Several summers ago, I needed a new book to read. One of my friends suggested the Stephanie Plum series. Eighteen books later, I’m still hooked. So I was quite excited to find out that One for the Money, the first book in the series, was being made into a movie.

Starring Katherine Heigl as main character Stephanie Plum, One for the Money was one of the more faithful book adaptations to make it to the big screen. The plot centers around Plum, an out-of-work lingerie buyer from an exceedingly Italian neighborhood in Trenton, New Jersey. At dinner, she tells her parents that she had been laid off- six months earlier. Having had her car repossessed and receiving an eviction notice, Plum is in serious need of cash. So her parents suggest she get a job with her cousin Vinny (John Leguizamo), a bail bondsman . Intending to get a filing job, Stephanie soon finds herself doing skip traces. Knowing nothing about the bounty hunting business, she sets her sights on the file that promises to bring in the most money- Joe Morelli (Jason O’Mara), her high school nemesis turned police officer, who is wanted for murder. It very quickly becomes apparent that catching Morelli is more than Plum can handle, so office manager Connie sends her looking for bounty hunger extraordinaire Ranger (Daniel Sunjata) for help.

After Plum makes several failed attempts to drag Morelli to the police station, he makes a deal with her- he’ll go to the police and let her collect the reward if she helps him prove his innocence. At first she’s not sure that Morelli realty is innocent, but agrees to entertain the idea as a possible way to make her rent. As they begin to piece things together, it becomes clear to her that Morelli really is innocent, and they begin to form an awkward sort of friendship that has the hints of physical attraction dating back to high school. Although it never gets that far, and they alternate between hating each other and cooperating to reach their shared goal, there is an underlying possibility that things will go further.

The actors in the movie are well-cast as their counterparts in the book, and for the most part felt familiar for anyone who has read the books. Heigl is a believable Plum, though at times she seems to move in and out of her Italian-girl-from-Jersey accent. At first, O’Mara doesn’t strike me as the best choice for Morelli, but he gets better as the film goes on. There is definitely chemistry between Heigl and O’Mara that goes a little bit past that of the first book, but alludes to events that take place later in the series. Sunjata is a good choice for Ranger, a tough guy who has a bit of a soft side. Though the movie never brings Ranger and Morelli face to face, it does set up their relationship as two men who don’t like each other but respect each other, and share the common goal of helping Plum stay safe as she stumbles upon information that makes her a target for the bad guys.

The main difference between the book and the film version is that the movie moves much more quickly, and there are definitely parts of the book that did not make it into the movie. At first the film shows Plum’s ineptitude as a bounty hunter, but has her developing skills like shooting a gun and picking a lock much sooner than she does in the book. Some of the humor that accompanies her follies in the book is lost in the film, though the film does have some of the same laugh-out-loud moments as the book. The characters are rather well represented in the film, though they lack some of the depth that they have in the book.

For me, one of the main drawbacks to books being made into movies is that they tend to be quite different from their original version. But all in all, One for the Money was an enjoyable film that stayed true to the book that made it possible. It had to be hard to fit all of the action that took place in the book into 106 minutes, but it stayed true to the book and to the characters that I have come to know. I’m still partial to the books, but I was sad when the movie ended, as I wanted to see the characters catch up to where they are 18 books later. I don’t know if there are any plans to make any more of the books in the series into movies, but if there are, I know I will be seeing them. If you are a Stephanie Plum fan, you have to see the movie.

The Tuskegee Airmen are probably the most famous group of people that overcame racism and prejudice in the Second World War. Being black prohibited them to fight for their country in a big way. They were forced into menial tasks while the white pilots were given the big missions. However, through persistence they were eventually given the opportunity to fight. They were given new planes, to which the tails were painted red. They were known as the “Red Tails.”

In 1995 an HBO movie, The Tuskegee Airmen, was made in honor of these brave men. It was met with positive reviews. About 16 years later, another movie was made called Red Tails. This movie, though inspiring, feels mediocre, leaving the feeling that it could have been much more.

