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Arts and Entertainment, Opinion

Holiday 2015 Movie Reviews: Hunger Games, The Night Before & More

 

The holiday movie season is here, and that means a flood of great (and not-so-great) film entertainment for your viewing pleasure. I’ve done my best to sort the tripe from the treasure, hand-picking one film each from four different genres — action/adventure, animation, comedy and drama — to check out on your days off.

“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 2”

Action/Adventure

This fourth entry in the “Hunger Games” series sees Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) take the war for Panem to the Capitol itself, gaining an opportunity to confront the diabolical President Snow (Donald Sutherland) at last.

The higher focus on action does mean we see less of our favorite characters, like unflappable Effie Trinket (Elizabeth Banks) and clever Plutarch Heavensbee (the late, great Philip Seymour Hoffman), but the greater focus on Katniss and brainwashed beau Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) allow Lawrence and Hutcherson to turn out their deepest and most affecting performances as these beloved characters.

Perhaps best of all, this unflinchingly grim, mature portrait of war — and its willingness to venture into tense political territory — doesn’t pull punches for the sake of its target audience, a thing to be savored in this era of diminishing returns.

“The Good Dinosaur”

Animation

It’s not even in the same stratosphere as “Inside Out,” which came out earlier this year, but director Peter Sohn’s contribution to the Pixar catalog is a good-natured and gorgeous little Western.

The story reverses the roles of human and beast, following young Apatosaurus Arlo (Raymond Ochoa) and caveboy Spot (Jack Bright) as they attempt to find their way back to the mountain where Arlo’s family lives. Along the way, they find ways to bridge the communication gap between species (Spot, as part of the role reversal, is the one lacking language) in the movie’s best tearjerker of a scene, and discover they have more in common than they might have otherwise thought.

The movie’s thin plot and intermittent exchanges of dialogue might make this a bit of a slog for adults in the audience, but at least they’ll have plenty of eye candy to look at in the meantime — Pixar renders their most stunning, lifelike scenery yet here.

“The Night Before”

Comedy

HHH

You’ve got to hand it to him: Seth Rogen may have played the chubby, druggy slacker-dude a few too many times in his career, but he hasn’t exhausted the laughs he can get with his lovable loser character. This time around, he’s Isaac Greenberg, the oafish BFF to two other goofballs by the names of Ethan Miller (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and Chris Roberts (Anthony Mackie).

Ethan lost his parents in a car accident fourteen years ago, so to cheer him up, his friends created an annual Christmas tradition of silly slackerdom: Chinese food. Intentionally bad karaoke. The piano at FAO Schwarz made famous in Tom Hanks’ “Big.” But now, with Roberts taking care of a superstar career in the NFL and Greenberg with a baby on the way, it may be time for Ethan to face the music: his friends are growing up.

Oh, all right, so the premise is unoriginal and the quality of the jokes is uneven, but there are too many belly laughs here for anyone to care. One particular sequence, involving a series of explicit photos sent to Rogen via text message, had me seeing stars and gasping for air.

“Creed”

Drama

Who’d have guessed that this de facto “Rocky VII” could be not only good, but the best in the series since John G. Avildsen’s 1976 original? Adonis Johnson (Michael B. Jordan) quits his white collar job just after getting a promotion, and his mother senses the reason why: he’s going to fight. She knows this obsession with violence well, because she’s the widow of the late Apollo Creed — Rocky’s rival-turned-pal who died in the ring with Ivan Drago in the absurdly schlocky “Rocky IV.”

But the movie spares us flashbacks and plays it straight, which allows us to believe in the characters — for the most part, anyway. Although we’re never quite convinced of Johnson’s (later Creed’s) motivation, his camaraderie with Stallone’s iconic boxer — who, naturally, trains him to take on his father’s legacy — is surprisingly poignant, and the relationship he nurtures with quirky singer-songwriter Bianca is a worthy match for Rocky’s decades-old romance with Adrian. Yeah, “Pretty” Ricky Conlan isn’t up there with the original Creed, Mr. T’s Clubber Lang and Drago as a great over-the-top villain, but this is one movie that can survive on the virtues of its heroes alone.

