As many times as this tale has been told, it’s been modernized, made into a cartoon, it’s been written into a play and repeated over and over again. And even though it seems to be one of those “untouchable” stories, one of the ones you just don’t want to see done again – Alice In Wonderland topped the box office it’s opening weekend. This version is a live action with Mia Wasikowska (a relatively unknown new star) starring as Alice, with Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter and Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen. Personally, I thought it was redone with style and creativity befitting a story so unique. But honestly, there were a few parts that I felt didn’t fit. (I.e, one of Mia’s costumes in Wonderland seemed too modeled after modern fashion to fit the time period.)

             Hollywood’s new attention grabber seems to be computer animation and 3-D projection. This movie was filled with both. And though I can’t say much for how the 3-D was portrayed (seeing as I saw it in traditional 2-D), the animation was fantastic. It brought the entire movie to life, with vivid colors and lively motions. The Jabberwock was terrifying, the flowers were almost real, the Queens’ soldiers were incredibly realistic, etc. It just brought the entire movie together.

            The make-up was also one of the movie’s finest points. The Mad Hatter was literally, believably insane through all the paint on his face. Anne Hathaway had an almost dreamlike quality, Helena Bonham Carter was vicious. All through the magic of make-up. Mia’s lack of make-up really backed up the idea that she was innocent and hadn’t experienced anything.

            Rotten Tomatoes gave this a relatively negative review, as did many other sites. I guess it seemed to be too much for most viewers, unless you’re twelve or under. I overall really enjoyed this movie, having loved the original movie myself. I’d recommend to any feel-good movie lovers, it should be one to enjoy.

Katniss, the main character, is having a hard time adjusting to life in Victory Village. She terribly misses the times that she would spend in the woods hunting with her best friend, Gale, at her side.  But, with Gale now working in the coal mines, her daily routine consists of hunting by herself in order to provide food for Gale’s family and going by the market to share some of her wealth and riches with merchants of the Black Market.

It is one of Katnis’s heaviest traits to make bold moves, but at the end of the Hunger Games, she makes a decision so bold that she puts herself and everyone she loves in danger. Katniss and Peeta’s defiance sparks rebellion in some of the districts and the leader of Panem is not happy.  He makes it clear that it is Katniss’ responsibility to put a stop to the unruliness in the districts by proving that her audacity was the result of her love for Peeta and not to overthrow the government.

Catching Fire takes place in a town called The Seam in what I assume to be North America sometime in the future. The book refers to districts as opposed to countries, states, or provinces. Regardless of the fact that the reader has no clue what time period exactly this book takes place in, you know it has to be sometime in the future because as entertainment, the characters kill one another on live television, which is a piece of technology that is commonly used today.

The theme of Catching Fire is to protect those you love, no matter the cost. I think that this is the theme because the author tells a story about Katniss who gave up everything in her life that meant something to her in order to save her friends and her family. The author’s style of writing for the most part is heavy imagery because every time she would describe the taste of Peeta’s bread or of the ocean at the Games I felt like I was actually there.

“There’s a long pause. Then, from somewhere in the crowd, someone whistles Rue’s four-note mockingjay tune . . . By the end of the tune, I have found the whistler, a wizened old man in a faded red shirt and overalls. His eyes meet mine. What happens next is not an accident. It is too well executed to be spontaneous, because it happens in complete unison. Every person in the crowd presses the three middle fingers of their left hand against their lips and extends them to me.” (brighthub.com). I like this quote because not only does it show the author’s style of writing, imagery, but also I can envision everyone in the crowd following Kattniss’s stride for freedom from the Hunger Games.

Katniss must face some of her toughest decisions ever in Catching Fire. Challenges of love, challenges of desire, and challenges of her inner strength all cause her to grow throughout the book and become stronger.

Catching Fire is just as addicting as The Hunger Games.  Suzanne Collins has done a great job of taking us back to the complicated world of Panem.  There were definite surprises throughout the story, and I would recommend this book to everyone I know.

You’ll be breathless by the time you get to the end of Catching Fire and cursing that you don’t have the third and final book in this wonderful trilogy.

