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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.

Movies/TV/Theaters

TOP 10 FAMILY MOVIES TO WATCH

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By: Grace Lopez

1. BOSS BABY

This movie is really really funny and hilarious. My family and I really enjoyed this movie. I would really recommend this movie to anyone who would want to watch something funny.

2. THE INCREDIBLES

This movie is really funny and shows how everyone in the family has different superpowers. I loved watching this movie when I was younger.

3. DESPICABLE ME

This movie is hilarious to watch. I also loved this movie when I was young. This was one of my top movies when someone would ask me what my favorite movie was.

4. INSIDE OUT

This movie really teaches you about a lot of different emotions. This movie could get you really sad or could get your giggles out. I really enjoyed watching this movie.

5. COCO

This movie is my favorite movie of all time. It’s really sad, funny and really entertaining. I would rewatch this movie thousands of times. I really like this movie a lot and I would recommend it to anyone that is looking for a sad and a really funny movie.

6. CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

This movie was really funny to me with all the Oompa Loompas and all the kids. This was a really hilarious movie with the chocolate river and the bubble gum kid, but I won’t spoil the movie.

7. TOY STORY

This movie is a really funny movie. I really loved all the parts and all the different movies (in the series). This is a good movie to rewatch and it’s also funnier when you watch it with friends and family.

8. HOME ALONE

This movie is really funny when they left the kid alone at home, but I won’t really spoil the movie because for me it really was funny and really interesting.

9. WISH

This movie was really interesting but I also really loved this movie when she finds out the magic from her city. But I won’t really spoil this movie because it’s really interesting.

10. MOANA

This movie is a really good Disney movie. I really enjoyed watching this when I was younger. It’s also really sad but at the same time it’s a really good movie to watch with anyone.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘Gilmore Girls’ season one review

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By: Priya Anderson & Ruby Anderson

Source: Screenshot from Ruby’s IPhone, Gilmore Girls opening credits

The 2000s TV show ‘Gilmore Girls’, created by Amy Sherman-Palladio, is a comedic drama set in the fictional Connecticut town Stars Hollow that is centered around the relationship between single mother Lorelei Gilmore and her teenage daughter Rory Gilmore.

Season one of Gilmore Girls introduces many important characters such as Lorelei and Rory. This mother-daughter duo sets the stage for this show as they have a quirky and loving relationship bringing together themes of family, relationships, and friendship. Lorelei, who is played by Lauren Graham, is the hard working single mother of Rory. Throughout the season Lorelei navigates the hardships of single motherhood, relationships, and the tough expectations of her wealthy parents. Rory, played by Alexis Bledel, is an intelligent and ambitious 16-year-old girl with dreams of going to Harvard. During season one we follow Rory’s journey after being accepted into the prestigious school, Chilton Academy.

Stars Hollow is the perfect setting for Gilmore Girls. With its eccentric but charming characters, the small New England town is full of personality and factors into the show’s comforting feel. Stars Hollow includes a variety of businesses and shops from Luke’s Diner to Ms. Patty’s dance studio. Residents of Stars Hollow are a big part of what makes the town so perfect. Luke Danes (Scott Patterson), the owner of Luke’s Diner, is a grumpy but lovable character we see often throughout the show. His diner is the town’s hangout spot and Lorelai and Rory’s favorite place to eat and relax. There is also the towns dance instructor, Ms. Patty (Liz Torres) who loves to gossip and involve herself in town events. Lorelai’s workplace, The Independence Inn, introduces us to her best friend Sookie St. James (Melissa McCarthy) who is a talented chef and an important character to the show. The many more amusing characters in this community help add a comedic relief to more serious aspects of Lorelai and Rory’s hectic lives.