Opinion

Opinion: The real honors experience from trials, to troubles, to triumph

and  

Considering that I work full time, play in a band, write for the NECC Observer, take care of my elderly mother and take classes at NECC, I really had no business taking on an Honors Project. When Professor Stephen Slaner presented the idea in his American Government & Politics course, not one student responded. Knowing that I was a writing major, he looked my way with a big smile and said, “I bet you could do a great project.”

Just when you start to question your very existence on this planet, someone has to go and give you a huge ego boost. So I agreed to write a proposal for my paper and declared to Slaner that my topic would be way outside the box and non-negotiable. Proposals were due the very next day. Although I had worked after school, I stayed up late writing it and was just about to email my idea for “Fueling the Mosh Pit: Heavy Metal Reflects on the Trauma of War” to Honors Coordinator Ginger Hurajt when hundreds of NECC student’s accounts were accidentally deleted. I just sat at my desk and cried for a few minutes before realizing that the sink was filled with dishes and that I had never washed my husband’s favorite Slayer shirt, as promised.

I would be lying if I didn’t say that I was a bit relieved to have missed the deadline. I thought “Who do I think I am? I don’t have time for extra homework!”

In light of the technical difficulties, Hurajt agreed to accept late entries. I don’t know why I was surprised, she’s pretty flexible when a student’s success is involved.

Inching my way toward graduation, one course at a time since 2011, I often wonder why I’m even in school at the age of 43. Feeling guilty about spending time on homework is something that I struggle with often. Giving up a nine-hour shift because I have a research paper to do has certainly raised some concern at the dinner table.

My husband asked, “Are you getting paid for this project?”

“No.” I said. “But the professor gets $200.”

“What do you get?”

“Well, nothing, except for a notation on my transcript,” I answered sadly.

After careful consideration and accepting four extra shifts at work, I had decided to drop the project. However, before I could inform Slaner of my disappointing news, I received an email from Hurajt, indicating that my project proposal had been accepted and the Honors Committee was looking forward to reading it.

So, once again I found myself basking in the encouragement of my mentors and figured, “I think I can make this work.” But at what cost?

A 10-15 page research paper, an additional essay explaining the process of the researching of the paper, a detailed presentation to the class and a giant poster highlighting your main ideas for the paper. This seems like a lot of work for someone who doesn’t work after school. What was I thinking?

As a professional procrastinator, I’m no stranger to pulling an all-nighter to meet an academic deadline. But things started to get a little too real when I realized that I was cutting hair on three hours of sleep and I told my mother I couldn’t take her Christmas shopping. Talk about feeling like the worst wife and daughter in the world. Surprisingly, with four days to spare, I finally clicked print at 3:00 a.m. and as I was putting the already wrinkled laundry away, I thought to myself, “I can’t believe I wasted 40 hours on this project and it doesn’t even count.”

The alarm went off way too soon and off to class I went. After presenting my project to the class, I dragged my tri-fold poster to the Tech Center for an Honors Poster Session, where the projects are viewed by members of the Honors Committee and other faculty and students. I was overwhelmed by the encouragement and praise offered by all who attended.

Although I am exhausted from the work, the overall experience has left me with a profound sense of accomplishment. I realize that at the end of the day, not all rewards are monetary. Just knowing that people believe in me and support my academic adventure makes it worth my while.

Opinion

Students unsastified with Jitters

 

By Jake Soroghan

Correspondent

NECC is a community college, and therefore does not always have the same amenities that a four-year institution has. It makes sense the tuition is less, so obviously not as much can be offered. There are less sports teams, the athletic complex is smaller, there are no dormitories and on the whole there are less events around campus.

This is all to be expected; students know the situation coming in. Even with these expectations, though, there’s one issue on campus that seems to irritate practically all students: the food situation. On campus, outside of vending machines, there are only two places to get food. The first is the One-Stop Center’s bookstore, which is essentially a mini-mart. With various snacks, drinks and microwaveable sandwiches, it serves its purposes as a way to get quick food cheaply.

