The Avengers movie is full of suspense and action. There was action throughout the movie and especially at the end, never letting the movie get dull. Along with that the graphics, were amazing. Everything in the movie looked like it was real and not CGI. This made the movie very enjoyable. The Avengers even had some comedy making this one very good movie.

Even without the great graphics the movie still would have been enjoyable because of its plot. The movie’s plot was good and added suspense. The movie’s storyline is about Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, Hawkeye, and Black Widow as they try to find Loki and stop him before he opens a portal to another world that allows the enemies armies to invade the earth, while they try to work together as a team.  It is a good plot with some twists throughout keeping your attention.

The acting was superb and all of the actors fit their parts perfectly, really bringing the movie to life. The actor who played Loki (Tom Hiddleston) really played him well. His character was completely believable, it really did seem like he was a self centered, power hungry, ego maniacal villain.  Robert Downey Jr., who played Iron Man, was as good as ever. He played Tony Stark’s snide personality perfectly with his habit of never taking anything seriously and his hilarious jokes. I also felt that the actor of Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) really portrayed the quiet yet very deadly character that is the Black Widow. Chris Evans, who played Captain America, did a good job also, reprising his role from Captain America:  The First Avenger.  He was always trying to be the best he could be and trying to keep the team together.  Newcomer Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) was also good, but he did not appear much throughout the movie.  Despite his short amount of screen time, he is the only completely new person in the movie and I do think he did a good job.

Overall I greatly enjoyed this movie and I would want to see it again.

The book also introduces the concept of ultra-runners and describes a 50 mile rough terrain race in the forest of Mexico between the ultra runners and the Tarahumara. It is one of the greatest races of all time. Throughout the book, McDougall also talks about how the human body is designed to run long distances. In fact, one of the earliest forms of hunting was called Persistence Hunting. That is where the hunter keeps chasing the prey until it collapses from heat exhaustion, which could mean hours of running.

I greatly enjoyed this book.  It taught me so many new things that I didn’t know. While reading this book, I periodically wanted to go out and run because of what the book was saying. It really showed me how the human body was built and made for running, and that most of the problems and injuries from running are not because of our body, but because of our running shoes. The Tarahumara run either barefoot or have thin slippers, yet their injury rate is almost non-existent. This caused me some surprise since so many runners buy expensive top of the line shoes to help reduce risk of injury, but it doesn’t seem to help.

This book was very informative. There were facts  through-out the book that kept me really interested. McDougall clearly did a lot of research for this book, explaining why the human body is built the way it is and how it is designed for running.

I have already recommended this book to one of my friends who is a runner, and I recommend it to more people.

Mass Effect 3 is a third person shooter/ RPG developed by Bioware and published by EA.  It is the thrilling conclusion to the Mass Effect trilogy and was released March 6, 2012.

Your primary objective in Mass Effect 3 is to stop the Reapers at all costs.  For people who haven’t played any of the games in the Mass Effect series, I will provide some brief information that you should know.  The Reapers are a massive army of giant, sentient “space ships” that reveal themselves every ten thousand years to harvest all forms of intelligent life.  These life forms include the main races of the Milky Way Galaxy: humans, asari, salarians, turians, krogan, and quarians.

As Earth and many other planets are being slowly overwhelmed by the Reapers, you take control of the veteran Alliance officer, Commander Shepard.  As Shepard, you fly across the galaxy in your ship, the SSV Normandy, trying to unite all the races of the Milky Way and acquire war assets to aide in the fight against the Reapers.

The setting of the Mass Effect series spans across the entire Milky Way Galaxy.  Over the course of the game you will be doing a lot of long distance space travel.  This is made possible by mass relays, which are basically giant rail guns used for covering massive distances in miniscule amounts of time.  Some of the locations that you visit are the post apocalyptic, krogan home world of Tuchanka; the militarized, turian moon Palaven; and the “capital” of the galaxy known as the Citadel.

Many improvements have been made since Mass Effect 2.  First off, the RPG aspect of the game has been upgraded.  In the second game, you would get points for leveling up that could be placed in your abilities.  All it did was power them up until the last upgrade where you could choose one of two options.  Now, there are many more options for customizing you and your squad mates’ powers.  Another big improvement is the ability to modify your weapons.  You can purchase an all around performance upgrade and you can also add attachments.  These attachments can include enhanced scopes, larger ammunition clips, and so many other enhancements to improve your firepower.

