“Millionaire” Viewing Party

USF grad student, William Capp, just finished filming a special 10th Anniversary Episode of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. He’s holding a viewing party Sunday night open to all USF students and faculty where attendees can watch his episode and see how far he went up the money ladder!

Gaspar’s Patio Bar & Grill
8448 N 56th St
Tampa, FL 33617
(813) 988-6959

Viewing Party starts at 7pm. All USF students and faculty are welcome

To read about his thoughts on the show and the experience of being there, pick up a copy of the Oracle on Tuesday, Aug. 25.

“Post-grad” Review

Post-graduation is a scary, unknown territory for college students. It is a time for dreams and aspirations to come true and jobs to be obtained. There is nothing a post-grad can’t do. In this film, the harsh reality of this unknown territory is realized by college grad Ryden Malby (Alexis Bledel from Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants).

In this coming-of-age movie, Bledel is going through the struggles that every college graduate goes through after college graduation. She struggles when the job, apartment and life she dreamed of having after college all gets swept away after one interview. She then has to move back home and try to find a mediocre job. The only positive thing about the returning home is her best friend Adam. ( Zach Gilford from NBC’s Friday Night Lights). The two have incredible chemistry on screen seen on their adorable dates in groceries and dress stores. The couple faces the cliche road bump of Bledel not knowing that she loves Gilford while he is madly in love with her, yet that romantic chemistry is always there and plays out in the end.

While the love story between the Bledel and Gilford is incredibly predictable, the story line and the struggle Ryden has with balancing the start of a career and her blossoming love life is inspiring for college students to watch. What could have easily been just another chick flick achieved much more. The film follows a graduate through a harsh reality check and her discouragement, but also follows her through the struggles that bring her to a positive place in the end. Those going through college will appreciate this film with all of its comedic references to things that they will be facing as a post-grad.

–Ashley Coogle

“District 9″ Review

Imminent domain ghettos, slums and policed states are none of the images initially conjured by the poster and commercials for the motion picture District 9. What starts off as a documentary style film, complete with interviews from city and government officials, about the ill will and hostility towards aliens who have taken residence in the skies over Johannesburg, South Africa becomes commentary on various topics spanning the prison industrial complex and the racial separation that loomed in the same nation.

Based on Neill Blomkamp’s short film Alive in Joburg, District 9 explores the hostile relationship between literal illegal aliens and human city residents. The plot portrays a rendition of anti-immigration sentiment seen in the United States in past, real-life presidential campaigns, and then builds on the ubiquitous theme of love–or the preservation thereof.

The protagonist, Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley), is introduced as a less than capable paper pusher for a military-like organization and has been adorned with the most undesired, but necessary, job facing the organization: personally serving imminent domain notices to the aliens housed in heavily policed slums. The story then spirals down a rabbit hole leading to science fiction escorted by other worldly technology coveted by the local gangs and governments of every industrialized nation.

What unfolds as a bit predictable is still executed wonderfully by obscenities and military verses civilian violence. All in all, District 9 holds true to the claim of one of the most original storylines this year and protests an inhumanity against man–or in this case, alien. This is most definitely one of the must see films of the year, a point agreed on by various critics and web sites such as RottenTomatoes.com

–Brandon Jones

“(500) Days of Summer” Review

The narrator of (500) Days of Summer wants to make it clear that the movie shouldn’t be thought of as a love story, even if boy does meet girl. Yet the indie film is, in its own way, a story about love.

The title is a pun–the movie does not reenact 500 summer days. Instead, ‘Summer’ refers to the character Summer, played by Zooey Deschanel. The film shows how Deschanel’s character’s life intertwines with Tom Hanson’s (Joseph Gordon-Leavitt). Summer and Hanson both work in a greeting card factory and develop an office romance. The movie shows various days in a 500-day romance, with each day a different scene. What’s different about this L.A-set film is that the sequence is jumbled, as if pages are being read out-of-order in a book. In fact, much of the movie is set up like a book. In the beginning of the film there is a note on the screen that makes it clear that all of the characters are not real, but fictional.

