April Movie Previews

Clash of the Titans- April 2

Fresh off his success as the lead in the Sci-fi - CGI hit Avatar, Sam Worthington takes on the role of a different hero, Perseus, in a much different time and place. Perseus, the son of Zeus (Liam Neeson) and a hero in Greek legends, defends the world and heaven from Hades (Ralph Fiennes) and the monsters of underworld. The plot is sure to be simple and characters fairly standard - hero, villain, and god types - but the pure visual value of terrifying monsters and flying horses will likely make this movie worth seeing on the big screen.

Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Too?- April 2

The cast from Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married? encounters more challenges of married life when they go on their annual reunion, this time to the Bahamas. At first the trailer reminded me of the premise of Couples Retreat which tried too hard to be funny and sentimental. Why Did I Get Married Too? appears to be far more realistic and sincere. What is suppose to be a time to reconnect ends up with all of them questioning some part of themselves and their relationship.

Date Night- April 9

Steve Carell and Tina Fey, two comic geniuses of our time, play an ordinary married couple who end up stealing the identities of two low-life criminals (James Franco and Mila Kunis). Their would-be boring date night turns into a dangerous adventure involving mobsters, corrupt cops, and a crazy cab driver. With the reputations of the two leads the expectations are high but they are sure to deliver the laughs.

The Runaways- April 9

The story of an American all-girl teenage rock band from the 70s that opened up the world for female rock stars and influenced the entire rock genre comes to theaters. Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning play the two most prominent members of the band, Joan Jett and Cherrie Currie, and lead the movie with killer performances. Their manager Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon) deserves a nod for her rock-out show as well. The essence of the time and the wildness of the rock n roll lifestyle are visually there but will the trio be able to keep the mojo alive off-stage?

Kick-Ass- April 16

A what-if-super-heroes-existed movie but this time based on the comic book series by Mark Millar, a series that doesn’t take itself as seriously as the likes of Watchmen. The title character, played by Aaron Johnson, lives a normal life as a high school student with no problems but also no excitement, until he makes the decision to become a superhero. Others soon follow in his crime fighting footsteps, including Red Mist (Christopher Mintz-Plasse of Superbad and Role Models) and the father-daughter team of Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage) and, the one who appears to be the most lethal of all these heroes, Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz), creating a different class of superheroes than most movie-goers expect.

Death at Funeral- April 16

The original Death at Funeral (2007) followed a British family’s funeral gone awry; this remake takes the same plot but follows an American family. What should be a serious and dignified event is marred not only by family resentments but also a fiancé who was accidentally given hallucinogenic drugs, a moron who tries to win back the heart of a woman, a pain-in-the-ass uncle, and a mysterious little person. The plot has been used before, even written by the same screenwriter Dean Craig, but iconic faces of American comedy such as Danny Glover, Luke Wilson, Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan, and Chris Rock may make this recycle palatable.

Oceans- April 22

Water covers roughly three-quarters of the Earth and within the depths of the largest of these bodies, the oceans, there is a lot of life many have never seen a glimpse of. On Earth Day Disneynature (Earth), presents a look beneath the waves, exploring the fascinating creatures, the dangers of sea-life, and our impact upon the ocean. It was filmed in over 50 different locations over three years using the latest underwater film technology.

The Back-up Plan- April 23

Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) wanted to be a mom and was tired of dating men who were not living up to her expectations so she went at it alone with insemination. Of course on that same day she met Stan (Alex O’Loughlin) the perfect man. Comedy ensues as Zoe tries to hide the signs of pregnancy in order to create the normalcy of a new relationship but before long she admits the reason for her crazy behavior and he commits fully. With baby on the brain they must backtrack and learn to love each other beyond the baby. This backward approach to classic rhyme “first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby in the baby carriage” may, and probably does, work out for this unlikely couple.

Paper Man- April 23

A middle-aged novelist named Richard (Jeff Daniels) moves to Long Island in hopes to cure his writer’s block where he befriends a 17-year-old girl named Abby (Emma Stone) who has one thing in common with him: an imaginary friend. Captain Excellent (Ryan Reynolds) is the bleach blonde superhero counterpart of Richard and a fellow teenager named Christopher (Kieran Culkin) is Abby’s. As their friendship grows both learn to let go of these imaginary friends and begin life anew. Although this is a limited release considering how difficult it was to find just a few clips and not even a trailer, it's sure to be worth finding.

