Category Archives: Entertainment

Entertainment, Movies/TV/Theaters

Movie review

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I recently saw the new movie The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 at the Theatres at Mall of America with my sisters.

When I was watching the movie it was a little slow in parts but other wise it was a pretty interesting film.

The movie was about how Katniss is leading the rebels to the Capitol aiming to kill President Snow. The Gamemakers have rigged the entire city with lethal traps to make sport of their deaths, making it the most dangerous Hunger Games so far.

Not going to spoil the ending here.

On a scale from 1-10 I give it an 8.5 because it was kind of dull but I liked all the previous Hunger Games movies, and overall it’s a good film.

I recommend this film to people who liked the previous Hunger Games movies and books.

Travel/Food

Sweet snack

SWEET AFTER SCHOOL SNACK!

Tired of having nothing to eat at home. Well, have I got the answer for you. I have an easy recipes that you can have done in a flash.

This recipe is the 2 minute apple crisp

All you need is

  • Slice and peeled apple
  • 2 tbsp quick cooking oats
  • 2 tbsp of flour
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbs butter
  • ¼ tsp of cinnamon
  • pinch of salt

What you need to do is you need to get a mug.

  • Once you get the mug you put the slice peeled apple in first.
  • Microwave the peeled apple slices for 60 seconds.
  • Then you add the 2 tbs of quick cooking oats.
  • Then the 2 tbsp of flour. 1 tbsp of brown sugar. 1 tbsp of butter. ¼ tsp of cinnamon.
  • Then finally a pinch of salt.
  • Microwave the mug for 30 seconds.
  • And then take it out and stir it.
  • Then put it back in for another 30 seconds.

Exactly 2 min it’s great for a afternoon snack or for some dessert after lunch.  

Movies/TV/Theaters

Movie review

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I recently saw the new movie Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension at Theatres at Mall of America with my sister. The movie theatre was packed and we sat in the middle.

The beginning of the movie had a slow start like in the other ones. When I was watching the movie I got kinda bored because at times nothing was really happening. It is more interesting when you start seeing things move around and start getting scared.

The movie was about a man and his wife and daughter that are getting ready for Christmas in their new house. After moving in they come across an old camcorder. Later, the husband (Ryan) found out that the camcorder can record strange apparitions that you can’t see. Then, their daughter (Leila) starts talking to an imaginary friend and she starts acting strange. They then find themselves in a terrifying battle with a supernatural force.

Overall, it’s a good movie. On a scale from 1-10 I give it an 8.5 because of how it’s kind of  slow when the scary parts were not happening. Also, if you thought you were getting closure, you’ll be disappointed but overall it’s a great film.

I recommend this film to people who liked the previous Paranormal Activities movies, and like being scared.

Entertainment

Beats Music canceled

Word has spread that the popular Beats Music app is going to be discontinued on November 30th by Apple. Apple’s decision to discontinue the application was able to happen due to Android now offering Apple Music on the Android app market Google Play Store.

On November 30th, all Beats Music subscriptions will be cancelled, but until then, Beats is offering ways to move your preferences and picks to Apple Music. Apple is hoping for the subscribers of Beats Music to then transfer over to Apple Music following the discontinuation

In a document shared by the Beats Music website, http://www.beatsmusic.com,
Beats is no longer allowing new applicants, as well as asking previous subscribers to switch to Apple Music. Beats points out new and improved features to Apple music such as better music recommendations, along with the Beats 1 radio as well.

The Beats website is also offering help for a variety of topics such as offering resources for migrating from Beats Music to Apple Music on both Android and Apple products, unused balance questions, the costs of the service, ect

Movies/TV/Theaters

Restruarant review

Buffalo Wild Wings is a chicken restaurant that serves a different variety of chicken whether you want hot, mild, or even regular they have it. Buffalo Wild Wings, also know as Bdubs, is a place where you can go and watch the game and eat some chicken, French fries, salads, different sides, and different drinks.

The service at Buffalo Wild Wings is great but it depends on how smooth they transition from table to table. Buffalo Wild Wings is good place to dine if you just want to relax and eat some good food. It’s the type of restaurant where you can just sit down and enjoy some wings with some friends, and watch sports on the big screen TVs they have hanging on the wall.