Yet, there’s a real-life aspect to the film. It likely will appeal to readers of NYLON fashion magazine. This is seen especially through Deschanel’s wardrobe in the movie, which looks like something straight out of an Urban Outfitters catalog. People who are into independent music will like the character of Tom–he believes Summer is perfect since she likes alternative bands like The Smiths and Pixies. The theme of indie music comes up in the film as well, with The Smith’s “Please, Please, Let me Get What I Want,” and Pixies’ “Here Comes Your Man,” playing at crucial points during the plot.

Stylistically, the little things make 500 Days of Summer different. From the unexpected Broadway breaks-outs, to the scene where Tom where walks up a flight of stairs to a party at Summer’s house. In the later scene, the screen splits and shows two different scenes: what Tom envisions to happen at the party, and what actually happens at the party.

Acting-wise, Gordon-Leavitt shows off his penchant for brooding and clipped dialogue, much like in the hard-boiled drama, Brick. Deschanel plays a subtle, if central role to the film, showing off her on screen carefree, doe-eyed personality. Geoffrey Arend’s character, McKenzie, provides comic relief to the film.

Though sometimes the movie is set in an alternate universe–an L.A. without crime, minorities or smog, the romantic comedy perfectly captures the relationship between two young indie-music fans. In fact, from the IKEA date to museum dates to record store dates and from Deschanel’s dresses to Gordon-Leavitt’s sweater vests, it’s an ideal film for people who like the independent-music culture.

Rating: PG-13
Grade: A

–Evan Tokarz

“Hell’s Kitchen” Review

If a relaxing evening after a hard day’s work is what you are after, then Hell’s Kitchen is not the show to watch on Tuesday nights. However, if watching 16 wannabe chefs get ripped up by head chef Gordon Ramsay, then it’s definitely worth checking out.

Season 6 of Hell’s Kitchen premieres July 21 on FOX and promises to bring pain, tears and of course the yelling and screaming that audiences have come to expect from Ramsay.

The contestants are competing for a head chef position at a well-known restaurant in Whistler, Canada. There are the stereotypical contestants so arrogant and with such big egos that it’s a wonder how anyone else can even fit in the same kitchen, but there are also the loveable contestants viewers will inevitably support.

The show opens as the new contestants arrive at Hell’s Kitchen. They are introduced to Chef Ramsay and are quickly put into two groups. Each week contestants will face different challenges and serve real customers in the Hell’s Kitchen restaurant. The team that does worse will choose two members, one who Ramsay will send home.

In the first challenge, Ramsay makes the new contestants each prepare their signature dishes. The 16 competitors, who range from sous chefs to diner owners, think they are bringing their A-game, but Ramsay quickly puts them in their place.

Opening night in the restaurant is a disaster ― which is expected for the first episode. Highlights include a ditzy woman mistaking a freezer for a refrigerator, which ruins all the salmon, and another woman having to re-cook pasta eight times.

The anxiety and stress jump out of the TV screen as Ramsay turns these cooks into babbling idiots who can’t even cook pasta.

Tensions intensify as early conflicts arise between the contestants and between Ramsay and a certain hot-blooded ex-military man.

Although one can’t help but scratch one’s head and wonder what the producers were thinking when they chose contestants for the show, watching the show is about sitting back and enjoying the constant verbal abuse Ramsay dishes out. Besides, the produces know that, like most reality shows, the crazy people are what make it fun to watch. One contestant even describes himself as “a beer drinker with a sophisticated palate.”

With enough bleeps to rival a Jerry Springer show, Hell’s Kitchen is similar to other shows on FOX ― It is a guilty pleasure you can’t help but get sucked into.
Drama, suspense, humor and shock, along with other special surprises, are in store for the season 6 premiere. It’s worth a watch on Tuesday, July 21, to get the real flavor of Hell’s Kitchen.

― Jillian Fredenhagen

Students among ‘Model’ hopefuls

Girls lined up outside the RITZ Ybor to try out for Cycle 14 of ANTM. ORACLE PHOTO/FERDIE GARCIA

Taking a semester off school for a game show might seem ludicrous to some students, but for model hopefuls, it is only one step closer to realizing a dream.