The Losers- April 23

A team of select U.S. Special Forces (Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chris Evans, Idris Elba, Columbus Short, Oscar Jaenada) are betrayed from the inside and marked as targets to be eliminated. These five intelligent and highly skilled characters fall beneath the radar in order to plan for revenge. An operative named Aisha (Zoe Saldana) gets their plan rolling, claiming she can get them through to the elusive and protected Max who wants to entangle the world in a high-tech global war.

A Nightmare on Elm Street- April 30

Freddy Krueger returns for yet another fun time of ruining your sleep and your life. This classic horror plot is updated with contemporary references and a setting in suburbia where a group of good looking teenagers are being stalked by the grossly disfigured, four clawed killer, but only when they sleep. The trailer captures what looks to be a dark movie that will make you jump, and possibly become an insomniac for a few days or weeks, so although most horror buffs will have seen it before, this time they won’t know exactly when Freddy is going to appear.

Furry Vengeance- April 30

My first reaction upon seeing the poster was a disappointed sigh for Brendan Fraser, where are those amazing days in the deserts of The Mummy? Oh I forgot, they made a third one… But I digress, Fraser has never really picked any winning movie to be a part of, he’s just that type of actor. Now, he is a young real estate developer in charge of converting the local forest into a forest-themed shopping mall by tearing it down. This deal is undermined by a band of wild animals led by a raccoon. This can only lead to a series of hokey jokes and I’m assuming the preservation of the forest. The saddest thing is the film isn’t even original, it’s just Hoot (2006) all over again.

I Was There: Coheed and Cambria

Tonight, I was in attendance for the SOLD OUT Coheed & Cambria / Earl Greyhound concert at Webster Theatre in Hartford, CT. I am familiar with both bands: I've seen Coheed and Cambria once back in 2007 and Earl Greyhound is one of my clients at my internship. (Tell All Your Friends Publicity and Management)

Earl Greyhound is a 60's/70's inspired psychadelia/blues rock band. The group's sophomore album Suspicious Package is due out April 13. The single off of it, "Oye Vaya," is a very catchy little number with supersonic guitars and powerful vocals. Spin has a huge review of the album in their more up-to-date issue.

There isn't much to say about Coheed and Cambria except that, 5 albums later, the band still has it. Year of the Black Rainbow, the band's upcoming release, far surpassed critics expectations and has received some stellar reviews.

Here is the tracklist for the show. Enjoy.

1. The Broken
2. A Favor House Atlantic
3. Three Evils (Embodied in Love and Shadow)
4. Junesong Provision
5. Time Consumer
6. Here We Are Juggernaut
7. In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
8. The Velorium Camper III: Al The Killer
9. The Light & The Glass
10. World of Lines
11. The End Complete III: The End
12. No World For Tomorrow
Encore
13. Far
14. Welcome Home
15. 21:13
16. IRO-Bot

-Nicholas Palumbo

I Was There: Spoon @ Radio City Music Hall

Because I am graduating, I am stepping down from Generator Magazine. Because I am stepping down from Generator, I have been looking elsewhere for my freelancing thrill. I am proud to say that in addition to being a music editor for Generator Magazine (until May), I am also Co-Editor for The Deli Magazine and a Contributing Writer for Consequence of Sound.

With that said, my first live assignment proved to be a huge one. I had the honour of attending Spoon and Deerhunter at Radio City Music Hall on Friday. It was a hectic night getting there (press confirmation was just 3 hours before the show - which meant finding my +1 on the guestlist and taking the train into Manhattan had to happen within a half hour) but it proved to be more than worth it.

This is an excerpt for the review I wrote this about the show for CofS (link will be added shortly)

"It isn’t difficult to explain what exactly happened at the show but to capture the mood of the environment and the emotion of the bands that share the stage with The Rockettes is more challenging than meets the eye. I will never be able to capture the beauty and artistry of each performer because I have not seen the charisma that Spoon had in a long time..."

Read the rest of the article here.

Expect some Generator exclusive show coverage in the near future - including The Flaming Lips, Echo & The Bunnymen, Bamboozle 2010 (pending), Owl City and Coheed & Cambria.

