Category Archives: Movies/TV/Theaters

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘Avatar: The Way of Water’

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By: Seng Yang

The movie ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’, released in 2022, and directed by James Cameron, is a film with 60% of CGI imagery and the other 40% of the film utilizes the traditional techniques of live-action imagery. It is a film produced by Jon Landau, Peter M. Tobyansen, and James Cameron. It is set in Pandora, a habitable exomoon, and primarily in the tropical-inspired underwater region of the Metkayina clan.

The film tells us about the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids Lo’ak, Neteyam, Tuktirey, and Kiri), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.

Lo’ak te Suli Tsyeyk’itan the second son of Jake Sully is a major character in the film serving as one of two main protagonists in ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’. The movie heavily explores Lo’ak’s struggles with identity and his relationships with his family, particularly his older brother Neteyam. His impulsive actions and desire to prove himself often creates conflicts and drives the story forward.

In my opinion, I love ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’. It was the first movie I saw in theaters and I think it was a magical experience. Everything about the movie was perfect and I rate this movie a 5/5 because I love how it explores the themes of environmentalism, family, and the conflict between human greed and the natural world. I think it’s also a pretty emotional movie as it shows motherhood not only for the Na’vi but also the Tulkun which is a species of whale-like creatures native to the oceans of Pandora.

Overall, I love how it makes you feel deeply connected to nature especially with the environment and where it takes place. Like I said before, watching the movie in theaters was magical and a once in a lifetime experience, it’s one of those moments where you just had to be there to experience the feeling.

You can watch ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ on Disney+ or you can rent it on other platforms.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘Home Alone’ movie review

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By: Sophia Elmstrom and Lily Sheldon

*Warning: this review contains spoilers

‘Home Alone’ is an American holiday comedy film directed by Chris Columbus and was made in 1990. The film stars Macaulay Culkin as Kevin McCallister, and the cast features Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, John Heard and Catherine O’Hara. This film is also the 1st movie out of 4, along with 2 other versions. The film grossed $476.7 million worldwide, becoming the second highest grossing film of 1990. This movie was a big hit, but before we share our thoughts here is a rundown of the plot.

The movie starts with Kevin and his huge family getting ready to spend Christmas in Paris. Everyone is staying at Kevin’s house the night before they leave. Kevin’s siblings and cousins are running around the house preparing for this vacation. No one in the family will help Kevin pack his bag which results in Kevin eventually getting sent up to the attic after ruining the family dinner when arguing with his cousin. Kevin is very upset and is sick of his family picking on him. When he is up in the attic Kevin wishes that his family would disappear.

That night, there is a power outage due to snow, and all the alarm clocks in the house were reset. This causes everyone in the house to oversleep, and they have to rush to get to the airport in the morning. While Kevin’s family is rushing to get to the airport in the morning, Kevin accidentally gets left behind. Kevin wakes up to the house being empty, and is very happy that his wish to not have a family came true. Kevin loves having the house to himself, and is taking advantage of that. Kevin’s house then becomes watched by the “Wet Bandits”, Harry and Marv who are neighborhood burglars. Kevin tricks Harry and Marv into thinking that his family is still home. This makes them hold off on their plans to rob Kevin’s house.

Kevin’s mom, Kate, realizes on her flight that Kevin was left at home. When they get to Paris, Kate tries to get on a flight home. Kate makes it to Pennsylvania, but cannot get on a flight back home to Chicago because all the flights are booked and the phone lines are still down in Chicago. Kate meets a guy named Gus at the airport, and Gus offers to let her travel with them to Chicago in a moving van with his band.

On Christmas Eve, Harry and Marv realize that Kevin is the only one inside his house. Kevin hears them discussing plans to break into his house that night. Kevin sets up his whole house with traps. When Harry and Marv break in, they set off all of the traps in the house, making them regret the robbery. Kevin calls the police and Harry and Marv get arrested.

Kevin is disappointed that his family is still gone on Christmas Day. Kevin’s mom finally makes it home and surprises Kevin. The rest of Kevin’s family comes home shortly after. Kevin is glad that his family is home.

‘Home Alone’ received a 66% on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.7/10 from IMDb. Overall, the audience rating summary was a 4.8 with many people saying it was a classic Christmas movie with a nostalgic feeling.

We agree with this rating of the audience but we believe that Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb should have given it a higher rating as it is a very good movie. We both watch this Christmas movie every year with our family and it brings us lots of Christmas memories. We overall rate this a 9/10 because it has that nostalgic Christmas feeling and reminds us of our childhood.

You can watch ‘Home Alone’ on Disney Plus.