The plot is a simple one: Tuskegee pilots are being discriminated against, so their commanding officer tries to make things right. He gets his wish; the airmen prove their worth and they are regarded as heroes. The problem is that they add two sub-plots, one being completely unnecessary and the other being under-developed.

The first sub-plot involved a romance between David Oyelowo’s character and a local Italian woman played by Daniela Ruah. I have nothing against romance plots, but this was an unnecessary addition. This added nothing to the struggles of the airmen.

The movie was about men overcoming adversity in the military, not mixing it up with the locals. If anything, the relationship between Oyelowo’s and Nate Parker’s character should have been explored more considering they were at odds with each other at times.

The other sub-plot involved Tristan Wilds’ character being shot down and captured by Germans. He was sent to a POW camp where he became part of an escape plan lead by some soldiers looking to escape the camp. There were only two scenes in this movie that depicted this and personally I felt it should have been explored more.

I liked the action scenes. They were rather well done. You get the feeling of being up in the midst of the fighting with the pilots themselves. Given it was produced by George Lucas, the dogfights portrayed have a Star Wars quality to them. The movie thrilled at the right moments and the visuals were well done and environments portrayed beautifully.

The acting did not impress. They played their parts competently enough to where they’re believable, but in the case of character development it was lacking.

Only three actors’ characters, Parker, Oyelowo  and Wilds, were examined deeper than at face value in the movie and ironically the two main actors, Terrance Howard and Cuba Gooding Jr., were not given any real development. Howard’s character focused mainly on getting equal representation and Gooding just made some hollow impassioned speeches and went over briefings.

The dialogue borders on plain. Grante,d during a dogfight it’s supposed to be short and sweet, that’s understandable. However, outside the dogfight scenario it’s pretty weak and at times cliché.

Red Tails attempted at inspiring the masses, but fell flat doing it. The action sequences and barely competent acting do not make up for the other flaws: the scarce character development, and unnecessary and underdeveloped sub-plots.

It’s hard to describe what Crave was without telling what it wasn’t. There was no scenery and no setting. No props. No color. The Black Box Theatre in Maloney Hall was just that: black. The costumes? Black shirts and black pants. It was visually simplistic, but mentally and verbally turbulent.

Eve Galanis’ take on Sarah Kane’s look at human guilt, desire and grief, to go along with countless other psychological issues, was nothing short of gut-wrenching.

The cast was limited to four actors, each of whom conveyed a different kind of passion in the way they spoke, moved and interacted with the others.

Audience members were completely fixated on the intertwining dialogue that the characters titled “A, B, C and M” were able to recite without hesitation. It was this skill that vaulted the production from chaos to a study on the inner workings of societal minds.

Crave was driven by strong performances from Ally Brown, Julia Idarola, Conor Moran and Ed Moreno. Their stage personalities were each unique, but the audience didn’t get bogged down by trying to decipher these differences and could embrace each of them, without truly understanding any of them, through the emotions they explored.

The script wasn’t for the faint of heart, and this was echoed by the warning signs posted in the theater lobby. With that being said, too often a production shies away from taboo subjects and ends up skirting the real issues in our lives and minds.

Moran, who played Creole in Antigone, was up to his usual, high level of emotional conveyance. His words are piercing at times, but at others you can feel his humility and the overwhelming burden that his life puts on him. This is a standard that he’s set for himself throughout his rise in the theater department.

There are seldom times that an audience winces at the thought and sight of a female taking advantage of a male. It’s often hard to do this with any sense of believability. Brown took the notion of an “alpha-male” and turned it upside-down. She was pushing Moran, her counterpart in the show, into sexual acts and making him look like a second-class citizen. Based upon how strong of an actor he is, it took a dominating performance from Brown to make this work. It did.