-Nicholas Palumbo

New E-Board Information

We want to congratulate Cynthia Dagenais, Eden Jezierski and Rachel Forlifer on being the new additions to the Generator Editorial Team for the 2010-2011 Academic Year.

Cynthia Dagenais will be the new face of Film.
Eden Jezierski will be the new face of Music.
Rachel Forlifer will be the new face of Fashion.

In addition, we want to wish the best to Justine Mann (Film), Nicholas Palumbo (Music) and Christine Urgola (Fashion) who are moving onto bigger and better things. Good luck to them all!

April Fool's Comedy Show at Mahoney's

Steve Hofstetter, a standup comedian based in New York City, who will be headlining a special April Fool's Day comedy show at Poughkeepsie's Mahoney's (35 Main St) on Thursday, April 1st at 8PM.

Hofstetter has been on CBS' Late Late Show, E!'s True Hollywood Story, VH1's Countdown, and ESPN's Quite Frankly, and is best known as the original writer for collegehumor.com.

Tickets to the event at $16.50 and can be purchased here. If you want cheaper tickets at $1 or $3, contact the magazine at generatormagazine@yahoo.com to request the discount tickets.

check out Steve's website for more information on the comedian.

NCAA DIARY - Saturday

10:00am - Before rehearsal a bunch of us went to the supermarket with Art to buy a ton of cookout supplies, we are rehearsing some of the new stuff for a bit, then grilling!
11:03 - Your designated spirit cooks for the day, Gunther and yours' truly
12:30 - Nice, chill cookout to keep us calm for the next 4 and a half hours. Champion of the morning goes to Liz Miller, a small senior trumpet who managed to put down 3 burgers and 3 hot dogs!
2:02 - Back at the hotel and changing for the game, feeling the nerves coming on strong now, just read that some jackass at the pojo who doesn't even cover the girls headlined a story, "Marist Will Knock off Georgetown in NCAA Opener" Seriously? what the hell. Don't get me wrong I'm confident and excited and would love to stay here another couple days and take on the 6ft 8 beast of a woman on Baylor, but I'd never guarantee a win.
Anyway, I think the key to winning is going to be Marist controlling the pace of the game in the second half. Last year we stuck with Virginia for a half and the year before we stuck with LSU for a half, but the second half gets away from us against big athletic teams. Georgetown is not very big, but they sure can run. I'm worried Elise may be too small to do her normal damage on the defensive end, and as much as I love Lindsey, I dont know if she can keep up with the Hoyas speed. I think Rachele will be able to score inside and count on Corielle and Erica to match up with the young Hoyas toughness and speed. Should be a good game! and this writing this paragraph just made me 5 times as nervous...
4:02 - Just finished polishing the sousaphones and we're ready to go!
4:49 - Georgetown hired some tiny band from Santa Clara or something, they just played the weakest version of Crazy Train I've ever heard. Hold on, we got this.
4:55 - hahaha just tore whoever these guys are a new you know what. Time for tip off!!
5:52 - Down by two at halftime, not bad. We got out to a nice start 7-0 but they came roaring back and man are they fast. They score in bunches which can be dangerous against us. Can't have any defensive lapses in the second half.
6:23 - Well it's pretty much the same old story, they came out firing and hit three 3s in a row and now down 11 and are struggling to keep it that close. Kat Lyons is coming in cold, hopefully she can find the range.
6:44 - Kat Lyons 0-2 and thats it for her. Doesn't look good, and to add to it, security wont let me climb into the stands to get high ground for the "GIVE ME AN M..." chant. Outrage!
7:06 - Thats you're final. 62-42. Kind of an embarrassing final score given everyones predictions. Early second half doomed us for the third year in a row. I'm going to go throw some stuff, yell, weep, and repeat.

After the game I never really felt like updating anymore, kinda got down and it wasn't a pretty evening or plane ride back.
Anyway, thanks for reading this far, hope you enjoyed it even though it wasn't live like I hoped. Damn iTouches don't ever work when you need them to. Comments are appreciated and keep checking out the Generator, they are all over campus and let me know any other events you'd like to see covered in this format. Thanks again.