The restaurant by itself is one of the most successful places you can go for wings. Their food quality is really good…at least that’s what the customers say.

When my fellow writer and I went to Buffalo Wild Wings, our opinion was that the food was very delicious.

When you order chicken wings, they will ask you whether you want traditional wings, or if you would like boneless. We would recommend the honey BBQ boneless wings and hot BBQ boneless wings because they are very well made, really crispy, and they have the right amount of flavor.
For some sides, we would recommend fries or mashed potatoes. You can also get your favorite drink, such as Moutain Dew, Pepsi, or Coke.

Based upon our experience, we think it’s a nice establishment, and a fine place to dine. We would rate it:

4.5 stars for its food and theme

3 stars for the service because we think they could be a little faster with the food

4 stars for the ambiance because they don’t need all those TVs. Though, it is good in a way because every TV has a different sport on it so the customers can dine and watch any game.

Entertainment, School Life

Scot-A-Palooza

On Sunday, November 1st, friends and family of Highland Park and Capitol Hill students gathered in The Shanty at O’Gara’s Bar and Grill to listen to some great music. Many groups performed including the Highland Park Senior High jazz band, the Highland Park Junior High jazz band, The Capitol Hill jazz band, a few string trios and even some bands that people from our own school created. There was a silent auction, gift card grab, and even a drawing to win four tickets to a Minnesota Vikings game!

There was a lot of Highland pride shown throughout the night from the musical acts. The Highland Park Senior High jazz band, lead by Joel Matuzak, played many songs including “Birdland” arranged by Michael Sweeney and “A Night In Tunisia” also arranged by Michael Sweeney. They played with a lot of energy and they were a real hit among the crowd. Some of our own Highland Park Senior High students preformed in their own bands like Escaping Evolution and Makeshift. The crowd really seemed to enjoy the different vibe these bands brought to the event.

This event was created to help raise money for the instrumental music program at our school. The money that was raised will go towards fixing instruments, buying new instruments, buying chairs and stands, and many other items.

Schools around the country have been cutting funding to art programs in schools and many have been struggling to keep the programs alive and running. Thankfully, here at Highland we have many active parents who want to support the program, and they make events like these possible. There are a few people that especially helped, such as Vineeta Sawkar, Katie Sterns, and of course our own instrumental music teacher Joel Matuzak.

I think this was a great way to raise money but also to enjoy the musical talent of many Highland students.

Movies/TV/Theaters

Book reviews

THE GREAT GATSBY

The Great Gatsby is a 1925 fictional novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald that takes place in 1922, in West Egg district of Long Island, New York. The novel is narrated by one of the main characters, Nick Caraway, who is from Minnesota and went to Yale and talks about his time in New York and the misfortunes that occurred during his time there.

What happened to Nick on the summer of 1922 changed his life forever. Nick meets Jay Gatsby who is his mysterious millionaire neighbor and his cousin Daisy’s lover. Daisy lives across the bay from them with her rich careless, cheating, arrogant husband, Tom Buchanan. Daisy and Gatsby meet again and have an affair.

Nick, later disillusioned and disgusted with happened, leaves the East and goes back to the Midwest then starts writing the book.

I recommend that people read The Great Gatsby because it’s really good and it’s realistic, because around the time the story took place, everybody was working hard to achieve the American Dream.

The author included some real life events that happened to him in the book such as, him and Nick being from Minnesota, their family background, and their social class.

You might also enjoy this book if you like the “Jazz Age” or the “Roaring Twenties” as this books takes place during that time.

There’s also a movie, based on this book, that came out in 2013, and stars Leonardo DiCaprio.

CLEAN

Amy Reed is the author of Clean. While she was growing up her family moved a lot and she went 8 different schools. When she got older she got a job as a waitress and began getting into trouble. But getting into trouble and moving place to place didn’t stop her from being a writer.

The book Clean is about teens that are drug addicts. These addicts have to share rooms and their darkest secrets with strangers at a Rehab Center.

I recommend this book because it’s really good and interesting. It’s sad because of the things the characters in the book do to fit in and impress other people, such as taking diet pills.