In his first performance as director, Ed Moreno, who plays “A,” spits out his, what must have been, paragraphs of script without breaking a sweat. The fact that he is in his freshman year at CCSU tells us that he’s going to have a great career to watch on stage. His character is the main source of disdain for the last member of the cast. A co-star whom he loved and then raped on stage.

Finally was Idarola, but in no regard was she least. In fact, her acting skills may have been shown off in the most unique way; she was the most visual. There was a segment, that seemed like it painfully went on forever, where her character, “C,” is listening to “A” describe the ways that he loves her. You’d think this would be a good thing, but it drives her crazy. You can tell she feels smothered and wants nothing to do with that, even though she doesn’t have to say it until after she’s made it obvious to the audience with her facial expressions and body language. This was hard to watch, but for the tone of this production that was a good thing.

Kane’s works have a reputation for being hard to watch. That isn’t due to the fact that they are not artistic and beautiful in their own way, but because they always include subject matter that makes the audience cringe. Galanis was able to take this production and make it her own, but she also made sure to never hold anything back. On that Friday night, a firm punch to the psychological gut was just what the viewing audience needed.

Mindy Kaling was born for comedy. At least she is 100 percent certain that she was. With the release of her first book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), Kaling makes it known to the world that she’s made her mark on the comedic industry, and that she isn’t planning on going anywhere.

Kaling, 32, is most renowned for her work on the famous TV sitcom The Office, in which she plays Kelly Kapoor. She is also an Emmy-winning writer and director for the show. She broke into the industry by portraying Ben Affleck in a play titled Matt & Ben in 2003, which she co-wrote with friend and roommate Brenda Withers.

From the second you start reading her book, Kaling will have you laughing out loud. Her recount of her own rise to fame is full of humility thanks to her ability to laugh at her own flaws. Her style of writing is whimsical and quirky, with no real plot or outline, but it fits her outgoing personality.

Kaling brings us the details of her many different lives, including the child of immigrant workers, a broke college roommate who cries too much, a writer of plays and a TV star and director. It seems impossible that a woman this successful could joke about not being able to fit into a size 1 dress at a photo shoot or about going for runs only so she can come up with elaborate revenge plans… but she can, and you will love her for it.

What a refreshing experience it was to learn that Kaling also takes narcissistic photos on her Blackberry and thinks men shouldn’t get their chests waxed. There are so many women role models in Hollywood that, to put it simply, should not be. Her ability to openly admit to millions that her favorite food is a cupcake and that she will eat one whenever she damn pleases puts her at the top of my hero list.

Amidst all of the feel good moments, she does hit a few serious topics like her experiences with bullying and her struggle for years to get a job she didn’t hate, but thanks to her undying need to make people laugh, you can easily see she is better for them.

“I wrote this book in a way that reflects how I think. Sometimes its an essay or story, and sometimes it’s a pliest, which is a piece with a list-y quality, a term I’ve just made up,” she said in the book.

Whichever way she’s telling her life story, I’m sure anyone reading it would be able to enjoy and relate to it. If not, then maybe you can at least learn to take yourself a little less seriously. If you can’t laugh at your self, then you will never be able to take constructive criticism, one of the many things Mindy Kaling preaches throughout Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

The release of a black and white, silent film in the 21st century would seem eccentric and perhaps fruitless to most modern day directors, but to Michel Hazanavicius it was just what film lovers and critics needed to see.

After being nominated for 6 Golden Globes, The Artist won Best Motion Picture for Musical/Comedy, Best Actor for Musical/ Comedy and Best Original Score, and was one of only two movies that had multiple wins (The Descendents won Best Picture for Drama, and George Clooney won Best Actor for Drama).

Hazanavicius wrote and directed The Artist to echo the style used in the 1920’s. The movie was shot in the 1.33-33 “Academy Ratio” just as in the silent film era, because Hazanavicus considered it perfect for actors because it gave them “a power, a purpose, and a strength,” so much that they occupy most of the screen.

