The Bluffer - Red Bluff, CA
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/260944
Page 5 February 14, 2014 'The Monuments Men' falls flat Arts and Entertainment in infirmaries than glorified shoot outs or bayonet charges through rows of bad guys we can somehow accept to see die in other war movies. Yet this movie isn't just about the horrors of war either, its characters can be somewhat amusing and their ineptitude at fighting and is exploited as comic relief. The movie does more than just breaking up the grim tone with more light hearted ones though. It focuses on the men's mission to retrieve the art, and approaches the subject with a somewhat philosophical approach. It attempts to justify the death of the men fighting for the artwork by pointing out how the art has historical value, how it symbolizes a whole generation's work, feelings, and soul. For me, however, the message didn't come across as profound. It's not that I agree or disagree with the assertion, I simply feel as if the attempt to portray a deeper meaning in this particular film didn't work in a way that did added anything substantial to the movie. It did not, however, in anyway subtract from it either. The movie's dark tone with small light glimmering through still entertained me. This also results in a fair bit of frustration. Obviously, continuous play will have you repeatedly dying in the game. Eventually, even the sound effect of hitting a pipe makes you angrier than actually hitting the pipe itself. It quickly becomes an endless struggle to get a better score. You would try to beat your friends, but we all have that one friend with the insanely high score 'The Monuments Men' was an enjoyable film. It is not, to be fair, marvelous, breathtaking or any other superlative adjective. It was simply entertaining. The film starts off in World War Two with Lt. Frank Stokes (acted by George Clooney, who also wrote and directed the film) as he is tasked to gather a group of seven men called the Monument Men. The group is tasked with gathering great works of art and returning them to their rightful owners, or with older pieces of art whose owners have long since past, to simply keep them out of the hands of the Nazi's. The men he seeks are experts in identifying the pieces, museum directors, curators, and art historians. As most of the younger generation is already out fighting the war, the men Lt. Stokes finds are all older. As one might expect of older art experts, the crew is not entirely fit for the fight. To make matters worse, many of the soldiers already in the war don't take the Monument Men seriously, and hardly do much to help them. The movie follows these seven men as they do their best to persuade authorities to help them protect centuries old pieces of art, the art that define the cultures both sides hail from, and when they can't persuade Maggie Tallen Staff Writer At first, there was nothing. When suddenly, everywhere, there was Flappy Bird! This new endless-survival type mobile game has spread like wildfire over this past weeks. It can be seen that there is no one who hasn't heard of this smart phone sensation. Flappy Bird is a dangerously addictive game in which the player controls an 8-bit-style bird by tapping the screen to make the bird flap. The challenge is to fly through the gaps in green vertical pipes for as long as you can. Scoring is measured by the number of gaps you fly through. Sounds easy, right? Well, the bird doesn't exactly fly straight. One tap on the screen equals one flap, where one flap bounces the bird upwards. This makes it extremely difficult to maneuver through the gaps in the pipes. Anyone watching someone else play this seemingly simple game would think "Oh, please. That looks super easy. Give me that so I can obliterate your pathetic score." However, looks can be deceiving. Once they get a chance to try for the first time, they have trouble getting even a score of 1. Once you get the hang of it, you are thrust into a perpetual battle to beat your high score, from which it is impossible to escape. This is what makes this game so popular. This game is a black hole. Once you start, you'll never stop trying to beat your high score. the leaders of the conflict, they themselves go out to reclaim those pieces of history from the utter desolation of a war torn Europe. The roles in this movie were well cast. The actors chosen for the roles of the Monument Men all appear as if they could be the older art-enthusiast they are supposed be, the actors display an informal and nonchalant attitude in an otherwise very militiristic and stern setting, which is one of the ways the film lightens the mood. But yet they don't focous on the humor too much either, they manage to act serious when the situation turns more dire. The movie's overall tone is somewhat dark, yet somehow uplifting. The film shows far more men slowly dying When I first saw this book, I thought I knew what it was completely about. Yeah, I thought I knew what I was getting into. Some person