By Staff Writer Isabella Mezzaroba
Locker Talk: How do you procrasinate during Benchmark Season?
Features
Movie Review: Anchorman 2
By Will Amari
Staff Writer
Breaking news! Funny-man, Will Ferrell and Movie Director, Adam McKay are back at it again with a sequel to the cult classic, Anchorman and unless you have been living under a rock; you’ve probably already heard of this.
In Anchorman 2, Ron Burgundy (played by Will Ferrell) and his cast of co-anchors including Brian Fantana (played by Paul Rudd), Brick Tamland (Steve Carell) and Champ Kind (David Koechner) come to New York were they join GNN, the first twenty-four hour news team.
A couple of my close friends and I went out to see the movie during winter break. I was wearing my, “I love lamp shirt,” and walked into the theater with butterfingers, sprite, and high expectations for the film.
Ignoring the fact that movie sequels and spinoffs are notorious for being overdone and exceptionally terrible, (I’m talking about you Spider Man 3, and all the sequels for the Pirates of the Caribbean) I kept my fingers cross and my mind open. It is after all starring some of my favorite actors in comedy. How bad could it be? With a cast so strong and naturally funny, this movie should have no problem with making me laugh. And it did precisely that.
I had fun with the gags and the many celebrity cameos, and Steve Carell’s outrageous screaming made it all the better. This movie for me was like watching one SNL skit after the next. Some jokes were fun and memorable and some were just plain crude. It’s like the writers all sat in one big room and said, “Okay forget about the plot; give us all the jokes you can think of.” And that’s Anchorman 2 in a nutshell.
I felt that the movie was sloppy and ten minutes too long. Unlike the first Anchorman, this one wasn’t as tightly compacted and the jokes were uneven. Some parts of the movie was filled to the brim with all the hilarious outbursts and dumb jokes you would expect from any cult comedy, while other parts lagged and the writing wasn’t as strong.
The problem with this film is that there are too many tedious sub-plots and unnecessary characters. At one point, Ron Burgundy goes blind, then you turn around, and he’s dating a black lady. These scenes I found to be distracting and the least bit funny.
Junior, Matt Schreiber went to see it with his friends a couple days after its release. He says, “It (Anchorman 2) is one of the best comedies that I’ve seen in years.”
Schreiber, who is a fan of both films, would argue that Anchorman 2 is even better than the first one. “I thought the second one (Anchorman 2) was better done. It seemed like with the first one they were experimenting with it and trying to make some parts serious and some parts comedy. But with the second one, it seemed like they didn’t care and that they went all out comedy.”
All jokes aside, the film does deliver a good message; a friendly reminder to never take the news too seriously. Anchorman 2 illustrates this message well by not taking themselves too seriously. And for me, that’s how we should see all comedies, as a joke. Is Anchorman 2 a perfect movie? No, of course not! But it does do a perfect job at making us laugh. And that’s harder to do.
The Rise of 7/11
The Rise of 7/11
By Nicholas Murray
Many teenagers have one common trait with one another. Most of us love to eat. This reason alone makes the arrival of the new 7/11 so much more appealing. The store opened up right before we left for winter break, which actually caught many people off guard who thought it wouldn’t open for another few months. Me included.
After its opening, numerous students have going there as opposed their former source of food, Arch Gourmet, which is located directly across the street. I asked several students what they thought about the two stores and received some colorful answers.
Senior Ryan shaw said his reason was that, “I think archgormet is pricey and 7/11 is a nice change”
Another senior, Jonathan Spencer, replied, “I mean come one its 7/11. And when I get some money I might start making it a morning ritual. Like showers.”
I decided to get an opinion from someone who had not fallen in love with 7/11, and got a neutral response. Senior Teige Dougherty replied, “I think the 7/11 is great because it drives up competition which gives us opportunities when it comes to food and different prices. Capitalism at its best.”
Personally, I think that Arch Gourmet is indeed pricey, but it is also true that 7/11 may cause it to drop its prices.
Also, and this may not apply to others, but I think that the people who work there are easier to talk too. The first day that went into 7/11 I chose to buy a pack a gum and the Cashier gave me a warning, “Be careful, when you open that pack of gum, everyone will want to be your friend.”
It may not have been the best joke ever, but it was nice gesture and anytime I go there there are always willing to help out. So, if you ever feel hungry, or just want a quick laugh, try and drop by the 7/11.
The Polar Vortex by Soledad Alfaro
Polar Vortex
The polar vortex has become a trending topic among SLA’s youth, staff and faculty. However the majority of us were at a loss as to how we could explain this natural phenomenon. So in this predicament we call on one of SLA’s very knowledgable and nerdy teacher Matthew Vankowenberg to explain the logic and science behind this mystery.
“ The usual reaction of those who don’t understand global warming is “WOW IT’S REALLY COLD GLOBAL WARMING MUST NOT BE HAPPENING!” and those people are stupid. What is the first word in global warming?” The class does not fail to answer in unison with “GLOBAL” “Exactly! Meaning that in most parts of the globe it is getting warmer, Not just AMERICA! This cold weather actually shows a variation. A few days ago in Australia the temperatures reached about roughly 130 degrees fahrenheit! and what happens to things when they heat up? They expand, and when as things get cooler they contract meaning they are more dense. As the earth revolves the poles do not move at all in terms of miles. The top and bottom a sphere you find barley move from position at all! However the different seeds of rotations with the densities creates what we call the jet stream. So the warm air is separating from the cold air because of the differences in density. Then you have the components of direct sunlight energy and direct heat energy, and we also know that there has to be some heat trapped between the two. The equator gets more direct sunlight so the poles rely more on the trapped sunlight and heat energy. So the poles are warming up. So if the poles started lower and increased more in terms of temperature how is there a temperature difference? No there is not as much of a temperature difference meaning there os not as much of a density difference so there is a huge weakness between the poles. So in addition to being weak, it’s all over the place. So the air is traveling. So now there’s too much air up above and therefore it forced cold air down. 
Locker Talk: What did you do during the Polar Vortex?
By Staff Writer Isabella Mezzaroba
