BritCom Monday’s!

Coming This October

To Northern Oklahoma College

Its …

“BritCom Monday’s!”

Mr. Bean

Every Monday night in October, Northern’s Communication Organization will host a FREE showing of British Comedy’s!

If you like Monty Python and Mr. Bean, you’re in for a treat!

Each night will feature three, thirty-minute episodes of the original BBC television broadcast.

October 6^th - Mr. Bean

October 13^th – Monty Python’s Flying Circus

October 20^th - Mr. Bean

October 27^th – Monty Python’s Flying Circus

It’s “BritCom Monday’s” every Monday night in October

8pm in Central 202!

Free Gottigo’s Pizza while it last!

‘Kung Fu’ is a Total Knockout

By: TYLER THOMAS

June 9, 2008

Source: The Independent Collegian, U. Toledo

 

 

With recent films such as, “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who!” and “Ratatouille” scoring big at the box office, the bar has been set pretty high for animated films. With most of these movies being released during the winter, summer movie lovers have been waiting for another animation film to captivate their children’s hearts. With the latest animation film to be released, “Kung Fu Panda,” co-directors John Stevenson and Mark Osborne have filled that void.

Po (Jack Black) is a panda who dreams of one day being the legendary Dragon Warrior, the famed warrior who strikes fear into the hearts of enemies by just looking at them. Sadly though, he is just a panda who works with his father Mr. Ping (James Hong) at a soup restaurant with a very secret ingredient in the soup. Ping sends Po to the big ceremony with the soup cart to sell the food to the onlookers of the festival, and little does Po know that his life would change forever that day.

Po heads to the festival to see the glorious Fab Five, which consists of Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Mantis (Seth Rogen), Viper (Lucy Liu), and Crane (David Cross). The group is considered the best martial art group all across the land, and is deadly to boot. Yes, their names are the animals they are playing in case you were wondering.

Po, through a series of unfortunate events, ends up being picked as the new Dragon Warrior, much to the dismay of the Fab Five. Po isn’t considered one of them, as he has never trained a day in his life and he constantly eats food and gets tired from walking up more than three stairs.

Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), the leader of the dojo, is weary of Po’s new enlightened status of being the Dragon Warrior, as Shifu thought Tigress would receive it. At first he tries to get Po to leave the dojo by being as mean and cruel as possible, but can Po overcome Shifu’s trails and be who he is destined to be?

There’s also a villain in the film, known as Tai Lung (Ian McShane) who is a renegade tiger who destroys all who come into contact with him. He was imprisoned a long time ago, and now comes to wreck havoc on the people that put him in the prison.

The best part of this movie is something a lot of movies have been lacking lately; family-oriented humor. “Kung Fu Panda” is suitable for all ages, whether you are one or one hundred. There’s a lot of laughter coming from all members of the cast, especially Po. Po really shines not only as the main character, but as the source of the jokes as well.

Jack Black, who has come a long way from his “Orange County” days, is amazing as Po. Long gone are the days of Black running around in his underwear denying a fire he started, he has now officially moved up in the world to the realm of animated films. For his first animated role, the R-rated comedy star does a superb job providing laughter to children and parents alike.

There’s not really a lot of bad things that can be said about the movie, except one minor flaw.

The problem is Tai Lung voice. Ian McShane is just not threatening enough to really provide the real evil sense that people enjoy in a villain. He sounds a little too nice to be considered a true villain in the movie, and thus, his character suffers a bit. While the fight scenes that are with him are truly great to watch, when he talks it just loses a little credibility with the casting selection for the movie.

While this is a very minor flaw, it’s very easily surpassed by the great acting from the Fab Five, as well as its new comer Po. All of the actors and actresses show tremendous talent and the movie flows from start to finish, leaving viewers wanting more panda.

Critic’s Conclusion: It’s rare that an animation film designed for children works great with families as well. “Kung Fu Panda” is entertaining, funny, and overall a great movie, despite a minor flaw with the casting of the villain. Otherwise, this is a top notch movie, and yes there probably will be a sequel in the works, and rightfully so. This is one movie that deserves a sequel.

TV REVIEW: ‘Daily Show’ correspondent takes stage in new special

04/22/2008

By JUSTIN YEARWOOD

Daily O’Collegian (Oklahoma State U.)

(U-WIRE) STILLWATER, Okla. – There is one overwhelming, important fact in the war on terrorism that towers over everything else in significance.

America and Britain, the two nations most committed to the war on terrorism, have the highest teen pregnancy rates.