who fights the undead for a living and something's gone horribly wrong, right? I had to take just a peek at the first few pages, and was I right? No, I was not even close. Instead, I found a different version of 'Paranormal Activity', centered just in Birmingham, Alabama, if I may say so myself. There were times where the reading sent chills down my spine, gave me goose bumps, made me laugh, and so on, but it was really a worthwhile book. Many characters will remind some of us of ourselves, while others will say, "I want to meet people like that!", and the rest of us will be too absorbed to even speak. Speaking of speaking, there is some very twisted dialogue and great in-depth detail of the events in the story that keeps you wanting more as you dive deeper and deeper into the first book of The White Rabbit Chronicles. Why the series is called that, I don't know, so I'll have to leave to you to figure out, as well as the whole (or lack of) Wonderland references. I was never really even a fan of zombies or anything of the like before this, so I was really quite shocked when I found myself smiling at some of the words. However, these aren't your usual run of the mill zombies in the book. But it only makes it better, having to re-imagine the world of the undead! Set at the perfect pace, with witty, humorous remarks and side comments, this fascinatingly twisted book will blow your mind out of the water completely. The end of every chapter is set to make you want to plow ahead and find out what happens next, or if you do take a rest, you find yourself impatient to find out what's in store. I, for one, thought it was a very clever new twist to something all of us thought had been completely overkilled. I also don't want to seriously bag on anything, but the ending was frustrating for me. It wasn't bad, but I didn't like the ending because the bottom line is, I want more! Getting hooked on this series is seriously something worth your time doing. This book does not come at all close to playing second fiddle to 'Paranormal Activity', however, and creates a world all of its own you are sure to enjoy. Not what you migh expect! Grey Groke A&E Editor that's impossible to beat. It would be no surprise to learn that a large number of screens have been cracked in frustration with this game. Despite the large amount of venting (in joking of course) you get from your friends because of this game, it definitely deserves a positive review. Not only is the game a great pass time, but its simplicity makes it better for non-gamers. Flappy Bird is a fun and addictive game. Its endless gameplay will keep you entertained for as long as you need. It'll keep you playing again and again. However, the game has been removed from the app store, making it impossible for iPhone users to get it if it wasn't installed before. It may be removed from the app store, but that doesn't mean it will no longer be played. metro.co.uk Brianna Tackmier Staff Writer Maggie Tallen Staff Writer 'Alice in Zombieland' Imogen Poots, the lead female, is downright annoying. She's genuinely pretty, but the costume director obviously had a far too strong "hipster" vision, so her look was almost too much to bear as I tried to watch the storyline pan out. Sex jokes are an important part of life, but I would like to remind everyone of the importance of balanced humor, meaning that all types of jokes should be employed. I'm kind of over sexual humor, but I guess that's my own fault for going to a romantic comedy. I'd like to address one more aspect-- the title. The title of the movie is so disgustingly overdone in the media today, my secondhand embarassment for the creators of the movie was off the charts. Once again, I've learned my lesson about trusting my instincts when it comes time to hit the movies. I should learn not to expect a lot out of something that relies on an old trending topic hashtag title to pull it through at the box office. Romantic comedies are a lot like old underwear or outdated boxes of oatmeal in the pantry-- they're just kind of always there. So, in retrospect, I wasn't expecting a dazzling film from the highly-advertised title That Awkward Moment, starring the High School Musical heart throb, Zac Efron. However, the movie seemed a worthwhile alternative to sitting alone in my living room. The storyline seemed like an interesting concept, perhaps slightly overdone, but that's nearly inescapable in this category. Three dudes are done with hooking up with girls and letting these girls run their lives or something like that, and so the guys make a pact to not "fall in love" with girls and oh, big surprise, Zac Efron's character Jason finds a chick who's oh so special and "not like all the others" and then the storyline's predictabilty is RIDICULOUS. 'That Awkward Moment' Cliche and over done embarrassing to sit through more than just killing zombies 'FlappyBird' might be annoying but it has still caught everyone's attention Simple, but still fun www.people.com www.fox.com Not enough depth