The Artist is set in the late 1920-1930’s in which Jean Dujardin portrays silent movie star George Valentin and Berenice Bejo plays Peppy Miller. While standing outside of a movie premier, our two lovers meet by chance when Peppy Miller accidentally bumps into Valentin while he is taking photos.

The next day’s papers have headlines reading “Who’s that Girl?” and Miller takes advantage of her 15 minutes of fame by auditioning for a role as a dancer on a movie set, which Valentin just happens to also be working on.  They bump into each other again and Valentin insists that Miller have a part in his movie, convincing his boss Al Zimmerv (John Goodman) that she is the next big thing.

Soon afterward, Miller is up and on her way to being a huge star and Zimmer drops a bomb on Valentin. The end of silent films. Valentin finds himself without a job, without any friends and in the middle of the Great Depression.

The Artist is hands down the best on-screen romance I have ever seen (yes, ladies that includes Titanic) and considering its dozens of nominations for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Screenplay and Best Original Score, the rest of the worlds film critics would agree with me.

Jean Dujardin’s portrayal of George Valentin has been compared to that of Gene Kelly, which would explain why he won a Golden Globe. Kelly’s quality work set the bar for many actors in modern cinema.

Let’s not forget the qwirky and loveable Peppy Miller played by Bejo (who is also married to Hazanavicius). Her role as the up-and-coming competition and love interest for Valentin has a great combination of comedic relief and pure heart-felt moments that make you wish you knew a real guy like George.

Walking into this movie I was worried (as I’m sure most others would be) that the lack of dialogue between characters would bore me. However, I found that using my imagination to fill in the void of the “talkies” kept the movie moving at a comfortable pace, and made me appreciate the cinematography for what the film really was, a work of art.

After years in the scene with multiple collaborations with the likes of Kid Cudi and Afrojack, Steve Aoki finally released his debut album, Wonderland. The album which features many solo artists on its songs is a perfect mixture of club, electronica and dubstep, with sure fire hits such as  “Emergency” featuring Lil’ Jon; and “Livin’ My Love” with LMFAO and Nervo.

The album runs at about 50 minutes with twelve tracks, the longest clocking in at 6:53 minutes. Wonderland does not necessarily make a splash with its opening track, “Earthquakey People” which features Rivers Cuomo of Weezer fame. The music in the song does not stand out either; it borders between trance and dubstep without ever truly delving into either. It is a song pulled from techno limbo as the staccato leads do not truly stand out from the bass, and the sampled drums feel to have come from a recording of a garage band, not a techno producer.

Aoki, however, redeems himself quickly with “Dangerous.” The track features will.i.am as ‘Zuper Blahq’. The song feels saturated as will.i.am’s auto-tuned voice almost works as vocals and a type of lead. What stands out is Aoki’s ability in dubstep as the bass drums keep coming without the audience feeling overwhelmed. Surprisingly, the song can be quite catchy and definitely one used at parties. It blends well with the rest of the album, and while will.i.am’s saturated voice will be sure to annoy you, the song redeems itself with catchy riffs and chord progressions.

“Emergency” with Lil’ Jon & Chiddy Bang and “Livin’ My Love” with LMFAO & Nervo, are the most entertaining songs on the album. Lil Jon only says “emergency” throughout his cameo, but his traditional “yeaaah,” and “let’s go” makes it fun, catchy and uplifting. His raspy voice resonates throughout the three and a half minute song but never gets old. The following song, “Livin’ My Love” is just another one of LMFAO’s party anthems. The song follows a very basic structure of trance, build up and bass drop, to keep itself going and while it feels old and boring in other productions, in this song it blends as background noise because LMFAO’s silly lyrics are what you are paying the most attention to, not the music itself. Which almost feels like the opposite of what an album does, but honestly, the music does not truly stand out in this song.

