^fenior Insert
May
Summer blockbusters provide thrills, fun
a M ary W ood _______________
Staff Reporter
When the summer heat is
shining down and heading
to the pool has lost its charm,
the movie theater may offer
a needed respite. Plenty of
new films are coming out
this summer to help beat the
boredom—
many action
and adventure
flicks—plus a
hearty helping
of sequels.
For fans
of the X-Men
series, May
1 brought
"X-Men
Origins:
Wolverine."
In the film,
Wolverine
(Hugh
Jackman) lives
his life as a mutant and seeks
revenge for the death of his
girlfriend. Other stars include
Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston
and Kevin Durand.
Science fiction gets a hit
this year with Star Trek. The
movie sh o w s th e ea rly days
^[C aptain Kirk (Chris Pine)
and the rest of the crew. Other
stars include Zachary Quinto,
Leonard Nimoy and Eric Bana.
It came to theaters on May 8.
If you liked watching
"The Da Vinci Code" when
it came out in 2006, or are a
Dan Brown fan, get ready for
"Angels & Demons," the film
adaptation of Brown's novel
of the same name. The movie
follows Harvard University
professor Robert Langdon
(Tom Hanks) on a trip to the
Vatican to solve a murder and
prevent the work of a shady
secret society. The film also
stars Ewan McGregor, Stellan
Skarsgard, Ayelet Zurer and
many others. It opened in
theaters on May 15.
One of the many movies
this summer that are part of
a larger series is the prequel
"Terminator Salvation,"
the fourth movie in the
"Terminator" series. The post-
apocalyptic
movie stars
Christian
Bale as John
Connor, a man
destined to
lead a human
resistance
against an
army of
terminators
in 2018.
Other stars
include Sam
Worthington
as Marcus
Wright, a man
with little memory, and Anton
Yelchin as a younger version
of Kyle Reese, the first film's
protagonist. It opened on May
21 .
Another sequel coming
out is "Night at the Museum:
Plummer and Jordan Nagai,
and comes to theaters starting
tomorrow.
If you're looking for
comedy this summer, a good
choice might be "Year One."
It takes place in ancient times
and follows hunter-gathers
(Jack Black and Michael Cera)
who are kicked out of their
village and encounter many
biblical figures like Cain and
Abel (David Cross and Paul
Rudd, respectively). It is
scheduled to come out on June
19.
Also on June 19, is the
release of "The Proposal." This
romantic comedy features a
boss (Sandra Bullock) who
forces her assistant (Ryan
Reynolds) to marry her so she
can avoid being deported to
Canada. Other stars include
Mary Steenburgen, Craig T.
Nelson and Betty White.
"Transformers" is also
receiving the sequel treatment
this year, with "Transformers:
Revenge of the Fallen" coming
out on June 24. The movie
follows Sam Witwicky (Shia
LaBeouf) as he avoids the
Megan Fox and Josh Duhamel,
with Rainn Wilson joining the
cast.
The "Ice Age" series
premieres its third film with
this summer's "Ice Age: Dawn
of the Dinosaurs." The movie
follows the characters from the
first two movies on a journey
to save Sid from
a dangerous
world of
dinosaurs.
Vocal stars
include Sean
William
Scott, Denis
Leary, John
Leguizamo,
Josh Peck,
Queen Latifah
and Ray
Romano. It is
schedule to
be released on
July 1.
If you're in the mood for
a period drama this summer,
"Public Enemies" may be
a good bet. It's a movie
about a group of American
gangsters in the 1930's and the
government's attempt to take
Battle of the Smithsonian." In
them down. The movie stars
this film, the same security
guard from the first film
works to rescue exhibits that
have been shipped to the
Smithsonian by mistake. There
are many big names in this
movie including Ben Stiller,
Amy Adams, Jonah Hill,
Owen Wilson, Bill Hader and
Robin Williams. It began in
theaters on May 22.
For Pixar fans, Disney-
Pixar's "Up" may be a favorite
this year. The movie follows
an old man on his dream
journey to South America,
and a young stowaway on the
voyage. It features the voices
of Edward Asner, Christopher
Johnny Depp as John Dillinger,
Christian Bale as Melvin
Purvis and Charming Tatum as
Pretty Boy Floyd. It also comes
out July 1.
