky of Delta agreed and added “the food is even better.”

Shangrila is clean and very well kept. It’s not like most Chinese restaurants, the color pops. There are a lot of reds, oranges and yellows; however, it is not overdone.  It looks elegant and makes you very comfortable. It’s certainly better than sitting at little rickety tables you find at other Chinese restaurants that are primarily carryout.

“The restaurant itself is extremely clean and the decor is surprisingly posh for a restaurant. The atmosphere is great,” said Bachman.

The decorations add a nice touch to the restaurant. There are flowers and lamps everywhere. They also have pictures on the walls which add to the color and the surrounding area. The place is very cozy.

The food at Shangrila is amazing according to several local people who have tried it.

York Chinese restaurant, Shangrila, has been enticing customers from Lancaster to dine there. Photo by Kira Hess

“The food is awesome,” said Laughman.

The chicken fried rice, the Dragon and Phoenix, and the orange chicken are phenomenal. All the flavors flow through your mouth. The group favorites were definitely the orange chicken and the chicken fried rice.

While this Chinese restaurant is similar to others in many ways, there are many things about it that make it stand out in a crowd.

“Comparing it to other Chinese places is like comparing a McDonald’s burger to Five Guys. They’re relatively the same but astronomically different,” said Bachman

Overall the place is amazing, it’s a hidden little gem tucked away in a strip mall, very unassuming but once you go you’ll find yourself coming back again and again…

“I recommend it to all of my friends who enjoy Chinese food and often take them out there myself. I’ve yet to hear one person say they didn’t find the food to be the best Chinese food they’ve ever had,” said Bachman.

Filed Under: Arts and Entertainment, Reviews, Student Life

Latest ‘Pirates’ Installment Proves Sequels can Hold Their Own

June 2, 2011 by Leave a Comment

By Morgan Fletcher –

The latest installment in Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean series is sure to send youngsters who anxiously awaited its arrival away happy, as well as older fans, too.

In the same fashion as its predecessors, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, showcases the more mature side of Disney imagination as its rating is PG-13.

Pirates does not disappoint, however, as it is full of action, comedy, and even glimpses of horror. 

The only thing missing from the latest addition is most of the leading cast from the previous films.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides movie poster. Photo courtesy imdb

The beloved Captain Jack Sparrow, played by Johnny Depp, is still the same old sly, up-to-no good pirate as before.  Absent from the movie are Orlando Bloom’s Will Turner and Keira Knightley’s Elizabeth Swann, key components to the first three films.

Director Rob Marshall does a nice job of filling their spaces by throwing into the mix an old, and possibly current, love interest of Sparrow’s, Angelica Malon, played by Penelope Cruz.

Cruz’s almost identical sister but three years her junior, Monica Cruz, played as a body double because Penelope was pregnant during filming.

Other new faces include Malon’s long-lost father, Blackbeared, played by Ian McShane.  Captive missionary Philip Swift (Sam Claflin) is also introduced, as is the mermaid he falls in love with, Syrena, played by Spanish-French actress Astrid Berges-Frisbey, who makes her English-language debut.

Returnees include Sparrow’s father Captain Teague (Keith Richards), his former sailing confidant Joshamee Gibbs (Kevin McNally) and his old nemesis Captain Hector Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush).

All in all, the plot structure of the film is well done.

Sparrow has a run-in with Angelica, who reveals herself as his impersonator after the two have a sword match in the back of a bar. Angelica leads him to the ruthless Blackbeard and his crew full of grotesque sailors.  

The talk around the world is that a Fountain of Youth exists, thus there is fierce competition to reach it first and reap from its magic.

Because Blackbeard knows of Sparrow’s keen sailing and pirating expertise, he forces him to lead the way in an expedition to find the fountain.

A few escape attempts and a mermaid attack later, Blackbeard’s crew, under Sparrow’s direction, reach the fountain.  There, they encounter Barbossa, who is under orders of the British monarchy, and the Spanish who wish to destroy the fountain.

A full-on fight occurs between the opposing forces but somehow in the middle of it all, Sparrow is able to take possession of the two chalices needed for the magic of the fountain to work.

