The Bluffer - Red Bluff, CA
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/797667
A movie just recently came out on Netf lix called Knowing, casting Nicolas Cage and Rose Byrne, and it was absolutely amazing. Of course, any Nicolas Cage movie is fantastic. Everyone knows that one where he wants to steal the Declaration of Independence, but this one has you on edge the whole time. The plot is just one long roller coaster. You think you know what's going on and that you have the story figured out, and then it takes an abrupt turn to the right, you're left in a confused dazed trying to piece together what just happened. Of course, the whole time capsule thing gives you hints as to what is about to happen, but all the action doesn't really allow you to comprehend how sad the movie actually it is. All these people begin to die, and there is no way to stop it because it's fate. You can only watch it unfold, and that's one of the harsh themes of the plot. Nicolas Cage does an amazing job at trying to save the world while trying to save his son. However, besides the plot, the special effects in the movie were pretty good and well crafted. There's this one scene where the field behind their house is on fire, and a bunch of animals are rushing out trying to escape the f lames. If I wouldn't have known it wasn't real, I would have never guessed. The producer was so creative in how he created and executed all of these disasters. They put a lot of effort into the quality of the movie and the small details of it for the viewer. They really tried and did well when it Bluffer Staff Pick 'Knowing' (2009) Page 4 March 10, 2017 Arts and Entertainment 'e Great Wall' fails with "Nicolas Cage does an amazing job at trying to save the world while trying to save his son." 'Hooked' Decent movie but has lack of char- acter development. Highly reccomend for any thrill seeking readers with time. Great movie to watch, highly recommend! 'Ever ything John Wick: Chapter 2 includes ideal A romantic, funny and heart- wrenching read in one package. John Wick: ch. 2 is the best action movie of all time!!!!!!! Ever ything' Katie Louisell Staff Writer intrigues Amanda Waugh Staff Writer The novel, Everything, Everything, by Nicola Yoon is an unexpectedly new and heartwarming story that makes itself unique in the young adult genre. Everything, Everything is a story about an eighteen-year-old girl named Madeline Whittier. Madeline is home-schooled, and she spends her days reading books with her nurse Carla or playing Phonetic Scrabble with her mom. However, Madeline can never leave her house or experience the outside world because she's allergic to one thing: everything. Madeline has a rare disease called severe combined immunodeficiency ( SCID for short) that prohibits her from being near anything "unsanitized". One day, a new family moves in next door. The boy Madeline sees through the window is named Olly, and Madeline instantly knows she'll fall in love with the boy with eyes the color of the ocean. Olly and Madeline email each other constantly and tells each other their lives, and a bond forms between them. Olly soon is secretly let in by Carla, and Madeline's view of the world is changed by someone she thought she would ever meet in real life. Olly tells Madeline of his hard relationship with his dad and his sister's smoking problem, but he also tells her about the simplest things in life that we normally don't appreciate or take for granted. When a fight occurs between Olly and his dad, Madeline takes the risk and goes outside for the first time. Madeline's mom gets scared and puts her on lockdown, firing Carla and watching her activities more closely. When Madeline sees that she's missing out on her life, Madeline has enough and decides to take a risk that could ruin everything or change her entire world forever. Nicola Yoon's novel Everything, Everything is a beautifully written book that makes us appreciate the small miracles in life and take the risks we can only imagine of. Aly Smith Staff Writer Hooked, created by Telepathic Inc., is an application that contains thrilling stories that give an avid or non-avid reader the chance to read or write amazing stories that keep you and others on the edges of your seat while pacing your reading to keep you enthralled in the story. This application was made for those 9+, but don't let the age fool you because these interesting stories can contain Mature, Mild Horror, Mild Profanity, or Crude Humor. All these themes help to make stories push boundaries and make readers shiver with fear or anxious with excitement. For example, once you download the application, the reader is given their first story to read and hook them in. The story I was given was called, "The Watcher", by Sean Dunne. I was almost instantly hooked due to how well written the story was, and in the story a young girl is told by her father to hide because a monster was coming after her. Although she doesn't believe him at first she soon is contacted by the monster and she has to decide whether what it is telling her is true. Doubt is placed in her as she finds out terrifying information about her family and is kidnapped by another monster called a Snatcher and is taken to an alternate world which reminds me of 'The Upside Down' from "Stranger Things". There is in-app purchase items for this chat room inspired storybook such as Hooked Unlimited