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| Entertainment November 2002, Volume 6, No. 3 |
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Festival shows some of the greatest films ever made
By Paul P.
Layout editor
The Music Box Theater in Chicago showed a film retrospective on Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune. The Japanese director/actor team has made some of the greatest movies of all time.
The retrospect began on October 26, and will end on November 22. The movies themselves encompass the years from 1948 to 1965.
The films of Kurosawa and Mifune have inspired such classics as Star Wars, The Magnificent Seven, and A Fist Full of Dollars.
Most of the films feature rogue samurai in feudal Japan. Mifune shines in his many different roles.
The lone and deadly samurai Sanjuro (Yojimbo, Sanjuro) is completely different from the wild-eyed warrior Washizu (Throne of Blood).
Neither have anything in common with the crazy swordsman Kikuchiyo (Seven Samurai).
All of the films look and sound better than ever. New translations have also been added.
Out of the four films that I saw, there was only one bad translation ("We'll kill them dead!").
The work of Kurosawa and Mifune as well as the supporting casts have made some of the best films of all time possible.
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is quite interesting
By Jackie S.
Entertainment editor
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was not as good as I expected. They left out many important scenes that were included in the book.
The acting was absolutely wonderful. Daniel Radcliffe fits the role of Harry Potter well, yet again.
The special effects were also superb. Although the effects were cool, the snake and giant spider seemed very unreal and imaginative.
The first Harry Potter movie is better. This one is good too, but if you have arachnophobia, the recommendation is not to see it.
Overall, it deserves three and a half stars.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was a very good movie, and let's hope the third movie is even better.
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Sweet Home Alabama is a romantic comedy
By Mari D.
In the movies, you always hear about small town girls who want to leave when they grow up. Well Melanie Carmichael, played by Reese Witherspoon, wanted to do just that.
She grew up in Alabama, and then moved to New York to become a fashion designer.
While in New York, she meets the mayor's son, Andrew Hennings (Patrick Dempsey). He gives Melanie the perfect marriage proposal at the famous Tiffany's jewelry store.
Before she could get married Melanie had some unfinished business back home in Alabama. She had to finalize her divorce with her husband Jake played by Josh Lucas.
He was her high school sweetheart. He refused to sign the divorce papers and was still trying to get her back.
Not telling Melanie, Andrew came down to see her in Alabama.
He then found the truth about Melanie. She was not a rich girl from Alabama. She was a small town girl whose parents, played by Mary Kay Place and Fred Ward, live in a trailer.
Andrew still wants to marry her even though he knows the truth. But, on the day of the wedding there is a problem with her divorce.
Will she find her dreams where she left them in Alabama or will she start a new life?
This romantic comedy gets three stars. I recommend "Sweet Home Alabama" for people who like to laugh while seeing a cute romantic story.
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Tuck Everlasting hit theaters big
By Cassandra D.
My mom and I recently went to see the movie Tuck Everlasting. It was just as good as I expected. Both my mom and I liked it.
Tuck is a romance/adventure film. It takes place in the early 1900's.
A girl named Winnie Foster (Alexis Bledel) runs off into the forest behind her house. She gets lost and meets a boy named Jesse Tuck (Jonathan Jackson).
Later on in the movie, Winnie meets Jesse's family and finds out their secret. She is forced to keep the secret and to help rescue his parents. Something terrible and unjust happens to them.
Tuck Everlasting is rated PG. Tuck should appeal to a wide-age group. It is a good adventure movie, but it also has romance in it. Girls will probably like this movie a lot more than guys would.
On a scale of one to four, I would rate this movie a four.
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Super Mario Sunshine is fun and the best!
By Evin S.
Super Mario Sunshine is a very well written game. It has level after level of great graphics, game play, and difficulty.
This game is harder than the other Mario games but overall, Super Mario Sunshine is the best.
The story starts out as Mario, Peach, and Dr. Toad go on a well-deserved vacation.
When they arrive they see a look alike of Mario, he is spreading goo all over. You must get the flood nozzle 2000.
When you get that, you spray the goo and out comes a piranha plant. You spray it in its mouth and you get a "shine". You get a "shine" after every level you beat.
You have to go through mazes, fight the evil Mario, go on coin hunts and get, yes you guessed it, Yoshi!
In Super Mario Sunshine all the characters are back.
Here are some cheats: There is one level where you have to fight a humongous manta ray, keep squirting it when it turns purple it will attack you, go under a tent and do a spin jump an hold the squirt button, you should beat it easily. For more hints go to gamefaqs.com.
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The Ring
Not for amateurs
By Susie S.
The Ring has to be one of the best frightening movies of the year. The scares in this movie will give you chills up your spine.
After her niece's death, journalist Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) discovers a videotape her niece watched seven days before her death. Intrigued by the mystery of the video, she watches it.
The video is an array of bizarre scenes and pictures, especially one very odd scene that just shows an unusual ring of light.
After watching the video, Rachel gets a phone call. A suspicious voice on the phone says "seven days."
Rachel Keller has seven days to figure out the mystery behind the video to save her life, and after her son accidentally watches the video, his life too.
The Ring will certainly give you nightmares, and will leave you looking around the corners before you enter a room. The surprising ending, though it may not be the best, is certainly one of a kind.
Discover the mystery of The Ring, because after seeing this movie, your life may depend on it.
Overall Rating (on a scale from 1 to 4)- 3
Genre (type of movie)- Thriller
Rating- PG-13
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Animal Crossing is exciting and awesome
By Alexandra B.
Art editor
"Welcome to the world of Animal Crossing, the game that's happening every second of the day, whether you're playing or not!" Sounds interesting, eh?
That's because it is. You see, Animal Crossing is a new game for the GameCube system, one that includes tons of activities and mini-games to keep you entertained, which keeps track of time all by itself (similar to the Gold/Silver version of Pokemon.)
The game starts when you meet a weird cat, called Rover, on the train. As you chat with him, you can enter your name, the day, month, and the year, and if you're a boy or a girl.
Rover also gets a "close friend" of his, Tom Nook, to sell you a house. Unfortunately, you don't have any Bells (money)! This starts a cycle of days and months as you work to pay off the rent you owe Mr. Nook by working in his shop.
After you finish a couple of errands for him, you can do a variety of things, like find fruit, catch fish and bugs, and sell things you find to Nook in his shop for cash.
Besides paying off the rent, you can also talk with the citizens of your town. They all have things to say. They will change moods depending on the others around them, and will sometimes give you gifts!
You can also work on your house by collecting furniture and arranging it. There are many different sets of furniture, as well as music, mini video games, wallpaper, and carpet!
You can even make clothes for your character to wear, umbrellas to use during rainy days, and faces for some animals you meet on the train!
There are also tons of other things to do. Animal Crossing is definitely worth playing!
Overall Rating: 10 (Great game!)
Graphics: 9 (Very cute graphics!)
Sound: 8 (the sounds the animals make when talking can get kind of annoying, but the environment sounds are really good.)
Play Control: 10 (Easy to navigate)
Fun Factor: 9 (Fun to play)
S.R.P: $40-55 (Pricey, I know!)
Number of Players: 1 Player (you can have 3 other players on one memory card, if they're in the same town, but you cannot play at the same time.)
Challenge Adjustable: There is no difficulty! My six-year-old cousin can play this!
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