Even after the end of
the book series, the "Harry
Potter" movie franchise
carries on, with "Harry
Potter and the Half-Blood
Prince" this summer. The
movie follows Harry's sixth
year at Hogwarts, when he
begins to develop a better
understanding of Voldemort's
past. The movie retains
previous stars from the series
and adds some new faces
like Jim Broadbent as Horace
Decepticon Forces trying to
take him prisoner. Many stars
return to the film, including
Slughom. Shows start July 19.
A favorite childhood toy
for many is brought to the big
screen with "G.I. Joe: The Rise
of Cobra." In the film, a group
of operatives known as G.I.
Joe fight it out with an arms
dealer. Stars include Charming
Tatum, Sienna Miller, Dermis
Quaid and
Joseph Gordon-
Levitt. Look for
it on Aug. 7.
For a
combination
of romance
and science
fiction, look
to "The Time
Traveler's Wife,"
a movie based
on the novel
by Audrey
Niffenegger.
It's about a
librarian who
accidently travels through
time when he experiences
stress and the strains this puts
on his romance. Stars include
Eric Bana, Rachel McAdams,
Ron Livingston and Stephen
Tobolowsky.
"Inglorious Basterds"
(yes, Basterds) is a Quentin
Tarantino movie coming
out this summer. The movie
follows a group of Jewish-
American soldiers in Nazi-
controlled France who
specialize in brutally killing
Nazis. The movie stars Brad
Pitt, Diane Kruger and Mike
Myers, and is narrated by
Samuel L. Jackson. It comes
out Aug. 21.
Despite an emphasis on
action and drama films this
summer, there still seems to be
plenty of variety, from period
films to a bit of magic. Keep an .
eye out for locations and show
times.
Shorts X offers fascinating mix of genres
, A dam H olmes ______________
Staff Reporter
"Shorts X" celebrated its
tenth anniversary of student
directed performances, May
7-9. The production consisted
of four plays, two of which
were written by the directors.
The first play presented was
"Mysteries of the Monk of the
Castle Falconara," written by
James Armstrong and directed
by Catherine d'Autremont,
senior, and Alexandra Mink,
junior. Three Gothic English
novelists from 1793 are
summoned to the mysterious
Castle Falconara in Italy by the
mysterious lord of the castle
who knows a secret about each
individual.
This play managed to have
a unique combination of dark
comedy and drama. Although
the story was confusing
at times, the delivery was
strong, especially the subtle
by Reis Mahnic, senior, was
described as "four short scenes
observing artists and their
Tatianna Young, senior, addresses her guests, played by Dayne Scanlon,
sophom ore, Tyler W hitcom b, junior, and Ailish Duff, freshm an, at
the Castle Falconara. Their play was the first of four student directed
perform ances during Shorts X.
Photo by Hannah Zaayer
jokes laced throughout the
performance.
The second play, "Art &
Passion," written and directed
relationships." It was very well
done and very intellectual.
I was especially fond of the
fourth scene, when the actor,
Michael Johnson, sophomore,
interacted on stage with a
recorded version of himself
that was played on a giant
screen behind him. The scene
was excellently synchronized
and fascinating to watch.
The third play "Trifles" was
written by Susan Glaspell and
directed by Caitlyn Olson,
senior. The story takes place
in a small farming community
in Nebraska during 1916,
and centers around the
investigation of a local murder.
Although the story did drag a
bit at times, it was very tense
and suspenseful. The actors
were excellent, especially
Avery Breyne-Cartwright,
junior, and Anna Stapleton,
sophomore, as the wives in
this drama which is considered
to be one of the earliest pieces
of feminist drama.
"Lovers and Haters," the
final play, was written by
Nicholas Altishin, senior, and
co-directed with Christopher
Daniels, senior. The comedy
centers around the two stars
of a modem day soap opera,
both on the show and in their
lives. Altishin wrote a very
entertaining and funny play,
and judging from the response
of the audience, everyone
enjoyed it. Each character was
humorous in their own way,
whether it was Samantha
Forsey, sophomore, playing
the attractive and dim-witted
neophyte, or Tyler Harmon,
senior, playing one of the
assistant writers. Leads Troy
Spivey and Melissa André,
seniors, also turned in great
performances.