~Walsh

NCAA DIARY - Friday

9:00am - Yep, another 9am rehearsal...not nearly as excited about this one. Art is asking the tubas to play loud enough to rattle our bells. I am not amused... maybe in 3 hours.
11:12 - Working on killer dance moves to bust out during Smooth Criminal and Touch Me!
11:33 - Chinese fire drill during Hey Baby!... oh, hey Tommy.
12:15 - Shockingly late on the set return time again. Grabbed a quick sandwich to eat in the hotel room with Mike and Ted...
1:44 - The much awaited (by my mom) list of things I've dropped the most F-Bombs on in the past year... At number three, we have Marist's core religion requirement. At number two, Marist Security! and the thing I've cursed more than anything else this year...SIENA!!
1:48 - Na na nana, na na nana, hey hey hey, goodbye....peace Siena, all you have next year is Rossiter who pisses himself at the mere thought of Bauer Power!
2:20 - I caved and went to look at the Redwood Trees in Muir Forest.
5:00 - Highlight of the whole trip was driving there and back on these comically dangerous winding roads. Tommy is one arm-gansta leaning out the window, and turning around to talk to Sal and I as I start feeling sick from the swerves. Slightly rude but, talk about Tokyo Drift.
9:48 - Taking a long walk by myself to clear my head before bed. Big day tomorrow!

NCAA DIARY - Thursday

9:00am - woohoo, 9am rehearsal!
11:50 - Rehearsal site is outdoor field with picnic tables and grills with a sweet view of the water!
12:45 - Heading into San Fran today with all Marist related travelers and our friendly Asian bus driver Tommy! (no Tom Poalillo, not all Asians are named Tom)
1:30 - Straight to "Wipe Out" for lunch and enjoy the opening of the men's tournament and see some upsets!
2:39 - We get 20 bucks a day for food. I just had a 28 dollar lunch.
3:14 - Sitting in the sun at the end of the pier watching the sea lions again. They must be the laziest animals on the planet. They never move.
3:20 - Nicole: "I want that life!"
4:33 - Had a quick chat with Maria Laterza about her apparently legendary skills at that crane/claw grabbing stuffed animal game. She claims to have won three times in a row up in Buffalo and nearly threw some elbows at a toddler trying to grab one of her prizes. It's true, Giorgis and Brault both back her up.
5:14 - Found a Going Out of Business Sale at a small nautical gift shop. Bought a brass naked mermaid door knocker! Lower West S1, check it out!
7:38 - Walking to catch the bus back to Berkeley, look up to see the team in a fancy seafood restaurant for dinner. Nice to see how the other half lives...Rachele did wave to us...her minions in the castle of Marist Athletics.
8:40 - BEVMO!...Thats the name of the beer/liquor store next to the hotel. Picture Halftime, only if Halftime was shot up with as much juice as Marion Jones.
10:57 - In the midst of a heated argument about what to do tomorrow. For some reason I am the only person who finds going to look at trees very boring. They keep claiming they are huge, but I've seen trees before. In fact, I see one right now outside my window...
11:39 - Currently in the Tuba's room reading passages from the Mormon bible with Sal. Yes, they supply all rooms with Mormon bible's in Berkeley... All this while Nicole begins reciting the Raven by Edgar Allen Poe, not sure why...but hey! NCAA Trips!

NCAA DIARY - Wednesday

9:30am - Lincoln, Nebraska!! haha landed for a fuel stop in lovely Nebraska. Shooter is yelling something about how Australian Oliver really is in the row behind me, he clearly got more sleep than I did last night.
12:30pm - keep in mind, we are doing this diary in pacific time. Giorgis wastes no time and gets all the girls on one bus and heads directly to practice. Us? we are left with one bus to cram around 6 people. Assistant AD Frank Lombardi is sitting on Jeremy's lap behind me. Feel the Marist Athletics love.
1:23 - Eating lunch at this 5 minute barbecue place across from the hotel. Our entertainment, watching the rest of the band watch a street performance that looks from here, like a cross between Harry Potter and Godzilla...riveting.
1:49 - Saw President Chris Miller down below us and cough/yelled "blow job" at him. James quickly pointed out that our Dean of Student Affairs Deb Dicaprio and her daughter were within 10 ft of me walking by, more evidence that if I applied to Marist this year, I wouldn't have an ice cube's chance in hell of getting in.
3:58 - Walking around downtown Berkeley, realizing that the only stores here are Banana Republic, Forever 21, and Victorias Secret, not exactly my scene.
4:15 - Attempting to navigate the Berkeley/San Fransisco version of the T. oh wait, NY audience, uhhh Metro?
5:30 - Recieved a strange voicemail from ted. He called to let me know he had found a green shirt and had put it on in honor of me, because I was pestering him all day about not wearing green on St. Patty's Day!
7:00 - First Guinness of St. Patrick's Day at the Player's Bar on Pier 39!
7:30 - Not sure if I feel bad for James or jealous of him, he's at a table in the back surrounded by 5 dance team girls...
11:03 - One more quick thing before bed, on the way home tonight Mike and I hit up these public bathrooms in San Fransisco that will from now on be dubbed, "Space Toilets." These things are amazing button operated opening and closing door and automatic cleaning cycles after every user. A good first day in California, looking forward to the next few days before I start freaking out with nerves Saturday.

