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Sick Fights, Lame Plot

May 2, 2017 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Fatu Castillo

Staff Writer

Let me kick this off by saying that I knew exactly what I was going to get when I went to see Kong: Skull Island. I didn’t go into the movie theater expecting to be blown away by an intricate plot like Inception or delve into modern societal issues like in Her.

This is not a movie that will have you in tears while people filter out of the aisles nor will this movie compel you to contemplate society and technology the next time your phone dies and you’re bored.

So turn back and don’t waste your money if you want your emotions hammered like a punching bag or your thoughts challenged by a pretentious director that just had to make a point.

No, if I was looking for a movie that would blow me away with an amazing plot or deeping meanings then I’d be sorely disappointed.

I mean, dropping bombs on a random island? Because a crackpot researcher thinks there might be something there? Where was the government agent to say “Uh, Sir, that sounds a little too expensive.”

I paid money to see one thing and one thing only, sick monster fights on a giant screen. Let me tell you, I got my money’s worth.

Jordan Vogt-Roberts, the movie director, knew exactly who his target audience was and played right to them. Not even ten minutes in and Kong, all hail the king, was already on the screen.

He wasn’t beating anything up yet, which was a little bit disappointing, but he was still cool to look at. And it gave me the perfect taste of the what was in store for the rest of the movie.

It didn’t take long for hands to start being caught since the first fight scene was about fortyfive minutes. Watching Kong wretch-shop a bunch of military helicopters with added explosion noises and comical deaths was extremely pleasing.

Sometimes, there wasn’t even a reason for hands to be thrown but they were, namely when a giant octopus attacked out of nowhere in water that was definitely too shallow for it to be in.

Why? Because senseless violence and epic soundtracks were exactly what me and the other there are dwellers paid for.

Good acting? Not so much.

By the time the movie was over, I could care less about the if the people lived or died. I still can’t wrap my head around why some of them were even in the movie.

Why would a government agent allow an obviously anti-government photographer to come along on a secret mission? Why would an otherwise level-headed intent go crazy with vengeance instead of saving his men?

I don’t know and I don’t care, I got to see soldier fight with a giant spider.

Would I recommend this movie? No, if you don’t want to waste money of forgettable characters and a lame plot. Yes, if you just want to watch sick monster fights.

Music Review: Kodak Black

May 2, 2017 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Mekhi Granby

Staff Writer

Dieuson Octave better known by his stage name Kodak Black is an American hip hop/rap recording artist. Born on June 11, 1997 in Pompano Beach Florida, also where he was raised. Since early childhood Kodak Black has been in and out of conflict with law authorities, being sent back and forth to prison.

After releasing multiple mixtapes and singles, Kodak Black delivers his 18-track debut album “Painting Pictures” on March 31, 2017 along with a documentary titled “Project Baby.”

As an official debut album this project is a huge representation of Kodak Black as an artist. Does it live up to the hype? I will be giving an in-depth review of Painting Pictures, track by track.

Day For Day

As an intro this song is purposefully placed as it sets up the mood for the album. It’s a very mellow song with a monotoned Kodak Black as he talks about incarceration and why he continues to pursue music. I like this message of this song and the instrumental is relaxing.

Coolin and Booted

Track 2, another mellow song featuring a calm/smooth instrumental with melodic vibes from Kodak Black. This isn’t one of my favorite tracks because the chorus isn’t that great and I think it could’ve contained more substance.

Candy Paint (feat. Bun B)

Track 3, I have no choice but to skip this song everytime it comes on, this is by far the worst song on this project. The instrumental is alright but the lyrics are complete garbage, I’ve never heard of Bun B and after listening to this song I realize why. Not a good song to put on the album aka a throwaway track.

Up In Here

Track 4, sadly another throwaway track. I cannot listen this song, a very bad performance by Kodak Black on this song. The lyrics are irrelevant and the instrumental is better than the artist rapping on it.

U Aint Never

Track 5, Kodak redeems himself from the previous two tracks. The vibe, chorus and instrumental is what attracts me to this song. Kodak talks about the some of the crimes and activities he did/does in his life and calls out everyone who hasn’t done these things claiming that they did.

Twenty 8

Track 6, the most annoying song on the album in my opinion. I assume the number 28 has a lot of significance to Kodak Black for him to make a song about it but I really do not like this song at all. It’s very repetitive and pointless in terms of contributing to the rest of the album. I would recommend skipping this song to those who listen to Painting Pictures.

Patty Cake

Track 7, kind of an ironic song but also one of my favorite songs from the album. I say it’s an ironic song because the instrumental and vibe of the song is uptempo and happy, (the use of the piano definitely contributes to this) but the lyrics aren’t. While bragging about his wealth Kodak Black says “I clap a nigga like patty cake.” Patty cake is a popular children’s hand game which includes a lot of clapping. Kodak uses “clap” meaning shoot.