The best song in the album, “The 80’s” featuring Angger Dimas, is the eighth track and also the longest song. Here we can here all of Aoki’s current influences, mainly Afrojack and R3hab. It begins with a basic 4/4 drum loop with nothing else backing it up other than white noise. Then following 30 seconds of loops, it goes into a simple arpeggio and staccato combined lead that sounds childish, cute and funny. The drums build up and a dirty-electro bass rips through the song, its pitch going up and down wildly. The song continues with this formula for its six minutes with a combination of lead and bass somewhere in the middle, akin to his Afrojack collaboration, “No Beef”.

Finally, we reach the tenth track of the album “Cudi the Kid” featuring Kid Cudi, the last track to truly stick out from the rest of the pack. Kid Cudi kills it with his pot-related rhymes and stories, but Aoki creates the best drum and bass dubstep song from the album. The first minute contains a 90′s inspired drum and bass loop which builds up to a ripping saw bass that builds up and down as if a tree were being cut. Cudi’s lyrics work extremely well with the song, although his auto-tuned voice may not be one everyone likes. The song then goes into a quick slow break where Cudi repeats the chorus, with the drum and bass loop slowly rising in the back, as it eventually leads to a build up that goes into the dubstep saw bass, with the only difference being the drum and bass loop being mixed into the dubstep.

The rest of the album feels like it cannot follow up with what came before, as it is all ‘bro’step, the annoying cousin of dubstep. It just contains a lot of drops. Rob Roy raps in one of the songs, sounding a little too much like Eminem’s “Slim Shady”-era singing, but it sounds too silly, too dumb to be enjoyed. The album ends soon after without notice, it pretty much ends.

The production overall is not necessarily the best, or a Grammy contender, but it does have its really good ups, however, its down are far too painful to be forgiven. In this case, nevertheless, we must, because the majority of songs are catchy electronica songs that adhere to the formula we know and love. We can expect many of these song to be remixed and used at the clubs, as Steve Aoki’s Wonderland is a fun, and worth buying production.

The “Millennium” Film Trilogy, an adaption of three Stieg Larsson novels, were first filmed in his native Sweden in 2009 by Danish director Niels Arden. All three movies were released to critical acclaim. Arden’s faithful adaption of the books satisfied fans of Larsson’s novels, who saw the methodical and blatant Mikael Blomkvist come to life along with the series’ main character, the mysterious genius Lisbeth Salander. However, Arden’s adaption did not alienate those who had not read the book; in fact, if one did not know the source of this movie, one could possibly mistake it for just another crime thriller.

Nevertheless, foreign masterpieces need to be adapted by Hollywood and the job of the men in charge of the American adaption of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” fell to the hands of director David Fincher and screenwriter Steven Zaillian. Fincher is known for his “Best Director” films The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Social Network; and Zaillian for his “Best Screenplay” award for Schindlers’ List. The end result is a production that can be classified as a “masterpiece” but does not fulfill the expectations set by the original book version.

Zaillian did not take many liberties with the writing of the movie and so the plot remains largely the same as the Swedish version. The main characters, Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander, are portrayed by Daniel Craig (Casino Royale, Dream House), and Rooney Mara (A Nightmare on Elm Street, The Social Network) respectively. After losing a high profile libel lawsuit brought against him by businessman Hans-Erik Wennerstrom,  Blomkvist is hired by Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer) to solve the 40 year old case of his murdered niece, Harriet Vanger—under the cover that Blomkvist is writing a biography on Henrik.

Meanwhile, Wennerstrom hired computer hacker Lisbeth Salander, through her employers, to find anything they can use against Blomkvist. However, Salander’s report finds Blomkvist to be a clean person. Against her company’s, policy she begins investigating the man who hired her.

The two characters meet when Blomkvist asks for an assistant, and the lawyer of Henrik Vanger suggests Salander after telling Blomkvist how Wennestrom used her, and how the Vanger family came to know of him, through her report. Blomkvist eventually convinces Salander to work with him, and the rest of the story moves on from there.