On the other side of campus, there is what is supposed to be the school’s “cafeteria,” but calling it a cafeteria probably gives it too much credit. Run by NexDine and located in the Spurk building, this poorly-run café has little in the way of options and is excessive on the prices. The options for substantive meals come down to pre-made sandwiches in plastic containers and often old Papa Gino’s pizza, if pizza can even be considered substantive.

Andrew Wooster, an English major, said he’s tired of paying so much for the poor-quality food. “The sandwiches are old and skimpy, the pizza is $2.50 for a slice and besides that there ain’t anything else to eat. There’s always two or three employees in there and they do nothing but sit around all day.”

Dissatisfaction is a common theme among students. Ernie Ewusi, a Radiology major, said he no longer gets any food at NECC. He either brings his own, or if he’s in the mood, orders out.

“It just doesn’t make sense to get food here,” he said. “The only thing they have going for them is convenience, and even the vending machines are expensive.”

This is the root of the problem; due to its convenience, students are often compelled to buy the overpriced food here because they don’t have the time or gas money to leave campus to get food and come back for their next class.

Erik Goulet, a Physical Therapy major, says that’s a problem for him every day he forgets to bring food from home, or there is no food at home.

“If I can’t pack a lunch for myself on a given day, I have to go hungry for the whole day. I don’t have enough money to get the expensive food at the café, and am always short on gas, so driving somewhere isn’t an option.”

Expanding the cafeteria to include a wider array of hot food options would solve a few of the current problems.

One, it would simply give students more filling and healthy options. Secondly, if the cafeteria was making its own hot food, the prices would go down.

When nothing but pre-packaged sandwiches and pizza are sold, the prices have to be more expensive because a middleman is involved.

When food is made on site, there is no middleman and therefore prices go down. NexDine either needs to increase the quality of their services or NECC administration need to find another company who can address the need of the students to fill that role.

Opinion

MS: living on both sides of the coin

 

A wise frog once said, “It’s not easy being green,” and although I can’t relate to Kermit the Frog’s plight, I can say for myself it’s not easy having an invisible illness.

Some may ask what that means, and that’s why the news editor is writing an opinion piece this week.

During the last staff meeting, Kim Whiting, editor-in-chief of the Observer, sat across from me as we spoke about the lack of verbage handed to able-bodied people to converse with those of us not afforded the luxury.

I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in May 2013. MS is a chronic neurological disease that affects the myelin in the nervous system. For those of you that have taken a psychology course here or back in high school, you may remember that the myelin are the protective coating around the pathways in the brain and spinal cord. MS deteriorates the myelin and causes the neurons that transmit signals in your nervous system to misfire.

To put it into simpler, more relatable terms: Imagine driving on the highway. The highway represents the pathways in your nervous system, your car is the signal to be sent and the driving conditions represent your health. You would like to take the next exit, which just happens to be an overpass. Depending on how poor the driving conditions are, you might end up missing the exit or getting on and having the overpass fall right out from underneath you.

Either way, you’re not in the best shape for getting to your destination.

On most days I look and act like any other 20-something college student. I take five classes, I work three jobs, I love going out with my friends and taking selfies with my dog. I look healthy for the most part, which is what makes my MS an “invisible” disease. While people see me as healthy, they don’t know I also just happen to be a self-proclaimed “walking pharmacy,” with seven different medical specialists and at least four appointments every month.

Then there are the days when my disease isn’t invisible.

Trust me, it’s awkward for me to walk around when I have my cane. I get a lot of weird looks from people whose minds I can’t read but whose faces scream, “What’s wrong with her?”

While speaking to Kim, she mentioned that it comes from a good place when people ask questions, even if they do hurt to answer.

My least favorite is, “What happened?”

I usually follow this up with, “It’s just my health acting up,” because it’s not like I fell and hurt my ankle or sprained something. My body is just deciding that it doesn’t want to function properly. This is something I’m currently riding out for an unknown amount of time.

Of course the hardest thing to hear is, “Get better soon.”

I know this is the most ambiguous, well intentioned thing a person can say to another, but it’s hard to hear when it’s not an option. Yes, I can lose the cane in a few days. The damage, however, going on in my brain and spinal cord is permanent and intermittently ongoing.