Movies/TV/Theaters

Movie review: ‘The Mist’ (2007)

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By: Kumari Mia Wijetunge

*Warning: This review contains major spoilers for this movie.

Stephen King’s ‘The Mist’ was originally a book written in 1980 as part of his collection called ‘Dark Forces’. The movie was released in 2007, directed by Frank Darabont, it follows King’s original story where a mysterious mist, that coms with terrifying creatures, engulfs a small town. Darabont did change the ending giving a darker twist compared to the original story.

In Stephen’s book the ending was purposefully left open, creating a hunting sense of uncertainty. After escaping the grocery store where they had been hiding, David Drayton, his son Billy, and two other survivors, Amanda and Dan, drove through the mist, hoping to find a safe place free of deadly creatures. As they travel they run out of places to seek refuge and when they eventually pick up a faint word on the radio, “Hartford,” this gives them a feeling of hope that there might be a safer civilization somewhere. However, King leaves the reader with David’s final uncertain thought as they continue driving into the unknown. The fate of characters is unknown, creating a lingering sense of dread mixed with just the slightest possibility of survival.

In contrast, the 2007 movie ending is much darker. The protagonist David, and four other survivors run out of gas as they are in the mist. Believing there is no escape and fearing the worst if the creatures find them, David decides to kill the others including his son. Moments after he does this, the military arrives clearing the mist and saving everyone else. The twist is much more tragic, if David had just waited a little longer they would have all survived.

I personally really enjoyed this movie. Where the movie mostly takes place in the grocery store adds a really stressful and intense environment to the movie and really puts you on the edge of your seat. I would give ‘The Mist’ a 9/10.

You can watch ‘The Mist’ (rated R) on Amazon Prime, or rent it on other streaming services.

Movies/TV/Theaters

Jim Henson’s ‘Labyrinth’ 1986: Movie review

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By: Gabriella Bell

On June 27, 1986, the fantasy movie ‘Labyrinth’ was released, starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly. It was directed by Jim Henson, who is most popularly recognized for some of his well known productions such as  the Muppets and ‘Sesame Street’, as well as dozens of other (primarily) children’s movies and TV shows.

This movie takes on an original format with its combinational use of both fantastical and adventure elements. It begins with its introduction to the main protagonist, Sarah (Jennifer Connelly), a teenage girl, who is forced to venture into the Labyrinth in order to rescue her baby brother, Toby (Toby Froud) from Jareth, (David Bowie) otherwise known as the Goblin King, who is the main antagonist.

The unique inclusion of Jim Henson’s puppets throughout the movie helps to expand on the enchanting experience for the audience as they are consistently introduced to new characters. Through their introductions to the story, as well as each’s developing character, the audience is prompted to relate to them as they grow to both understand and love them. Along with the use of puppetry, the intricate and creative aspects across the different characters helps to set a specific aesthetic for the entirety of the movie. This is especially included in the various sets and costume designs, especially with the Goblin King’s diverse wardrobe.

Another notable aspect within the movie would most importantly be regarding Jennifer Connelly’s strong performance as Sarah. This is crucial to mention considering her initial introduction to the audience as a frustrated and impulsive teenage girl can originally be seen as negative and off-putting for the viewers, especially as the main protagonist. Although, as the movie progresses, her character development is recognized as she is seen to steadily grow into a determined and thoughtful young woman by the end of the movie. Sarah Connelly displays this transition beautifully, as it is through very subtle changes at first, and by the end her character has undoubtedly matured.

Another important role to mention would most definitely be David Bowie’s performance and addition to the character of Jareth. This is not only because of his acting but also due to the various instances of the inclusion of musical aspects. Notably, there are several of his own original songs included throughout the movie, some memorable ones being “As the World Falls Down”, “Within You”, and “Dance Magic”. These songs help to capture the atmosphere of their respected scenes and further contribute to the necessary charm of Jareth’s entire character.

Overall, Jim Henson’s ‘Labyrinth’ is a very creative and unique take on usual fantasy-adventure films. Especially with its specific methods of storytelling and bonding the audience with each character. If you are fond of anything fantastical, a bit strange or out of the ordinary, this is most definitely the movie for you. I would give this movie a 9/10.

‘Labyrinth’ is available on most streaming services.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘Elf’ movie review

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By: Lily Sheldon & Sophie Elmstrom

*Warning: This review contains spoilers.

The movie ‘Elf’ is a comedy Christmas movie starring Zooey Deschanel and Will Ferrell. It was directed by Jon Favreau and was released on November 7th, 2003. This movie is a fan favorite amongst many Christmas fans and we will give you a rundown.