Syrena (Astrid Berges-Frisbey) and Philip Swift (Sam Claflin). Photo courtesy novelasymas.com

It is learned that in order for a user to take advantage of the fountain’s powers, a mermaid’s tear must be in the gulp that the user swallows as well as the water of the fountain itself.  A tear from the stubborn mermaid Syrena, who was abducted during the attack, was earlier obtained.

Both Blackbeard and Angelica are wounded in battle.  Only one of them will be able to survive by the fountain’s powers.

Sparrow, with possession of both chalices, has knowledge of which one contains Syrena’s tear and which does not.

Angelica is willing to sacrifice herself for her father, so she drinks the chalice believed to not contain the tear.

Sparrow always has a trick up his sleeve, however, as he knowingly gives Angelica the chalice with the tear.

Thus, she lives and her father perishes.

The movie ends with a cliffhanger as she reveals that she is pregnant with Sparrow’s child, so there’s no telling what craziness the next installment will entail.

Maybe a future Captain Jack is in the works, complete with his father’s witty, trouble-making spirit.

The beginning of the film was slow and could have picked up a bit so that it’s two hour, 17 mintue run time was reduced.  The fun-filled action scenes and whimsical lines made up for it, however, and it definitely delivered.

Filed Under: Opinion, Reviews

The Hangover Part II Review *Spoiler*

May 27, 2011 by 1 Comment

By Alex Geli –

Yes, you may be coming from a math final and a trip to the nurse to get some Advil for your headache, but here’s another equation for you:

The Hangover, plus a drug dealing monkey, minus Zach Galifianakis’ hair, plus a new tattoo, minus one-fifth of a human hand, equals the much anticipated sequel to the top grossing comedy of all time.

The Hangover Part II.

Stu (Helms) realizing the tattoo on his face is permanent. Photo from thehangoverquotes.com

When the clock struck midnight on Thursday, May 26, the wolfpack was officially at it again. This time, though, they really dug themselves into an even deeper hole.

Phil, played by Bradley Cooper, had a similar conversation with Tracy, wife of Justin Bartha’s character, Doug, who is played by Sarah Baresse, as in the first Hangover in the beginning of the second.

Phil:  “Tracy, I’m sorry.”

Tracy:  “Where the (heck) are you?”

Phil:  (sigh) “It happened again.”

Tracy:  “Don’t say that.”

Phil:  “No, this time we really (messed) up.”

Tracy:  “What the (heck) is wrong with you three?”

Phil:  “So much ‘Trace,’ I don’t even know where to begin.”

Well, Phil, to help jog your memory, the night all begins around a campfire in Thailand where Stu, played by Ed Helms. With a couple bags of marshmallows, thanks to the regrettably invited Alan, played by Galifianakis, the wolfpack plus Teddy, Stu’s soon-to-be goody good brother-in-law who is played by Mason Lee, are just enjoying a few drinks and relaxing.

By the time the night was over, Alan got a haircut, Stu got a tattoo, Phil was sweaty…, Teddy lost a finger, they lost Teddy and they were visited by an old friend.

Ken Jeong, who played Mr. Chow in the first Hangover, was back and ready for round two:  less furious and more profane, party-happy, making dirty jokes and using drugs. To think the real-life Jeong is actually a certified doctor is dumbfounding. Although he returned to the sequel, it didn’t take long for him to end up in an ice box with no heart rate due to OD-ing on cocaine.

Phil (Cooper) trying to realize what just happened the night before. Photo from thehangoverquotes.com

The waking up scene was similar to the first Hangover, with an additional cockroach.

Phil awakens, drenched in his own sweat, only to be greeted by Alan who tumbles off  the bunk bed and lands on the floor with a big, “THUD!” They venture around the room – a room which they have no idea how or when they got in – and find, not a tiger, but Stu in the bathroom, facing the opposite way. A moan and a shift of the body later, Stu is faced with his new friend on the right side of his face:  a tattoo similar to the one on boxer Mike Tyson.

“You’re going to freak out, but it’s going to be okay,” Phil said to him, not really helping the situation at all.