That it is one of the nifty little tid-bits viewers learned as they watched John Oliver’s first televised stand-up performance, “Terrifying Times.”

For those unaware that Oliver even did stand-up or who the man is, he is most recognizable as a lowly British correspondent on The Daily Show. He started reporting for the news parody in 2006 but his Comedy Central special that premiered on Sunday night was his first chance to entertain the viewers at home.

In his televised stand-up routine, Oliver attempted to educate viewers on a wide range of hot-button issues, like the future of American imperialism to fair trade and even the brilliance – or lack thereof – of Fox News.

For those who are familiar with Oliver’s work, what he did for his special and what he does for John Stewart’s show wasn’t terribly different.

His brand of humor can best be described as a touch elevated and more intellectual than what most comedians are putting out.

Instead of resorting to yelling and an obscene amount of profanity like some of his comedic colleagues, he relies on comical observations about the world to get laughs from the audience.

Besides poking fun at the heartless members of the Fox News team, he points out things like the wind being horrifically over farmed, every second a depressed whale dies and that Wikipedia is society’s savior.

The genius of the routine is found in Oliver’s suggestions about American society, like the Oreo pizza should be hoisted up a flagpole and most consumers push “baskets of shattered lives.”

For those in need of crude, elementary humor, “Terrifying Times” is not a worthwhile endeavor. But for those who do not feel totally ignorant about the world around them, Oliver’s stand-up is worth watching.

There is no need to start mentioning his name along with the greatest of British entertainment exports like Monty Python and The Beatles, but Oliver does succeed in serving his audience with humorous political commentary with a side of Bush bashing.

In the simplest description possible, “Terrifying Times” is just like one of Oliver’s reports turned up in intensity and is not likely to disappoint.

FILM REVIEW: Don’t Forget

04/21/2008

By BRAND RACKLEY

Oklahoma Daily (U. Oklahoma)

 

(U-WIRE) NORMAN, Okla. – In 16 years of watching movies, I never thought I’d be so delighted to see full frontal male nudity as I was when my eyes beheld it in the new Apatow Production, “Forgetting Sarah Marshall.”

 

I mean, you really can’t prepare yourself for the immensity of humor that is viscerally, visually and psychologically unleashed by the quick cut to a 6-foot-4 naked man who’s just gotten out of the shower. It truly might be the best time you could ever spend with a theater full of starch-clothed uptight people.

 

The screenwriting debut of Jason Segel (“Freaks and Geeks,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “Knocked Up”), who also plays the sad, sobbing lead in the movie, makes a hilarious cinematic splash just before the summer lineup of other Apatow creations (“Step Brothers,” “Pineapple Express”) hits theaters.

 

The film centers on Segel’s character, who is in a deep depression from his breakup with his TV star girlfriend (Kristen Bell). In hopes of cheering himself up, he decides to take a vacation to Hawaii where, through bad luck, his ex also happens to be with her new rock star boyfriend (Russell Brand).

 

“Forgetting Sarah Marshall” uses a great cast, with Mila Kunis and Bill Hader filling starring and supporting roles, as well as Jonah Hill and Paul Rudd giving incredibly funny cameo performances.

 

Though you might go into the film thinking it’s going to have a really cliche ending, you’ll be surprised by how the film moves and presents its plot and intent in a way that will leave you unsure of the outcome for the entire way through.

 

The film also is full of cultural media satire. “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” takes perfect shots at celebrity peace and charity advocates who really don’t know what they’re talking about, and — my personal favorite — cookie-cutter crime shows with ridiculous premises, lame, over-dramatized one-liners and bad acting.

 

The only negative I found is at some moments, it feels as though the movie might be running too long. These, however, subside with the pickup in the comedic tempo.

 

The film is a magnificent comedy about a set of events any one who ever has been in the emotional crapper can relate to.

 

“Forgetting Sarah Marshall” is full of great one liners, Muppets, an epic “Lord of the Rings” reference, that funny guy from “30 Rock” and Mariah Carey’s “Touch My Body” music video. It’s a win-win-win-win situation.

 

RIAA sends letters to 75 University of Texas Students

04/16/2008

 

By MORGAN BOOTH

Daily Texan (U. Texas)

 

(U-WIRE) AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas recently ranked as one of the highest in the number of students who received letters from the Recording Industry Association of America, out of 26 institutions that were contacted for suspicious downloading activity.

The association sent letters to 75 UT students last week regarding illegal file sharing. The most recent batch of warnings is part of more than 5,000 pre-litigation settlement letters sent since February 2007. The RIAA began prosecuting individuals in September 2003 in efforts to fight the increased use of illegal music-downloading programs.