The movie starts when Buddy the Elf (Will Ferrell) is accidentally transported to the North Pole as a baby and raised with Santa’s elves. One elf (Bob Newhart) in particular stands up and becomes Buddy’s “father”. Buddy realizes that he doesn’t fit in when he starts towering over the elves, so he travels to New York to find his real father (James Caan). Santa (Edward Asner) gives Buddy a warning ahead of time informing Buddy that his father is on the naughty list and Buddy is determined to fix him.

Buddy goes through quite the journey while he is walking to New York City, including a scuffle with a local raccoon. Once Buddy arrives he soon realizes that people aren’t as nice as they seem to be. He visits his father’s office in the Empire State Building but Buddy is quickly kicked out by the security. With nowhere to go Buddy finds himself at the store Gimbels and gets mistaken for a worker at their Christmas area. He meets Jovie (Zooey Deschanel) who shows a cold personality towards the Christmas season and is just at her job for the money.

Buddy learns that Santa is visiting the store the next day and spends all night setting up decorations for “Santa”. Buddy then causes a brawl when he realizes this mall Santa is not in fact the one he knew in the North Pole. Buddy goes to jail and his father picks him up with resentment towards him, but he gives in and takes Buddy to get a DNA test where they soon discover that Buddy is in fact his real son.

Once Buddy finds a place to stay with his father and brother he begins hanging out with Jovie a lot more and introduces her to why Christmas is the best holiday. They soon fall in love with each other.

Walter, Buddy’s father, works as a publisher and gets fired once Buddy runs away from home and he has to leave his meeting to search for him. Michael (Buddy’s half brother) is concerned and scared for his safety while he and Walter frantically search for Buddy. While on this search, on Christmas Eve, Santa’s real sleigh crashes in Central Park, and Buddy and his family are left to save Christmas. In order to save this holiday they must make the holiday spirit come back to life as this is how Santa’s sleigh is powered. Many people in the park begin to sing Christmas carols and it generates enough energy to power his sleigh. Christmas is saved and Buddy makes a book about his adventure to New York with his father’s publishing company. Buddy marries Jovie and they bring their newborn to the North Pole to visit Papa Elf.

This movie received 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 7.1/10 on IMDb. Some audience reviews loved the humor aspect of the movie, and the light-hearted feel. People also really enjoyed seeing Will Ferrell as Buddy, as they think he fit the role very well with his humor. Reviewers think that this is one of the best Christmas movies out there and it will put you in the holiday spirit with a smile on your face.

Overall, we rated this movie a 10/10. It is very funny, and a classic Christmas movie. We have both watched this movie countless times, and it never fails to keep us entertained. We think the story line is very unique and that they casted the movie perfectly. This movie gives us more Christmas cheer every time we watch it. We are so glad to have this heart-warming comedy for the holiday season.

You can watch ‘Elf’ on Hulu.

Movies/TV/Theaters

Movie review of ‘Twilight’

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By: Max Cahoon & Norah Hoglund

Overview

We did a review on the movie ‘Twilight’. The movie came out in 2008. It’s based on the book ‘Twilight’ by Stephanie Ann Meyer. The 2 main characters, Bella and Edward, are played by Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. The movie is 2 hours and 10 minutes long, which is pretty average for a movie.

Summary

This story starts off by the main character, Bella Swan, introducing herself. She is moving from living with her mom in Arizona to living with her dad in a small, rainy town in Washington called Forks. She immediately notices the Cullen family at school, a family of adopted children with a local doctor as their father. She notices how beautiful and graceful they all are and is curious about them. She goes to her next class and sits next to Edward, one of the Cullen boys. He doesn’t talk to her and tries to stay as far from her as possible, and she wonders what she did wrong.

He doesn’t show up to school for 2 months, until one day he comes back and talks to Bella in class. He says he wants to be friends with her, but it wouldn’t be a good idea for her to be friends with him. They start talking to each other more and she notices strange things about him. His eyes change colors, his skin is very cold and he doesn’t want her to touch him, and when Bella almost gets hit by a car, she notices he got from very far away to right next to her in a second and blocked the car from hitting her.

He won’t tell her anything. She and her friends visit the beach on the Quileute tribe reservation and she hears one of the boys there mention the Cullens. She decides to ask a boy she knows about the Cullens, and he tells them the legend the tribe has about them being vampires.

The next Monday, she confronts Edward about it and it’s true. Edward explains that his family doesn’t drink human blood, only the blood of animals. He also admits that Bella’s blood was the most appealing he had ever come across and he had a hard time not killing her. Even so, they now love each other and she trusts him enough to believe he wouldn’t kill her.

