This is the archive for January 2008
Reviewed by Howard Yang,
Courier Staff Writer
After letting Kate Nash’s single “Foundations” sit on my desk for the past two months, I finally decided to force myself to pop the CD into the stereo and endure having to listen to…*gasp*…all four songs.
As it turned out, this kind of music isn’t so bad after all. Yes, the artist is British and her accent makes my head spin, but the strange melodies and surprisingly relatable lyrics attracted my attention despite the fact that I was determined not to like a girly CD.
Posted by courier at 08:59 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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Note: Each week, The Courier spotlights books newly arrived, or expected to arrive, in the James Logan High School Media Center
Sounder By William H. Armstrong. Illustrated by James Barkley
Hardcover: 128 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (November 30, 1969)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0060201436
ISBN-13: 978-0060201432
"
From HarperCollins.com
Sounder is the story a poor black sharecropper family living in the Deep South during the Depression. The main character, a young boy, is simply referred to in the story as “boy.” He lives with his mother, father, siblings, and his beloved coon dog, Sounder, under impoverished conditions. To feed his family, the father is driven to stealing food in order to put a meal on the table. The father is eventually caught by the authorities and is imprisoned for his crime, sentenced to years of hard labor. Throughout this horrendous ordeal the family that he leaves behind survives and endures. The mother acquires a saint-like patience in waiting for the return of her husband, while the boy goes on endless quests, which are practically spiritual in their fervor, to locate the whereabouts of his father. Throughout the story, the boy looks to the love of the one constant in his life, his coon dog, Sounder, who remains loyal to the boy as he did to his original master, the boy’s father, who is now far away.
Posted by courier at 03:20 PM. Filed under: Entertainment
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McClatchy-Tribune News Service (MCT)
Here are the best-sellers for the week that ended Saturday, Jan. 19, compiled from data from independent and chain bookstores, book wholesalers and independent distributors nationwide.
(Reprinted from Publishers Weekly, published by Cahners Publishing Co., a division of Reed Elsevier, USA. (c) 2008 by Reed Elsevier, USA)
HARDCOVER FICTION
1. Plum Lucky. Janet Evanovich. St. Martin's, $17.95
Last Week: 1; Weeks on List: 2
2. A Thousand Splendid Suns. Khaled Hosseini. Riverhead, $25.95
Last Week: 2; Weeks on List: 35
3. People of the Book. Geraldine Brooks. Viking, $25.95
Last Week: 3; Weeks on List: 3
4. Beverly Hills Dead. Stuart Woods. Putnam, $25.95
Last Week: –; Weeks on List: 1
5. World Without End. Ken Follett. Dutton, $35
Last Week: 6; Weeks on List: 15
Posted by courier at 07:50 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Billy O'Keefe
McClatchy-Tribune News Service (MCT)
"Master of Illusion"
For: Nintendo DS
From: Nintendo
ESRB Rating: Everyone (mild suggestive themes)
Unless you're hopelessly jaded and regardless of your feelings about magic and magic-themed video games, "Master of Illusion" is capable of amazing you in ways you never suspected a Nintendo DS could.
Take, for instance, the
Vanishing Card trick. Your DS scatters a handful of face-down cards on the screen and asks you to select five with the stylus. All at once, the cards are revealed, and the game asks you to pick one and focus on it before turning the cards back over. No buttons are pressed nor screens touched during this step; you merely look at a card and commit it to memory.
Posted by courier at 08:09 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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Reviewed by Howard Yang, Courier Staff Writer
Ever since the release of the infamous title-less “1-18-08” movie trailer attached to
Transformers last summer, “Lost” producer J.J. Abrams has managed to keep countless fans glued to their computer screens to search for the next clue within an abundance of viral marketing websites, video blogs, and Myspace pages.
Cloverfield, as this movie had turned out to be titled, tells the tale of a group of friends trying to survive a hellish night in Manhattan as a mysterious giant creature attacks the city. The film is directed by Matt Reaves and stars Michael Stahl-David as Rob Hawkins and Odette Yustman as Beth Mcintyre.
Posted by courier at 08:51 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Bethany Stringer,
Courier Publications Editor
For one of the first comedies of the year,
27 Dresses neither succeeds nor fails. It simply is. Light-hearted and cute, it is a fun treat for women and is the bane of existence for men dragged along by said women.
The story is rather simple. Jane seems destined to be a perpetual bridesmaid. In love with her boss, who appreciates her hard work but is blind to her avid devotion, she lives vicariously through her friends as she plans their various weddings.
Posted by courier at 08:02 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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Reviewed by Howard Yang,
Courier Staff Writer
Despite its relatively weak box office record, Paul Thomas Anderson's
There Will Be Blood was one of this year's most critically acclaimed films and was nominated for 8 Oscars.