Save You

Track 8, one of the better tracks but I always skip it, on this song Kodak talks about his love for women and how he can use his wealth to support his significant other. He expresses how much of a great partner he’d be in a relationship. The chorus is catchy and the instrumental fits the song perfectly.

Conscience (feat. Future)

Track 9, out of the five songs with features I find that this one is the best executed. This song has a high replay value in my opinion, I like the collaborative effort from both Kodak Black and Future on this song. Definitely a song to check out from the project.

Tunnel Vision

Track 10, the first single to appear on Painting Pictures, Kodak utilises his melodies and creates a catchy song along with a music video containing an insightful message about the current state of the United States concerning racism.

Corrlinks and JPay

Track 11, going back to the original theme of the intro Kodak raps about receiving money while being incarcerated. He connects with inmates while reminiscing on the days he was locked up.

Reminiscing (feat. A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie)

Track 12, a laid back instrumental with calm lyrics and a melodic chorus from A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie. Kodak reflects on the days when he didn’t have much and the days he was stuck in jail. He appreciates everything he has now and says that he doesn’t want to go back to living those ways.

Side Nigga

Track 13, I dislike this song. It contains a bad message to the youth and impressionable minds about disrespecting relationships and chasing females in a committed relationship and harming their significant other. Don’t get me wrong, there are many worst songs out there about much worse topics which contain even worse messages but I’m only stating why I dislike the song.

Off The Land

Track 14, my absolute favorite song from Painting Pictures. This song is extremely catchy with smooth lyrics from Kodak Black over a relaxing instrumental. This track talks about Kodak working hard to earn all the luxuries he has. Definitely one of my top recommendations.

Top Off Benz (feat. Young Thug)

Track 15, this song features a lot of vocals from Young Thug with the first and third verse going to him along with the chorus. This was a good collaboration but it sounds more like Young Thug’s song rather than Kodak’s. The song talks about luxury cars and women.

Feeling Like (feat. Jeezy)

Not one of my favorites, nevertheless track 16 is an alright song. I never liked Jeezy so this collaboration isn’t appealing. Definitely wouldn’t recommend this to any new listeners.

Why They Call You Kodak

Track 17, as the album comes to an end, Kodak expresses his final thoughts and emotions. On this song he decides to explain the significance of his stage name. This song features a more uptempo beat with a slightly aggressive Kodak. Leading into the outro I feel like this track could’ve been a lot better or replaced with a different track.

There He Go

Track 18, the second single to appear on the album. Definitely a smart decision to add this song on the project as it’s a fan favorite along with Tunnel Vision. This songs currently sits at 87 million views on youtube. I like this song, simple lyrics over a relaxing beat; Kodak’s signature style. Good choice of an outro as most fans already know and like this song.
Readers should give this album a listen because it’s a debut album! The most important project for a new artist is their first one, it introduces them to a bunch of new people as hype and anticipation collide from fans, artists receive more attention. It properly represents who Kodak Black is as an artist and will be a memorable piece of his career as he propels and continues to create music. I would recommend tracks 1, 2, 5, 7, 9, 10, and 14 to any new listeners as these are the best executed in my opinion. If you have the time to listen to the whole album, you should. Although I don’t like every song as much as I like others, you might.

Movie Review: Life

May 2, 2017 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Caroline Pitone

Staff Writer

Life is a Science Fiction movie that has recently came out. I went to see this movie on a Sunday. My expectations for this movie weren’t too high, because there are already many movies out there that have attempted at a similar concept. Although I do like things that are Science Fiction , I was excited to see what this movie had in store.

The plot of this movie is for the astronauts to capture some samples of the planet mars to test. They soon see evidence of Life that they weren’t expecting. They see that the cell they find, is made of all muscle and all brain, which blows their mind and allows them to classify them as an Ëxtraterrestial. In Life, we see some well known actors such as, Ryan Reynolds and Jake Gyllehnaal. The are companied along with some great actors; Rebecca Ferguson, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ariyon Bakare, and Olga Dihovichnaya. They all played great roles and were the main characters. Each role was very believable. The actor that played their role the best in my opinion was Ryan Reynolds. He really sold most scenes for me and did nothing but contribute well to every scene with his talent.

The thing that stuck out to me in this movie were the insane graphics. The animations and camera angles were so mind blowing. A movie I could compare these graphics to is the famous Avatar.
After seeing the movie, I have to say I was a bit disappointed, but also was not expecting the best movie in the world. The beginning of the movie was slow but everything soon started to fall into place, after about half way into the movie, it lost all of my attention. As good as the graphics were, and as good as the filming was, the content did not show through. I believe they could have made the movie so much better with the plot they had.

Eat.Right.Now Initiative Begins at SLA

May 2, 2017 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Avi Cantor

Staff Writer

For years, The School District of Philadelphia has teamed up with an organization called “Eat.Right.Now”, whose vision is to “end hunger and improve nutrition and health.”

This year, they came to Science Leadership Academy for the first time but their agenda didn’t exactly go as planned.

