Student film reviews

 

Film review of “Argo”

 

 

BY NICOLE VALENTINE

 

“Argo,” based on a true story, is set in the time of the Iran Hostage Crisis. The American Embassy in Tehran was seized by Islamist students and militants. Fifty-two Americans were held hostage for 444 days. The film tells the story of the six embassy workers that evaded capture.  Tony Mendez, portrayed by Ben Affleck, is a CIA Agent who discovers these six people are safe at the Canadian Embassy, but he knows that they need to return to America as soon as possible. Mendez begins to formulate a plan to get them out of the country in secret. The movie shows the development and the execution of the plan. Ben Affleck, the director and the main character, captures this time and this crisis in such a way that leaves you in awe.

“Oz the Great and Powerful” film review

 

BY ROBYN DAUSENER

 

As soon as the commercials for “Oz the Great and Powerful,” began running, I knew that I had to go see this retelling and twist of one of the most iconic and memorable movies ever made. With the wonderful cast of James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams, the acting abilities in this film are brilliantly brought out by the director of the movie, Sam Raimi. The cast and director are able to bring L. Frank Baum’s wonderful character, Oz, to life and tell his adventurous story.

 

The story is set in the early 1900s where circus magician Oscar Diggs (James Franco) is swept up into a tornado while in a hot air balloon. He is thrown from the gray and dusty Kansas into the vibrant and colorful Land of Oz. As soon as he arrives, he is caught in the lie that he is the Wizard that the people of Oz have been waiting for. This is how he meets the three witches: Theodora (Milla Kunis), Evanora (Rachelle Weisz) and Glinda (Michelle Williams),  who each have their own ideas and plans for Oscar. Forced to choose between them, he must figure out who is good or evil, who is really the Wicked Witch, and most importantly; how to save the people of Oz from her. In this adventurous tale, the attitude of Oscar changes and with these changes, he becomes the man he always wanted to be. He becomes the Great and Powerful Wizard of Oz.

 

“Oz the Great and Powerful” is not the movie for everyone, but it is going to be one of my favorites from now on. It is a mystifying pretelling of an already beautiful movie.  With its wonderfully done special effects, this movie definitely deserves eight out of ten stars, and a place in the hearts of lovers of “The Wizard of Oz.”

 

A review of “Thirteen Reasons Why” by Jay Asher 

 

BY CHEYENNE PUETZ

 

In this fantastic novel by Jay Asher, high school student Clay Jensen is given the shock of his life: seven audio tapes from Hannah Baker, a girl who recently committed suicide. On those seven tapes are the 13 reasons why she committed suicide, leaving Clay with the agony of wondering why he is on one of the tapes. Throughout the novel, Clay listens to Hannah’s haunting voice and follows the map that came with the tapes, just waiting for his name to come up. Written from Clay’s point of view, as well as Hannah’s, this novel explores the devastating consequences of degrading rumors, misunderstandings and how one thing you say or do can bring someone’s world crashing down. With the combination of Clay and Hannah’s voices, Jay Asher has written a beautiful novel that will stick with you forever and force you to think about your own life. Rumored to be an upcoming movie starring Selena Gomez, this is a novel that every teenager and adult should to read.

 

 

The Ruess review

BY JAYDE GARTNER

On Sunday, March 17, 2013, I had the great pleasure of meeting with Mr. Bill Ruess, and his wife, Mrs. Vonda Ruess. We talked over an assortment of tea and coffee in a small café in Coralville, Iowa. As the parents of five beautiful children, Bill and Vonda have also been blessed with multiple grandchildren to add to their growing family. Living a small town life with a typical eastern Iowa family, the Ruess family seems like your ordinary musically-talented assortment of aunts, uncles, cousins and parents. If you dig a little deeper, though, you will find one nephew whose fame has skyrocketed within the last year and a half. Being the aunt and uncle of the lead singer, Nate Ruess, from the band FUN., they were more than happy to oblige in giving me sneak peak inside their family. From what I had gathered, musical talent has always run in the Ruess family. Take Grandma Ruess, for example, a lovely 87-year-old woman, who still plays piano and sings at her church. “She taught us all how to play the piano when we were kids,” said Bill. The ability to sing was also passed down to her children, and her grandchildren were blessed as well! This is where Nate must have gotten his amazing talent. To the Ruess family, Nate is still just Nate. When asked if it was a weird feeling to hear “just Nate” on the radio, Vonda stated, “It’s still strange. They play him pretty much back to back now!” The Ruess’ life hasn’t changed too much since the fame began, but they have been associated with their nephew numerous times. The Ruess family is a great example of the bond an eastern Iowa family can share. No matter what happens, no matter where you go, family is forever.