Article 1. MP 2. The Stepfather Movie Review

The Stepfather is a newly released movie that hit theaters on October 16, 2009. It is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, disturbing images, mature thematic material and brief sensuality. I went to Cinema Movies 10 to watch this movie with my two younger step-sisters (9 and 11). They were scared to watch the movie and ending up hiding their eyes almost the entire time. I wouldn't recommend this movie for anyone under the age of thirteen.
A man named "David Harris" is shopping at a store and runs into a family with a mother and three kids. One of the children is away at military school. When the child at military school, Michael, returns home he finds that his mother is engaged to "David". Michael starts to suspect that there's something different about "David" and that he might not be who he said he was.
The movie falls into place keeping you guessing the entire time. If you read a synopsis of the movie before going to the theater, you would probably expect that "David" is a serial killer, or something along those lines. So throughout the movie the director's throw in suspenseful music that gets you on the edge of your seat in scenes where you think "David" is going to kill someone when in reality he doesn't.
I enjoyed this movie a lot, although I think in some ways it could've been better. At the beginning the scene is set as a family of 4 is laying on the living room floor and "David" walks out of the house with a suitcase packed. When you're watching this scene it's hard to tell whether the family is dead or merely sleeping. Because "David" only kills victims by way of strangling, careful not to leave any evidence, you don't see any blood or tell-tale signs that the family is dead or has been murdered.
*Spoiler alert*
At the end of the movie, "David" escapes from the family. They show him working at another store with a different name as a family of a mother and 2 kids approach him. He shakes the mom's hand and gives them his number. Already, you know what is going to happen. A lot of people think this means, "Oh! Sequel!", but in reality does it? If they made a sequel to this movie, it would be extremely similar to the first one. It would follow the same plot line. Guy goes undercover as a step-father, kid figures out that he isn't who he says he is, guy kills family and/or gets away. Hooray.
So really, I would rate this movie as a C for effort. It has a good plot, but it was extremely predictable.

--Sam S.

To All Editors

Please post an articles from your section of the paper from ALL WRITERS as a comment on this post. Once they are posted, I can edit them and then send them off to Reilly to be edited again.

2nd Article. 2nd Marking Period.

Novelgames.com is one of the few gaming websites that isn’t blocked at school. It offers a collection of classic and updated versions of a lot of games. Some of the games include Snake, Tritris, Crazy Taxi, Battleship, and Montris. Some of the games are multiplayer and some are single. Some play against computers and some are downloadable to your computer.
I enjoy Novel Games (NG) because it provides entertainment during those times in school when you just don’t have any work to do. Since they put in the new LightSpeed blocking system on school computers, almost every games site is blocked. NG is one of the few sites I know of that remains unblocked. So, if you ever find yourself out of work to do and bored during school, go to NG.
Now teachers, you may not be all excited to hear about this games site that is unblocked but trust me, some of the games are educational. So, the kids in your class won’t be mindlessly clicking away on some pointless videogame called “Poke the Penguin”, but rather playing a brain-enhancing game such as Word Vine.
“Word Vine?” You may be asking. Word vine is a game of connecting similar words with each other. For example, you may have the three words, apple, sauce and tree. The game asks you to put the words on the vine as “leaves”, connecting words that are similar. So you would make a chain that goes in the order like this: tree, apple, sauce. Apple and tree go together, and apple and sauce go together. The game offers about 60 levels of word entertainment that can make your brain want to explode. Trust me.
So, the next time you’re in class and want to do something because you’ve finished all your work, give Novel Games a visit. Check out some of my personal favorite games such as, Daisy Petals, Crazy Taxi, Word Vine, and Snake. Believe me; you will have a lot of fun. But remember to ask your teachers if you’re allowed to be playing games once you’ve finished your work, because you don’t want to get in trouble.

Movie Review...1st Article, 1st Marking Period.

Orphan
By: Samantha Steinhauser

The recently released film Orphan that hit theaters July 24, 2009 struck the box office, making $12,871,483 on opening weekend. The basic plot line is a family that recently lost a child adopt a 9-year-old orphan named Esther. She seems like a normal, extraordinarily smart child as they get to know her. But as the movie continues, the family notices something wrong with Esther. *SPOILER ALERT* Esther seems to be trying to hurt or kill the family through a series of events such as, taking the parking brake off the car while the blood-daughter is inside. Also, by burning the tree house down while the son is inside. Esther takes advantage of the children in the home by threatening to harm them. The mother is not as naïve as the father and realizes what Esther is trying to do but no one will believe her.

I personally think that Orphan was a fantastic movie. I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone under the age of 13 because it is slightly graphic and terrifying. Orphan is rated “R” so no one under 17 is admitted unless they have an adult over the age of 21 with them. If you’re going to watch it, I suggest seeing it during the day with a group of people to make it less nerve-racking. But I hope you eventually see the movie, Orphan because it is a truly amazing movie.

--Samantha Steinhauser

Editor's Post

All editor's,

When you finish editing your articles for EVERYONE, post them all here as 1 comment so I can edit them and post them to Reilly.

Thanks,
Sam S

Social Networking Spread a.k.a 3rd article (dont want printed)

Facebook
By Sam Steinhauser

The new social network that is sweeping the nation is known as Facebook. Facebook is almost like Myspace, but it is much simpler. With one internet window, you can IM, message, view profiles, and much more. On Facebook you can hook up with old friends, meet new friends and communicate with current friends. ‘
On Facebook you are required to confirm that you know the people on your friends list personally. You can communicate with your friends in a variety of ways. You can IM, message, comment and photo comment. When you sign up for Facebook you also have the choice to make your account mobility enabled. This allows Facebook to send you updates to your phone, yet another way to communicate.

The Uninvited (Movie Review/2nd article for new marking period) Written 4.23.09 (print?)

Released in January of 2009, "The Uninvited offers ironclad proof that Hollywood should give up the ghost already when it comes to remaking Asian horror movies," Says a writer from the Los Angelos Times. The movie is supposed to be a "horror " movie. The main points of the movie are that Anna, a teenageer, thinks there is something evil in her house. Anna is prone to bad dreams and hallucinations. Her mother had died in an explosion (along with her sister), and her dad is already dating again. The end of the movie was very disappointing.
This movie was also extremely confusing. If you missed one second of it, you would be completely lost. At the end of the movie you don't expect what happens.
*SPOILER ALERT!*
Anna kills her dads new girlfriend because she thinks that the girlfriend killed her sister. Then it flashes back to the explosion and ecplains how Anna caused it by silling ol from a lamp on the wooden floor and it catching fire. Anna gets arrested and goes back to a mental instutuion.
I would not reccomend this movie to anybody. It was not worth spending 5 bucks on a movie ticket to see it. If you're going to go to the movies to be scared, don't see this.

The End.