The film's plot is an adaptation of Upton Sinclair's novel
Oil! and revolves around Daniel Planview (Daniel Day Lewis), a miner who strikes it rich in the oil business and is gradually consumed by greed as he begins to place his ambitions above everything, his son, his community, and his morality.
Posted by courier at 07:49 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Judith Latham
VOA News, Washington
Islamophobia: Making Muslims the Enemy, by Peter Gottschalk and Gabriel Greenberg
Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. (Sep 25 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0742552861
ISBN-13: 978-0742552869
In their new book,
Islamophobia: Making Muslims the Enemy, coauthors Peter Gottschalk and Gabriel Greenberg explore a largely unexamined phenomenon – the “deeply ingrained anxiety” some Westerners, and especially Americans, experience when considering Islam and Muslim cultures.
Peter Gottschalk, professor of religion at Wesleyan University in Connecticut and the author of Beyond Hindu and Muslim, says that in times of crisis, such as the 1979 Iranian hostage situation or the 9/11 attacks on New York and Washington, the long-simmering resentments and suspicions “inherited along with a European Christian heritage, manifest themselves.” Professor Gottschalk and his former student Greenberg explore those anxieties through the political cartoon, the print medium with the most immediate impact.
Posted by courier at 08:36 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Jasmeen Banwait,
Courier Staff Writer
A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini
Country: United States
Language: English
Genre(s): Novel
Publisher: Riverhead Books(and Simon & Schuster audio CD)
Publication date: May 22, 2007
Media type: Print (Hardcover) and audio CD
Pages: 384 pp (first edition, hardcover)
ISBN: 978-1-59448-950-1
Khaled Hosseini, the author of the best seller
The Kite Runner, has written another masterpiece.
A Thousand Splendid Suns tells the story of two women and their journey throughout life. Mariam and Laila are two women who experience much pain and injustice in their lives. Destiny brings the two together to be married to the same man, who abuses them without hesitation.
Posted by courier at 08:14 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Abhishek Saluja,
Courier Book Editor
The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
Country: United Kingdom
Language: English
Genre(s): High fantasy, Adventure novel, Heroic romance
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Publication date: 1954 and 1955
Media type: Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages: 1216 pp
Frodo Baggins has been left an unimaginably difficult task. J.R.R. Tolkien’s
The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring starts in a place known as the Shire. Here Frodo has been living for many years and then suddenly his uncle Bilbo Baggins decides to leave.
To leave one’s home can be tough and in addition to this Frodo is asked to carry the all powerful ring. The ring in question came originally from Sauron, the power seeking antagonist of the novel. He wishes to rule the world and control all free man.
Posted by courier at 07:39 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Charles Yi, Courier Staff Writer
With a starring cast of Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, both accomplished Oscar‑winning actors, one would expect "The Bucket List" to be a huge success.
The film revolves around auto‑mechanic Carter Chambers (Freeman) and insanely rich hospital‑head Edward Cole (Nicholson), both of whom are terminally ill with cancer. The two share a hospital room, become friends, and agree to fulfill a "bucket list", a list of things to do before they both "kick the bucket". With Coles' endless assets, the pair skydive, race in classic cars, and travel around the world to the Pyramids, Taj Mahal, Hong Kong, French Riviera, and Himalayas.
Posted by courier at 12:36 PM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Cameron Lacson,
Courier Staff Writer
One Missed Call, directed by Eric Valette, is yet another remake of a Japanese horror film about ghosts who make murder appointments using modern technology. The film circles around Beth Raymond (Shannyn Sossamon) who notices a chain of all her friends getting mysterious voice mails on their cell phones. The message is a recording of that person's death and is dated in the near future.
Beth is traumatized when she witnesses the gruesome deaths of two friends just days apart. Even more, she knows that both of them had received chilling cell phone messages, actual recordings of their own horrifying last moments.
Posted by courier at 11:46 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Cameron Lacson,
Courier Staff Writer
Written and directed by David E. Talbert,
First Sunday stars Ice Cube and Tracy Morgan as Durell and LeeJohn, a pair of ghetto-dwelling best friends who have always been there for each other. Durell is the smart one, while LeeJohn is more of the loser hoodlum of the pair. However, they both are down on their luck and become desperate in trying to gain money to get their lives back on the right track.
Posted by courier at 11:41 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Country: United States
Language: English
Genre(s): Dystopian novel
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication date: 1953
Media type: Print
Pages: 199
ISBN: ISBN 978-0-7432-4722-1 ,
Courier Book Editor
Guy Montag is an ordinary fireman living in an extraordinary world. He is the main protagonist of Ray Bradbury’s
Fahrenheit 451.
The story is set in a modern world where many freedoms are denied, and one of the main freedoms that is abridged is the freedom of reading.