During one week’s program, advisories were given plain bags of arugula.

At first, members of the Estey advisory thought that this was a weak attempt for Mr. Estey to provide his advisory snacks. This would’ve made sense because many students had complained that they wanted snacks in advisory.

“Mr. Estey, you brought us grass!” Sophomore student Raymond Rochester exclaimed when he saw the bag of limp arugula sitting on a table.

Students later learned that many other advisories had received bags of arugula as well. They learned that the Eat.Right.Now initiative had supplied SLA with those bags, which left students confused. For an initiative that boasts a fifteen year run of “providing nutrition education for a healthier future”, their best idea was bags of plain arugula?

Interestingly, a development in Philadelphia gave SLA some answers about the different angles to Eat.Right.Now’s programming. The high school program is managed by Allison Haughney, a program manager for the Eat.Right.Now initiative, who works in the Department of Nutritional Science at Drexel University. However, there is a more complex version of the program run by ten full-time teachers for elementary school students. These teachers have worked with the Eat.Right.Now initiative for 15 years and helped build a strong foundation for the program.

What’s more, The Eat.Right.Now initiative’s ten full-time employees have recently been forced to write up a petition to the School District of Philadelphia to keep their jobs. The ten employees would be replaced by fourteen employees who would be paid less. The school district is vying to replace the ten employees because it would save money. The replacement employees would cost less to pay because they’d only work part time. According to a petition from the ten existing employees, tearing them away from the program would “take away all the experience, expertise, and the long, successful relationships built over many years with students, school staff members, and the communities they serve.” They are asking the school district to “keep our experienced, excellent nutrition educators and keep the Eat Right Now program a success in so many of our schools.”

If this were to happen, the Eat.Right.Now initiative would much less successful than it has these last 15 years. Even though SLA seemed to get the short end of the stick with the initiative, other schools benefit heavily from this program, especially for lower income students. The initiative provides students with healthy recipes on their website for food that students can cook at home, school trips to farms, a program called ‘Eat the Alphabet’ that every week for 28 weeks allows them to “learn about a new healthy food that corresponds with a letter of the alphabet.”

With the Eat The Alphabet program, “Students practice writing the letter, do a craft focused on the food they are learning about and will be able to taste a sample of the food that they are learning about as they make their way through the alphabet.”

Even though SLA students were not impressed with the high school version of the program, this program is popular among younger students and has made a strong impact on public schools around Philadelphia. Sign the petition here to keep the Eat.Right.Now initiative as influential and successful as possible.

It’s Time To Quest Once More

May 2, 2017 by lpahomov Leave a Comment

Fatu Castillo

Staff Writer

Have you ever stopped and wondered lately, “Man, I sure wish I could enjoy a game of Dungeon and Dragons right now.”

No? Well neither did I! In fact, I kept my thoughts as far away as humanly possible.

The closest I ever got to that game was back in my middle school days when I quested, with all my might, to defeat the Enderdragon in Minecraft. Good times, getting chased by Spiders and killed by Creepers.

I never killed the Enderdragon, surprise, but the concept remains the same. Dungeons and Dragons is just too nerdy for me to pursue, that stays in my middle school years. How could I ever look my mother in the eyes if I spent the night before in a basement, with plenty of snacks and lots of friends, questing as a Rogue to save the kingdom?

Thinking about it now, quite easily.

But now is a chance at redemption, now I found a way to immerse myself in Dungeons and Dragons without feeling nonexistent shame.

I’m going to be honest here and admit that it took me awhile to get into The Adventure Zone. I had seen it all over Tumblr, watched as every other Thursday it would flood the tags as a new episode wreaked havoc. I stupidly looked as spoiler after spoiler came my way.

A word of advice, if you ever think “This spoiler won’t ruin anything for me, I don’t watch the show.” Slap yourself in the face, those are evil thoughts that will haunt you for life.

But back to The Adventure Zone, because it definitely is worth reviewing.

It’s produced by the McElroy Brothers, Griffin, Travis, and Justin, and their father, Clinton. Griffin plays as God, or the Dungeon Master, and the other three have to figure out how to get over the plot devices he throws their way.

I expected it to be predictable the first episode, it was only supposed to be filler episode in between their normal podcast.

They journey to a distant land, confront an evil tyrant, maybe kill a dragon, and save a princess.

Nope.

Instead I got to bruise my ribs laughing from listening to Travis argue on whether or not he could name his character Magnus Burnsides, Justin stealing gold and shoes off of anyone and everyone, and Clinton casting Zone of Truth in the most inappropriate situations.

All the while, Griffin had to voice about a dozen different characters and constantly forgot which was which, leading to hilarious situations.

It isn’t just a laugh-fest, by the way, there’s an actual plot happening that is really starting to heat up. So it’s good for laughs and gasps, like when Justin casts a spell that topples the entire sequence that Griffin had laid out.

If you do decide to listen to The Adventure Zone, it won’t be what you expect, that’s for sure.