There are not many down sides to this game.  The only thing that I can really see wrong with it is that it feels shorter than the last game.  In Mass Effect 2, you had to do missions to recruit most of your crew.  Later in the game, you had missions you could finish to gain your squad mates’ complete loyalty.  In Mass Effect 3 your squad kind of forms as you progress through the missions.  This time, you don’t need to win their loyalty.  I can see why this would help though.  Instead of focusing on individuals, you are supposed to be focused on the big picture: the safety of the galaxy.

Mass Effect is known for its deep, enthralling single player experience.  With Mass Effect 3, Bioware decided to take a chance by adding online multiplayer.  This proved to be a success even though it messed with the formula of the game a bit.  The multiplayer, known as “Galaxy at War”, consists of four player co-op matches in which players must work together to survive waves of enemies.  While this new mode provides hours of fun, it also affects the single player.  When you get through the waves of enemies successfully, your galactic readiness increases for single the player.  This, rather obviously, is how ready the galaxy is to fight the Reapers.

All in all, Mass Effect 3 is a truly awe inspiring game.  In my honest opinion, it has already secured its position as game of the year.  It has the perfect balance between narrative and game play.  If you consider yourself a gamer, you need to buy this game.  Before buying it though, I would highly recommend playing through the first two games so that you understand the plot and get the complete Mass Effect experience.

I’m sure most people know the story of The Lorax from the picture book by Dr. Seuss. When the Once-ler (a mysterious faceless being) begins chopping down truffula trees to create his own, multipurpose product, the Lorax appears. The Lorax is a forest guardian who “speaks for the trees for the trees have no tongues.” Despite the Lorax’s best efforts, however, the Once-ler successfully destroys, pollutes, and sells, until the entire forest is gone.

At first I was a little skeptical about how a fairly short book could become a full length movie. I was pleasantly surprised; the movie was entertaining while still keeping the environmental message.

The movie essentially has two different viewpoints: the story of the Once-ler, and the story of Ted, a young boy who seeks out the Once-ler to impress a girl. Through the Once-lers narrative, and Ted’s own actions, the movie shows how important it is to protect the environment, and how much you lose when you destroy it.

Unlike the book, the movie Once-ler has a face and a back story. He comes from a family from which he is ostracized and his dreams are dismissed. He finally sets off to seek his own fortune which does not come easily. One can therefore understand where he’s coming from when he ignores the Lorax’s warnings and proceeds to increase his production of thneeds, causing massive damage to the forest and its inhabitants. Humanizing the Once-ler was a good strategy, because most people don’t set out with the sole purpose of destroying the world, they end up doing so because they don’t stop to think about the consequences of their actions.

Another part of the movie that rings true about our society is the bad guy: Mr. O’Hare, the tycoon making billions of dollars by selling people bottled air. He has discovered that the more polluted the air gets, the more bottled air he can sell, so he’s willing to use any means possible to stop Ted from reforming Thneedville. This mirrors the difficulties we face now, where oil and car companies fight against more sustainable options because they will lose profits.

The movie was peppered with unexpected songs that were quite good. In particular I liked the one called “How Bad Can I Be?” which plays during the Once-ler’s production boom.

I don’t have much criticism for the movie, but there are a few things. One is that there were a few points, such as when Ted was riding his moped, where you saw just the characters’ hands on the handlebars, and then the view ahead of him. While that might just be for a 3D effect, (as I realized afterwards,) it still screamed to me as a set up for a video game.

Overall, I really liked the movie. It brought the environmental message across while still being fun and accessible. It’s definitely a good movie to watch.

Andrew lives with an alcoholic father and a cancer stricken mother. He has no friends and is constantly bullied and beaten by his father. He starts to film everything in his life. His cousin Matt, invites him to a party with the intent of getting Andrew some friends. Kids get mad at Andrew filming and he leaves. He is approached by Steve, a popular guy at school and Matt, because he has a camera. They go down a hole in the ground and find a glowing rock. They all get nosebleeds and the camera blacks out. It turns out they get telekinetic powers from the rock and get they each get a nosebleed if they use them too much. As their powers grow, they learn they can fly and have much fun in doing it. Andrew eventually becomes more popular as he uses his powers to show off. Then things go downhill as his fame reaches its peak.

I liked this movie for a few select reasons. First off, I am a huge superpower/superhero geek, so the topic of telekinesis in the movie is a plus. I feel there have never been movies about telekinetic powers. I guess the Force in Star Wars is like telekinesis, but all the other movies with superpowers are about people having super strength, like Captain America, Thor, or Spiderman. I also liked that while it was a sad movie, it actually made me grateful for all I’ve been given.