It’s interesting because the author did a good job of explaining teens struggling with depression.

Readers who read Beautiful and Damaged might as well like this book. From my perspective, Clean is a brilliant and strongly written book.

Something I learned from this book is when feeling depressed, talk to someone or do something that makes you happy.

Entertainment, Movies/TV/Theaters

Halloween horror movies

Halloween is usually a time when people like to be scared. Here is a list of some movies that could fit the bill not just around Halloween, but any time you feel like you might need a chill.

Horror Movie Classics

  1. Halloween (1978) – The unstoppable murderer behind the pale white mask and black jumpsuit is killing everyone in his path on his way to get his hands on Jamie. While all of the adults in town are gone, Michael Myer is out hunting for teenagers who don’t believe he is just a Halloween myth. Mr.Loomis is the only one out searching for Myer, in desperation to end him once in for all, but all of the time that Myer has been captured and supposedly killed, he would always resurrects himself.
  2. Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) – A teenagers realize that the clawed hand man with the red and green stripe shirt and the burnt griming face revealed under the brown hat is stalking teenagers down in their dreams, Eventually their goals is to never fall asleep in order to save themselves from their destined fates. Main character Tina realizes that some of her friends also experience the approach of ”Freddy” after they doze off in their dreams and goes on the pursuit to kill them. After finding out that Freddy has been killing all of her friends in their sleep, Tina is scared to fall asleep again and stays awake for seven days to figure out the mysteries of Freddy Kruger. This is based the nursery rhyme, “One, two, Freddy’s coming for you.” There are a total of nine films for this series, not including the latest one from 2010, which basically sums up the series into one film, and yet has a way better plot and tension compared to the older versions.
  3. The Exorcist (1973) – Based on an actual event, a little girl, Regan, is possessed by Pazuzu, a demon who had been defeated several years ago and has returned to seek revenge. After playing with a Ouija board, Regan begins to act strange, everything from consistently shaking, chanting in strange noises, and acting in violent manners physically and verbally, and eventually resulting in a murder. After medical treatment fails, her mother turns to a priest for help, and from there he tries to destroy the Pazuzu once and for all.

Horrors for the Pros

  1. The Ring (2002) – I would recommend that you rent out the video form of this movie to get the best out of experiencing the plot. The movie will begin with the flashing static screen and then black out. A couple seconds later it is replaced with flashing images of random settings, only to which you will comprehend after finishing the movie. The overall plot is about a mother who receives a threatening phone call, quietly whispering “seven days”, hence meaning she will only have seven more days to live. Everyone who watches this video will experience the same phases, such as a bloody nose, then choking out a wire attached to an old electrode. The main character attempts to uncover the mystery of this little girl cursing the video and becomes determined to change her fate.
  2. Insidious (2011) – A married couple and their children move into a their new home. One of the sons, Dalton, seeks to find out the origins of the sounds in the attic and caught sight of a shadowy figure and eventually falls into a coma. Strange events begin to arise in the new home as voices are being heard over the baby monitor, seeing ghostly figures, and the parent would figure out that their home is being occupied by supernatural activities. The Lamberts must come to face the demon and rescue their possessed son.
  3. Carrie (2013) – This movie is a new remake of the 1974 version of the horror movie, Carrie. The movie depicts the life of a teenage girl who obtains telekinesis but her shyness had isolated her from other students. After being bullied during an event in the shower room, the girl who tensed her was soon suspended and banned from attending prom. On the day of prom, Carrie became homecoming queen, but had pig blood poured all over her as this was her bully’s way of seeking revenge. Carrie being humiliated and embarrassed unleashes her telekinetic abilities and goes on a rampage.