Being a fireman Montag is responsible for burning books found in possession of the regular citizens. Eventually his job starts to trouble Montag, and during a specific incident an old woman is burned alive. This begins a man vs. man battle that continues within Montag throughout the novel.
Listen to Ray Bradbury read the first chapter of Fahrenheit 451, free from California State University, Long Beach.
Posted by courier at 07:48 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By George Avalos
Contra Costa Times (MCT)
WALNUT CREEK, Calif. — The graphic novel, whose secret identity is a lengthy comic book, has grown up.
Why? The appeal of graphic novels now stretches well beyond these books' traditional market of teenagers and 20-something males.
The popularity has surfaced in movie theaters. Films such as "X-Men," "30 Days of Night," "Sin City," and "300" all had their origins in graphic novels, regular comic books, or both.
Posted by courier at 07:16 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Billy O'Keefe
McClatchy-Tribune (MCT)
`RESIDENT EVIL: THE UMBRELLA CHRONICLES'
For: Nintendo Wii
From: Capcom
ESRB Rating: Mature (blood and gore, violence)
Few developers love revisiting their recent past quite like Capcom, which has released portions of its "Resident Evil" catalog on just about any system that will have it.
Capcom returns to the well once again with "The Umbrella Chronicles," but it's a pretty inspired trip this time around. Rather than repackage outdated "RE" gameplay onto yet another system, "Chronicles" functions as a series retrospective, revisiting pretty much every major pre-"Resident Evil 4" storyline through the fresh eyes of an entirely different genre. Instead of creeping through corridors in the third person, you're shooting your way through them in an environment more befitting of a first-person arcade light gun game.
Posted by courier at 08:29 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Chris O'Brien
San Jose Mercury News (MCT)
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Lest anyone is inclined to declare 2007 the Year of Facebook, here's a clarification: The Facebook era actually started back in September 2006. At the time, few even noticed.
Back then, Facebook was mostly making headlines for rolling out a newsfeed feature that alerted everyone to any updates made by their friends. Privacy advocates howled, users by the thousands signed petitions, and founder Mark Zuckerberg issued a public apology and made the feature optional.
Posted by courier at 08:09 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Mike Osegueda
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)
From andymckee.comFRESNO, Calif. — He didn't think it was going to take off the way it did.
That's what Andy McKee says. That's what they all say.
No more than 14 months ago, Andy McKee was the kind of musician you'd find in most every city in America. He was a guy with a dream. And it was a simple dream really.
Posted by courier at 08:00 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Jamie Maxfield, Courier Staff Writer
Sweeny Todd is a musical directed by Tim Burton that is filled with romance and revenge that will keep you hooked from the moment it starts until the ending credits.
This is a tale of a barber and his wife, though this wife was so beautiful that a man that goes by Judge Turpin wanted her and her baby girl for himself. Judge Turpin then has the barber, Benjamin Barker, locked up in an Australian prison, never to be heard of again, or so everyone though.
Posted by courier at 08:30 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Christina La,
Courier Editor-in-Chief
Directed by Jason Reitman,
Juno is a movie about mature and intelligent 16-year-old Juno MacGuff (Ellen Page) who gets “knocked up” on a Lazyboy in her parent's basement with her band-mate, Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera).
When she discovers she is pregnant she initially wants to have an abortion, but a protestor outside the clinic tells her the baby already has fingernails, which makes Juno think twice. Her friend Leah (Olivia Thirlby) suggests putting it up for adoption and the two sift through the local Pennysaver looking for wannabe parents.
Posted by courier at 07:58 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Rebecca Soltau, Entertainment Editor
The Newport Beach band named Saosin is one of the fastest growing headliners in alternative rock, but don't think for a minute that they're just another high school band that just got lucky. A Scream-o band since birth, they have played for the Vans Warped Tour, performed numerous sold out concerts packed with screaming fans, and have opened for some of the biggest bands in rock today.
Posted by courier at 12:53 PM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Rechie Cruz,
Courier Staff Writer
Yet again, the rap superstar Lupe Fiasco has dropped another record for everyone to enjoy.
The new album "The Cool" consists of 18 unique tracks each delivering a different vibe and tone to the listeners. Having guest appearances from Matthew Santos, Nikki Jean, Snoop Dogg and many more other exclusive artists. From low, mellow, laid back beats. To your spiffy, catchy
tunes, superstar Lupe Fiasco delivers on his new album "The Cool".
Posted by courier at 12:44 PM. Filed under: Entertainment
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Note: Each week, The Courier spotlights books newly arrived, or expected ot arrive, in the James Logan Media Center.
Ask Me No Questions, by Maria Tamar Budhos
Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 176 pages
Publisher: Ginee Seo Books (February 7, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1416903518
ISBN-13: 978-1416903512
From marinabudhos.com:
"You forget. You forget you don't really exist here, that this isn't your home."