“Nonstop page turning until the surprising conclusion.” Booklist

Paranoid Park was a very good book that you could read over and over again and still love it. It was about a skateboarder that got into some trouble. Following this he starts to get paranoid and his life is turned upside down. The strengths of this book are the suspense, the description, and Alex’s unusual lifestyle.

This story is really good and it wouldn’t let me put it down until the end. The writer goes into huge detail about everything that happens. For example when Alex was attacked by the guard he had to use his skateboard to defend himself causing the guard to struggle back onto his feet, but he was hooked onto a train and was getting drugged. And the writer writes Paranoid Park as if the kid was writing the book himself. This gives the book a certain flare that sets it apart from most books. “Nelson’s natural-sounding teen speak authentically grounds this story…. [This novel] examines the chasm separating moral responsibility from the eternal damnation of keeping a horrible.” SLJ

Paranoid Park is just one of those books where you never know what’s going to happen. There so many twist and turn in the story that will blow your mind. Then when you think everything is alright in this guy’s life they through a cop into the mix. The cop was young naïve man who favored Alex. When he got to know Alex and his whole opinion about Alex was changed. Scratch was the guy who persuaded Alex to go to Paranoid Park but he didn’t expect this to happen.

Alex’s life is pretty hard. His parents pretty much neglected him a lot. Since he had no one to look up to or be a role model he turns to his fellow skateboarders.  Soon after that he decides to go back to Paranoid Park but some skaters recognize him and chase him. They were beating him up when a cop comes along and scares them. Then something you never would’ve thought happens…

I would recommend this book to anybody because you don’t have to be a skater to enjoy this book. Personally I’d give it 8 out of 10. Publishers Weekly, So if you ever are looking for a good book, pick up Paranoid Park.

Walter Dean Myers creates the story of sixteen-year-old Steve Harmon, from Steve’s point of view, as he struggles with the fact that he is being tried for felony murder. It is a trial that, if the jury finds him guilty, could result in the death penalty at worst, and at best, over twenty years in prison. Steve is a young filmmaker, and as a result, Myers writes the novel in two forms. Most sections open with a narrative from Steve, as written in a notebook that he keeps in prison and in the courtroom, and then close in a screenplay format, where the characters’ names are given in all-capital letters and camera directions accompany the dialog.

I believe that Walter Dean Myers is a very creative writer with his other novels: Autobiography of My Dead Brother, and Bad Boy. Which i have also enjoyed. He likes to write about his teen years which i Enjoy.

“A riveting courtroom drama that will leave a powerful, haunting impression on young minds.”
-Publishers Weekly

I agree with this quote because this book teaches you what can happen if you do stupid stuff you will go to jail for it. I think every young person should read this book and encourage others to read it.

Pan’s Labyrinth is a modern fairy tale, taking place in Spain during World War II. It’s in Spanish, with English subtitles, and, though this is a very skin-deep reason for enjoying the film, I must say, the Spanish was beautiful to listen to, really creating a great mood and kind of psyching me out for what was to come. (And, fun fact: in my cursory research, I discovered that del Toro actually wrote the subtitles himself, in order to veer away from the stilted, awkward lines that often plague foreign films that are translated. I thought that was way cool, because, man, a bad script can really, really subtract from a great movie.)

The story is told from the eyes of a young girl, Ofelia, who is sent far into the mountains with her very pregnant mother upon command from her new stepfather, Captain Vidal. Vidal, who is leading a military effort to wipe out guerrilla revolutionaries, situates his stepdaughter and wife in comfort, providing a room for them to share whilst carrying out his duties in the surrounding forest, waging a small war against the anti-Franco guerrilla troops.

In Ofelia is this magical sense of wonder, and, even living in an area where there is warfare going on, she goes about her day enchanted by much that she comes across. As soon as the film starts, when her mother is forced to stop traveling because of morning sickness, Ofelia demonstrates how observant and curious she is by wandering away from her mother and exploring the forest. Also, I should mention, in her roaming, she comes upon a stick bug that she believes to be a fairy, and that follows her and her mother as they get deeper into the mountains. That’s a pretty major plot point.