With the stress of finals and work, I recently had to miss some school, use my cane and have some tests done. Coming to campus with my cane is always a nerve-wracking experience. As a someone who doesn’t broadcast my condition, I just know someone is bound to ask questions, which is not worth the anxiety because it could potentially make my condition worse.

Of course everyone wants to say, “Just don’t think about it … It doesn’t matter what other people think.”

This is easier said than done. I’ve gone to school with breakouts, a rip in the crotch of my jeans and without makeup. I really don’t care in that way, this is another thing entirely to overcome.

I can’t speak for all of the invisible illness fighters in the world, or even on campus, but I can speak for myself. When you see someone with a cane, a walker or a wheelchair, don’t stare.

Hi, human being here just trying to go about my day.

Also, don’t be so quick to make an assumption that something “happened.” Instead of demanding answers about a possibly traumatic event, how about asking someone how they’re feeling?

Even if they’re using the assistance because of a car accident, a skiing incident or they fell down the stairs, how about you just ask, “How do you feel?” instead of, “What happened?”

How about, only if you mean it, “I’m here if you need anything,” instead of the command, “Feel better.”

One day I’m the tall brunette and the next I’m the cripple who’s faking it. People can holler all they want about the world becoming too politically correct, but step into the shoes of someone who lives both sides of the coin.

For more information on MS visit www.nationalmssociety.org.

Opinion

Letter: Another perspective on trainees

 

I have been following the debate regarding the issues surrounding the law enforcement trainees. While I can appreciate those who are against their presence on campus you have no idea of what law enforcement is all about.

I am not a police officer but have been in the law enforcement family my entire life. My father was with the Rochester, NY department for 38 years retiring with the rank of First Sergeant—the only member of the department so honored. 

Following his retirement the badge was retired as well. My dad was highly respected within the department and by the community as a whole. I married into the department and now my son is a member. Both have been cited as Officer of the Month.

As a child I watched my dad report for duty during the rioting that occurred in Rochester not knowing when he would come home and in what condition. 

Another time he came upon an accident scene and prevented a passer-by from removing the young driver from her vehicle. Had the driver been removed she would have been paralyzed.

Just a few weeks before giving birth I watched my husband be sent to Attica State Prison to help quell the rioting that was occurring. Other times he was spat on for doing his job of protecting our city.

Now I dread to think of what my son must be on alert for considering the state of our world.

I sincerely appreciate Jake Soraghan’s letter in the Nov. 18th edition of the NECC Observer. He gets it. Thanks, Jake. 

As for those whose comments appeared in the same edition you don’t get it. One former student found their training activity to be, “…aggressive and inappropriate for a college campus.” 

Pardon me, but those who attend college are adults and should be thinking like adults and able to understand what police training in today’s world entails.

An Early Childhood Education major determined that a 3-year-old doesn’t, “understand practice…that shouting messes with a kids [sic] head…” Is this person trying to say that what young children watch on TV is less violent than seeing the trainees practice?

The Director of the day care program doesn’t, “…know how appropriate it is to do it [training] in front of the college kids.” Does she have any idea of how much violence today’s college kids have already witnessed by what they choose to watch in the media and on the internet?

One student determined a training exercise to be, “…very dehumanizing…violent and aggressive.” Is she aware that police training pales in comparison to the training of terrorists?

Another student feels, “…the level of violence being displayed can be upsetting…and training should be on de-escalating violent situations.”

It’s obvious he has never been involved in a riot situation. His comment that, “…they’re just beating pads with nightsticks just to get…how to more efficiently beat someone down.”

Does he think this is the highest priority of a police officer—to beat others? He maintains this confuses him. Has he ever considered meeting one on one with an officer to better understand what police do?

Those suffering from PTSD may have difficulty being around the trainees however, unless those so afflicted live in a sterile, neutral environment the world will go on and help is available.

As far as the drill conducted during school hours, while it may have been a surprise to students, it could be seen as a positive by making students aware of how to react in a real situation. Isn’t it better to be prepared than have no idea of how to protect yourself?

Put yourself in a difficult situation needing assistance. A family member is missing. You are home alone and a stranger breaks in.

