ENTERTAINMENT
ENTERTAINMENT
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Movie & TV
Spirited
By Jonah Shirazi
Spirited is a Christmas PG-13 movie musical starring Will Ferrel and Ryan Reynolds. Will plays a Ghost of Christmas present, and Ryan Reynolds as Clint Briggs as an "unredeemable" advertisement executive. Will Ferrel's requests haunt Ryan in his dreams to make him a better person? At first, he gets rejected by the other ghosts working with him. Will Ferrel ignores it and follows Ryan while he can see him. He shows him his past life when his sister died. He agrees but is very sad. Ryan tells Will to come back to life so he can find a girlfriend, and Will, fortunately, agrees. Will and Ryan live their lives, but Ryan doesn't know when Will will return as a ghost. They soon lived happily ever after.
Elves are Natural, RIGHT?
By Miah Jackson
The Movie Elf is a Christmas-based movie starring Will Ferrell, who played Buddy the Elf; James Caan, who played Walter Hobbs; and Bob Newhart, who played Papa Elf. This movie is for ages six and up but is family-friendly, but it just uses a few potty languages but will not ruin the experience for young viewers.
This movie is about Buddy, who was accidentally transported as a toddler to the North Pole, where he grew up as an Elf. He felt like he didn't fit in his whole life, so he decided to travel to New York to meet his biological father, Walter Hobbs, who doesn't even know he exists and is in desperate need of a Christmas spirit. He goes to the Empire State Building, where he meets his dad, who makes him take a DNA test to prove something, and he and Walter attempt to start a relationship with Buddy, leading to shocking results.
Since its release in 2003, Elf has grossed $220 million and has become a family favorite to view at Christmas time.
Light, Camera, Christmas!
By Jonah Shirazi
Director: David Weaver
Studio: Matlins studio production
Lights, Camera, Christmas! Is a PG movie made by IMDB and was officially released on November 5, 2022. This movie is based on a mom and a daughter who not long ago lost their father. They had been living an unfortunate and hard life over the past months. A new mailman on the street where the mom and daughter lived came by to drop off mail. The mom soon senses a little crush on the mailman and tells the daughter about it. The daughter totally disagrees but the mom thinks it is a good idea. The second time the mailman came the mom started asking more questions about him. The mailman knew something was going on but didn’t think much of it. Over time the mom would learn more about the mailman and soon asked him out on a date nervously. The mailman fortunately agrees and they go to dinner the next day. They soon live happily ever after.
Mr. Beast
From 1 to 120 Million Subs
By Edward Morrison
Mr. Beast, real name Jimmy Donaldson is a 24-year-old Youtuber from Greenville, North Carolina, who is changing Youtube. Donaldson started his channel in February 2012. At first, his channel struggled to gain traction as it was just a typical gaming channel. However, in 2016, Jimmy started to grow faster than ever, gaining 100,000 subs which were about ten times more than he had before. The growth had just begun, and 2017 is when he blew up. It started with extreme challenge videos such as counting to 100,000, listening to Jake Paul’s It’s Everyday Bro for ten hours straight, listening to dance till your dead for ten hours straight, and so much more. But the video that changed his channel forever was when he got his first sponsorship. They said they would give him $5,000, but when Jimmy said if they doubled it, he would give it away, they said yes. Jimmy then proceeded to give it out; from then on, money was a big part of his channel. Ten million million subs by 2018, 50,000,000 in 2020, and 100,000 million in 2022, he keeps on growing faster and faster. Jimmy has recreated Squid Game in real life; he’s given away $1,000,000 in a single video. This man is crazy in a good way. Maybe one day, he will take the most subscribed channel title.
The Christmas Chronicles
By Jonah Shirazi and Jonathan Gorodezki
Director: Clay Kaytis
Studio of Toronto and Canada
The Christmas Chronicles is a family Christmas movie that is very entertaining and a need-to-watch movie. This movie is perfect for watching with friends and family and is a PG- movie. The Christmas Chronicles involves a girl wishing at night for Santa to give her what she wants and for her brother to stop bullying her. They record at 2:00 am and watch the Christmas tree until Santa comes. Santa arrives and takes the sister and brother on a ride. They soon go on many adventures with low time until their parents come back home. They come home in time and spend time with their family. The brother and sister start thinking what's going to happen next Christmas. This movie is very entreating and in my opinion this movie is worth it to watch. You can watch this movie on Netflix.
Music & Culture
Jack Harlow Soars at just the age of 24
By Jonathan Gorodezki
Jack Harlow is a well-known rapper. Jack Harlow was born in Kentucky. Over the years, he has made millions of dollars just doing one thing. You can probably guess it, rapping. Jack Harlow’s most known songs are Industry Baby and Tyler Hero. If you are wondering, yes, Tyler Hero is a basketball player. Jack Harlow is 24 years old and was born on March 13, 1998. Only at 24, Jack Harlow’s net worth is a whopping 5 million dollars. As for the years to come, who knows how much Jack will be worth!