Starkly contrasting Ofelia’s character is the Captain. He was, by far my least favorite character, as I’m sure he was designed to be. Hateful, brutal, distrusting, a warmonger, the list goes on and on (and on.) The most graphic and violent scenes in the movie involved him, and, honestly, the thing that bothered me most was that he was such a jerk to his family. He was absolutely using Ofelia’s mother to get a son; there was no love in their relationship, except maybe a well-meaning try from Carmen. And, man, I don’t even know why he was trying to have a child anyway. His first sentence directed towards Ofelia was an insult, for god’s sake! But, I will say this for him: he did show some small hint that he wasn’t such a one-dimensional asshole at the end of the film, and I really did like that, that the director didn’t make him just the villain.

When Ofelia and her Carmen arrive at the house in the mountains, and Carmen is quickly taken inside in order for her to deal with her illness, Ofelia immediately starts to explore the surrounding areas. A woman working for the house named Mercedes takes interest in Ofelia, I guess, and follows her into the woods. As Ofelia strolls around outside, she comes across a stone labyrinth that Mercedes says has been there forever. Ofelia is captivated by the maze, and, later, when all are asleep, she ventures outside again and begins to wind her way through, finally reaching an open area with a large well-like region in the middle. She climbs down a long, spiraling flight of stairs until she gets to this kind of dark, wet, earthy place. There, she meets a faun, who tells her that she is the reincarnation of Princess Moanna, who, long ago, went into the realm of the humans and lost her memory, becoming very ill and dying. The faun informs her that, in order to prove herself, she must perform three tasks before the full moon comes, and gives her a book to instruct her on her way.

One of the things that I really loved about Labyrinth was that the protagonist and focal point of the film was a little girl. Many (serious) films tend to focus on more adult problems, and, I guess, the filmmakers conclude that in order to tell an adult story, the main characters must be adults. Now, I must stress, Pan’s Labyrinth is not in any way, shape, or form a children’s movie. The director classifies it as a “parable, influenced by fairy tales,” but that does not mean that this is a film suited for kids. There’re some pretty graphic (gore-wise) scenes, and some genuinely “scary images,” as the MPAA would say. But, that being said, there is certainly palpable wonder impregnated in this film, and I think that has a lot to do with the fact that it was seen from a child’s point-of-view. Ofelia, still very much a kid, is really into magic and fairy tales, and, as such, she attacks each problem presented to her [by the faun] with aggressiveness and a desire to succeed, two attributes that, I think, she would not possess in such stock if she were a different age.

I watched the movie twice before writing this review, and, though I noticed the camera work a little the first time, it was more pronounced on the second go. I almost never pay attention to the actual way whatever movie I’m watching was filmed, because it’s usually not that outstanding to me, an admittedly untrained eye. But, jeez, some scenes were just so well put together. Like, for instance, there was a really, really intense scene (with almost no talking) where, upon the order of the faun, Ofelia is sent to the realm of the Pale Man, a horrific but visually-bland man-like creature who eats children. In front of the Pale Man, an enormous and delicious-looking feast is laid out. Ofelia goes about her business with three fairies in tow, exploring the room in which the Pale Man sits, seemingly petrified. As Ofelia gets to one wall with three small locked doors in it, the camera focuses on a wonderful juxtaposition of characters: the Pale Man in the background, and Ofelia taking up most of the screen in the foreground. The scene was already pretty frightening, because, hello, Ofelia is, like, eleven, and classifies as a child, which seems to be the Pale Man’s sole form of sustenance, and he’s just sitting there, unmoving, apparently waiting for his time to strike as Ofelia heedlessly wanders about. But, man, this one shot absolutely pushed me over the edge. You know how, sometimes, you just want to SCREAM at the character to get the hell out of whatever predicament they’re in? Yeah, that’s pretty much what I was doing. And this was such an understated scene, too! No explosions, no shouts for help, no dark, slimy room. But it was spectacular, and scary as all get-out. I breathed a sigh of relief when she finally escaped.

Also, I must address what, in retrospect, was one of the most captivating things about the movie. There was this really neat contrast going on between the real world and Ofelia’s magical realm; both were absolutely terrifying, in my opinion, but it was interesting what Ofelia thought of each. Often bored with the violence and war of her normal life in the mountains, and scared to death of the Captain, she retreated into the faun’s world, where she was, yes, speculated to be the re-embodiment of a Princess, and that was probably nice for her, but, man, she seriously had to deal with some wicked stuff. Those tasks assigned by the faun were… well, they weren’t something that I would want to do. And, again, let me reiterate: she’s tiny. The actress was eleven when she was casted for the role. I definitely wouldn’t have been able to finish (let alone, start) the chores she had to get done at her age. But, she honestly copes quite well. She and the faun slowly bond (though, he’s creepy, too, but in kind of a soothing way), and she continues to be delighted by the presence of the fairies. It’s incredible, I think, that she could find this sort of escape from her real-life problems in such a scary place.