You are being held against your will. A mass shooter goes on a rampage where you are attending a venue.

I guarantee that person in blue who shows up will become your hero. Just ask the people who have been in the above scenarios.   

Do you know what it’s like to walk into a pitch black building searching for an armed

suspect? Do you know what it’s like to have to tell a parent their child has been killed in an accident? Do you know how it feels to see a victim of abuse?

Do you know how it feels to work on a case for months then watch a known perpetrator go free?

How would you like to have Thanksgiving and Christmas cut short because your parent had to report for duty?

It was a real treat when my dad and husband got the day off once every few years. My husband hated working Christmas Eve. Family trouble calls found kids cowering, the tree on the floor amid broken ornaments, gifts ripped apart and the wife or husband either drunk or beaten.

How would you like to grow up not knowing your parent because he or she was killed in the line of duty?

A police officer puts his or her life on the line every time they pin on their badge, holster their service revolver, and report for duty.

They serve and protect not because they have to but because they want to. They need exceptional training and it has to take place somewhere. Police officers don’t just magically appear from nowhere perfectly trained.

While what you see may be upsetting to those who don’t understand the inner workings of law enforcement be grateful officers can be well trained.

Step outside your comfort zone and talk to an officer. They are human, just like you.

They have feelings, hopes, dreams and fears. They are dads and moms, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters.

They are not machines; they are not perfect. And unless you can find a better way to train them, make the world a safer place or are willing to do their job be grateful someone is there when you need them.

Just ask anyone who has been a victim.

Sharon Tucker, M.Ed, BSPA, AAS, NECC Student

Opinion

No ifs, ands or butts: the issue of smoking on the NECC campus

 

By Andrea Davis, Correspondent

Students at NECC are prohibited to use any tobacco products while on campus. This includes the parking lots, buildings, walkways, bathrooms and any general area within the campus premises.

The school’s smoking policy reads:

‘“Northern Essex Community College recognizes the medical evidence that indicates that smoking is a serious health hazard, and that this hazard includes those exposed to secondhand smoke.

Where a primary responsibility of the College is to provide a safe and healthful working and learning environment, this responsibility has led to the following policy: Smoking is prohibited within the confines of all college grounds, buildings and property including college vehicles. (Smoking will only be allowed in private vehicles lawfully parked on campus lots that the smoker is authorized to be in.)”

Many students are unaware of the smoking policy on campus, despite the several “NO SMOKING” signs plastered around campus in all areas students are exposed to.

“I had no idea we were not allowed to smoke in the parking lot. “I was sitting on my car in between my classes smoking and I got asked to leave the parking lot by campus security. I was very confused and was not aware of this rule at all,” Alexandria DeLotto, a Psychology major.   

Many students feel strongly that this rule should stay intact at the Haverhill NECC campus. Others have voiced their opinion that the rule should have some boundaries and be reduced to certain areas for those who are smokers.

“I’m a smoker myself and I still think that this rule should be intact. Smoking on campus is really disrespectful to those students who don’t smoke themselves,” said Amanda Atchley, a Psychology major. “When I see cigarette butts scattered around the parking lot, it makes me sick. At least clean up your mess if you are going to break the rules. No one wants to step on that stuff, it’s gross.” 

“I think that there should be a ‘designated smoking area’ on campus. Somewhere that students who are smokers can go in between classes to smoke and not disrupt those who do not,” says Zachary McKallagat, an English major.

“Some people are addicted to smoking, and it makes it difficult to go through a school day without a cigarette.”

Asia Perrano, a nursing major, said, “I see people smoking in their cars, which I believe is not against the rules. But the smoke is still filtered into the air and the cigarette or cigar will (probably) end up on the ground of the parking lot regardless.

“Smoking should be banned completely. No exceptions.”

Arts and Entertainment

Hottest Movies of the Summer Critiqued

 

We’ve got time to spare during the summer, and Hollywood knows it.

Blockbuster after blockbuster is released during the months of June, July, and August, but chances are you didn’t get to see everything theatres had to offer. 2015 was a particularly excellent year for summer films, so here’s a guide to help you catch up on your days off.

