The Bluffer - Red Bluff, CA
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/66410
'Dark Shadows' simply mediocre Arts & Rebecca Blanchard Staff Writer "Dark shadows", directed by Tim Burton, had the potential to be an excellent movie; however, it was merely mediocre. Though Burton did a decent job in revamping the vampire idea, this film had so many plot holes, tacky special effects, poor character development scenarios, that this movie is only worth seeing once at the most. One character, though, was well developed, fun to hate and overall perfectly executed. This movie had 99 problems, but a witch wasn't one of them. Angelique Bouchard, played by Eva Green, plays the witch who cursed Barnabas Collins, Johnny Depp, into a vampire. Her character fit perfectly and played off of all of the other characters effortlessly. Angelique's character was versatile throughout the film and fit in whatever scene she was put in. However, she was not enough http://cdn.screenrant.com Johnny Depp plays a comedic vampire, who wakes up after spending 197 years buried in a coffin. to keep this film afloat. This movie was filled with unanswered questions and lacked foreshadowing that would have made the film much smoother and easier to follow. At many moments it seemed as though the creators simply became lazy in character development and just made them disappear in a cheap copout. Other characters just disappeared for half of the movie New app 'Viggle' entices customers by rewarding usage of app with prizes Checking your location and watching recent shows yields "points" Alaina Rudnick Staff Writer Everybody wants something for nothing. Free is a word we all love, and Viggle, a new app in the iTunes app store, appeals to this. The app itself is free to download, and it promises amazing prizes just for watching TV and "Checking in", using the app to listen to the audio from the TV. It's an innovative business plan, get the ad companies to pay you to make sure people watch their ads, and then give the users prizes as incentive for something they already do. The app is very easy to navigate, one area is for "checking in", another to look at the "featured shows" (that get you more "points" for watching them), and another for tracking how many points you have and how much the prizes are. The area for featured shows also has ads, and if you watch one through, say, one for Verizon, you get extra points. They also let you set reminders so you can check in to the shows that will get you the most points. One of the drawbacks is that you can't check into shows that aren't live, so Netflix, Hulu, better prizes, like a Kindle Fire, are around 375,000 points. The prizes are also slightly limited; you can't always get what you want. They currently offer gift cards to: Spotify, Starbucks, Red Box, iTunes, Gamefly, Best Buy, Barnes and Noble, CVS, Old Navy, Lowe's, more and an iPod Touch, an Apple TV, and a Kindle Fire. You can also donate to the Boy's and Girl's Clubs of America, The National Breast Cancer Association, and Covenant House. The app is innovative, and http://www.marsmusings.com and recorded shows are out; after all it is the ad companies that pay for the prizes. Another drawback is the Fact of the Issue fact that all the prizes are pretty far out of reach, since each prize is usually around 7,000 "points", but for each show you watch you get between 1 and 25 points, though for watching ads you can get up to 50. The the execution is good, and easy to navigate, it it's not great rewards for time and data spent. It's worth getting, but don't expect a lot of prizes for little time. with no explanation. On top of that, some of the special effects were just tacky and disappointing to see in a Tim Burton movie. Burton is known for being an amazing director and creating brilliant as well as timeless movies; however, Dark Shadows was neither. It had a good concept, with poor execution. "Dark shadows" is a film based on a television show, Page 4 May 18, 2012 Entertainment also named "Dark Shadows". The film stars Barnabas Collins, a man who was blunt and told Angelique Bouchard that despite the "activities" they did, he did not love her. He did not know however, that she was a witch. She proceeded to curse him and everyone he loved. She tricks the townspeople into locking him in a coffin which he does not escape from for 200 years until 1972. After that it is a battle of the wills to the death. This film is honestly not the worst movie ever made, it is far from it. Between cheap cop outs, character mishaps and disappointing special effects, this movie is not one worth seeing in theaters, but it might be worth renting. but worth seeing once. Not a great movie, 'The Avengers' a success, combines Marvel series Laurel Shoop Topics Editor When I went into the theater last weekend to see "The Avengers," I had high expectations. I have seen all the previous Marvel superhero movies leading up to this one and have been looking forward to seeing the grand finale of these films. Needless to say, I was not disappointed. As expected, the special effects were breath- taking and the frequent action sequences kept my eyes riveting to the screen. Rather than simply turning into mindless eye candy and losing any resemblance of a plot like so many action movies nowadays tend to do, Avengers manages to separate itself from the pattern and retain an entertaining (if somewhat formulaic) story line. By far, the most refreshing aspect of the movie is the rich three-dimensional characters. Rather than portraying You get something for nothing, but not a lot. Easy to use. the protagonists as flawless embodiments of heroism and the antagonists as pure evil, Avengers never loses sight of its characters' humanity. Robert Downey Jr. returns as the billionaire genius/Ironman whose intelligence is only rivaled by his candid narcissism, which causes tension between the other heroes. Similarly, Chris Evan's character Captain America's idealistic views about honor and glory reveal his innate naivety and lack of worldly experience. Even the ostensibly uncompromising Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) leader of S.H.I.E.L.D is revealed to have his own motives for assembling the team and his moral compass does not always point due north. Most compelling of all is the cold Tom Hiddleston as the primary antagonist. Rather than being merely malicious, he is portrayed as a tortured soul who is seeking the veneration of Earth's population, as he feels he never received it on his home planet of Asgard while constantly in the shadow of his older brother Thor (Chris Hemsworth). Despite its aforementioned strengths, the movie contains a few weaknesses as well. There are several annoying plot loopholes, one of which the fact that Bruce Banner is somehow able to retain his intellect the second time he transforms into Hulk instead of trying to kill his fellow heroes like the first time. Hulk is also basically invincible in this movie, falling from aircraft 30,000 feet in the air and surviving as well as getting shot by hundreds of laser beams at once without showing any sign of pain. I am only pointing this out because in the "Incredible Hulk" he was not nearly as powerful, and continuity should be crucial in this movie. Overall, this was a very entertaining movie that succeeded in combing every Marvel superhero movie. Awesome special effects and full characters. A cameo is when the producer or the creator of a performing art production makes an appear- ance in the movie as himself/ herself. In every one of Quentin Tarantino's movies, he makes a cameo. By: Austin Chase