However, there is a second story being deployed along with the primary plot, and that is Salander’s personal life as she goes from one caretaker to another. After her first caretaker suffers a pulmonary embolism, she is placed with Nils Bjurman (Yorick van Wageningen). Bjurman is a rapist, and uses his position of power over Salander to force her into sexual acts. She retaliates against him, and eventually takes control of her own life, along with his life, after he sodomizes her and she records it.

While the plot truly drives the movie forward in its original adaption, it is the acting that does it in the American version. Craig produces another great performance with his serious, tactless and sometimes overly sarcastic demeanor. Mara on the other hand remains largely quiet, mysterious and smart but apprehensive and cunning. A strong point in the film is the way that the weaknesses of some characters are the strength of the others. Blomkvist can be a little too trusting, while Salander does not trust her own shadow. But it is this openness that allows Blomkvist to make connections that Salander would otherwise have missed.

The supporting characters cannot be forgotten. Yorick van Wageningen does too good of a job as an antagonist, his portrayal of a rapist feeling a little too real, almost uncomfortably real. Stellan Skarsgard, who portrays Martin Vanger, does a chilling job as a warm person hiding a painful and horrible secret in his enigmatic mind. Those with smaller roles act as if their life were at stake. For example, Geraldine James painfully portrays Cecilia Vanger, one of the estranged Vanger heirs, as an unsympathetic, selfish woman. In all, the supporting characters give essence to the spine created by Craig and Mara.

The cinematography is top notch as well. There is a great balance between shots of the characters and the setting without ever truly overwhelming you with either. Sweden is a beautiful place, and the camera team truly captured that beauty. The snow that covers the country looks dangerously beautiful while the architectural design of the city reminds you of a gothic vampire movie. The movie does not make Sweden look like the best place to live in, however, as the overcast weather reigns throughout and precipitation makes up the majority of the visible water in the movie.

Overall, the movie is a Fincher masterpiece. While it is not a shot for shot remake, it does not stray away from the original too much. Of course, there are huge differences that can be noticeable between the original film, the books and this adaption—but only if you have read or seen the original. But, it should satisfy those interested in thrillers, pulps and a different blockbuster that does not have robots, aliens or CGI animation. It may disappoint those who saw the original a little bit, but it does the story justice.

Source: Paramount Pictures

By Ashley E. Lang

Filmmaker Georges Méliès revolutionized cinema in the late 1800s using a variety of special effects to illuminate the screen. His illusions mesmerized audiences across Europe and now with the release of Hugo, Méliès is not soon to be forgotten.

Academy Award winning director Martin Scorsese truly outdoes himself with Hugo. Set in 1930s Paris, Hugo tells the story of an orphaned boy, Hugo Cabret, played by Asa Butterfield, who lives in the walls of a train station tending to the towering clocks. His father, played by Jude Law, dies tragically and Hugo’s drunken Uncle Claude, played by Ray Winstone, takes him in as an apprentice before disappearing. Left to fend for himself, Hugo steals just enough to get him by. That is, until he steals one too many times from a local vender.

Georges Méliès, played by Ben Kingsley, spends his days tinkering with toys at a little shop inside the train station. After noticing his toys go missing, he cunningly sets up Hugo, who falls straight into his trap. However, Méliès and Hugo share much more than a few stolen nuts and bolts. What develops in an unlikely friendship, one fused together with the addition of Méliès’s goddaughter Isabelle, played by Chloe Grace Moretz.

Isabelle quickly befriends Hugo and the two set off on an adventure to solve a mystery that has been plaguing him since before the death of his father. Hugo’s dad discovered an automaton, a self-operating machine, stored away inside the museum he worked for. Broken and hidden, Hugo’s father takes the automaton home and with Hugo’s help begins to restore the antique. When his father passes away, Hugo begins where his father left off. But the closer he gets to fixing the broken machine, the more questions and mysteries that surface. Why does Isabelle’s necklace hold the key to the machine’s revival and what connection does the automaton have to Méliès?