They start acting like a normal couple would, and then one day Bella went with the Cullen family to a vampire baseball game. Another group of vampires came and found them, and these ones did drink human blood. The Cullens tried to hide Bella but they found out she was there. One of them was a tracker named James, and he hunted down humans. He wanted to hunt down Bella now.

The Cullens split up and Bella goes with 2 of them to Arizona while Edward and his brother and father go hunt James. In the end, he finds her in Arizona and tries to kill her, but Edward gets there in time to save her. She has a broken leg and lost a lot of blood. Edward sees how dangerous it is for Bella to be with him, and it’s clear he thinks leaving her would be the best option.

Review

This movie was very intriguing. There were a lot of small conflicts that intertwined with the main one, like the fact that Bella was so appealing to Edward and Edward’s family thought it was a bad idea. It also kept you wanting to see what was going to happen next.

The main conflict wasn’t introduced until pretty late in the story, but it was very intense. The story didn’t come to a full resolution.

The acting was pretty bad in our opinion. It was very corny and way too dramatic at times which got very tiring to watch.

Overall we rate this movie a 7/10 and would recommend it to anyone that is interested in drama, romance, and vampires.

You can watch ‘Twilight’ on Amazon Prime.

Movies/TV/Theaters

Show recommendation: ‘Cobra Kai’

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By: Beverly Stinson

‘Cobra Kai’ is a Netflix original show that was released on May 2nd, 2018. It’s a spinoff of the movie series ‘The Karate Kid’ and it has 6 seasons, with the 2nd part of season 6 coming out on November 15th and the 3rd and final part coming out sometime early 2025.

It starts off about a man named Johnny Lawrence who was one of the antagonists of the ‘Karate Kid’ series. He basically went from being a star to being a nobody but things change for him when a boy named Miguel moves into his apartment building. Miguel basically asks him to teach him karate to defend himself, and so Johnny ends up opening his own karate dojo which happens to be named after the one he was in when he was a kid  “Cobra Kai”.

This wasn’t something I thought I was gonna like when I first watched it but it immediately became one of my favorite shows. It has a really good plot and the characters are amazing. My favorite character is ‘Eli/Hawk’.

My only con about the show is that I feel like it goes too fast, like there’s a lot of time skips and I especially wish they went more in depth with the first 2 seasons.  But other than that, it’s a really good show, it has a lot of comedy but some serious parts as well, especially in later seasons, and if you watch the movie series you can understand a lot of references and cameos. I would give this series an 8.5/10.

That’s all I have!

-Beverly

Clubs and Activities, Movies/TV/Theaters

Upcoming play: ‘And Then There Were None’

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By: Persephone Pond

Highland Park Theater Arts presents ‘And Then There Were None’ by Agatha Christie. Here’s a quick, spoiler-free review of the plot of this show, and all the information you’ll need to know.

‘And Then There Were None’ was originally written by Agatha Christie and was first published in 1939. Over the years, there have been many spin offs of movies, shows, and play adaptations. There are many adaptations of this novel, including different endings, some happy, some sad. Fun fact: the student cast of this show got to choose which ending they wanted to put on.

The plot of this famous murder mystery revolves around 10 strangers who each individually receive mysterious invitations to a solitary mansion on an island off the coast of Devon, Britain. As each individual guest is accused of a grizzly crime, and people begin to mysteriously die one by one, the remaining members of the group must discover who among them on this island is the killer and how to stop them.

Highland Park’s production stars a talented cast of students cast by theater director Nancy Micheal. The show is completely student run apart from directing, with students manning the lights, sound, set, props, ect.

Opening night is Thursday, November 14th at 7pm in the Highland Park Auditorium. Additional performances are Friday, November 15th at 7pm, and Saturday, November 16th at 2pm and 7pm. Tickets are sold at the door, cash or card, and are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Concessions and merchandise are available for purchase and all proceeds go to funding future productions.

To learn more about future shows, you can follow @hptheatrearts on Instagram.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND’: REVIEW

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By: Charlotte Bistodeau

‘Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind’ was released in 1984 and was Hayao Miyazaki’s first ever film he did. It’s also the first ever film I watched by Miyazaki followed up by ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ and the like.

‘Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind’ is a post-apocalyptic fantasy based in a world covered in plants that make up the Toxic Jungle. Nausicaä is a princess who loves her people of the Valley of the Wind and would do anything to protect them. But she also loves the insects of the Toxic Jungle and knows that harming them would only hurt her people.