The thing I didn’t like was the way the movie was fimed. It was filmed in first person, from Andrew’s perspective. The camera used was kind of like a home movie, so the special effects actually looked real, which was kind of cool. I just didn’t like the way you never really see Andrew a lot.

Also, the plot wasn’t necessarily that good. Kids go in hole, find glowing rock, get superpowers, mess around, and then it goes bad. It was pretty much Andrew’s life as he uses his powers.

If you have nothing to do, watch this movie because it is entertaining, but I would recommend seeing The Hunger Games before you see Chronicle.

Now I have to go. My friends are asking me to bring a camera. They have found this rock that is glowing and pulsing in a hole in the ground…

The movie begins roughly ten years after the conclusion of the 1^st movie. Perseus is now a very mature, definitely older looking man who has chosen to live onEarth as a man, instead of joining his father Zeus as a god. He lives with his son, a single father who lost his wife, Io, her death which remains unknown.

The central conflict arises early as it comes to Perseus’ attention during a visit from Zeus. He is informed that the power of the God’s has gradually weakened due to humanity’s lack of devotion. As Zeus and Poseidon begin to lose control of the Titans and their devastating leader Kronos, Hades along with Ares, played by Edgar Ramírez, make a deal with Kronos to capture Zeus.

It is up to Perseus to travel to the underworld with the help of an unlikely source, a prisoner named Agenor, who happens to the demigod son of Poseidon, to rescue his father and in essence, “Save the Day”.

As the storyline continues, it is up to Perseus to slay many beasts that are released from the Underworld. As all of this chaos ensues, Perseus deals with his personal demons to protect his son from all danger, and a promise he made to his wife to never let Helius wield a sword.

The battle scenes in this film were improved slightly from the 1^st film, but for the most part, they are very similar and predictable. Perseus is thrown around by beasts and other gods during these fight scenes, which become extremely dull after a while. It almost got to the point where it seemed as if there was no difference between the 1^st and 2^nd films.

I will give credit where credit is due; the special effects were definitely above average and were what kept this movie from being a snoozer. The most impressive scene coming when the God Kronos rose from the underworld and began his conquest of Earth. As the beast gracefully flicked his wrists, hot lava flew off his body and incinerated everything it came into contact with. The sight of this massive creature alone was appealing to the eye. The computer generation of the character was fantastic although the content of the scene was mediocre at best.

 Wrath of the Titans, although it appealed to the viewer’s senses, definitely disappoints in my eyes. I didn’t see much of a difference in the storylines between the 1^st and 2^nd films while at the same time the dialogue between the characters was weak. If an action flick is what you’re looking for, this film is an average choice that department. I would recommend renting this movie and seeing it from home, I do not believe it is worth the price of admission.

The game focuses on basic car combat.  You pick a vehicle and are sent off to the battlefield loaded with a few basic weapons, but to do some serious damage, you must collect icons to gain new weapons. The outcome of each battle is influenced by what vehicle the player chooses.  Some are faster and have high attack power while others are lumbering behemoths with mountains of health under their belts. There is a whole buffet of weapons and cars from which to choose as well as your typical leveling up system in multiplayer and game modes ranging from an all out death match to Twisted Metal’s own original objective game type “Nuke”.

The single player differs from the multiplayer slightly. There are three characters to choose from, each with their own unique story modes, each to earn one free wish from a man named Calypso. The most prominent character is the franchise’s returning poster boy: Sweet Tooth the Clown. Sweet Tooth is a psychotic killer whose wish is to find the one girl who has gotten away from his rampages. The other two characters are Mr. Grimm, the son of a stuntman, and Dollface, a fantastic model with a dark secret. Who knows if they’ll make it to the end, or if their wishes are really what they expect them to be?

Overall the game is a great revival of the series and brings all sort of new fun to light. The only warning that should be given out would be for the pure graphic nature to the game. This is not for the faint of heart as you will see body parts flying all over the place. Other than the graphic nature, Twisted Metal is a fantastic addition to a great franchise; it’s certainly worth checking out.

The Hunger Games takes place in a future North America that is in ruins. It is split into 12 separate Districts, each providing a different product (textiles, coal, etc.). Each year a boy and a girl, between the ages of twelve and eighteen, are selected from each District and forced to fight to the death in a manmade arena. The arena has traps and can be controlled by the Gamemakers, engineers who designed the arena. This is done as a reminder of a revolution that happened years ago. A person may enter their name in as many times as they want to receive a bigger ration of grain and oil. At sixteen years old, Katniss Everdeen’s name is being entered into the drawing five times, and her younger sister Prim, who has just turned twelve, will be entered for the first time. When Prim is chosen, Katniss volunteers for her as Tribute, as she may have a better chance surviving the arena than Prim. Katniss is skilled with a bow and arrow and can hunt very well, having to provide for her family since her father died.