which depending on which package you buy can cost from $2.99, $7.99, $9.99, or $39.99. All of these packages should come with Hoots which allows you to read more of any story you are on or have in your library. As someone who obsesses over books and love anything Horror, I highly recommend this app to anyone who enjoys the excitement that this app can provide. Easton Ross Staff Writer In the latest installment of the John wick series, John Wick the legendary assassin is once again forced to come out of retirement. In the assassin world there are two unbreakable rules: No killing on continental grounds, and markers must be honored. Basically, you owe a favor to whoever you gave your blood oath/marker. In this case Italian crime boss Santino D' Antonio has his marker and demands John's services. John refuses saying he has retired. In response to John, Santino promptly destroys his entire house with a grenade launcher. John rethinking his decision and realizing his life is forfeit agrees to Antonio's terms. John accepts his commitment and meets with D'Antonio, who Jon Wick: Chapter 2 was directed by Chad Stahelski and produced by Basil Iwanyk and Erica Lee on February 10, 2017. tasks him with assassinating his sister Gianna D'Antonio so he can claim her seat on the "High Table," a council of high- level crime lords. After going to Rome and completing this seemingly impossible task with ease, D'Antonio puts a seven million dollar bounty on John fearing John's wrath for making him coming out of retirement, destroying his home, and hoping to make it look like he didn't hire John. John Wick then continuously slaughters hordes of greedy people involved with the criminal underworld on his path to kill Antonio. Eventually John corners D'Antonio,but he is able to escape to the Continental. D'Antonio makes it clear that he intends to seek indefinite refuge there, and John, despite the owner's (Winston's) warning, shoots and kills D'Antonio. The next day, Winston tells John that, because of the High Table, the contract on John has been doubled and offered globally. Thanks to Winston's influence, instead of being executed for killing on Continental ground, John is excommunicado and loses all access and privileges to underworld resources. John then starts running away opening up the story for another John Wick movie. John Wick is my second favorite movie of all time with the perfect amount of murder and gore an action movie should have. I would highly recommend this movie to everyone. There is a lot of killing, but if you can get past that John Wick will impress you. came to the whole special effects aspect of the movie. The cast was particularly astounding as well and they fit their characters. Disregarding Nicolas Cage for a minute, children actors are sometimes not the best, but almost everyone in this did a grade A job. It looked like each actor took their roles seriously created an amazing product for the people of Netf lix. I was very impressed with everyone's work and how the movie turned out. If I could rate the film, it would be a ten out of ten. I would definitely recommend this film for anyone who's a fan of Nicolas Cage or for those who just want to watch something new. amount of gore for great movie www.indiewire.com v i e w e r s Stephanie Pena Staff Writer 'The Great Wall', directed by Zhang Yimou stars Matt Damon. He plays a character named William Garin who sets out in search of black powder, but is captured by the Nameless Order soldiers who guard the Great Wall. They have the intention of keeping him prisoner for the rest of his life. They fear that setting him free will lead the world to discover their secret. Their secret battle against the Tao Tei, green beasts that devour people. In this film the Great Wall was built in order to keep the Tao Tei out and most of the f i g h t i n g t a k e s p l a c e on it. This film has beautiful costume designs. They are stunningly vibrant and pleasing to the eye. The stunts performed are quite amazing and some scenes are quite flawless, if not almost reaching perfection. It's extremely visually detailed, but it lacks creativity in the storyline. Matt Damon has been heavily accused of taking part in a "whitewashed" film. Some have sarcastically thanked Matt Damon for saving all of China and the Chinese people. #Thankyoumattdamon began to roll on twitter as many began to thank him for a variety of things, such as thanking him for teaching them to use chopsticks, inventing gunpowder, paper, and printing. On a scale of 1-5 I'd give this movie a 4 because there wasn't much of a plot. It revolved around William, the main character, and then everyone else was not that important. The military commanders barely made an appearance throughout the whole film. They were not portrayed with legendary Chinese commander characteristics. It would have made the film a lot better if the storyline had evolved to give the commanders a greater importance on the screen. The action scenes were a fascinating sight. They began with intriguing acrobatic and skillful scenes, that had minimal uses of weapons. It continued to escalate to bigger and more weaponized scenes, but the way they evolved this could have been thought out in a more creative manner. The ending was not satisfying, it seemed a little rushed because the key to ending the war didn't have a bigger role as I expected. has great plot unrealistic details