‘Iron Man’
He relies on different pacemakers to keep his heart beating; he flies in the air at supersonic speeds; he protects the innocent from fanatics.
He’s a modern knight in shining armor.
“Iron Man” revolves around the life of industrialist inventor Tony Stark, who is taken by terrorists and forced to build a weapon for them. In secret refusal, he builds his own weapon – iron suit - to help freed him from captivity.
But the story is much more than that. It keeps going for more than two hours. The movie doesn’t end with the credits. “Iron Man” finishes up after the credits with a must-see scene with another Marvel character, which is played by familiar actor (too familiar, if you ask me).
The movie is filled with sky-high actions, hilarious dialogues and a great choice of cast and crew.
Main characters are played by well-known, Oscar-nominated actors. Once beleaguered Brat Pack actor Robert Downey Jr. plays Stark. Stark’s best friend, Jim "Rhodey" Rhodes, is played by Terrence Howard. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Virginia “Pepper” Potts, the secretary with a not-so-secret crush on Stark.
I can relate to Stark. He relies on his pacemaker to keep his heart going. I rely on my cochlear implants to hear sounds around me. The way the movie portrays him with this artificial device is not boring and familiar to me; the writers have done an excellent job making Stark real, yet superhuman at the same time.
If you get tired of watching superheroes in tights, you don’t have to worry. Iron Man’s costume is light tight and heavy metal.
Watch Tony Stark develop in a superhero who protects the world as Iron Man!
By Jeremy G. Vinluan, a senior at Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia Beach , no_1jeremy@yahoo.com
‘The Forbidden Kingdom’
Going back in time to ancient China. Teaming up with a group of unusual warriors. Fighting the Jade Warlord and his evil minions. Learning the way of kung fu, strongly recommended to get back home.
“The Forbidden Kingdom” tells a tale about a modern-day American teenager named Jason Tripitikas who finds an interesting artifact that takes him to ancient China.
At this week’s Tuesday, sneak-peak showing at MacArthur Center in Norfolk, a lot of people came and filled in every seat with more people waiting outside. No everyone got in, which shows this movie had hype surrounding it, and people wanted to see it.
Two legendary actors – Jackie Chan & Jet Li - are finally on screen together as the drunken immortal and the silent monk respectively. Both characters are surprised that the staff - the artifact that transports Jason back in time - chooses Jason to free the imprisoned Monkey King. Why? Because Jason is the “white demon,’ as the ancient Chinese natives would call any Caucasian American, or simply a foreigner. This cultural difference was discussed not in English but in Chinese dialogue with English subtitles. Be prepared for the subtitles, characters do speak Chinese in the movie.
This may be an American film, but it bears resemblance to foreign language films. Plus, most of the filming took place in China.
In it, it is good to know that the spirit of the “Wizard of the Oz” is alive. Like Dorothy, Jason longs for returning home throughout the movie. This movie may be unoriginal and predictable, but the fable of the Monkey King has been unheard until now. So let’s free the Monkey King by watching “The Forbidden Kingdom” with family or friends.
By Jeremy G. Vinluan, a senior at Ocean Lakes High School in Virginia Beach, no_1jeremy@yahoo.com
PureNRG: Young Group is Keeping the Faith
MUSIC CAN HAVE a faith-based message nowadays, and still sell. Meet pureNRG – Jordan Yates, 15, Caroline Williams, 13, and Carolyne Myers, 12, – a rising contemporary Christian band from Nashville, Tenn. Caroline has a local connection – her aunt, Alice Williams, teaches seventh grade at Jolliff Middle School in Chesapeake. The group was in town Sunday at the Ted Constant Convocation Center at Old Dominion University in Norfolk for Winter Jam 2008, where members sat down with 757 for a chat.
How did you guys meet?
Carolyne: We met through a dance studio in Nashville …
we were 3 and 4 .
Where did the name pureNRG come from, and who thought of it?
Jordan: My mom actually thought of NRG times 3 and that didn’t work, so we decided on pureNRG. Our management company came up with the pureNRG.
Who are your musical influences?
Jordan: I like a lot of the old stuff like the Beatles, Bob Dylan and stuff like that.
Carolyne: I love Shania Twain.
I also look up to my older sister; she’s in a group called CADIA.
Caroline: I look up to my older brother, he’s also a singer, and
I love musicals a lot.
What is your favorite
song to perform?
Caroline: “What If” because it’s real high energy and a real fun song to act out.
Jordan: I like “Footloose” because it’s the end of our set and it’s just so much fun and real pumped-up.
Caroline: We also like to perform “(This) Madness.”
What is one thing you have to bring with you when you go on tour?
Caroline: As a memory from home, I have to bring a blanket and a doll I got for Christmas. It’s called a Mrs. Beasley doll. It’s from an old show called “Family Affair.” A lot of parents would know about it.
Carolyne: I also bring my blanket. It’s really soft and has these little things that hang off it. My mom said that it’s like my parents’ arms and also God’s arms wrapping around me.
Jordan: I don’t really bring anything real special. It’s just a phone and a pillow, a Bible, a notebook, schoolwork.
You recently got off the Hello & Goodbye tour with Jump5. What was it like performing with them?
Caroline: It was really fun because we’re kind of following in their footsteps and they’ve done it before us, so it’s kind of fun to be with them because we could ask them for advice and we could just look up to them for anything.
There have been many comparisons to Jump5. What do you think of them?
Carolyne: We love Jump5. Plus, Brandon and Brittany (Hargest) from the group, their mom is our rehearsal coach and we’ve been a group for about four years, and she was the one who kind of helped put us together. We’ve been over their house every week for the past four years, so we’ve gotten really close to them. They’re more like sisters and brothers rather than another band.
Caroline: Also, Brandon is our road manager.
How has life on the Winter Jam tour been so far?
Jordan: Wow, it’s been totally insane. It’s so much fun. We’ve gone from playing at churches and festivals to big arenas. That’s just so insane.
Caroline: It’s been a great experience.
What is your second album “Here We Go” going to be like?
Caroline: Really fun and high-energy and a bunch of new stuff to listen to.
Carolyne: We had so much fun recording this one because of the new stuff. It was kind of like the old album, but was different in some ways. We really like it because it’s pureNRG style, but it’s still something new to listen to.
How do you feel about all your success?
Jordan: I think we’re all really pumped right now. We just really don’t know what to think because it all kind of came up on us real quick. We got signed and then we recorded our album. Then from there, it just took off. It’s just been such a fun ride and we’re so excited to be where we are right now.
Carolyne: When we went into the auditions, I had just turned 8 and Caroline had been 8 for a few months and Jordan was 10. We didn’t really know what we were going into. We just thought it was an audition, because we had been to auditions before. We were just told that we were maybe going to be like Jump5 and we were all for it. We didn’t really know what the outcome of this was going to be. We just went in and auditioned and started practicing. Like Jordan said, we got signed and made the CD.
Contact pureNRG at www.purenrgonline.com or at www.MySpace.com/purenrgonline .
Emily Chen, an eighth-grader at Jolliff Middle School in Chesapeake, popcorndragon@gmail.com
