Movie Spotlight: Kung Fu Panda 2
--- Steven Albers
If you need a charming, lighthearted summer movie, look no further than Kung Fu Panda 2. If you’re in the mood for a deep, or in any way enriching movie experience, then… well, look further.
Kung Fu Panda 2 is fun and pretty well polished; it basically comes exactly as advertised. This installment follows shortly after the first, and encompasses Dragon Warrior Po’s (Jack Black) journey to find himself; all while he saves both China and Kung Fu from the rise of Shen (Gary Oldman) and his dragon-encrusted cannons: a somewhat distant metaphor of feudal Japan, when the samurai were replaced by modern technology. Even though he is technically a master of kung fu, he still relies heavily on the Furious Five to keep him inches away from doom fight scene after fight scene, although this is understandable considering a main draw of the first movie was Po’s inability to do anything right.
The animation looks and flows like classic Dreamworks, if only slightly more polished than some more recent titles like How to Train your Dragon. There were also a couple hand-animated dream sequences which I thought were well executed. My only real gripe with the animation is that some action sequences happen too fast and/or are really, really zoomed in, making it hard to tell exactly what’s going on until the dust settles.
The cast itself features huge celebrities, including Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Jackie Chan, Dustin Hoffman, and quite a few others. It was expected that they would do a good job, and they delivered. No lines stuck out as being awkward or lazy, and I was glad to see that they brought back a fantastic catch phrase from the first movie.
All in all, I thought the story was pretty forgettable, but the characters and humor keep the movie as a whole fresh. Kung Fu Panda 2 is probably a movie worth seeing, but not one you should go out of your way for.
Celebrity Spotlight: Michael Fassbender
--- Christy Lin
Celebrity: Michael Fassbender
Birthdate: April 2, 1977 (Age: 34)
Birthplace: Heidelberg, Germany
Years Active: 2001-Present
**biographical information obtained from wiki and imdb.com
I have to tell you that Michael Fassbender is one of those faces whom I always recognize (because he’s literally been in everything from 300 to Inglorious Basterds) but I just never cared enough to look him up, and for that I feel ashamed. That may seem like a strong emotion, but nonetheless it is true. I always had sort of a mini-crush on Stelios from 300, and then I nearly swooned when I saw Rochester in the latest re-telling of Jane Eyre, only the connection was never made that they were the same man. Now you can blame it on ridiculously executed make-up jobs, but I like to think it has more to do with the investment of this actor in his craft.
We should probably start from the beginning however. Michael Fassbender was born in Germany, and then raised in Ireland. His acting career didn’t begin until college, when a teacher at St. Bernard’s College in Killarney offered a comedy and drama class for one afternoon a week.
Despite this seemingly chance beginning though, Fassbender has grown into a very dedicated and devoted actor who puts his all into each and every role he plays. For instance, in order to prepare for his role as a prisoner in the 2008 film Hunger, his diet was allegedly reduced to just 600 calories a day. If that’s not some hardcore dedication, I don’t know what it is. (By the way, Fassbender won four Best Actor awards for his role in Hunger, one of which was the London Critics Circle Film Awards in 2009.)
Career-wise, Fassbender is probably most famous for his role as Lt. Archie Hicox in 2009’s Inglourious Basterds, but he has had parts in both film and TV all over the world. Most recently, he can be seen in the newest Marvel comic film, X-Men First Class, sort of a prequel to the prequel of everything we already know and love about mutants. Yes, I know I’m going to sound like a nerd, but YOU MUST SEE THIS MOVIE. It actually is pretty good as far as the franchise goes, so go! If not for some semblance of back story, then at least because, and believe you me, Magneto (Fassbender), has never looked so good.
YouTube Spotlight: communitychannel
--- Lena Lam
“Turn off the steam, and have it on ‘Cotton’ setting…because we all know that ‘cotton’ is Latin for ‘bacon.’” Thanks, communitychannel. I always knew there was something wrong with the way I was using an iron to cook bacon.
With close to one million YouTube subscribers, communitychannel (Natalie Tran) has been making humorous videos since 2006. Her videos are usually monologues about small things she notices that people do or odd habits that she herself may have. Her humor does take some getting used to at first (especially if you’re not used to hearing several “your mum” jokes within a couple of minutes. Yes, she’s Australian.). However, her videos never fail to make you laugh, whether it is because she pointed out something obvious that you’ve never noticed before, or she caught you off-guard with her skits with herself. (I’m telling you that I find her videos funny, but if you don’t believe me, check out the comments on her Facebook page…she hasn’t posted for about a month, which I think is perfectly acceptable, but some of her more passionate subscribers can’t handle the wait for a new video.)
In addition to making videos on her communitychannel YouTube account, Natalie has also been in videos made by other YouTubers, such as Wong Fu Productions! Also, recently, she has been travelling around the world and uploading videos for Lonely Planet. Though the Lonely Planet videos have your typical travel brochure-esque clips, it is refreshing and entertaining to hear Natalie’s take on the sites, traditions, and experiences in places such as the Maldives, Singapore, and New York. Check out her Lonely Planet videos!
She does have a few running jokes from her older videos, but feel free to just jump around from video to video. Eventually, you’ll realize that you’ve watched most of them because her videos allow you to forget about everything else and just have a good laugh. Check out her videos on her YouTube page!