The complex relationship between Lorelai, Rory, and Lorelai’s parents Emily (Kelly Bishop) and Richard Gilmore (Edward Herrmann) creates an important narrative throughout the show. After Lorelai seeks help from her parents to pay for Rory’s tuition she is, in return, forced to have dinner with her parents and Rory every week. Tension between Lorelai and her parents is common throughout the season from their wildly different lifestyles and lack of understanding of each other. Emily and Richard show what life was like for Lorelai before she became pregnant with Rory and left home to take care of her on her own. Lorelai’s difficult relationship with her parents is shown in conflict and are some of the most important moments throughout the season.

While ‘Gilmore Girls’ is mostly about family, the theme of love and romance also plays a big role. During season one we follow the love story between Rory and her first boyfriend, Dean Forester (Jared Padalecki). Early in the season the two meet at Stars Hollow High School shortly after Dean transfers there from Chicago. The two quickly start dating after Dean finds interest in Rory and they begin to get to know each other. The brief yet serious relationship between Lorelai and Max Medina (Scott Cohen) begins when Lorelai meets the Chilton teacher at a parent teacher meeting not long after Rory begins school there. The relationship between the two starts off slow as Lorelai is hesitant due to Max being her daughter’s teacher but quickly becomes serious throughout the season.

Rory’s acceptance into Chilton Academy created many new difficulties. The elite school is a big difference to the public school she attended with her best friend, Lane Kim (Keiko Ageno) who is a recurring character throughout the series, and is known for her love for rock music and her struggles with her strict mother. Chilton being a great way for Rory to be accepted into Harvard, is an academic challenge in Rory’s life bringing her piles of school work and introduces her intense classmate Paris Geller (Liza Weil) who quickly becomes a rival to Rory as she sees her as a student who wants to take her spot as top student in her class.

‘Gilmore Girls’ season one sets off the series to a great start introducing loveable and relatable characters, as well as offering a great atmosphere for a show that will be loved by many for years to come.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘It Ends With Us’

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By: Sophie Elmstrom & Lily Sheldon

‘It Ends with Us’ came out on August 9, 2024. This movie was based on the 2016 novel by Colleen Hoover, and the film was directed by Justin Baldoni. The film stars Jason Baldoni, Blake Lively, Jenny Slate, and Hasan Minhaj. The movie received mixed reviews, but it was a box office success, grossing 346.4 million worldwide against a production budget of 25 million. We wanted to give our thoughts on this movie, and compare it to the reviews of others.

Here’s a quick rundown of the movie. Lily Bloom (Blake Lively) moves to Boston to pursue her dream of opening her own business after the passing of her father. In Boston, she meets neurosurgeon Ryle Kincaid, and they start to fall in love. As their relationship develops, Ryle starts to remind Lily of her parents’ relationship and the abusive tendencies of her father. Lily is at a dinner with Ryle, when she discovers that her high school sweetheart, Atlas, is the owner of the restaurant. Old feelings for Atlas begin to bubble up again, and Lily is stuck with an impossible choice to choose between Atlas and Ryle. Ryle hears about Atlas, and becomes enraged and jealous. He takes out his anger on Lily in forms of domesticated abuse. Lily reveals to Ryle about her father’s abuse to her mother and Lily escapes Ryle, and seeks out Atlas for help. She discovers she is pregnant, and moves out and lives with Atlas for a little. Lily asks for a divorce from Ryle, and he agrees after she asks Ryle how their daughter would react if she was abused by her partner. Lily hopes she has ended the cycle of abuse in her family, telling her daughter “It ends with Us”.

The movie also has a series of flashbacks where we go back in time to when Lily was in high school. One day, Lily is looking out her window and sees a boy her age coming out of the abandoned house next door. As she is walking to her bus she sees him at the stop as well. This sparks Lily to leave supplies at the door of this house in hope of helping this man out. Lily and this boy start talking to each other and Lily finds out his name is Atlas. These two end up falling in love with each other when suddenly Atlas moves away and they don’t continue to talk.

This movie received a 6.5/10 from IMDB and a 57% from Rotten Tomatoes. We believe that this ranking is just a little too low; we think this movie deserves an 8/10. Many reviews agree with the rating of 6.5/10, they believe that the story is very flat and not interesting. Many disagree with what we believed about how it is similar to the book, they said that it missed many book details.

