Confidence is a tight, fast-paced crime world film that combines a bit of generic with a bit of creative and, most importantly, a lot of great acting. It's a mélange of traditional ideas, new-fangled crime techniques, stirred lightly then poured onto the main theme: Dustin Hoffman and Edward Burns.
An entire film taking place in one location, in one such tiny location as a phone booth, sounds more like utter boredom than a tense, superbly suspenseful thriller. Yet somehow, Phone Booth manages to wrack nerves through one single cord and one tiny connection, despite the fact that unlikely hero Stuart Shephard (Colin Farrell) never manages to leave his teensy-weensy booth. And man does that booth feel small after 80 minutes.
The American Idol executives apparently have some trouble attracting the squeaky clean contestants they so desperately want. Just yesterday, finalist Corey Clark was unceremoniously kicked off the reality television program for having concealed his dubious record: assault charges for allegedly attacking his 15-year-old sister. And Clark is the second contestant removed, and the third to come under suspicion, this year alone.
The teaser for the Blair spring musical West Side Story aired today during the 5A and 5B lunches, showing brief glimpses of the much-anticipated show.
Through overlong speeches and peace signs, tearful thank-you's and clever witticisms, the 75th Academy Awards Ceremony alternately awed and annoyed through its three and a half hour broadcast. With artists abusing the stage as a slightly inappropriate political platform and winners rambling about peace, their mothers, and life in general, the 2003 Oscars ceremony was certainly memorable.
The conflict in Iraq is one of the most controversial issues facing the American public right now, and yet many Americans are unsure of the precise history and nature of the dispute. One easy way for students—and all Americans—to better comprehend the conflict is through the entertainment industry, notably films and television.
Two Weeks Notice
Lord of the Rings is an unbridled visual and emotional spectacle, with each scene an increasingly dazzling display of state-of-the art technology, enthralling plot, and skilled acting. It is a success on every level and in every sense; it encompasses virtually every film genre, from comedy to drama to action-adventure, and appeals to every type of moviegoer. The secret? One director's majestic vision of a literary master's tall tales.
The sheer novelty of Drumline, a film about marching bands, weighs heavily in its favor. Combined with surprisingly skilled fresh new Hollywood faces, a killer soundtrack, and a feel-good plot (just barely rescued from the brink of sappiness), Drumline, if not a full-fledged cinematic masterpiece, is certainly one of the most interesting, entertaining films of the year.
Analyze That is not the kind of film that can be labeled one way or the other, because its quality level is such a series of contradictions. It's terrifically funny, but rarely laugh out loud. The cast is, of course, superb (can we even ask for more than a Billy Crystal/ Robert deNiro combination with on-screen chemistry?), yet their characters are—at times—excruciatingly boring. This film wants very badly to be a great comic success, and it has all the basic pieces, but lacks some intangible charisma, some indescribable spark.
The third entry for "trash” in the dictionary defines it as "empty words or ideas; worthless or offensive literary or artistic material.” These words apply so perfectly to the newest installment in the trivial teen literary genre, Cecily Von Ziegesar's "Gossip Girl” series, that a picture of her first two novels could easily be substituted in place of any definition at all. The novels are sophomoric to the point of being infantile nonsense; their frivolousness is an affront to any educated person; the writing is both inept and immature; and they are absolutely addictive.
Die Another Day
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets may seem slightly redundant to its predecessor and more than a tad predictable, but Harry Potter is magic. It doesn't have to follow the regular film rules and the regular movie criteria. Us ordinary people (muggles, if you will) can watch Harry Potter and see its defects, see its overwhelming number of tangent plot lines and overdrawn scenes, or we can watch it and feel just a bit more enchanted, just a bit more capable. Because that's what Harry Potter is truly about-- not being the perfect film, but rather simply being magical. Being mysterious and fantastical in some convincing way.
8-mile
Spy movies = flashy cars, cool gadgets, overused plot lines, some level of intrigue. I Spy adds something new to the equation along with all of the old: humor. Oh, it's clichéd and unsurprising… but deliberately, humorously so. The film makes no pretenses and never seriously attempts to cover up its basic purpose: to serve as a vaguely interesting setting for Eddie Murphy and Owen Wilson's coordinated comical genius.
In a time when Montgomery County is wracked by fatal shootings and direct threats to children, Katie Holmes's boyfriend problems are hardly frightening. And they're even less interesting. The trials and tribulations of her white middle class college life seem so mundane, so tiresomely useless, that the entire movie collapses around the silliness of its basic premise.
A planning group met with Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) Superintendent Jerry Weast Friday and came up with several options concerning the continuation of sports seasons despite the sniper threat.
White Oleander is beyond good, possibly even beyond great, for one sole phenomenal characteristic: it makes you think. But it does so with such subtlety, with such grace of plot and script, that it leaves viewer interpretation of its varying messages open, not taking one specific side. The film masters easily the complex task of realistic characterization by portraying human personalities as indistinct blurs, with no real distinction between good and evil.
The script is clichéd and the story's been done before… but never with characters this endearing. In Pretty Woman-esque style, Sweet Home Alabama covers up an intrinsically flawed and unrealistic plot with adorable actors and cutesy lines. Unfortunately, Alabama never quite measures up to the original fairytale, perhaps because it forgot one essential factor—the bad guy.
Light as a feather, stiff as a board: an accurate description of the fluffy, trite, and dull Four Feathers, a film whose only good trait appears to be its fitting name. Wooden acting— we're talking robotic here— is combined with a plot written in gibberish and contemptible characters to produce a witches' brew of boredom and increasing irritation for any unlucky viewers.
City by the Sea
The new KEEN (Kids Enjoy Exercise Now) club presents an opportunity for local teenagers to earn student service learning credits and to become a mentor athlete. The program pairs students with disabled teenagers for sports and recreational activities.
A collection of Blair's finest minds. A group of fact-filled students with rock-hard determination to win. This is Blair's "It's Academic!" team, and they're here to take the real prize home this season: the knowledge that they are the smartest kids around.
Students for Global Responsibility (SGR)- a weighted name for a high school club. Changing the world isn't at the top of most high schools students' priority lists; rather, it takes a poor second to partying, studying, playing sports, and various other after-school activities. But for some, the abundance of global problems has struck a chord, and for these students, a couple of after-school hours here and there is a small price to pay to help hundreds of less fortunate people.
Senior traditions include harassing freshman, loud spirit at pep rallies, and… whiffle ball? A bit unusual, but the 2003 senior class has indeed begun a new Blair senior ritual: lunch whiffleball games.