Note to self: The next time you answer someone else's cell phone and a mysterious, sultry voice asks you if you am free that evening, quickly hang up and find a new set of friends. If only Jonathan McQuarry (Ewan McGregor) had followed this fairly simple advice, the debacle of a film that is "Deception" never would have happened and movie-goers everywhere could have been spared of an hour and a half of wasted existence.
Nestled just a few blocks from the Bethesda Metro Station, in that area of the world where Bethesda suddenly ends and Chevy Chase begins, lies Stromboli, a hamlet of food for the working man if there ever was one.
Eyeliner. Wild hairstyles. Accented cheekbones and a cockney English accent. Few actors can take those disparate elements of character and meld them as effectively as actor Johnny Depp. In fact, he manages to successfully apply them to just about every film he stars in, from scissor-wielding Edward to daft Jack Sparrow. Just when you'd think that his magic formula had run its course, Depp brings it back in excellent London gothic style with "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, " as directed by oddball creative thinker Tim Burton.
A flashlight pans across the otherwise dark screen, only the quiet, tense music and the ragged breathing of the man holding it teasing the senses. Suddenly, a sick sliding sound is heard to the far left and the light beam pans across the inside of a dilapidated office building, revealing droplets, then streaks of blood. To the far right, an animalistic snarl is barely audible and then all hell breaks loose. With all the elements of a truly terrifying film, Francis Lawrence's "I Am Legend" skimps on the plot and needed depth, and lands amongst the almost-but-not-quite film pile.
The movie industry, as with all forms of entertainment, goes through trends. In recent times, the very focused trend has been: "epic movie versions of controversial novels with religious undertones set in archaic worlds." These include well recognized names like "The Lord of the Rings," "The Chronicles of Narnia" and most recently, the mediocre film adaptation of Philip Pullman's "The Golden Compass," as brought by director Chris Weitz's creative vision.
Yes, we've all heard them: The lyrical wonders and musical creations that assault the auditory senses every morning as students diligently wait for their classroom doors to open, or as they not so diligently await the bell to tell them they need to haul it to their first block. Like a phantom Michael Jackson, "ABC" follows students to class, Kool and the Gang's "Jungle Boogie" draws the denizens of the hallways into their respective classroom settings and all manner of other golden oldies mentally stimulate students for academic achievement.
The break afforded to the average student between class periods is a holy time of sorts. Grapevines grow exponentially as myths are swapped, bathrooms are hurriedly visited, stairs are ascended, descended and jumped over and a little bit of academic stress is let out before the next class begins. As of two weeks ago, Blazers had this little pie piece of freedom and pressure relief relegated to a mere three quarters of its former glory - from eight minutes to six. Thinking upon this rather abrupt action, a responsible Blair student should consider the possibilities for other acts of shortening…before the bell rings that is.
High school is supposed to prepare us for college. Counselors encourage students to take challenging courses, try their best, maximize capabilities and show potential. And what better way to do this than taking and scoring well on an Advanced Placement (AP) exam? Many colleges currently offer exemptions from their first year courses if students score well enough on the respective AP exams. In light of this, students are using these exemptions in order to skip semesters, or even entire years of their college education. But instead of getting a head start on life, students who skip college courses are cheating themselves out of important life education.
For more than two years, Montgomery County has been testing a program for student-school interface, Edline, at several Montogomery County schools with the aim of making it the standard for all public schools in the area. Edline works much like BEN does, providing students with a way of checking their classes and homework as well as emailing their teachers and keeping track of school events.
Recently, several articles in notable magazines such as "Time" have discussed the ill effects of kill-thrill films on young people today. Apparently, directors Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez failed to reference these stories as they prepared to release this year's only double feature and arguably most absurdly violent movie, "Grindhouse."
The Bard. For many theater-goers, this name evokes images of delightful comedies of error and mistaken identity. We owe the cross dressing star-crossed lovers and half-assed actors (literally) to the guy. But thanks to the Shakespeare Theater's sanguine rendition of "Titus Andronicus," Shakespeare's bloody Roman vengeance plot, audiences will now surely associate The Bard with severed limbs pie and deathly circles of revenge.
As fourth quarter flies past, the school year may be slowing down, but the Blair SGA is certainly not winding down. With a host of activities planned for the coming two months, the SGA plans to end the school year with a bang. Here is a look at what the SGA has planned for Blazers during that time.
Be prepared to be blown away by Hollywood glitz and entertainment at its best! In recent years the Oscars have been one of the most anticipated entertainment event of the entire year. And if the extent of anticipation is any indication of how exciting they will be, then this year looks likely to be more exciting than the super bowl, the recent elections and the return of "Lost" combined.
John Kerry tells a joke that actually gets laughs. George Bush retells the chicken-crosses-the-road story as a metaphor for "cutting and running." A "joke-off" between these two political figureheads hosted by a Barbara Walters look-alike might seem unusual, but never on the stage with The Capitol Steps, a performance group of 30 actors and musicians that thrives on comic satire of, as the actors put it, "vicious scandals" in the political arena.
Neo-Nazi triplets, "The Tremors," complete with leather pants, shocking tattoos, poorly shaved heads and Sharpee Hitler moustaches. A famous peddler of card tricks showman from Las Vegas. A back-country, ninja-riffic 12 year-old hyped up on Ritalin who talks like he's watched too many re-runs of "Da Ali G Show." While in reality, most of these people could hardly be found in same hemisphere, director Joe Carnahan manages to successfully squeeze them into an amazing two hour ride into the realm of incredible action, wild characters and spent shell casings, "Smokin' Aces."
For Blazers, 2:10 p.m. is a rush of many things: end-of-the-day relief, hallway collisions, pizza orders and… sugar?