An open casting call for Cycle 14 of the popular TV show America’s Next Top Model were held in Tampa at the RITZ Ybor on Wednesday, drawing 18- to 27-year-old girls 5’7” and taller from Tampa and the surrounding area.

College students and Tampa residents alike have competed on the show in the past.

Alysa Miller, a freshman majoring in biomedical science, was one USF student who attended the casting call.

“(I am) so excited to finally be 18 and try out for the show,” she said.

She was among an estimated 1,500-2,000 girls at the casting call, according to a worker at the event.

Shana Hoyt, a hopeful from St. Petersburg, said she was ecstatic to be at the audition.

“It’s a long process, but it’s all worth it in the end,” she said.

Sarah Callahan, from Fort Lauderdale, said she was “energized, pumped and ready to go” while waiting a line that wrapped around the building.

Contestants were required to bring a completed application and three photos to the event, where they waited in line to speak with judges.

“Its so crazy — so many people of different shapes and sizes,” said Alex Dumrauf from Clearwater.

— Reporting and photos by Ferdie Garcia

— Hannah Feig

“Whatever Works” Review

“This is not the ‘feel-good movie of the year,’ so if you’re one of those idiots who needs to feel good, go get yourself a foot massage, ” said actor Larry David, looking into the camera.

This is also an apt summary of Whatever Works, Woody Allen’s latest film. It features Larry David as Boris Yellkinoff, a former physics professor who now reluctantly teaches chess to children.

Yellkinoff views most people as “microbes” or “cretins,” people who are not on his intellectual level. However, he considers himself is a genius.

“I once was almost nominated for a Nobel prize,” he said.

Allen’s touch is evident in the film — his 40th — and a return to New York. His common themes of intellectualism (Love and Death), neuroticism (Annie Hall), and infidelity (Match Point) show up throughout he movie. Classical music also plays prominently in the film as Yellkinoff listens to Beethoven. Finally, as in many of Allen’s films, a nebbish character falls in love with a beautiful woman.

This time, the beauty is Melody, played by Evan Rachel Wood. Wood’s character adds lightness to the Yellkinoff’s heavy themes of godlessness, the transiency of life and existential lonesomeness. Her naiveté surprises him, and amid the initial insults, he begins to like her. A romance develops between the two and Yellkinoff begins to realize how much he cares for her. In this way, the film balances lightness and heaviness.

David successfully makes the leap from Curb Your Enthusiasm’s unscripted improvisation to Hollywood’s scripted monologues. Even though he plays a confrontational character similar to the one he plays on the TV show, it’s hard to believe that Allen wrote the film in the ‘70s for a different actor, the late Zero Mostel.

Although Yellkinoff’s spiteful misanthropy starts to wear a bit by the end of the film, Wood‘s lightness makes Whatever Works, well, work.

Rating: R
Grade: B

— Evan Tokarz

“Public Enemies” Review

Before seeing Public Enemies, it seemed like a mix between American Gangster and Catch Me If You Can ― but I was pleasantly surprised to see a new type of movie. This film was based around the life of John Dillinger (Johnny Depp), an infamous bank robber and the most wanted American public enemy.

Well-liked by the public because he was polite and respectful even when robbing banks, Dillinger and his friends seemed able to hide anywhere and do anything, until a special police unit was created ― its main purpose to find and catch Dillinger. The task force was led by Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale), the most successful field agent at the time. Unknown to Dillinger, the task force was slowly finding their way toward him while he continued to rob banks. The only challenge Purvis must overcome to find Dillinger is getting more competent police on his team.

Dillinger even had time to fall in love with a woman, Billie Frechette, played by Marion Cotillard. As his friends are killed and connections lost, Dillinger does whatever he can to hold on to what he has left and try to make it out alive.

Depp played a different role than in most of his other movies, and he played it well. The actors’ great performances and different looks than in other movies gave them each a new character completely. The unusual cinematography included varying sound levels, first-person views, unique angles, unsteady cameras and close-up shots. Mixing these with what seemed to be old footage made the different scenes enjoyable. However, it would have been better with more subtle transitions between different effects and sound levels.

