Amelia Earhart was known for flying high. Unfortunately the new biopic,Amelia,doesn't quite reach the same heights as its real-life counterpart. Hilary Swank (Birds of America), who portrays Earhart, may bear a striking resemblance to the pilot; this fails, however, to make up for the stilted dialogue and characters, though they are based on real historical figures. The outcome, alas, is a flat movie that fails to live up to its potential. The film opens with Earhart beginning to capture the heart of the American people, displaying her daring escapades and achieving numerous firsts for women. Pushed by her manager-turned-husband George Putnam (Nights in Rodanthe's Richard Gere), Earhart begins as a phony who only wishes to garner publicity - and a boatload of money - for her famous flight across the Atlantic when, in actuality, she was only a simple passenger.
Let's start by saying that, yes, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistantis just another vampire movie based off a series of teen novels. However, this particular film succeeds where its predecessors (ahem, Twilight) have failed, bringing superb casting and production quality to the table. There is no slack-jawed Kristen Stewart or awkwardly inarticulate Robert Pattinson, nor are there the gasping, misty-eyed tween fangirls screaming about Edward's abs. The casting aloneputs Cirque du Freak a bit higher on the totem pole than all those other teenage vampire stories, and the movie's unique plot never fails to entertain.
If the soccer team had played as well in the first part of the year as they did this weekend, they might be resting their starters in the season finale in preparation for a deep playoff run. Instead, the team's play over the last weekend has resulted in little more than consolation for a team that has struggled and stumbled through a season of coming up just short. On Friday, the Owls (6-10-3, 3-6-1 Conference USA) traveled to Colorado Springs, Colo., to take on Colorado College in the frigid, low-20's contest. Rice persevered through a pair of overtimes to take the Tigers (11-5-2, 7-2-1 C-USA) to a 0-0 draw. With this shutout, the Rice defense had gone 220 straight minutes without giving up a goal.
Hold on to your syringes - Big Mac is back. Even though the Yankees clinched the American League pennant on Sunday, the most surprising story in baseball Monday was not the Bronx Bombers' return to the Fall Classic. No, that honor went instead to St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa's announcement that Mark McGwire, the steroid swinger, will be his hitting coach next season.
The Thresher has a long, tumultuous history with the Rice Program Council. They plan events, we complain about them, the animosity continues. Last week's staff editorial notwithstanding ("Esperanza planning proves problematic," Oct. 23), however, we've had generally good things to say about RPC in the past year. Last year, they booked a big-name band, The National, for Homecoming, and Ben Kweller for Willy Week, and the on-campus Esperanza impressed even the sharpest of critics. Forget about last year's Rondelet, and RPC seems to be getting better each year.As such, we feel that RPC's idea to step up accessibility is well-founded (see story, page 1). While club membership in previous years may have been somewhat limited, this year's application process allowed interested students the opportunity to join any of the committees. Since our blanket tax monies fund the club, it only makes sense that RPC publicize their organization more and that students, especially underclassmen, get involved.
On Monday, President David Leebron spoke to nearly 100 students at the Student Association meeting, displaying his wit and charm to an attentive and concerned audience. After touching on Rice's rise through the rankings, Leebron reached the meat of his presentation: the discussion surrounding the proposed merger between Rice and the Baylor College of Medicine. He handily fielded the subsequent questions, and students left the meeting feeling confident their concerns had been answered.Unfortunately, one question remained: How did this speech and the ensuing discussion differ from the one that occurred just a few days earlier at his State of the University address?
Not many musicals carry the lofty expectations of Rent. A 12-year run on Broadway and a subsequent Hollywood butchering have placed the play firmly in the American pop- consciousness, and the play brings a cast of memorable characters and strong voices. These factors might be enough to intimidate most directors, but Jones College sophomore Hermione Gilpin and Jones junior Helen Shaw are not among them. However, the North College Theatre Association, a collaborative effort pooling the resources of Jones, Baker College and Martel College theaters, may have accepted the challenge of Rent a bit too prematurely. While the production lifts upward, it falls short of jumping "Over the Moon."
Has the H1N1 scare impacted your Halloween plans?
Are you sick of hearing the kids fight in the back seat on long road trips? And at the dinner table ... and just about everywhere else???
Current estimates put U.S. health care spending at approximately 16% of GDP, second only to East Timor (Timor-Leste) among all United Nations member nations.[7] The health share of GDP is expected to continue its historical upward trend, reaching 19.5 percent of GDP by 2017.[33][34] Of each dollar spent on health care in the United States 31% goes to hospital care, 21% goes to physician services, 10% to pharmaceuticals, 8% to nursing homes, 7% to administrative costs, and 23% to all other categories (diagnostic laboratory services, pharmacies, medical device manufacturers, etc.[23]
Thanks to learning the hard way, I know how important it is to teach children how to wait: Not to just think of the "now," but think of the big picture and how their choices might impact their future.
Legendary wrestling manager Captain Lou Albano has died at the age of 76. Albano reached fame in the 1970's and 80's during his time with the WWWF, later the WWF and WWE. Albano died while under hospice care at his New York home.
I'm thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas already.
Someone named Pat Murphy commented on one of my old blog posts over the weekend, encouraging me to listen to his band's new single, called "Working Mom."
Academy Award-winning film director Paul Haggis declared to Scientology spokesman Tommy Davis that he had decided to leave the Church of Scientology after being a member for 35 years. His letter to Davis was posted Saturday on the blog of former high-ranking Scientology official Marty Rathbun. Haggis received Academy Awards for writing and producing the 2004 film Crash.
On the surface of Our Town, the bare staging and the colloquial dialogue seem to suggest a simple play. But with director Gregory Boyd and the cast of the Alley Theater at the helm, the plot's simplistic action is imbued with more complex themes.For those unfamiliar with the play, there is no set for Our Town. Playwright Thornton Wilder penned the piece to have no backdrop, no curtains and only certain essential props like chairs and tables. Industrial ladders represent second-story windows and three rows of chairs signify a graveyard. With only the audience's imagination and a few instructions from the Stage Manager (James Black), Wilder creates the entire town of Grover's Corner - complete with its own Main Street, shops, churches, school buildings, railroads and family houses - from these meager elements.
Now that the season is halfway through, it's time to look back and see just where we are - besides last in the conference. Here's what assistant sports editor Jonathan Myers sees in the Owls' performance so far.Running Backs: D+
A young girl enjoys the Center for the Study of Environment and Society's second annual wildflower planting last Friday at the southwest corner of Wiess College.