As individuals who have read this book, we believe that movie did a very good job at portraying these characters and the story. Although there are controversies with this movie we believe that the movie was very good and interesting. The way that they portrayed Ryles’ character was very similar and the casting was very good in our opinion.

Overall, we believe that this movie deserves a 7/10 because although it wasn’t a perfect movie it was a very good book adaptation.

You can watch this movie on Prime Video.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘Heartstopper’ Season 3 review

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By: Persephone Pond

‘Heartstopper’ is a Netflix original series based on the Webcomic written by Alice Oseman. Directed by Andy Newbery, season 3 of this show released all 8 episodes on Thursday, October 3rd, and received overwhelmingly positive reviews. This article is a quick, spoiler free review from the perspective of a long time fan.

Seasons 1 and 2 focused largely on building foundations of relationships between characters and expanding on the experiences of coming out as queer, while season 3 dives deeper into mental health issues that teens deal with and the experiences of moving further into a relationship. From the perspective of a queer teen who has been through much of the same things these characters in the show have, the writing deals with these heavier themes incredibly well.

Good representation of the lived experience of queer people is not an easy thing to find, luckily more and more writers have been incorporating these sorts of themes into media nowadays. In contrast, representation of mental health issues, especially eating disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder, are still largely stigmatized in today’s society. Charlie Spring, the protagonist of ‘Heartstopper’, deals with these issues in season 3, which changes the atmosphere of the show from lighthearted to kind of depressing. Although these heavy themes make the season more sad, it’s so important to spread awareness, especially in today’s society where these problems are not uncommon, they’re just repressed.

Charlie and Nick, the protagonists of the show, deal with the stress of mental illness, while side characters still get enough attention to grow an attachment to them. Season 3 also brings up more controversy about binary transgender teens, non-binary gender exploration, and asexuality, which weren’t elaborated much on the past 2 seasons.

Overall, these characters have a way of pulling on anyone and everyone’s heartstrings, and season 3 of this show is so powerful. I highly recommend sticking with ‘Heartstopper’, or starting from the beginning.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘Barbie: Fairytopia’ (movie) 2005 – Review

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By: Christine Yang

What it’s about:

‘Barbie: Fairytopia’ is a movie about a fairy girl named Elina that’s from a place called The Magic Meadow. She would often be made fun of by other fairies due to her not having wings. But one day there was a rumor that an evil fairy, Laverna, from a “myth”, kidnapped Topaz, a powerful and guardian fairy from The Magic Meadow.

The next day, there was a green gas that prevented fairies from being able to fly and made them weak in The Magic Meadow, which was slowly creeping up to different places in Fairytopia. Elina and her friends Bibble and Dandelion want to find the answer to the disappearance of Topaz, but unfortunately, Dandelion can’t keep going through with the mission due to the gas affecting her. As Elina and her little friend Bibble go through the mission to find Topaz, they eventually uncover information that no other fairies would know, and only guardian fairies do know, and make new friends along the way. 

Review:

The movie ‘Barbie: Fairytopia’ is a good movie and has a good plot, but in my opinion I think the movie was rushed a little bit, like there could be things added between scenes.

The characters’ hair seems really “blocky”, the colors of the settings and characters also seem dull and not as detailed, especially the place Spooky Woods. Some of the creatures in the movie look like bugs because their eyes are really wide open.

Overall, the music in the movie was pleasant and more “classical”, which was only used about 3 times in the movie. There wasn’t really singing parts, which can make the movie not entertaining to others, but I wish there had been more.

In my opinion, I rate this 7/10.

I recommend this movie to younger kids like the age 4-7 years old, but anyone can watch this movie for nostalgic feelings or just for fun. ‘Barbie: Fairytopia’ can be watched on Amazon Prime Video (rent: $3.59  Buy: $14.69), Google Play Movie (Rent: $3.99  Buy: $14.69), Fandango at Home (Rent: $3.99  Buy: $14.99), YouTube (Rent: $3.99), and Apple TV (Rent: $3.99).