 

Mad Max: Fury Road (****)

By far the best action movie to come out this summer, this year, and possibly any other year, George Miller’s fourth entry in the consistently excellent Mad Max series sees the Road Warrior helping lead an exodus of women out of harm’s way. But don’t mistake that for some kind of damsel-in-distress scenario.

Tom Hardy’s version of Max is a more subdued character, letting the focus remain on butt-kicking Imperator Furiosa (played wonderfully by Charlize Theron) and her ragtag group of ladies coveted by the villainous Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne, returning after his role as Toecutter in the first film). Nicholas Hoult also gives a charming performance as Nux, a rogue “War Boy” whose comic relief is amazingly both comic and a relief.

The feminist twist on the series is due in no small part to “Vagina Monologues” writer Eve Ensler’s assistance as an on-set adviser, and the story is raw and open in its humanism. Of course, Miller’s post-apocalyptic Australia is as gleefully bizarre and desolate as it ever has been, and wife Margaret Sixel’s sublime editing always gives us the best view of the anarchic action.

This is a surreal piece of art that somehow got mashed with commercial action filmmaking, and it’s one of the most suspenseful, moving, and viscerally satisfying movies you’ll ever see.

 

Inside Out (***½)

Pixar is back on top with this superior animated film that personifies the five emotions (Joy, Sadness, Disgust, Anger, and Fear) present inside a little girl named Riley Andersen. The movie flips back and forth between Riley’s story, in which her family relocates from Minnesota to San Francisco, and the world of the emotions, where the disturbance caused by the move begins to upend their routine.

It’s a simple story that’s intriguing for kids and adults alike, with a number of creative allegorical devices to explain human psychology. The animation is simply beautiful, with one particularly stunning sequence reducing the characters’ dimensions and playing around with abstract art.

The relationship developed between Joy and Sadness, and the eventual revelation that all emotions — even the ones we perceive as negative — are necessary, are easily the standouts in this superb piece of family entertainment.

 

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation (***½)

Who could have believed the Mission: Impossible movie series would hit such a high at its fourth film? 2011’s “Ghost Protocol” was a tense, rip-roaring thriller with a great deal of camaraderie between Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) and newcomers William Brandt (Jeremy Renner) and Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg).

That same team is back in “Rogue Nation,” which isn’t quite as good as the former film but still provides outrageous entertainment that blows the first three out of the water.

CIA Director Alan Hunley (Alec Baldwin) is fed up with Hunt and friends’ destructive antics, calling for the dissolution of the IMF at a Senate hearing. His wish is granted, and naturally this couldn’t come at a worse time; the group has just discovered the existence of an international crime group known as the Syndicate, whose members include Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson) and sneering lunatic Solomon Lane (Sean Harris). The movie is filled wall-to-wall with the series’ hallmark outrageous stunts, including one particularly impressive scene that takes place underwater and a brilliantly-paced mission at the opera.

Amazingly, despite the certainty of the IMF’s success, the increasing absurdity of the situations continue to effectively generate suspense.

Rebecca Ferguson is easily one of the best characters in the series as Faust, in a complex and multifaceted role that is mercifully written as a beautiful friendship with Hunt rather than a romance.

In one of the only missteps, Sean Harris’ Lane is more slimy and creepy than intimidating, and his villainous role is ultimately a bit of a letdown. In the end, though, this film remains better than it probably has any right to be as the fifth entry in an action franchise.

 

Ant-Man (***)

Paul Rudd takes on the role of the miniaturizing superhero in this latest entry to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which takes after the crass and self-referential humor of last year’s “Guardians of the Galaxy.” It never quite reaches the delirious heights of that film, but Ant-Man still carves a name for himself as a funny and endearing action hero. After Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) has his research used against his will by malevolent protege Darren Cross (Corey Stoll), it’s up to Scott Lang to don the titular suit and steal the tech back.

Accompanying Pym and Lang on this journey is Evangeline Lilly’s Hope van Dyne, Pym’s daughter serving as a double agent. Lilly’s performance as Dyne is easily one of the best parts of the movie; her convincing attempts to reconcile with her father provide light drama amongst the comedy and action.

