The School Newspaper of Cherry Hill High School East

Eastside

The School Newspaper of Cherry Hill High School East

Eastside

The School Newspaper of Cherry Hill High School East

Eastside

Heroes: Season 2, Ep. 2 (video recap)

Junior Caroline Babula is here to recap Season 2 of the wildly popular new television series, Heroes, in a series of wonderful videos. This week, she gives her impressions of Episode 2 of Season 2, which premiered Monday, October 1. Stay tuned for future updates!

Review: Motion City’s “Even If It Kills Me”

On September 18, Minneapolis’ Motion City Soundtrack released their third studio album, “Even If It Kills Me,” on Epitaph Records. After hearing the first few singles of the record (“Broken Heart,” “This Is For Real,” “Fell In Love Without You”), one would imagine “Even If It Kills Me” would almost be a dance record. However, while these songs are primarily played in a fast tempo and have a good beat to dance to, the majority of songs are about a recent breakup; a fresh wound, so to speak. Most unique is “The Conversation,” a song that, really, is just a one-sided conversation about how a relationship is simply not working out anymore.

Heroes: Season 2, Ep. 1 (video recap)

Junior Caroline Babula is here to recap Season 2 of the wildly popular new television series, Heroes, in a series of wonderful videos. This week, she gives an overview of Season 1 for those late to the series, and includes her impressions of Episode 1 of Season 2, which premiered Monday, September 24. Stay tuned for future updates!

Review: The Bourne Ultimatum

The Bourne Ultimatum is the kind of movie that redefines the term ‘action-packed.’ In the final episode of the Bourne trilogy, Matt Damon resumes the role of ex-CIA agent Jason Bourne and headlines a film that manages to be superior to the first two excellent parts of the series. Ultimatum picks up right where The Bourne Supremacy left off, in Moscow, but within minutes the movie jumps from Paris to America and then to a thrilling action sequence in London. The movie focuses on the amnesiac Bourne as he searches for answers to his past and identity, all while evading CIA agents led by Noah Vosen (David Straitharn). Unlike the other two films, Bourne receives some assistance in Ultimatum, from rogue CIA agents Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) and Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles).

Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Despite the surrounding hype of the latest Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth in the seven-part saga, the movie fails to meet the high expectations fans have come to expect from the book-to-movie series. The film is, however, good – director David Yates does have an exceptional talent with capturing natural human interaction. But for all of Yates’ ability to work with people, special effects in the film were shoddy and overall second-rate. Most noticeable were the several scenes in which Harry and his companions fly across London. The sweeping images of the London skyline and notable English landmarks scream “green screen”. Still, Yates does redeem himself somewhat with a stunning depiction of a full-out wizard battle.

Television sizzles with new summer shows

Even though the biggest shows in the reality competition genre, such as American Idol and Dancing with the Stars, air during the prime months of the year, the normally slow television months of the summer are quickly filling up with plenty of similar programs. After a number of successes, most notably America’s Got Talent, summer television has become the hot spot for competition shows which would otherwise be overshadowed during other times of the year. Though reality television used to be dominated by shows focusing on extreme situations or emotional drama, such as Survivor, Fear Factor, and The Real World, a popular new group of shows has emerged and broken the trend.

Christina visits Philadelphia

As the arena filled up on April 3rd, everyone waited for the main act, Christina Aguilera. Philadelphia, one of the many stops she has visited to perform her classic numbers, welcomed her with open arms.

Jack’s Mannequin performs in Philadelphia

“If you left it up to me, everyday would be a holiday from real.” While many people don’t know where these powerful words come from, those who do are sure that they a lyric from “Holiday From Real,” a song by Jack’s Mannequin.