Pan’s Labyrinth absolutely gets five stars, two thumbs raised, and a standing ovation from me. I think I can safely say that, when next I walk out of a disappointing film, I can pop in Pan’s Labyrinth when I get home and hunker down to a good movie.

25 years earlier in Italy – Victor, at age 12, was forced to watch his parents assassinated, and then was sold as a cabin boy, and after many voyages, he was thrown over board and then washes up on a beach in England with his leg shattered. Luckily an elderly man kindly took him it, until he sold Victor to two other men names Mr. Tipple and Biggs. The men are known as ‘resurrection men’, and are taken to live with a Master in a crowded house in London filled with other lost children and exotic animals.

What I absolutely loved about the book, is how descriptive the author was when describing ‘London’. His London was a hellish city, filled with slaughter and filth. “Animal and human excrement, urine, fat, and blood mixed together to form a permanent pool of nauseating filth five inches deep along every street.” “Much of the slaughter was conducted underground, in basements and subterranean abattoirs, and passersby were frequently subjected to hot blasts of blood-splattered air, the last hot breaths of beasts as they fell to the ax. Many sheep were skinned alive. And horses were frequently stabled in the putrefying remains of their fellows, maimed and starving, awaiting their own executions.” These are just rarely even a few of the many descriptions that Welsh uses in the book to show the imagery of the horrifying scenes in London. There were many parts were I just wanted to lean to the side and hurl, when there were others that made me feel the pain of having my leg smashes against the hard metal of a ship, or other parts were I could smells the rotting carcass of a body being crushed underneath someone being trapped in a coffin, and were I could just feel the thick fog of the putrid air in the streets.

The only down side to this story was that the story itself was extremely predictable. I’m no Sherlock Holmes, but the book wasn’t much of a mystery because I could already somewhat predict how it was going to end, what fate lied ahead for Victor, and even how the doctor in the beginning knew about Victors’ tragic story.

Over I really enjoyed the book and I’d recommend it for the older age group. “Welsh brings 19th-century London to life in all its horrors and brilliance and Victor is a hero worthy of the reader’s attention. Pair this one with a classic in a high school classroom, or share it with an intelligent teen reader today.”, says another critic.”

Scar Tissue.

By: Lauren Pagano

A song, a book, a man, a life. Scar Tissue is a book about Anthony Kiedis and his journey though life. The book also shares all of the bands “ The Red Hot Chili Peppers” adventures. The book Scar Tissue was written by Anthony Kiedis himself. This book tells about the adventures of a guy living his life, with tons of obstacles including hardcore drugs.

Anthony Kiedis was raised in the 60’s and 70’s by a drug addicted father who introduced Anthony to drugs at a preteen age. Living in California his whole life, at the time, still has effect on Anthony’s way of living to this day.Anthony was a radical the minute he was born. He hated authority, and authority hated him. When Kiedis entered school ( kindergarten) his teachers would look down upon him with disgust. This lasted all through his years of school. In between the years, he tried heroine, coke, meth, everything. Anthony was very mature for his age, during middle school he had sex with his dads girlfriend, his dad didn’t oppose to this. Anthony didn’t really discover a musical interest until after highschool. When they started the Red Hot Chili Peppers it was basically just a sidejob. Things progressed rapidly as did his use of drugs. After having many girlfriends Anthony found a girl who was just like him. And this is why the drugs progressed. They would stay up day and night shooting up constantly. All their money was spent. Now The Red Hot Chili Peppers are it. After all they went through, including losing band members, they are now a nation wide known band.