Since emigrating from Bangladesh, fourteen-year-old Nadira and her family have been living in New York City on expired visas, hoping to realize their dream of becoming legal U.S. citizens. But after 9/11, everything changes. Suddenly being Muslim means you are dangerous -- a suspected terrorist.
Posted by courier at 12:43 PM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Abhishek Saluja, Courier Books Editor
This novel takes place in England and features one of the most famous child protagonists.
Oliver Twist is written by Charles Dickens and begins with an explanation of the nine year old boy’s life and his past experiences.
Oliver is under the care of a Mrs. Mann since he was orphaned at birth. He likes to see the best in things and in people, but the world is a difficult place for Oliver. He suffers from malnutrition and views the world as a dark place.
Read Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, free from Project Gutenberg.
Posted by courier at 08:22 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Sandhaya Mansfield, Courier Staff Writer
"P.S. I Love You, " based on Cecelia Ahern's 2004 debut novel is a beautiful movie about the power of love, loss, and friendship.Holly is a twenty-nine year old real estate agent who is married to Gerry, a handsome and romantic Irishman in his thirties who loves Holly to death. When Gerry dies of a brain tumor Holly finds it hard to let go and move on with her life. On her thirtieth birthday she receives a birthday cake signed by Gerry along with a tape recorder taped to the inside of the box with a note reading "play me."
The recording is of Gerry wishing Holly a happy birthday and insisting that she go out and have fun on her birthday. Gerry also informs Holly that he has written her a series of letters to help her move on with his death and her life and that he has had them arranged to be delivered to her. The letters arrive to Holly in various creative ways and the first letter arrives the following morning and day by day they continue to arrive.
Posted by courier at 12:33 PM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Cameron Lacson,
Courier Staff Writer
Alien Vs. Predator (AVP) was written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. Rumor has it that Anderson stepped down from directing the sequels to
Mortal Combat and
Resident Evil just so he could do AVP, a movie he's wanted to do for many years.
Anyway, the story opens with a Weyland Industries satellite in orbit. The satellite reports an odd heat signature near Antarctica. Very quickly we see a team being gathered by Weyland Industries representative Maxwell Stafford. The team includes rock climber and environmentalist Alexa Woods (Sanaa Lathan) and archeologist Sebastian de Rosa (Raoul Bova), among others.
Posted by courier at 07:23 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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The critic's choice for movie-of-the-year
Looking back on the past year, we are also looking back on the movies that we have seen. Everyone has their own favorite movie of the year. My list of the best movies of 2007 however, varies from action, animation, to comedy. Nonetheless, here is my countdown of the top ten films in the year 2007.
10.
Knocked Up
Fun loving party animal Ben and career girl Alison, wind up together for one intoxicated and sexual evening. Two months later Allison finds out she's pregnant, leaving the two dealing with the situation together. The movie stars Seth Rogen (Ben) and Katherine Heigl (Alison).
Posted by courier at 07:05 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Eric Benderoff
Chicago Tribune (MCT)
Many people, this reviewer included, found it easy to come up with reasons the Kindle, an electronic reading device introduced last month by Amazon .com, should be avoided.
That was before I got my hands on one. So let me start with three reasons why, if you're a reader, you would want the Amazon Kindle.
It is a simple gadget, easy to learn. If you can read, you can use the Kindle.
Posted by courier at 04:40 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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Note: Each week, The Courier spotlights books newly arrived, or expected to arrive in the James Logan Media Center.
Alphabet of Dreams, by Susan Fletcher
Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Ginee Seo Books (August 22, 2006)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0689850425
ISBN-13: 978-0689850424
From simonandschuster.com:
Mitra and her little brother, Babak, are beggars in the city of Rhagae, scratching out a living as best as they can with what they can beg for--or steal. But Mitra burns with hope and ambition, for she and Babak are not what they seem. They are of royal blood, but their father's ill-fated plot against the evil tyrant, King Phraates, has resulted in their father's death and their exile. Now disguised as a boy, Mitra has never given up believing they can rejoin what is left of their family and regain their rightful standing in the world.
Posted by courier at 04:35 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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By Ed Sherman
Chicago Tribune (MCT)
CHICAGO — Most golfers probably don't get much out of practicing at the driving range, which probably accounts for the high handicaps.
Just look at all the golfers aimlessly whacking away, usually with their drivers, without any real purpose. There are target flags out there, but the hacks are content merely to send the ball flying through the air, not caring where it lands. In the end, all they accomplish is making themselves tired.
Now thanks to TopGolf in Wood Dale, Ill., it doesn't have to be that way anymore.
Posted by courier at 12:48 AM. Filed under: Entertainment
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