Less effective is her slapdash romance with Lang, unceremoniously tossed in as an afterthought near the end credits. The colorful collection of caricatures that serve as the comic are actually quite funny (led by Michael Peña having way too much fun). Almost as funny is the overacting of Stoll in a goofy and admittedly weak villain role.

“Ant-Man” plays it a bit too safe to be one of the best, but it’s still in the upper echelons of the MCU. One wonders if it would be up there with “Galaxy” had the touch of “Hot Fuzz” director Edgar Wright still been present.

 

Jurassic World (***)

Colin Trevorrow’s take on the “Jurassic” franchise is silly, preposterous, and the best entry since the 1993 original. Yes, this one is about a dinosaur genetically modified to be bigger and badder than the rest, and yes, it is as over-the-top and dumb as you could possibly expect. But you don’t go to a “Jurassic” movie to see its characters wax philosophical, do you?

Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard play the leads. It would be a kindness to call these actors’ roles “characters,” as they barely edge their way into two-dimensional territory and engage in exchanges of dialogue that may or may not be unintentionally hilarious.

“I don’t control the raptors. It’s a relationship. It’s based on mutual respect,” says Pratt’s goofy dinosaur-trainer-dude, practically winking to the camera. “That’s why you and I never had a second date.” It comes out worse than it looks on paper.

Howard and Pratt are charming, however, which is more than you can say for the two little snots they bring along for this theme park adventure. Who are these young actors? Who cares?

They’re easily the worst part of the movie, human props meant to give Howard’s strict aunty character some sort of ham-fisted character development. Apparently the writers didn’t care much for these boys either, because there’s a scene about the impending divorce of their parents in the middle of the picture that comes out of nowhere, goes nowhere, and is forgotten by the end credits.

Oh, right, but how about that good stuff?  All right, the script is lame, but it’s lame in the best kind of way, best enjoyed guffawing with one’s friends over the corny dialogue.

The acting is about as good as you’d expect for writing like this, especially Vincent D’Onofrio hamming up every minute as this film’s human baddie.

The CGI is better than ever, blending into Trevorrow’s expertly-directed action scenes realistically. And yeah, the Indominus Rex is pretty cool.

If only it’d taken a chunk out of those brats.

 

Opinion

Letter to the Editor

 

Dear Editor,

 

I’m a recent NECC alum, and I came back to campus a few weeks ago to visit some teachers and friends. When I was walking across campus with my friend to get to her class, I noticed the police recruits, who had just moved onto the NECC campus the year I graduated, were practicing combat routines on the quad in between B and C buildings.

 

I was alarmed that they were practicing these loud and disruptive activities in the proximity of classes, in a space where small children from the daycare center play and take walks, and in a space where students eat lunch and socialize.

 

The recruits should be practicing these loud routines far away from classrooms and students because they can be disruptive to a learning environment and can cause anxiety and panic attacks in students with conditions like general anxiety disorder, agoraphobia and PTSD.

 

I was also not pleased to find out that the recruits regularly book Lecture Hall A to the point where it is becoming very difficult for student clubs to use the room for academic meetings and events. Lecture Hall A is an important space for events, especially for the Liberal Arts, and the students at NECC should have priority.

 

I can only hope that Lane Glenn, David Gingerella and Bill Heineman will address the students’ concerns with respect and prompt action.

 

Sincerely,

Faith Gregory

Communications and Political Science Alumna

Former Editor-in-Chief of the NECC Observer

Former President of Contemporary Affairs Club

 

Arts and Entertainment

Crimson Peak Review

 

crimsonpeak1
Photo courtesy of Legendary Pictures
Viewers who go into Guillermo del Toro’s “Crimson Peak” expecting straightforward horror will be disappointed. This is not a horror movie in today’s sense of the word, filled with cheap jump scares, computer-generated ghouls and dying teenagers. This is a gothic romance in which most of the horrors happen offscreen — a tragedy of taboos that revels in melodrama and repressed emotion.