‘Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind’ has got to be my favorite movie and I must have watched it over twenty times. From the writing to the screenplay, I love it all. The story is about a girl, Nausicaä, who is taken as captive and ends up in the middle of a feud between two other empires, Tolmekia and Pejite. In the end, she ends up getting back to the Valley of the Wind and stopping the Ohmu, an insect from the Toxic Jungle, stampeding across the land destroying everything in their path. I love Nausicaä’s character and what she believes. She is strong and caring and she would do anything to protect her people, even if it meant dying.

I also think that my favorite sound track from any of Miyazaki’s films has to be from this movie. All the songs convey different feelings that you can really feel.

I also have to talk about the voice acting. I have watched it in the original Japanese and the English version and I have to say, surprisingly, the English version is better. Nausicaä’s voice in the Japanese version is extremely small and baby like, which doesn’t suit her at all, while in the English version she sounds like an 18-year-old girl, which she is. The audio quality is also way better and also the subtitles on the Japanese version are really bad. For example, there is little emotion and some of the sentences don’t make any sense whatsoever. It’s one of the only films where I like the English dub better.

Overall, I rate this movie a 10/10 but I might be a little biased. The only real complaint would be that they did skip over some parts in the book, which Miyazaki wrote. But it doesn’t take anything from the movie, probably because Miyazaki was the author of the book and one of the directors of the movie.

You can find the movie on Max, Amazon Prime, Hulu, YouTube TV, and Google Play Movie. You can also purchase the Blu Ray/DVD set for 15 dollars at Target. In any case, I would recommend the movie to anyone, young or old.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘Frozen’ (2010) movie review

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By: Sophia Elmstrom & Lily Sheldon

*Warning: this review contains spoilers

This title may sound misleading, but this is not what you think this is. The movie ‘Frozen’ is a psychological horror made in 2010. It was directed by Adam Green, and stars Shawn Ashmore, Kevin Zegers, and Emma Bell. ‘Frozen’ is rated R and is very violent. This movie would not be suitable for young people or if you get grossed out easily.

Here’s a rundown of the plot. ‘Frozen’ features two young men, Dan and Joe, and a young woman, Parker. Parker and Dan are dating and Joe and Dan are best friends. The three decide to go to a ski resort to enjoy a day on the slopes. On the night of their last day, the friends convince the ski lift operator to let them on the lift for one last run down the mountain. The operator went on break and a new guy came to take his place. The operator told the new guy that there were still 3 skiers who needed to come down. The second operator mistakes 3 mingling skiers for Dan, Parker, and Joe and he shuts down the chairlift, leaving the 3 friends trapped. To make matters worse, the ski resort was closed for the whole weekend.

The friends start to get worried and realize they will be there for the whole night if not the whole weekend. The 3 call out for help, and they see a snow plow arrive under them, but it fails to notice the stranded group on the lift. The group realizes they are going to have to find a way down the mountain.

Dan jumps off the lift in an attempt to get help, and breaks his legs once he realizes how far down it really was. With Dan now unable to move, Parker and Joe try to find a way down to help him. A pack of wolves soon arrive and Joe and Parker are unable to help him, so they have to listen helplessly as their friend gets torn apart by the wolves.

The next morning, Joe tries climbing on the chairlift cable to find a way down. He makes it to the support pole and climbs down. The wolves come back but he fights them off with a ski pole. Joe slides down the mountain on Dan’s snowboard, but the wolves follow.

Now Parker is alone on the ski lift, and she tries to escape by getting to the support pole. As she stands up on the chair, the bolts disconnect and the lift falls a little, and now is hanging on by a single wire. Parker jumps off and is able to take the fall, but the lift then falls on her ankle. Parker pries the chair off her foot, and crawls down the mountain to find help. She gets to the street and flags down a car to take her to the hospital. Parker is relieved to finally be rescued and to get home safely.

This movie received a 63% from Rotten Tomatoes and a 6.5/10 from IMDB. We believe this is way too high of a rating and think that this movie was truly very bad. Many people say it reminds them of a movie they have seen before, ‘Fall’. We have seen this movie and agree that it is very similar, almost like they copied the plot of ‘Fall’ which follows two girls who get stuck on a telephone pole. Many other reviewers rate this movie 5 stars out of 5 and say they loved the movie. This movie was too gory for our liking and was just a bad plot line. Although it was very psychological and kept us wondering the entire movie we just do not get why people gave it such high ratings.

Overall, we rate this movie a 2/10 because the plot was boring and way too violent with many scenes involving very descriptive noises and images. We disagree with all of these ratings and we do not understand why people liked this movie so much. You can watch ‘Frozen’ on Prime Video.