Tag Archives: Amanda Millea

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‘Willy Wonka’ provides family-oriented experience

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By: Amanda Millea

2.5/5 Stars

Roald Dahl was an author of every kid’s childhood, or a least a large majority. I remember sitting on the floor during reading time in the library, listening to the school librarian read “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” to the entire class. So naturally, when I heard FC would be putting on the production, I was really excited considering how well the plays here turn out. However, after seeing “Willy Wonka,” I left the theater with my sweet tooth barely satisfied.

Willy Wonka is the story of Charlie Bucket and his family. Just as Charlie’s family thinks that they have lost all luck, Charlie finds the last of five golden tickets the famous chocolate maker Willy Wonka has given out in a contest. The contest gives these five kids—Augustus Gloop, Veruca Salt, Mike Teavee, and Violet Beauregarde, and Charlie—the chance to visit Wonka’s factory and win a lifetime supply of chocolate. As the children and their chaperones are given their tour of the factory, they visit rooms that tempt their own personal cravings and wind up in more trouble than anticipated.
This play was definitely colorful, at times even trippy. The costumes were very playful, clearly reflecting the childlike spirit of the play. The technical aspects of the show also had some minor complications on the opening night of the show, but those may have been specific to that night only. The special effects could have been better, especially when Augustus was sucked up into the tube, but I understand that is probably the only way to portray that part of the play. The play was adapted from Dahl’s book by Leslie Bricusse and Tim McDonald, but the script itself was poorly written and parts of it got rather annoying after a while, such as Grandpa George’s (Aaron Johnson) hearing loss antics. The songs all had a bubbly beat, making you want to skip like all of the Chocolateers onstage, but this bubbly quality made some of the songs sound a lot alike. There was an exceptional amount of talent in some of the younger performers, such as 5th grader Jordan Burger (Mike Teevee), who was one of the stronger singers in the show, and sophomore Mark Merk’s, who had an exceptional radio voice. The Oompa Loompas were still as terrifying to me as they were in the movie adaptations, but the kids seemed to have a fun time singing all of the classic Oompa Loompa songs.

Overall, the play gave me a few small laughs and really made me want to watch the film adaptations. “Willy Wonka” wasn’t all I expected it to be, but the cast seemed to have a great time performing it and the audience was packed with supportive parents. I would say that the play was definitely more family oriented, due to the adolescent jokes and the many laughs I heard from children during the play. So, if you’re looking for a family night out, “Willy Wonka” is a great way to fill your own sweet tooth with some family fun.

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Creators clash over Facebook debacle

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By Amanda Millea

A&E Co-Editor

In a time before friend requests from strangers, before relationship statuses, before people knew what you were doing at every waking moment, there was an idea for a social network that would have all of these features, plus more. The question is who really came up with the idea for this social network? Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), a Harvard Undergrad and computer programming genius, claimed to have come up with a social networking site that allowed people all over the world to communicate.

At first, Zuckerberg started small, restricting the social network only to people who attended Harvard. This was where Zuckerberg’s first law suit came into play. The Winklevoss twins (Josh Pence and Armie Hammer) said that Zuckerberg had stolen their network idea, where anyone with a Harvard.edu email address could join. Naturally, the “Winklevii” decide to sue for ownership. Somewhere in the midst of his first law suit, Zuckerberg gets hit with law suit number two, provided by none other than his best friend, Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield). Saverin was the one that provided the originally small company with the money it needed to expand. Saverin was supposed to be a cofounder of the company, originally known as “The Facebook,” but in the expansion process, Zuckerberg and Saverin’s ideas clashed. The clash began when Napster founder, Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake) started giving Zuckerberg advice Saverin didn’t necessarily agree with. Eventually, Parker practically pushed Saverin out of the company and off of Zuckerberg’s real life friend list.

This movie was different in the way that it depicted not only one view, but three—three perspectives and three completely different truths to a story everyone assumed to be one-sided. Screen writer Aaron Sorkin adapted the screen play from Ben Mezrich’s book The Accidental Billionaires. Sorkin did an excellent job leaving most of this story to the imagination. The different perspectives leave the mind wondering where the truth lies, and will have people talking, even after the movie ends.

“The Social Network” takes a deeper look into the social networking world most teens visit on a daily basis. After the movie, the first thing I did was get on my Facebook. The movie opened my eyes to how truly addictive Facebook is. The movie itself proved to be equally addictive. Although it seemed long at times, the audience is immediately invested in the plot of the film. When the movie was over, I had mixed feelings about the actual ending. I was glad it was over because it was a rather long film, but the plot still seemed like it had so much more to it. By the end, my opinion on who had invented Facebook had not changed. Facebook was created solely by Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg’s character says it best, “If you guys were the inventors of Facebook, you’d have invented Facebook.” If Zuckerberg was lying, all I have to say is well played, Zuckerberg. Well played.

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‘Inception’ boggles mind

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By: Amanda Millea

            In a world where reality and fiction collide, an innocent dream can become a nightmare. “Inception” may be the title of this mind-boggling movie, but in the movie, inception is actually the premise of extractor Dom Cobb’s (Leonardo DiCaprio) job. Cobb, through the power of extraction is able to steal other people’s secrets from any individual’s subconscious. The problem is that the job proved to be more dangerous than the extraction team had bargained for.

            A simple slip of reality into the dream can inhibit the team’s ability to tell what is real and what is a part of the dream state. This one job is Cobb’s last chance to make up for his fugitive charges, but throughout the extraction process, his goal changes from stealing an idea to placing one in the figment of the mind.

            Oscar nominee Christopher Nolan (“The Dark Knight”) wrote and directed “Inception.” Aside from an award winning director, the cast includes academy award nominees DiCaprio (The Aviator), Ken Watanabe (“The Last Samurai”), Marion Cotillard (“La Vie en Rose”), Ellen Page (“Juno”), Michael Caine (“Cider House Rules”). Other stars include Joseph Gordon- Levitt, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Dileep Rao.  The musical score was written by none other than the famous Hans Zimmer, who also worked with Nolan in “The Dark Night”. The music really added to the intensity of the action sequence and at times was the only thing heard in the film, and at times caused the audience to jump.

            DiCaprio truly draws the viewers into the story line with his character’s pressured lifestyle. The movie begins with his character washed up on a shore of an unknown place. From the very beginning of the movie, imaginations are set up to wonder what is and what could be really happening. “Inception” is one of those movies that requires a large attention span, or the viewer will be completely lost. This movie involves a lot of thought or it will make no sense.

            After this movie, there was a significant change in the way I dreamed. The night after I saw this movie, I went to bed just fine. However, waking up the next morning I felt almost disoriented. Thinking about this movie, there are still more questions arising every day. Just when it seems like the movie makes perfect sense, the human mind starts coming up with even more possibilities. I think the movie’s tagline says it best : “Your mind is the scene of the crime.”

                                                            Rating : 4/5 stars