Two Wootton students, 18-year-old Rachel Crites of Gaithersburg and 16-year-old Rachel Smith of Potomac, have been missing since Jan. 19.
Hang up the football pads, put away the good old pigskin, pack up the baseball glove, and stow the"UPA (Ultimate Players Association) approved 250 gram Frisbee?
The 2006 holiday season is finally here: let the gift giving, store camping and mall looting officially begin! As usual, some of the hottest items around this year are the new next-generation gaming consoles: the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. With the release of the PlayStation 3 on Nov. 17, people were trampled, shot at, robbed and generally disappointed as they tried to get their hands on limited units of the coveted game console. With less scandal, the Nintendo Wii debuted 2 days later, along with a considerably lower price and many fewer customer grievances. A year ago, the Xbox 360 flew off the shelves, selling 10 million units within 16 months of the release date, according to CNET. Which one of these souped up gaming machines it right for you? SCO gives you a look at the hardware, support and games backing each in your quest for the ultimate holiday gaming machine.
More than 80 Blazers gathered in the student parking lot this morning to protest the lock-out detention policy. The protest lasted from 7:20 a.m. to 7:39 a.m., after which it was disbanded by security and the administration. Students attending were given detention.
Five very different women sit it front a window, each wearing a strikingly similar, hideously ugly salmon and azure dress. Each shoots a different glare at the unseen Tommy Valentine, a known womanizer and dreadful scoundrel. Although ability and drive is required to pull off this multifarious play and do it justice, the Pine Players acting troupe achieves just that in their production of Alan Ball's "Five Women Wearing the Same Dress."
Two Blair students were chosen as regional finalists in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology based on original research projects they completed, and will proceed to compete in regional competition held at Carnegie Mellon University.
Harold Crick, the IRS agent, stands in front of the mirror and counts his brush strokes. Little numbers seem to appear before his eyes, neatly queued, each waiting to be tallied as the toothbrush runs up and down each tooth. In fact, this formula seems to apply for every aspect of Harold's life, a sequence of properly ordered and calculated events. This seemingly tidy life is turned upside down in Marc Forster's enjoyable dark comedy, "Stranger Than Fiction."
The lonely, windswept steppes of the Moroccan desert as two boys run after their family's goats. The delirious, high tempo strobe lights of a Japanese nightclub as seen through the eyes of deaf-mute girl. The smile on a mother's face at her son's traditional Mexican wedding, as the party goes far into the night. Three seemingly unrelated worlds, all of them linked by a single shot from a rifle in Alejandro González Iñárritu's powerful new film, "Babel."
An unscheduled fire alarm went off at 11:35 a.m. on Thursday, immediately following the bell that ended 5A lunch. The alarm was activated when an emergency alarm was pulled in the SAC, according to business manager James Funk. At 11:51, the building was cleared by the fire department and chief and the students were released from the stadium, where they gather during emergency evacuations. 5B lunch was not extended.
"In every city, there are fools to pity." With the sunrise to his back, Mr.T energetically, and with grim determination, jogs towards what looks like a gloomy, dark building. With no guns or even Sylvester Stallone in sight, this cannot possibly be another "A-Team" or "Rocky" re-run. Instead, Mr.T appears before the camera, growling, " Don't be a fool! Watch my show!" Accompanied by theme music, complete with church choir-like backup singers, what begins is an epic journey into the mind and world that surrounds the cultural phenomenon that is T. "I Pity the Fool", Mr.T's new reality show, promises to "lay down knowledge" T-style and help the "fools," an ambitious quest indeed.
A black ninja walks through the 150s hallway, stealthily slipping by the Expedition Club's colorful display of an erupting brown paper volcano with red and yellow streamers flowing out. A few feet away, a bold poster of graffiti art showcases the Hispanic Club's culture, proclaiming "Orgullo y Cultura" (pride and culture), as it hangs in the 160s hallway amongst the oversized dominos dangling from the ceiling.
The precalculus student remains thoroughly confused, staring at his math problem, which is a quarter page of mathematical monstrosity. Rescue comes in the form of his new favorite math teacher, William Rose, who enters the Math Help Room with a usual quick and upbeat pace, looking to help anyone with a math dilemma. In a matter of minutes, the problem is quickly deconstructed and the crisis resolved, thanks to a quick intervention by Rose.
The SGA has chosen the Spirit Day themes for the week leading up to homecoming.
Every year, 195 million trips are taken on our capital's overcrowded and under-budgeted Metro rail. The "Purple Line" also known as the Bi-County Connector, is a proposed extension of the Washington area's railways. Connecting key stations like Bethesda, Silver Spring and New Carrolton, this expansion would offer the average commuter a break from long traffic delays and offer a cheaper, cleaner alternative to driving.
"Lady in the Water," directed by M. Night Shymalan, tells the story of Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti), a reclusive building manager, and his discovery of a young woman in the pool of the apartment complex that he maintains. Cleveland pieces together her story, finding out that she is a storybook creature from another world called a "narf," and that she has a vital mission to fulfill.
Ben Campbell (Sturgess) and Jill Taylor (Bosworth) are on top with their winnings.
Humans and beasts collide in this prehistoric period film. Photo courtest of Warner Bros. Pictures
Max (James McAvoy) and Penelope (Christina Ricci) fall for each other through a one-way mirror. Photo courtesy of Summit Entertainment LLC
Snowfall totaled up to nearly four inches today.
"Five Women Wearing the Same Dress" stars (from bottom center going clockwise) Sarah Rothman, Maile Zox, Zoe Cohen, Max Kameras and Ellie Deustachio.