Ghosts of entertainment past
By Madison Ford Entertainment Editor Lizzie McGuire is pregnant and Louis Stevens fights Transformers. While in reality it is the actors who played these childhood icons, Hilary Duff and Shia Labeouf, respectively, who are now expecting a child or staring in summer blockbusters, the transformation of youthful idols can cause some to reflect on the entertainment of their childhood. As the stars of childhood entertainment have evolved, so has the industry itself. Shows once focusing on the everyday lives of children and young adults now expose the struggles of juggling fame and normalcy. The excitement over a release of a colored Gameboy has been replaced for apprehension over the latest iTouch upgrade. “Honestly I think…
Scream 4 offers revamped killer, recycled thrills
Erin Blatney Staff Writer The Ghostface killer is back with a vengeance in Wes Craven’s newest installment to the Scream franchise, Scream 4. With tons of edge-of-your-seat scenes and blood galore, it is the perfect slasher film for today’s generation. Craven, the man behind the three other Scream movies, takes Scream 4 back to where it all started: the small town of Woodsboro, 10 years after the original killer began his spree. Main character Sidney Prescott, played by Neve Campbell, returns to her hometown on a book tour and her presence sets off a string of murders around the town by the notorious Ghostface. No time is wasted when it comes to gore, and barely…
The Strokes make all the right moves with Angles
After not releasing any new music for nearly five years, fans of The Strokes were elated to hear that the New York-based group was recording its fourth studio album. That was back in 2009, and finally in March, The Strokes dropped Angles, an album that sees the band forgetting the past and moving in to the future. The Strokes, made up of Julian Casablancas, Nick Valensi, Albert Hammond Jr., Nikolai Fraiture and Fabrizio Moretti, got its big break in 2001 with the release of its first album, Is This It. Its success started off slow, garnering more attention in Europe before America joined the bandwagon. Two more albums and one extensive break later, consisting of…
Panic! At the Disco return with Vices & Virtues
In its six years of existence, Panic! At the Disco has gone through two line-up changes, removed the iconic exclamation point from their name, replaced it again and released two successful albums. With its third album, Vices & Virtues, Panic! has gone back to their original roots of making catchy pop-punk songs and has done it well. Made up of Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith, P!ATD is down to only two of the four original members. The first to leave from the original line-up was bassist Brent Wilson in 2006, then Ryan Ross and Wilson’s replacement, Jon Walker, left in 2009. Ross was one of the key songwriters in the band, but Urie and Smith…
Tron: Legacy review
Staff Writer It should be noted that the author viewed the film in 2D as opposed to 3D or the Imax versions of the film. “The Grid: a digital frontier. I tried to picture clusters of information as they moved through the computer. What did they look like? Ships? Motorcycles? I kept dreaming of a world I thought I’d never see. And then one day… I got in.” So begins Tron: Legacy, Disney’s sequel of the 1982 classic Tron. Picking up some 20 years after the original, the film stars Garrett Hedlund as Sam Flynn, the original movies protagonists son. Hoping to find his long lost father, Kevin Flynn (reprised by Jeff Bridges), at the…
3-D new wave of entertainment
Staff Writer Paige Wilson Ever since the release of Avatar in 3D there has been a wave of 3D in the entertainment world. Production studios have released a series of big time films in 3D including Alice in Wonderland and How to train your Dragon . Television companies are finally producing 3D tv’s in stores. Samsung has been taking the lead in this introducing there 3D tv. The TV’s are starting at $20,000. The 3D in theaters are making there way into the home in all products. Soon 3D will be avaliabe in all Blue ray products and DirecTV. 3D entertainment is our societys new break through in entertainment technology. It is expected in the…
My love for the dollar theater exceeds my love for life
By Ellen Cameron Staff Writer I am a cheap person. I’m going to just throw that out in the open and avoid all confusion: I don’t like spending lots of money. Prom is probably going to kill me. However, going to the movies doesn’t have to. I love the dollar theater. Though it’s real name is Cinemark Movies 8, I think Dollas Theater is a perfectly fine epithetic. However, don’t be deceived:on weekend nights, prices jump from $1.00 to a record $1.50, although prices on Tuesdays are a mere $.50. The closet dollar theatre is on 420 Oak Bend Drive in Lewisville. Though the floor is sticky and the chairs creak perhaps a bit too ominously, it’s…
Lost presents new mysteries
Allie Perison Editor in Chief Last night’s episode of Lost made one thing clear to me: regardless of which story line is reality, the passengers of flight 815 will be tied to each other in some way or another. It should come as no surprised that last night’s episode “What Kate Does” was all about Kate. After reading a few fan websites, I learned that the episode title was a play off of an older episode entitled “What Kate Did” that focused on telling the story how Kate tried to murder her father and now was a fugitive. When Kate left the island last season and took Aaron as her own, she felt a huge responsibility…
New upgrades for “Chuck”
Rebecca Neumann Staff Writer After being on hiatus since April, NBC’s hit television show “Chuck” has returned with some new upgrades. “Chuck” centers around Chuck Bartowski, played by Zachary Levi, a computer expert for the fictional Buy More technology store (sound familiar?). Two years ago, in the series premiere, his life was suddenly turned upside-down when he came in contact with a computer program called the Intersect that downloaded top-secret government information into his brain. What is so appealing about the show is its extensive back-story and depth. This fact has earned “Chuck” a panel at San Diego’s Comic-Con as well as a flock of devoted fans. It has invoked so much enthusiasm, in fact,…
Entertainment goes beyond our borders
By Ashleigh Heaton Entertainment Editor Sometimes, I wonder why people only listen to American music. I know, I know, you’re probably asking yourself, “What does she mean? Is there any other kind of music?” The answer would be that, yes, outside of our society, there is a rich mosaic of culture and entertainment that people often don’t acknowledge. Don’t believe me? Witness: In Korea, the Backstreet Boys and Justin Timberlake are replaced by Super Junior, Rain and 2 PM. In France and Latin America, it’s the raw, guitar-strumming Anaїs instead of Regina Spektor who sings to the off-beat rhythm of our hearts. In Japan, Britney Spears and her dance moves are easily overthrown by BoA…