The big question of the movie: will Katniss survive in the arena?

At first I thought that the movie was going to be horrible compared to the book, as has been the case for films like Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, Cirque du Freak, and the Spiderwick Chronicles. However, for the most part, both book and film were alike. There were obviously differences because you can’t put everything from a book into a movie, so I was disappointed by some of the small details, but they didn’t change any large obvious details.

I really liked the beginning dash of the contestants to the Cornucopia, where all the weapons are stashed in the arena. I feel that the scene captured the rushed emotion and craziness of being amongst children who will try to kill you. The fighting was awesome; it was very well paced and captured the frenzied instinct for survival.

If there was one thing I didn’t like it was the depiction of the Careers. The Careers, youths from Districts 1 and 2, have been trained their whole lives to fight and kill and then volunteer at age 18. In the film, they were way too cuddly with each other. They would drop hints that they liked each other when they really would want to kill each other! In one scene when they were sleeping, they had their arms wrapped around each other. They didn’t seem that focused on killing quickly, and they made a game out of the competition, though I guess that’s what the government wanted.

Regardless, I give the Hunger Games a 9.9 out of 10, only because it didn’t come out any sooner.

-Robby Filec, volunteer as Tribute from District Clarion.

In this novel, everyone has a fury. A fury is a manifestation of an element that allows the person with that type of fury to command that element. Everyone has a fury, except for Tavi. Tavi is an outcast because he does not have a fury.  He is thought of as a freak and looked down on.

Tavi’s life is already complicated, but it gets worse when he runs into a Marat scout, an enemy to his land, and nearly dies from the encounter. From there he needs to warn the his country men of the possible impending doom. But even as he gets help, things are getting worse, and soon everyone he knows could die.

 Furies of Calderon is an amazing and captivating book. I really liked it, and once I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down. It is full of twists that make it hard to predict what is going to happen, and it keeps your attention. The characters are intriguing, and you quickly become attached to them. The book is also funny, making you laugh throughout the book.

The book has multiple story lines that tell you what is happening throughout the realm from multiple points of view. I prefer books to have only one point of view, but this book worked really well with the multiple points.

Still, author Jim Butcher didn’t really explain that much about furies. So you don’t exactly know what they are. Other than that, I felt that I was a really good book that I enjoyed immensely.

Overall I really did enjoy the book. It was a great read, one that I would gladly read again. I cannot wait to read the second book in the series Academ’s Fury.

In the years to follow, Avenged Sevenfold would become all I would listen to. I was to the point where I wouldn’t shut up about them; my friends hated it. The Rev was, and is, my hero, and that will never change. On August 26, I had the chance to see them live. It was the greatest thing I have ever experienced in my life. They were head lining Uproar, the name of the tour, which included great bands like Escape the Fate, Seether, Bullet for my Valentine, and Three Days Grace. Avenged Sevenfold played most songs off of their Nightmare album, which I am reviewing.

“Nightmare” came out in 2010. It was dedicated to the former drummer. I thought the album was amazing; it was very dark and meaningful, from the opening song “Nightmare”, to the final song “Save Me.”

 The album begins with the song “Nightmare,” which can also be heard in the game Call of Duty: Black Ops, in the zombie map moon when you complete the easter egg. The album ends with the song “Save Me.” It is an impressive ten minutes long. Many people would say they don’t have the time for a song that long, but if you find time for it, it’s a beautiful song. Like many of the songs on the album it was written and dedicated for The Rev. It’s about how the drummer had died young. The album itself has many songs on how the band was hurt and will not forget him.

 There is also a song on the album called “Fiction”, originally entitled “Death.” It was the last song The Rev wrote, three days before he died. The Rev died before they were able to record the entire album as a band. The Rev, however, had recorded much of the drums and some vocals for the album, which can be heard on tracks like “Fiction” and “Save Me.” “Fiction’s” lyrics makes it seem like it’s a goodbye from The Rev, as in the song he sings, “I hope it’s worth it/here on the highway/ I know you’ll find your own way when I’m not with you.”

In the first week of the album’s release, “Nightmare” replaced Eminem’s album Recovery for the number one spot which shows that The Rev was more than just a drummer or song writer; he was a hero and role model to many.