Sometimes, the fighting and shooting scenes were too over-the-top and made the movie seem like part of a video game. Overall, however, the differences between Public Enemies and most other movies made it worth watching.

Rating: R
Grade: B+

― Daniel Risner

CD review: Pat McGee – These Days

Pat McGee’s newest album, These Days (The Virginia Sessions), comes off as a mix between soft country and rock. Some songs sound more country, others have a hint of jazz and a few have a more rock and roll feel. Each song is like tasting a different wine ― they are all good but all different.

The band hit the mark when it comes to good lyrics. The listener can tell that a lot of time and effort was put into making the lyrics and sound. But most of all, there is heart behind the music ― and it does show. This is some of the most heart-felt music I have listened to in a while. The music seems to let the listener express him or herself in a way that can be difficult to do alone.

Each song tells a story, and each has a different feel and tune. The song “All Over You” sounds more country than some of the others. The lyrics are about getting over a relationship and all the troubles that come with it ― a subject to which a lot of people would be able to relate.

The three songs that evoked the most emotion were “Elizabeth”, “Maybe It’s Time” and “End of October.” “End of October” is a song that seems especially geared to the memory of the hard time the band went through with the loss of their friend Chris Williams. The band put a lot into this album emotionally, and I would recommend it to anyone.
― Julie Rice

“Away We Go” Review

Away We Go tells the story of Burt Farlander (John Krasinski) and Verona De Tessant (Maya Rudolph). Quintessential slackers, the thirty-somethings have no visible direction to their lives. Verona said aloud in their ramshackle house, “Are we screw-ups?”

In the crass opening scene, Burt realizes Verona is pregnant. Though more traditionally than expected given their attitudes, the rootless lovers want to be near Burt’s family when the baby arrives. Burt’s parents, played expertly by Catherine O’ Hara and Jeff Daniels, announce that they can’t stay in Colorado — that they are finally making good on an old plan to move to Belgium. Daniels and O’Hara have a clear chemistry, and seeing more of them in the movie would have made it far more interesting.

With no remaining ties to Colorado, Verona sees the possibilities of a new home. “Think of the possibilities. We can live anywhere,” she said.

Burt, an outdoors type, readily agrees. The two want to find meaning and direction in their lives, and, equally important, a home for their child. So begins a trail of vignettes.

In Phoenix, Verona meets an old friend, a daytime drinker (Allison Janney) who insults everyone in earshot, even her children. Her husband, played flawlessly by Jim Gaffigan, provides an excellent dopey foil to Burt and Verona’s restrained politeness.

The trip to Madison leads them to a friend of Burt’s, a senseless New Age college professor. The professor, played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, abhors strollers, bras and proper parenting. The facial expressions Krasinski makes when he is uncomfortable during this part of the movie are very similar to the expressions he uses on the show The Office.

Krasinski plays Burt with oafish charm. He tells Verona at one point in the film that “He wants to be the kind of dad that cobbles things for his son.” Sighing, Verona quickly comments that he probably meant to say “whittle” ― an example of the way Rudolph uses restrained anger in her role as Verona.

When the couple arrives in Miami, Burt comforts his brother whose wife has left him and his child alone. Burt is terrified that the unwed Maya might one day leave their child, so, cleverly, while canoodling on a trampoline, he compels Verona to promise to a series of vows ― making sure to phrase each question to elicit a response of “I do.”

Finally, after the two see firsthand how raising children can go awry, they decide on a home. The movie ends with the couple sentimentally realizing that home is where the heart is.

Regrettably, much of this movie is as saccharine as the ending, despite the convening of great talent. For this movie, Sam Mendes, director of American Beauty and the recent Revolutionary Road, teamed up with Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, both rising stars in the contemporary literature world. However, the cameos alone salvage the movie — from the airheaded, polysyllabic Jeff Bridges to the over-the-top earthiness of Maggie Gyllenhaal.

As for Burt and Verona: Yes, they’re screw-ups, but at least they’re learning.

Rating: R
Grade: C+

— Evan Tokarz