The tattoo is not the only new friend that the wolfpack met in that instance. A monkey with a Rolling Stones jacket on was also found in the vacant hotel room.  After a scuffle on what is exactly under a blanket on the floor, it turns out to be Chow. The crowd was certainly pleased by the reappearance of the rather comfortable-with-his-body character.

There was one problem as they did a head count. Teddy was gone. The only evidence and remains from the scene was his finger still harnessed by his crimson Stanford University ring lying in a bucket of water.

Lots of “Oh my God!’s,” “What is going on?!’s” and “What the (bleep)!’s” occurred throughout the movie – for good reason.

After waking up, they take a wild ride on the find-what-the-heck-happened-last-night train, stopping at places like a police station, a monastery that Alan compares to “a P.F. Chang’s,” a club and ultimately ending up in a boat on dry ground, thanks to the great driving of “fat Jesus.”

Alan (Galifianakis). One minute he's an angry, marshmallow-spiking fiend, the next he's an innocent, bearded monkey-lover.

The Hangover Part II’s main course consisted of raunchiness, comedy, drugs, a side of nudity and Tiramike Tyson – clever, I know – for dessert, just like the first one. In fact, reviews around the internet and among students here at Penn Manor say that the sequel is just like part I, just in another location:  Bangkok, Thailand.

I can’t blame them for making basically the same movie because, well, it worked the first time so why not do it again?

This is what made the first one successful and will surely do the same for the second:  a toast followed by a crazy night, waking up with animals made more for the jungle than a hotel room, not remembering what they did, where they did it and with whom they did it with, losing a friend, going to search for the friend, then finally rushing to a wedding with [hopefully (watch and find out)] the correct number of people and ending off with another highlight reel of R-rated photos while the credits role and Flo Rida serenades you with his rapping.

You can thank Stu for inviting Alan and who, as a result, gets drugged for a second time and leads them to a very eventful day attempting to grasp the fact that this night actually happened… again.

“All I wanted was a bachelor brunch,” Stu said.

Filed Under: Reviews, Student Life Tagged With: , , , , ,

Fast Five

May 4, 2011 by 1 Comment

By Evan Shertzer –

Cars, fast driving, girls, guns, fighting and two giant sweaty guys.

That’s the basics of the new movie Fast Five, and the previous standards of the movies in the Fast and Furious series.

The new movie was released on Friday, April 29th and featured the stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson (The Rock).  That weekend, Fast Five sold over $80 million in tickets according to rottentomoatoes.com.

The movie begins with Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel), Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) and Mia Toretto trying to escape the law by running across the border. It’s a classic action packed movie with the “bad” guys running from the cops. While in Brazil, they are on their last ‘job’ before they can break free and disappear forever. They assemble their team of elites to bring down a corrupt business owner in the local area. They plan on stealing over $100 million and splitting it between the group and then buying their freedom. Their plan is slightly interrupted when the federal agent Luke Hobbs(Dwayne Johnson) is sent in with his task team to bring in Brian and Dom.

The Fast Five movie poster from boomtron.com

The movie continues on with lots of gunfire and fast cars along with one big fight scene between Dom and Luke. The two giant guys plow each other through walls  and glass with the fight leading to near death.

Overall I thought Fast Five was a good movie and would agree with the rating of 7.9 from imbd.com (internet movie database). There were a lot of well done action scenes in the movie, but one thing this movie lacked was the amount of cars in it.

The Fast and Furious movies have all been based around cars and racing, but this ones theme was more similar to Gone In 60 Seconds, with ‘do the last job and disappear forever’. I wished there would have been more racing in the movie and more about cars like the previous movies.

The movie was definitely worth seeing. It may be two hours long, but it’s well worth sitting in the theater that long. One thing I would recommend that I wasn’t able to do was see the movie in IMAX. I saw the movie on the regular screen and wished I would’ve seen it on the larger IMAX experience.

Fast Five was a good intense action packed movie and I would recommend you to see it in theaters if you are attached to the Fast and Furious series, you like action packed movies, or just simply like watching cars.

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