It takes place in the steam-powered world of the Industrial Revolution, of course, because what better time is there to set a movie about repression? Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) and her father, Carter (Tom Beaver) are visited by the Sharpe siblings, Thomas (Tom Hiddleston) and Lucille (Jessica Chastain). Thomas has come all the way from Britain, hoping to earn Carter’s investment in his invention. He’s unconvinced, so Thomas remains in town… just long enough to fall in love with Edith.

Oh, and Edith keeps getting a mysterious warning from her mother — who, by the way, is a ghost — to “beware of Crimson Peak.” So naturally, when she marries Thomas and heads to England at his side, where does he happen to live?

If you figured that brain-buster out, you’ll have no trouble solving the rest of the mysteries well before the movie does. But don’t despair, that’s part of the fun: del Toro has created a magical Hammer Horror tribute, complete with operatic emotion, iris wipes and a spectacular manor.

This may be one of the most beautiful and haunting movie sets ever constructed. The mansion’s foyer has a hole in the ceiling that lets autumn leaves — and later, snow — fall freely to the center of the room. Having been built on a clay pit, there are scarlet trails running down the walls. And the very architecture of the place is sometimes more creepy than the ghosts that inhabit it: spiky archways and a rickety elevator give plenty of chills.

In the end, though, it’s the big emotions that provide the major thrills. Edith finds more than she bargains for in the old house, and tension escalates to the breaking point. Wasikowska, Hiddleston and Chastain all contribute wonderfully to the melodrama, staying committed to their roles even through dialogue that borders on the ridiculous. One late scene, featuring Chastain slamming a kitchen implement down, is so gleefully absurd that it has to be seen to be believed. And that feeling carries through the rest of the movie, which is over-the-top in all the right ways.

Opinion

The Benefits of Planned Parenthood

 

Margaret Sanger was the founder of an organization called the “American Birth Control League,” which provided safe birth control options for women. In 1942, the name was changed to Planned Parenthood and expanded their services to include much more than birth control.

Today, Planned Parenthood is a non-profit organization that is partially funded by the federal government. In addition to birth control and abortions, Planned Parenthood offers women’s health education, mammograms and pap smears, as well as STD/STI tests.

Planned Parenthood has been receiving negative attention lately because an anti-abortion group posted a video of Deborah Nucatola who is the senior director of the organization. The video showed Nucatola talking about how the organization sells fetal tissue and organs for profit but never specified where the profit is coming from. I found the video to be very inappropriate because not only was Nucatola unaware that she was being filmed, but also because there is evidence that the video was doctored.  It is accurate that Planned Parenthood sells tissue and organs for scientific research, but it is done legally and not for profit. Even in light of questions about the legitimacy of the video, some politicians are threatening to defund Planned Parenthood, using the argument that all life is sacred and that life begins at conception. Absent from this argument is the practice of fertility clinics who routinely destroy embryonic tissue.

Hannah Heckman-McKenna is a theater major at NECC and she feels strongly about the function that Planned Parenthood serves. “Regarding fetal tissue… I must say that anybody freaking out about this is clearly unaware of how important fetal tissue can be in research. The vast majority of us have benefitted from something that used fetal tissue in testing and development. Many vaccines, including that for polio and rubella, relied on fetal tissue. Even those refusing vaccines, instead relying on herd immunity, have fetal tissue research to thank for not contracting these horrific ailments. Beyond vaccinations, fetal tissue is used in developing treatments for AIDS, cancer, diabetes, and spinal cord injuries,” she said.  

As a woman, I think it would be wrong to defund Planned Parenthood over a video that isn’t even completely accurate. Planned Parenthood provides necessary services that are beneficial to women because of the services that they provide for a reasonable cost. Women can go to Planned Parenthood and either have insurance cover the expenses or they can apply for free services through the Family Planning Benefit Program.

“Other than abortion, it provides mammograms for cancer screening, pap smears and birth control. If a person really wants to prevent abortions, birth control is really the only way, so I don’t understand why this is even an issue. My mother went to Planned Parenthood when she got pregnant with my older sister to confirm the pregnancy and get started with her prenatal care. They do a lot of good in a lot of different ways. This apparent desire to keep women under the control of men through our reproductive rights and our desire to find cancer … it is getting extremely tiresome,” said Heckman-McKenna.