Here are a few of her videos you should check out:
Movie Spotlight: Something Borrowed
--- Sarah Luo
Contrary to popular belief, I thought Something Borrowed was the cutest romantic comedy I’ve seen so far this year. Granted I haven’t watched quite that many romantic comedies this year, but I definitely fell for Something Borrowed the minute it started, and I fell pretty hard.
I didn’t read the book prior to watching the movie so I went into this movie completely unaware of what was going to happen. For a while now, the phrases “something borrowed” and “something blue” have been pretty popular. However, the people that do use those phrases correctly, definitely know the storyline because they’ve read the book. I still don’t know what happens in Something Blue, but I’ll let you know when I finish the book; I’m still reading Something Borrowed at the moment.
Anyways, the storyline of Something Borrowed follows the lives of Rachel White (Ginnifer Goodwin), an accomplished lawyer, Darcy Rhone (Kate Hudson), her best friend, and Dex Thaler (Colin Egglesfield), Darcy’s fiance. Rachel is the normal, goody-two-shoes type who works hard for everything she has while Darcy is the sexy, mysterious best friend that has everything practically handed to her or dropped in front of her. Dex, of course, is the beautiful man that makes the movie at all worth watching.
Rachel meets Dex in law school in a Torts course and falls in love with him instantly. After some time together, he falls in love with her too, but neither of them know that they are in love with each other. Rachel likes him, but is afraid to tell him, thinking that a girl like her could never be with a guy like him because according to her, “hot people are supposed to be with hot people.” Dex, who is originally ready to confess his feelings for her, is quickly discouraged by Rachel’s line, “we’re just friends,” as she introduces Dex to Darcy.
Six years later, Dex and Darcy are engaged and Rachel regrets her decision to keep her feelings quiet. On the night of Rachel’s 30th birthday, she finally confesses her feelings to Dex by a slip of the tongue. Not having known for the last six years, Dex is angry that she didn’t tell him earlier, and because he always wanted to be with Rachel, he cheats on Darcy with Rachel. Thus begins the complex love triangle between Darcy, Dex, and Rachel. Unsure of whether or not he should choose between Darcy and Rachel, Dex is put into a difficult position having to decide between what he wants and what he’s expected to want.
Despite the cheesy lines, Something Borrowed is actually quite hilarious and absolutely adorable. Aside from the main love triangle, there are also little love complexes going on that include Ethan (John Krasinski), Marcus (Steve Howey), and Claire (Ashley Williams). My very favorite thing about this movie is its underlying message. It’s not until the very end of the movie that Rachel realizes that she actually wants to try to live her life. A life that she wants, not a life that everyone else expects her to live, but the important thing is that she’s never actually tried to live life her way and that’s what finally gives her the courage to confront Dex about their complex relationship: the fact that she wants to try to live a life she wants.
Maybe it’s just the unbelievably hopeless romantic in me who always wants happy endings, but Something Borrowed is seriously one of the cutest romantic comedies I’ve ever watched. I loved it so much, I watched it twice in theaters. Regardless of if you’re a hopeless romantic or skeptical of love, Something Borrowed is definitely worth watching, if you just want to feel warm and fuzzy inside...for a super long time.
Anime Spotlight: Tiger & Bunny
--- Angela Zhang
Admittedly, when I first heard about Tiger & Bunny, I thought it would be some typical romance anime. After I found out that it was actually about mechas, crime fighting, and other acts of badassery, I became thoroughly confused as to why they chose such a cutesy name for the series. So what else could I do but sate my curiosity by watching?
So, turns out that the series is about superheroes! The story takes place in a fictional city named Stern Bild, where people with superpowers (called NEXT in the show) have appeared. Some of these NEXT decided to use their powers for good and became superheroes. However, there is a slight twist. Unlike Batman and Superman, who go about doing acts of vigilantism anonymously, the NEXT each work for a sponsor company. Thus, their uniforms have advertising on them for their various sponsors. A note about these sponsors: they are actually real-life companies, such as Bandai and Pepsi, who have paid for their brand names to appear in the show. (It just goes to show how widespread anime is!)
Their acts of heroism are then broadcasted on the popular show “Hero TV.” The show awards points for their various feats and at the end of the season, the hero with the most points gets crowned “King of Heroes.”
The show focuses on veteran superhero Kotetsu T. Kaburagi, AKA Wild Tiger, and his new partner Barnaby Brooks Jr. (who Kotetsu nicknames Bunny because of his suit's appearance). Personally, while all the action scenes are great and animated well, I enjoy the character interaction in the series the most. Kotetsu is a loveable, bumbling older man who just can't get it right sometimes, but he does have the insight of a seasoned veteran. On the other hand, Barnaby is the cool new guy who can't stand Kotetsu's old fashioned ways, but grudgingly works alongside the more experienced older man. The two have to deal with the differences in their ideology of what makes a good hero whilst battling baddies in Stern Bild. I can't tell you much more about the plot, as only seven episodes have been released so far as I am writing this, but I can tell you that the recent episodes have taken a very interesting turn! Barnaby's tragic past will tie in heavily with what is happening in the present and future of the show.
The series is currently on-going, and if you are interested in watching, episodes are available streaming on Hulu. New subtitled episodes are released Saturdays four hours after they air in Japan.
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