Ben Folds Antics

At his recent stop in Charlotte, NC, Ben Folds entertained the crowd with Chatroulette antics.

In Berkeley

At the hotel now. Unpacking and having a meeting in a bit.
BG took the girls straight from the plane to practice... he's not messing around this week.
Not a bad flight, just had a 20 minute stop in lovely Lincoln, Nebraska.

~Walsh

Back at Marist

Hey everybody, Mike Walsh here. Thanks for joining me for my first NCAA Tournament update. Most of us arrived last night or this morning. I was at Shadows for the selection show party briefly and the place was packed. Everyone erupted with cheers when we found out we were going to Berkeley. California for the second straight year! We are a 12 seed just like last year, only this time our opponent will be Georgetown. They earned the 5 seed thanks to a 13-3 Big East record, 25-6 overall. They are led by 5-11 BE Freshmen of the Year Sugar Rogers, (yes creative chants and jeers are on the way) who dropped 18 a game this season. The Hoyas don't appear to be very big which is a benefit for us, Rachele should be able to get her shot off consistently. And if either the Allenspach-Johnson or Yarde-Johnson tandem can control Rogers we have a better than decent shot at the upset. I'd love to see Elise get some minutes on her but at 5-5 she gives up 6 inches to Sugar. I'm also going to look for a big game from Kate Oliver, if she can get to double digits, I like our chances. Anyway after rehearsal and a nice cookout today we got word that we are leaving on a charter out of Newburgh in the morning with the team and administrators, should be fun aside from the 7am report time. Thanks for checking in, expect more consistent and humorous updates as the trip commences tomorrow. Goodnight for now, and FIRE UP!

~Walsh

March 12 Movie Previews

Green Zone- March 12

Matt Damon pairs up again with director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum) in an interesting war-time thriller that takes on current issues and a current war. Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) and his team are set on a mission to find weapons of mass destruction hidden in the Iraqi desert but instead they find a complex cover-up. The ensuing melee of explosions and shootings pits American against American as Miller tries to find the truth.








Our Family Wedding- March 12

Two dads (Forest Whitaker and Carlos Mencia) of different racial and cultural backgrounds and very big egos find out their children (America Ferrara and Lance Gross) are engaged. They must learn what it means to be a family by accepting each other and learning to get along but the initial clash between them creates some hilarity. Most of it looks a little too farfetched and freaky to hold up this comedy: a goat eats a whole bottle of an ED drug.









Remember Me- March 12

Robert Pattinson fans get to swoon over him once again as a human but this time with a bit of personality. He plays a rebellious young man called Tyler who does not get along with his father (Pierce Brosnan). By some chance encounter he meets Ally (Emilie de Ravin) who of course understands him and they fall for each other. But a happy ending will not come easily for these two lovers as secrets come out and they are threatened to be torn apart.







She’s Out of My League- March 12

This movie asks: How can a 10 go for a 5? And apparently supplies the answer to that question of why would a hot girl like a not-so-hot guy, exaggerated yet again for the movie screen. Kirk (Jay Baruchel) is an average Joe working as a security guard at an airport when he finds the cell phone of a gorgeous and successful woman, Molly (Alice Eve), and she falls for him. It’s hard to say where the plot will go in this one and it looks like all the good laughs may be in the trailer.