I thought this book was absolutely phenomenal. I enjoyed every second and I didn’t want to set it down. I have a past family history of hardcore drugs and it was interesting to see that someone else is somewhat like mine and knows what I go through, and many others as well. While reading this book i thought the quote that stood out the most was “Why is something I thought would last forever, already gone”. Its now something i think of everyday and once I thought about it, I appreciated life more. I also love the fact that he wrote a book because it gives others hope. He went through so much yet he’s come so far. I would have to say I agree with what Anthony does. Although drugs, sex, and rock’n roll is often frowned upon I find it very interesting. I do feel though like Anthony should’ve explained some of his high and the emotional concept he had behind them.

Overall I though it was an excellent book, well written, and was very touching. I suggest this book to anyone who wants an amusing/heart felt story.

My favorite part in the movie is when Harold begins to turn his life around by forgetting those numbers that had once ran his life. I enjoyed seeing a side of Harold that was totally unexpected. For example, when he began playing guitar for “the girl he wants”, I was totally taken by surprise and i felt a sense of change taking place in his life. That was probably my favorite scene in the movie because that’s when I really felt a connection to Harold.

My favorite actress was Maggie Gyllenhan who played Ana Pascal. Ana Pascal was Harold Clicks IRS client. The reason why I was so attracted to her character was because she was sarcastic, witty, and a huge smart alike; those were the reasons why i was immidiatley drawn into her role. For example, in one of my favorite scenes of the movie Harold comes to look at all her reciets for the past three years. So, she definitely gives him an organized box of her reciets, all because she didnt believe in paying twelve percent of her taxes to go to wa. I thought that showed some spunk and i enjoyed her overal performance through out the movie.

All in all, i would deffinitly consider this a must see because it has good moral ethics, keeps you interested the whole time, and makes connections to viewers. -Richard Roeper even went as far to say, “Two thumbs way up!”. However, i do not recromend this movie to small children as it does have some adult content (its rated PG13). One thing to keep in mind is that, “A good person would be willing to die, but the question isd weither they should.”

A definite strength of this movie were the characters. My favorite character was Effie White played by Jennifer Hudson, she started off as the lead singer of Dreamettes, but through the movie her pride and glory spot is given Deena Jones, played Beyonce Knowles, and eventually she’s kicked out of the group all together. Dreamgirls was Jennifer Hudson’s debut performance on screen. I think she did a phenomenal job. Critic Cole Smithey, described her loud, soulful voice as “Go-Tell-It-On-The-Mountain”. I think her singing voice was completely flawless, not just because her voice is stunning, but because she wasn’t singing notes and lyrics, she was acting as well. One of my favorite songs she sang during the movie was And “I am Telling You I’m Not Going” not just because it’s a beautifully written song, but because you could hear and feel the hurt and pain she dealing with not only were her best friends leaving, but so was Curtis, and when I saw and heard in the movie theater, it brought me to tears. I sat in my seat with my overpriced popcorn and soda trying to also Curtis, just not to leave her. So as you can see I fell in love with Jennifer Hudson’s performance in Dreamgirls. But unfortunately I can’t say the same for Beyonce Knowles, and that’s sad because she too sang such lovely music, and one of the songs, Listen, she actually wrote herself. When I watched this movie and saw her on screen, I could tell she just didn’t believe it, and because she didn’t believe I didn’t believe it either. Another top cast member was Jamie Foxx, who played Curtis Taylor Jr. I think his job was impeccable. He the “jerky-boyfriend-cheat-on-you-with-your-best-friend” very well, I was surprised.

The pace of story was something that really made me enjoy this movie. The director did a wonderful of not just keeping the story moving along, but, also letting the audience savor tiny hints of the future of the storyline. For example after Effie and Deena finish their altercation, the following scene shows Effie leaving a clinic, and then it clicked, that’s what Effie meant when she continually said “I’m not feeling well.” she was pregnant. It’s those little suttlies that turns another “musical-turned-movie” into a theatrical masterpiece, it makes it so that not just us theatre kids love it, but movie lovers appreciate it. Another example of the beautifully done pace in this movie would be when they show the Dreams rocket to the top.

Critic Emily S. Mendel, from culturevulture.net, said “Dreamgirls is a splashy film with a great cast, strong performances, terrific music and an engrossing, though…familiar, story.” I agree with Emily because Dreamgirls is that happy film, with that perfect cast. So you enjoy soulful movie musicals, grab some over priced popcorn, and your best friends and enjoy the show.