UT Legal Services for Students is working with students involved in this wave of settlement letters by providing legal counsel and interpreting the types of violations.

“Our lawyers are swamped with these recent letters,” said April Vaughn, administrative associate for the Office of the Dean of Students. “They usually handle 75 percent of these cases involving UT students.” 

These letters are the second step of a four-level notification system. While many students are initially sent standard alleged violation warnings, any level may be issued at any time. The RIAA may also request records of a student’s network use from the University without their knowledge and eventually issue a subpoena.  

Music piracy causes $12.5 billion in global economic loss, including job loss, tax revenues and a decrease in corporate income, according to a study conducted by the Institute for Policy Innovation. Universities are required to provide information about the users, or students, who are detected downloading illegally on their networks. More than 150 schools had been contacted as of February 2008. 

More than half of all college students have illegally downloaded music or shared files, according to the association. UT Information Technology Services is the office responsible for reporting user information to the association. ITS provides information on ways students can avoid illegal-downloading programs and legal consequences.  

According to ITS, if recipients do not respond to settlement letters, they will face lawsuits. The average settlement for students caught illegally downloading is around $3,000.

Cruise With Northern Alumni and Friends

JENNY DAVIDSON

Managing Editor

The Northern Oklahoma College Alumni & Friends will take a seven-day cruise to the beautiful ports of Canada and New England this autumn.

They will view the fall foliage in ports such as Halifax, Nova Scotia; Saint John, New Brunswick (Bay of Fundy); Boston, Mass.; and Portland, Maine.

Sheri Snyder, vice president Development and Community Relations for Northern Oklahoma College, and Kirby Tickel, director Northern Oklahoma College Alumni & Friends Association, in conjunction with the Northern Oklahoma College Foundation, Inc., recently announced they are partnering with Cruises and More in Ponca City.

Cruises and More Travel is owned by Joyce and Larry Davis of Nardin, Okla., and is operated by Joyce and her staff.

Joyce is a certified travel consultant and has been active in the travel industry for over 28 years. As a travel agent, she organizes and escorts group trips, has taught travel classes at the college level, and now operates Cruises and More on a daily basis.

Northern and Cruises and More are working together to offer some exciting trips at the best value, while still offering quality, safety and expert guidance.

Northern and Cruises and More will begin their partnership with a New England Fall Foliage cruise departing from New York City. This trip will include air, the cruise, and an optional two-night pre-cruise package so the group can see a Broadway show and do some sightseeing.

For more information, contact Cruises and More at info@cruisesandmore.com or 580.765.4600.

Coming Soon: The Fast and the Furious 4

JESSE BUSSEY

Entertainment Writer

 

That’s right folks you heard right, there will be a fourth – The Fast and the Furious 4.

I have mentioned in previous articles that the studios were trying to put something together featuring the original lineup from the first movie. Well, that’s just what they did, and the movie is currently in production.

Now reading the production notes and cast lineup, I did notice one thing. Michelle Rodriguez’ character Letti (she was Vin Diesel’s girlfriend in the first) had very few words mentioned about her part in the movie…UNTIL NOW!

A source from the set has leaked details about not only the reason behind this, but the complete story line! In the Fast and the Furious 4, Letti is murdered by a drug dealer and seeking revenge. Vin Diesel’s character, Dominic Torreto, comes to Paul Walker’s character, Brian; both go undercover and infiltrate the Drug Lord’s system and aim to take him down.

Mega-hottie, Jordana Brewster, will also reprise her role, and John Ortiz will play the oh-so-bad drug lord. Look for the Fast and the Furious 4 in theaters June 2009.

Philadelphia’s KYW Newsradio 1060 has posted an interview with Sharon Pinkenson, executive director of the Great Philadelphia Film Office, which seems to confirm Transformers 2 shooting will take place in the city.

Columbia has preemptively picked up “Battle: Los Angeles,” a sci-fi spec from scribe Chris Bertolini, for Neal Moritz to produce via his Original Films banner.

The story follows one Marine platoon’s encounter in the battle against an alien invasion on the streets of Los Angeles.

“I love the idea, and I love the script. I like it all,” Moritz said. “We are going to be in production within six months. What’s attractive to me is that it’s a huge event movie that can be done at a modest scale.”

January’s “Cloverfield” took a similar tack with the monster movie concept, though it did so with a handheld camera point-of-view. “Battle” will employ more traditional camerawork.