BLACKPINK’s Newest Album, Born Pink
By Jion Jung
Have you listened to BLACKPINK’s newest album, Born Pink?
Born Pink consists of eight catchy songs. Their song in this album was the iconic Pink Venom, which spent two weeks as the #1 hit song on Billboard Global 200.
Born Pink includes "Pink Venom," Shut Down, Type Girl, Yeah Yeah Yeah, Hard to Love, The Happiest Girl, Tally, and Ready for Love. Ready For Love, Pink Venom, and Shut Down all have colorful and visually aesthetic music videos. The Ready For Love music video was unlike others and very unique, as the music video took place inside the video game PUBJ Mobile.
Right when the album was released, a pop-up store in Los Angeles was made in collaboration with Spotify and BLACKPINK. You could go to the store for free, but it only lasted a few days, from September 16th to September 18th.
This album’s release was extra special because BLACKPINK was on an unofficial two-year hiatus. Fans had excitedly been awaiting the arrival of this girl group’s second album, and now it finally came, along with loads of merchandise and the most exciting thing-a concert.
BLACKPINK is still currently on their Born Pink world tour. So far, they’ve performed in Texas, New York, London, and even here in Los Angeles! There was also a special guest appearance on in Los Angeles-Camilla Cabello, a legend who performed Liar with Jisoo, a member of BLACKPINK.
There were also multiple celebrity sightings like Olivia Rodrigo, the famous singer, and HoYeon Jung, the Squid Game star.
BLACKPINK will continue its world tour in Barcelona, Spain, on December 5th.
King Crimson Documentary is a Beautifully made Work of Art
By Adam Lugassi
King Crimson is a progressive rock band active from 1968 to 2021. Although they have been together so long, it is still being determined whether they should be touring any longer. Robert Fripp and King Crimson decided to release their new album In the Court of the Crimson King documentary, revealing all sorts of interesting information and details about the band that I had never heard of before.
Strangely the movie was open in only one place in all of LA, a little theater in Sherman Oaks. It was weird that it was shown all over England and other places in the US but not in California. Since it was the only screening and I was looking forward to it, my family and I went to Sherman Oaks. We bought some popcorn and walked into the theatre; it turned out the one who got the rights to the screening had to go through a lot to get the rights to screen the movie and was determined to do so, even if it cost him a lot of money.
The movie was overall an outstanding documentary. It focuses on Robert Fripp, his actions, and his relationship with past and current band members. We also see how he runs the band of late. Many themes are expressed throughout the movie. He mentions the word discipline a lot, explaining how discipline is needed in life.
The movie is respectful to all the bandmates; many members talk freely about the band, praising or criticizing each other. There is one point in the film that blew many people away, including me, a very emotional scene of a Fripp interview where he cries because he is so emotional.
The movie reveals the genius behind Fripp's thoughts and how he leads the band. From the strong emphasis on how the bands about change and the constant reminder that every time he is interviewed, "Performance in tomorrow's show will be affected."
This is a well-written documentary about King Crimson, showing the mind of Robert Fripp and the band. It would help if you saw the movie to experience this excellent documentary on the band king crimson and Robert Fripp's geniuses.
IVE: The fast-rising new K-pop girl group
By Jion Jung
Are you looking for catchy, lighthearted k-pop songs? If so, check out IVE!
IVE debuted almost exactly a year ago, on December 1st, 2021. Their first and hit release single album was ELEVEN, and more albums followed like LOVE DIVE and After LIKE.
IVE is made up of six members: Yujin, the leader of IVE, Gaeul, Rei, Leeseo, Liz, and Wonyoung. What’s extraordinary about this group is that the member's ages vary from fifteen to nineteen.
Even though all the members are quite young and they debuted a year ago, IVE has been rapidly gaining popularity, and had just recently won five MAMA awards, which included Song of the Year for LOVE DIVE, Worldwide Fans’ Choice, Best New Female Artist, and more.
Yujin and Wonyoung have also previously been part of the k-pop girl group IZ*ONE, which was composed of twelve different members but did not renew their contract in 2021.
While IVE has not announced a new album yet, they did release After LIKE-Holiday Remix, just in time for the winter season.
Listen to IVE on Spotify and on Youtube!
Crimson's "Lizard" Dissected
By Adam Lugassi
The Song "Lizard" is part of King Crimson's 3rd studio album, also called Lizard. The song is one long 23-minute adventure that is special for its music and the story it conveys through the lyrics and the instrumental (Composed by Robert Fripp and Peter Sinfield). The lyrics are very complex, sharing a lot of symbolism in the songs and using what seems to be old language and old phrases. The first verse starts,
Farewell the temple master's bells
His kiosk and his black worm seed
Courtship solely of his word
With Eden guaranteed
For now Prince Rupert's tears of glass
Make saffron sabbath eyelids bleed
Scar the sacred tablet wax
On which the Lizards feed
The first three lines can mean multiple things, but these lines talk about Prince Rupert's (the protagonist) wealth in royalty. In the last lines, the lyrics near the end of the verse, "Scar the scared tablet wax/On which the Lizards feed." When you kill lizards in dreams, it means you have made an accomplishment.