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International Horror Movie Reviews

  1. Shutter (2004) – This is a Thai horror that even had an American remake of this. The girl who he had unintentionally humiliated in the past comes back as a ghost to haunt him and his friends. He had taken a picture of her being abused and taken advantaged of, and the photograph eventually spread throughout the school population.
  2. Shomba Coming Soon (2008) – This is also another Thai horror film, which I will admit, is the most terrifying movie I have ever watched. An elderly woman had been killed during a filming of a movie after acting the scene of her being hanged. The women possesses the film and anyone who watches this movie in theaters becomes the victim of her vengeance.
  3. Death Bell (2008) – A class of 20 Korean elite high school students are being attacked while in class preparing for college entrance exams. Later they come to realize that a student has been kidnapped and was displayed on a TV screen, being trapped in a tank with water pouring in. Given a limited amount of time, the only way to save her is to solve a posed questions, and failure to do so would result in the student’s death. The process would continue as more students are mysteriously being taken away one by one until two students and two teachers are left to uncover the situation.

New Horror Movies you should check out this weekend (2015)

  1. The Visit
  2. The Insidious: Chapter 3
  3. Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension
Travel/Food

Popcorn balls

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Do you like popcorn? Do you like candy? Have you thought about trying to combine the two? If so, then a popcorn ball may be for you.

Online, there are many recipes. I decided to compared these three recipes. I thought that all of the recipes were good, but I thought that the Martha Stewart one was the best of the three. I thought that the Food Network one was simple, but it was just missing something. I thought that the Karo Syrup one was good too, but it was not my favorite.

Food Network

Things you will need

  • 2 cups suger
  • 1 1/3 cup water
  • 1/2 cup light corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon white vinegar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 18 cups poped corn

Here is what you need to do

  1. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, water, syrup, vinegar, and salt. Cook over high heat until mixture reaches 255 degrees F
  2. Stir in vanilla. Pour over popped corn, tossing gently to coat.
  3. When mixture is cool enough to handle, press popcorn into 3-inch balls with lightly greased hands. Cool completely on waxed paper.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/popcorn-balls-recipe.html

Martha Stewart recipe

  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for buttering hands
  • 1 package miniature marshmallows (10 ounces)
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 3 quarts popped popcorn

  1. Melt butter in a large heavy pot over low heat. Add marshmallows and brown sugar and stir until melted. Remove from heat.

  2. Pour popcorn and cranberries, or English toffee bits if using, into pot; toss well. With buttered hands, shape into 2 1/2-inch balls. Set on parchment lined baking sheet to dry slightly.

http://www.marthastewart.com/339167/popcorn-balls

The last recipe is from Karo Syrup

  • 3 quarts (12 cups) popped popcorn
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup Karo® Light OR Dark Corn Syrup
  • 1/4 cup butter or margarine
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon Spice Islands® Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  1. Spray large roasting pan with cooking spray; add popcorn and place in 300ºF oven until warm. (Popcorn can also be warmed in a large microwave safe bowl for 1 to 2 minutes on HIGH (100%) power.)
  2. Combine sugar, corn syrup, butter and salt in a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Stirring constantly, bring to boil over medium heat. Continue stirring and boil 2 minutes.
  3. Remove syrup mixture from heat; stir in vanilla and baking soda. Pour syrup mixture over warm popcorn stirring to coat well. Cover hands with two plastic bags, spray bags lightly with cooking spray. Working quickly shape twelve 3-inch popcorn balls.
  4. Cool completely. Wrap individually in plastic wrap.

http://karosyrup.com/Recipe/Popcorn_Balls

Entertainment, Movies/TV/Theaters

Movie review

I recently saw the movie Everest in 3D at Regal Brooklyn Center Stadium 20. When I got to the theater I paid $10.87 for my ticket and they gave me 3D glasses. When I got into the theater it was empty and my brother and sister and I were the only ones in the theater.

The beginning of the movie was kind of  boring but it looked cool because it was in 3D. When I was watching the movie in 3D it made it more interesting to watch the film and it made things in the film look beautiful like the mountain and the snow; it  also made it look like you were right there.

The movie was about a team of climbers that try to climb mount Everest, the highest point on earth, and how they had to overcome situations during the journey up the mountain. It was based on a true story, and it’s a little sad. To be honest, my sister and I cried towards the end of the film (not to spoil the film, I won’t say why).

Overall, it’s a good movie. On a scale from 1-10 I give it a 7.5 because it has a slow start and is kind ofboring in the beginning but overall it’s a great film. I recommend this film to people who like to see people conquer their dreams.