Top albums of 2006

With each passing year in the new millennium, the music scene grows progressively worse. This year is no exception. Only a handful of recent artists (Wilco, Beck, The White Stripes, Kanye West, Citizen Cope, Ben Harper) can be hailed as excellent contributors to the world of music, while other “critically artists” (The Decemberists, TV on the Radio, etc.) are only gaining recognition because there are no others worthy of applaud. In other words, critics are praising sub-average artists because they sound exemplary compared to other recent lack-luster releases. I hate to sound like the stereotypical modern-day music basher, but the truth of the matter is, music just isn’t what it used to be—at least not for the past few years. Maybe I’m being too harsh on modern music, by comparing contemporary bands to the powerful music of the 1960s and 1970s. Are ideas running out? Or are artists too lazy and/or incompetent to create worthwhile music?

Scorsese turns out another American cinema classic

Jason Seher ('07)/ Eastside Staff November 21, 2006
Whenever a Martin Scorsese film debuts in theaters, the American public reacts in one of two ways. Recently, the majority has sheepishly fallen in line with the words of misguided critics who Scorsese's works as more spectacle than film. While this reaction is understandable given Scorsese's resumè includes classics like Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Casino, it often subverts the essence of Scorcese's newest work; all critics are happy to slaughter the film's quality, exaggerating every inadequacy - flaws that would go unnoticed in any other film. For those salivating at the opportunity to do just that, take heart and choose the second so-called "typical" reaction to Scorsese's films: pop open a bag of Orville Redenbacher, relax, and enjoy a nearly flawless film.

“Borat”: Controversial perspective or perspective controversy?

Justin Horowitz ('10)/ For Eastside November 15, 2006
What is “Borat”? Some say it’s the name of the most controversial movie of the year; others deem it the most acclaimed and best comedy in the past decade. In theaters, “Borat”, ultimately becomes the name of fictional Kazakhstan TV reporter Borat Sagdiyev, a beloved Kazakhstani who truly loves his country, where he blindly supports the racist, cruel, and anti-feminist traditions. Borat and his overweight Kazakhstani cameraman Azamat Bagatov, are sent by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Information to go to “US and A” to make a documentary about the true greatness of America. The result is a hilarious comedy which includes a clueless Muslim devotee learning dress codes from Detroit, while singing the Kazakhstani national anthem to the American national anthem tune.

Heroes: Episode 2

Every superhero must have an arch nemesis. This story is introduced in the second episode of Heroes. Before the meet the show’s villain, viewers meet Matt Parkman, a police officer in Los Angeles. He is at a house where a double homicide just took place, and hears a small child’s voice in his head. Matt’s not crazy, however, this is his super power.

Eastside’s scariest countdown: movies 6-10

In many of the momentous horror films in cinema history, the events of the story revolve around picturesque children. Among the best of these performances is Haley Joel Osment’s portrayal of a young boy who can see dead people in The Sixth Sense. The movie follows him as he is counseled by Philadelphia’s premier child psychiatrist (Bruce Willis). Besides one of the most stunning endings in the history of horror films, the film evokes a strong paranoia in its viewers. Every passing breeze becomes an unseen ghost after viewing. The Sixth Sense opened up a new, invisible world with plenty of frightening explanations for misplaced car keys or homework.

Brick a movie with a good foundation

If you ask about Brick and are turned off by the initial one-line description, that’s really no surprise. The premise sounds almost unbearably lame, the sort of plotline one would find in a parodic episode of, perhaps, Saved By the Bell. Simply, then: Brick is a teenager’s film noir – but it is really so much better than that sounds. The film follows Brendan Fry (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) as he attempts to track down the people responsible for his ex-girlfriend Emily’s (Emilie de Ravin) death. Like any good noir protagonist (this is noir, after all, and you can’t quite call him a hero), Brendan uses a unique slang, works without any actual police and gets beat up a lot – though unlike other films, the effects of this are actually seen and dealt with. Brick is blessedly free of voiceovers, however, a definite noir staple. All the other hallmarks are there: the cigarettes, the characters, the stylized shots, even the soundtrack. And, of course, the convoluted plot.
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