Wake your reason's hollow vote
Wear your blizzard-season coat
Burn a bridge and burn a boat
Stake a Lizard by the throat
Chorus 1&2 start with "Wake your reasons hollow vote" this could have various interpretations, but what comes to mind is that this line could mean to make a decision. "Wear your blizzard season coat" would mean preparing for trouble since, in poetry, a blizzard would mean distress. Burning a bridge and boat could suggest ending ties between opposes. Staking a lizard by the throat means accomplishing a goal and obstacle describing development in the medieval revolution or a problem to come.
Night enfolds her cloak of holes
Around the river meadow
Old moon-light stalks by broken ploughs
Hides spokeless wheels in shadow
Sentries lean on thorn wood spears
Blow on their hands, stare eastwards
This 4th verse represents the nearing of Bolero's climactic build-up of the suspense. The poem speaks of two armies coming into sight, waiting for battle. As sentries (stationary soldiers) lean on thorn wood spears (weapon at the ready) and Blow on their hands, they stare eastwards. This suggests that they are looking at marching eastwards, moving the front closer toward the enemy.
Burnt with dreams and taut with fear
Dawn's misty shawl upon them
Three hills apart great armies stir
Spit oath and curse as day breaks
Forming Lines of Horse and Steel
By even yards march forward
"Three hills apart great armies stir" suggests that armies are before a battle, three hills apart, slowly marching towards each other. "Spit oath and curse as day breaks" indicates that the troops uphold curses upon each other, whether simple slurs or something more spiritual. Forming lines of horse and steel By even yards much forward suggests creating lines of soldiers and cavalry marching on into the battle.
Then the instrumental of "The Battle of Glass Tears" commences. The horns collage together, the dynamics being louder than the song. The chaos of war is represented beautifully in this part. After this memorable part Reuprerts Lament plays, this part seems like the aftermath of the battle. The guitar sounds like it gets closer and closer, a break from suffering and death. Then the most confusing part, "Big Top" plays. As the name suggests, it's a circus-like theme that plays but gets progressively sadder and less joyful. I think of this as the propaganda and glory of war fading and the truth showing itself, the truth behind the war, revealing the only thing that war brings, suffering.
Book Reviews
Percy Jackson
By Jonathan Gorodezki
Percy Jackson the Lightning Thief is an award winning book. It is the first book in a series following along with many other books starting a new creation of mythology. It all started from Greek mythology. Then after the 5 book series it started a new series called The Heroes of Olympus. The heroes of Olympus were Roman mythology. This was also a five book series. And to finish it off, The Trials of Apollo. The Trials of Apollo was a series of only 3 books. But still an amazing series. Percy Jackson is so addicting to read and I just love the whole series. Half Blood hill was the camp where all of the kid’s dad's, who were Gods, would stay. My favorite by Far was Posioden which was Percy's dad who is the God of water. Percy Jackson is the main character, in all series. There is three Percy Jackson movies and the producers claim that there might be a fourth.
Source: https://thewordsearch.com
Crossword puzzle (Holiday)
Keeper of the Lost Cities: Stellarlune
By Jion Jung
Many Keeper of the Lost Cities fans has been excitedly waiting for this book to come out for two years. After all that time, the book finally came out on November 8th. Fans excitedly flocked to stores like Barnes and Noble to grab the reader. There was also a limited edition with a beautiful pull-out poster and a unique design on the book's hardcover.
In the beginning, I was in love with this book which was 728 pages, detailed, chock-full of action, and filled with twists and turns and plots and discoveries; but the author rushed things in the plot.
Stellarlune was book nine of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling series. There would be one final book after this one, so that meant wrapping up all the loose ends and giving answers to unanswered questions. This also meant finalizing who ended up with whom.
Keeper of the Lost Cities may be best known for the many conflicting love triangles and at one point, a love square. Sophie Foster is the main character in this series and is incredibly oblivious to everything. Her two main love interests are Fitz Vacker and Keefe Sensen. Her "love life" is complicated, especially since Sophie is unaware of who really loves her.
I felt that the author rushed the plot because the series was nearing an end, and she had to get all the characters who may be romantically involved together. This book disappointed Fitzphie shippers (Fitz and Sophie) as the author decided to make Sophie and Keefe together.
I am neutral on this subject, but this is disappointing because she went a little more slowly in the author's other books. This was unexpected and fast to me, and other Keepers of the Lost Cities readers agree.
Overall, this was a great book! I recommend this book to everyone, but I wish the author had stopped rushing the plot a little. As a result, this book is 4.5/5 stars.
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