Hugo is a beautifully written story of an orphaned boy who sets out to find his place in the world, only to help those around him find theirs. What unravels is a masterful and intelligent plot that will captivate audiences both young and old.

Butterfield captures Hugo Cabret with precision. He will melt your heart from the first tear to the final smile. Butterfield brings Hugo to life with his sense of adventure and determination and his character is downright captivating. Kingsley’s superb portrayal of cold hearted and seemingly broken Méliès and Moretz’s inquisitive nature transverse Hugo to a whole new plateau and all three breathe life into Scorsese’s vision.

With the addition of Sasha Baron Cohen as the station inspector whose own loneliness masquerades as ruthlessness, in an intense role for the first time since the funny man catapulted himself into the industry as Borat, make Hugo a must see this holiday season.

Scorsese’s latest film shines beyond measure. An inspirational journey of discovery, Hugo will entrance you as you watch the plot unfold. Scorsese has done it again. Do I foresee another Academy Award? I sure hope so, because he certainly deserves it.

Since the passing of Jim Henson in 1990, the amount of attention paid to the Muppets has been sparse. It took a leading man, such as Henson, to drive the lovable felt-covered crew to success. Kermit and the gang could do no wrong for nearly a half century. With Henson’s death came the end of an era. That was the case until Jason Segel got his chance to revive a forgotten brand.

Jason Segel (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, I Love You, Man) co-wrote and stars in the newest puppet adventure titled simply, The Muppets. This film is hands-down the best Muppet movie since The Muppets Take Manhattan, which also happens to be the last theatrical release that Henson directed.

Segel completely sold himself to his lead role. From his absurdly choreographed, but somehow unpretentious, dance numbers, to his sometimes painful lack of vanity, you can’t help but embrace what he is doing on the screen. He’s taking a disregarded powerhouse and turning the lights on again for this generation.

It is Segel’s dedication and determination that made this movie both great and possible. It took many attempts to get Walt Disney Studios to back his script. He worked and promoted until he created enough buzz around the web that the studio had to listen and get this project made. The studio underestimated how strong of a writer and entertainment machine Segel can be. That will certainly never happen again.

The film’s plot echoes the troubles that the Muppets have in today’s actual entertainment industry. They have been a dead brand for over a decade and receive little to no air time. They are limited to being stuck in the bowels of YouTube where you can watch antiquated clips of Henson’s genius and making sporadic appearances with celebrities in interviews or on award shows. Good clean fun is missing from today’s industry. The Muppets are here just in time to bring it back.

Segel plays Gary, the brother of a felt covered, muppet-looking Walter (voiced by Peter Linz who is a prominent voice actor in the puppeteering industry). As Segel ages and grows up, Walter is seemingly stuck in time. It turns out that puppets don’t get older.

As you could imagine any boy puppet would be, Walter is a Muppet fanatic. However, this isn’t the same story of Pinocchio trying to become a real boy, Walter wants to simply meet his idols. Unfortunately for Amy Adams (Catch Me If You Can, The Fighter), who plays Segel’s girlfriend Mary, he wants to do so on her anniversary trip to Los Angeles, which Segel invited Walter on.

The underlying, and sometimes subtle, conflict between Mary and Walter is a strong secondary story line in the film. It is only overshadowed by the main events throughout the 98-minute fun-filled affair.

It’s simple, the disbanded and out of touch Muppet crew needs to do one last show to raise enough money to save their studio. A studio which is scheduled to be demolished should they not reach their hefty goal of $10 million.

There are times when the writing gets over-the-top silly, but somehow you can look past it. After all, wasn’t that what made Henson so great? The film is filled with life lessons, real-world issues and reflects carefully on changes in society, but you never feel like you are being preached to at any point.