Also, the movie ‘Barbie: Fairytopia’ is in a collection with three other movies like, ‘Barbie: Fairytopia – Mermaidia’, ‘Magic of the Rainbow’, and ‘Mariposa and the Butterfly Fairy Friends’.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘Moana’ movie review

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By: Seng Yang

The movie ‘Moana’ released in 2016 and directed by Ron Clements and John Musker, is an animated musical film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. It is set in the Polynesian islands of the South Pacific. The film tells us about a young girl named Moana who goes on a daring journey to save her island and discover her true destiny as the chosen one. Moana is the spirited daughter of Chief Tui on the island of Motunui. She has always felt a deep connection with the ocean and yearns to explore beyond the reef, despite her father’s wishes for her to become the island’s next leader.

When Moana’s island is threatened by a blight, she sets sail on a quest to find the demigod Maui who stole the heart of Te Fiti, the goddess who creates life. Moana faces challenges, learns about her people’s rich history, seafaring heritage, and discovers her own strengths.

In my opinion, I love the movie ‘Moana”’ as it is one of my all time favorites. I love how it explores the themes of courage, identity, and the importance of following one’s heart and embracing one’s heritage. On her journey to return the heart of Te Fiti, not only did she succeed and save her people and home, but she made connections on the way and she discovered herself and personal growth. She overcame obstacles, learned valuable lessons about leadership, empathy, and the interconnectedness of living things.

Some other things I love about this movie is that the movie is for all ages, not only for children. It includes one’s culture, vibrant characters, and great colors/animation.

I would rate ‘Moana’ a 5/5 because it’s one of those movies where it makes you want to show others that you can do anything and even if you face such challenges you shouldn’t give up.

Overall, I think the movie ‘Moana’ has a beautiful and inspirational message.

You can watch ‘Moana’ on Disney+.

Movies/TV/Theaters

Top 10 Christmas movies to watch

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By: Grace Lopez

1. The Grinch’ (2018)

This movie is such a good and funny movie and a really family friendly movie. I really enjoyed watching it with my family when I was little, and still love watching this movie to this day.

2. ‘Elf’ (2003)

This movie is hilarious. When I was little I really loved watching this movie and to this day I still think it’s really funny to watch. This movie is a great movie to watch with friends, family and others.

3. ‘The Polar Express’ (2004)

This movie is about bravery, friendships and a lot of adventures with the little boy. This movie was really interesting with all his adventures so I would really recommend this movie to any family or to anyone.

4. ‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’ (1993)

This movie is a combination of Halloween and Christmas so it’s a really good movie to watch for both holidays. This movie is really funny, sad, a little scary and relatable so I really recommend watching this movie.

5. ‘The Christmas Chronicles’ (2018)

This movie is really funny with the 2 siblings, but I won’t spoil it so i’ll just say that it’s really interesting and really funny, so I would also recommend this movie.

6. ‘The Claus Family’ (2020)

This movie is a sad Christmas movie but still fun to watch. The little boy learns a lot during the movie but I won’t spoil it. I would also really recommend this movie but it might bring some tears.

7. ‘David and the Elves’ (2021)

This movie is also about a young little boy. It tells you about the true spirit of Christmas and a lot more. This Christmas movie really values friendships and family.

8. ‘The Knight Before Christmas’ (2019)

This movie is kinda romantic. It’s about love and a really romantic connection and that theme really blends in with the magic of Christmas and it all combines together. It’s a really good movie to watch.

9. ‘Christmas on Mistletoe Farm’ (2022)

This movie is about a family. They learn a lot about the true meaning of family. During the whole movie, they are a really together as a family. This movie is really interesting and I really recommend watching it with your family.

10. ‘Klaus’ (2019)

This movie is really interesting. It talks a lot about toys. It’s a really kind and joyful movie. It really explores the meeting of friendships and a lot more. This is a really good movie. I would also recommend this movie. This one would be one of my favorite movies.