The emotional highs and lows are well-crafted and fit nicely into the story line. One moment you find yourself cackling at the infamous old men, Waldorf and Statler, the next you need to look around to make sure you’re not the only person in the theater in tears during Kermit’s ‘Rainbow Connection’.

Whether you need to accompany a young family member or just happen to be a fan of the show, this is worth seeing. The clean, but very smart, brand of comedy has been missing from the industry for far too long, but we should all be appreciative of the fact that Segel may have just brought it back to the forefront.

After reading Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (for the third time) I stand by my opinion that she is one of the greatest writers of romantic fiction to this day. Her ability to take the everyday events that preoccupied so many women in her era, and turn it into one of the greatest romance novels of our time is one of many reasons why her works are studied in colleges and universities around the world. Some believe her work to simply be good romance novels, whiles others like my self interpret her narrow focus as a critique of nineteenth century vanity, and cruelty that many upper class families fostered during that era. This novel surrounds itself around the everyday events of The Bennet family, which include Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Bennet, Elizabeth and her four sisters.

It also surrounds Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy and Mr. Bingley, who are both highly sought after, wealthy bachelors that Mrs. Bennet constantly tries to get her daughters betrothed too through out the novel, for advantageous reasons. Elizabeth is the main character of this novel, as she is by far one of the most dynamic roles. She finds herself falling in love with Mr. Darcy, a man who she seemingly dislikes for being pompous and arrogant, and he finds him self falling in love with her, despite her lower class and awkward tendencies.

Throughout the novel they constantly butt heads regarding Jane and Mr. Bingley, who are madly in love but are too shy to tell each other. They also argue about each other’s obvious flaws and how their families treat each other. But when Elizabeth’s family is faced with a real crisis, Darcy comes and saves the day. Soon afterward Darcy shows up again at the Bennet household with Mr. Bingley, much to Jane’s surprise. He admits to being a fool and humbly asks to for her hand, to which she replied “Yes, a thousand times yes”.

A few days later when Darcy’s aunt the Lady Catherine declares that he will marry her plain and sickly daughter, it becomes obvious to her that he had someone else in mind. She realizes that it is Elizabeth who has won over her nephew and corners Elizabeth and says that she has heard that her nephew is planning to marry her. Since she considers a Bennet an unsuitable match for a Darcy, Lady Catherine demands that Elizabeth promise to refuse him. Elizabeth spiritedly refuses, saying she is not engaged to Darcy, but she will not promise anything against her own happiness. Soon after telling Lady Catherine to leave her house, Mr. Darcy shows up at Elizabeths door, outraged that his aunt would behave in such a manor.

A little later, Elizabeth and Darcy go out walking together and he tells her that his feelings have not altered since the spring. She tenderly accepts his proposal, and she and Jane both get married. One may assume that because this story is set in the 19^th century, the content would be dry and uneventful, but it is in fact the complete opposite. Austen’s ability to capture and describe the real reactions and sentiments between her characters is one of the reasons her works are so notes in todays literary society. Though this novel was written in the turn of the 19^th century, it still retains relevance for modern readers with issues like morality, education and marriage. This is obvious in modern day culture as there have been numerous movies adaptions released, the most recent featuring Kiera Knightly and Matthew Macfayden in 2005. What many may not know (and may be shocked to learn) is that Austen was never married. Yet, she was still able to write such moving and deep scenes between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.

She also had a great way of capturing the humor in many situations, such as how many of the Bennet girls had a tendency to laugh and giggle in inappropriate situations and how their insane mother always said the wrong thing at the wrong time. With so many modern vampire romance novels being published these days, it was seriously a breath of fresh air to read about a perfectly normal young woman trying to find and fall in love with the right man. There were some obvious bumps in the road like a family that did not approve of her, and coming from a lower class background, but those are situations that many of us can relate to and that’s what makes this such a great book. Jane Austen died in 1817, at the age of 41 from tuberculosis, but not before she created a name for herself and left her footprint on the literary world.