Remember the origins of blockbuster video game movies

by Lindsey Oyler, Alestle photographer and reporter

Lindsey Oyler

“Dear PlayStation, I got my boyfriend a PS3 and he still hasn’t hooked it up to the Internet.”

“What? What is this 1992?”

The entertaining commercials on TV reveal the technology of the PlayStation 3 console. With new consoles come new media hype and with the media, comes more publicity and ideas to milk those great video games all their worth.

What is one way to exploit a video game system? Make movies from the individual games. The first of its kind was released as a Japanese anime film based on “Super Mario Bros.” in 1986. After that, it was one 90s movie after another, with “Street Fighter,” “Double Dragon” and “Mortal Combat.”

However, what seemed to be a cult following turned into a mass hypnosis over viewers, bringing in $275 million with “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” in 2001. Now,  with the release of the new “Assassin’s Creed” for PS3, the “Assassin’s Creed: Lineage” movie will come to theaters using green screen throughout the entire film. “Spyro” is becoming an animated film in 2012 and “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,” due in 2010, has Jake Gylenhaal on its cast list.

While entertaining, the original sense of video game entertainment is lost with these movies. Remember who is behind the making of such films: the people who sit in their rooms eating pizza and playing “Halo” are the ones that should be given credit for making the video game world what is it today. Don’t let the “big dogs” take over one of the greatest support groups of geeks and nerds everywhere.

The best and worst Halloween costumes

Hunter Creel

by Hunter Creel, Alestle photographer

Costumes of Halloween’s past used to be gory and ghoulish, but they’ve devolved into parody or just plain tacky.  After watching a parade of costumes this past Friday and Saturday, I have some costumes that were creative and comical, and others that missed the mark completely.

First I am going to start with the men’s costumes, which are usually comedic characters from pop culture. But where are the costumes from the great horror movies of our time? Where are Freddy, Jason, Michael Myers, The Leprechaun, or even the zombies, vampires, and the occasional Frankenstein?

Since the horror genre was lacking, I’ll go over my favorite men’s costumes of the night. First, one costumed duo that I enjoyed was Dale Denton and Saw from “Pineapple Express.” Saw even brought the schnickelfritz and Pineapple Express, which was actually kale, but a nice recreation.

I also saw Billy Mays selling Oxy Clean to all the partiers in anticipation of spills and stains to come. Sting from the WWF made an appearance Saturday night, but eventually fell into the fire, receiving burns to his hands and back. Not a very good end to the night for Sting.

My favorite men’s costume of the night was a custom-made, bright lavender Grateful Dead Bear. He eventually took on the name Bear for the rest of the evening. To you, Bear, well done.

Now unfortunately I have to start with the women’s costumes, which I was very unimpressed with. On Friday I night I caught flack for being dressed up as Jason from the “Friday the 13th” series, and this was coming from a woman who had barely any clothes. Why has Halloween turned into the weekend where women feel its necessary to wear as little as possible? I must have seen at least 20 different ways to be as revealing as possible.

Women are being an image rather than a character of the imagination, because you leave nothing to it. To all the women who wore clothes, I applause you for not falling into the stereotypical female costume of next to nothing.

Next Halloween, revelers should return to the original message of the holiday and break out the horror. After all, that is what Halloween is really about: ghosts, ghouls and serial killers.

 

Freddy’s coming for you… again

Kari Williams

by Kari Williams, Alestle reporter

I remember sitting with my parents and older brother when I was around 7 or 8 years old being afraid to sleep at night after watching “Nightmare on Elm Street.” Scary visions of Robert England decked out in that cunning fedora and red and green striped shirt danced in my head.

But a couple years ago, I revisited the “Nightmare on Elm Street” series with my cousins and brother, and we viewed the movies in a completely different light — a comical one. The killings weren’t scary. The final words Freddy spoke to his victims weren’t menacing and dreadful. They were witty and brutally humorous.

At the time it was made, “Nightmare on Elm Street” most certainly did its job in scaring both children and adults alike, but as we grow up and are exposed to “horror” movies like “Saw” that go for the gross out antics rather than actual terror, we look back on Freddy and think, “Man, that was a good line!”

For instance, in “Nightmare on Elm Street 2:  Freddy’s Revenge,” Freddy is with one of his victims, Jessica Walsh, and says, “I need you, Jesse. We got special work to do here, you and me. You’ve got the body… I’ve got the brain,” as he removes his fedora to expose his brain. A classic scare tactic turned into a laugh riot.

Yet again, Freddy’s cut and dry absurdity emerges in “Nightmare on Elm Street 3:  Dream Warriors.” Victim Will Stanton cries out, “In the name of Lowrek, Prince of Elves…demon, be gone,” while thrusting magical beans at Freddy, who simply stops Will and matter-of-factly claims, “Ahh, sorry kid. I don’t believe in fairy tales.”

Nothing compares to sitting around mocking what was once scary  as it transforms into a sharp and calculating form of dark humor. With the upcoming release of “A Nightmare on Elm Street” in April 2010 starring Jackie Earl Haley as Freddy Krueger, I can only hope that Haley delivers one-liners as well as England.

After all, what else am I supposed to do when I watch a scary movie? Cower in fear?

Eckert’s Farm gives city and country families fall fun

by Karina Swank, Alestle chief copy editor

Karina Swank

Even though costumes will soon hit the discount racks and orange and black will be replaced with red and green, fall is not over. Fall still has some vitality in it yet, so go enjoy the traditions of the season.

Last weekend, my fiancé and I did just that with a trip to Eckert’s Country Store and Farm in Belleville. Having never been there, I was in for a surprise and a fun evening. The farm is most definitely centered around children, but if you are young at heart or are looking for a light-hearted evening, this is a great place to go.

The farm set-up was quaint and offered a variety of activities like watching the pumpkin launcher or a movie, walking through the family workshop of gizmos and gadgets and eating so much amazing food.

We had to wait a while for the kettle corn and even when it was finished, the registers were down, and we had to go to another stand to buy it, but it was amazingly worth the wait and trouble. I’m not a big kettle corn fan, but this was divine. They also had a country store lined with shelves of cider, apple pies, treats, caramel apples and more. The prices were a bit high, but it was quality you won’t find other places.

The most interesting part of our journey to the outskirts of St. Louis was the entertainment they offered after dark. Technically, the park closed at 6 p.m., but after that, the lights went on even brighter and warmer as families and friends huddled around campfires roasting marshmallows. This did not seem entirely thrilling to a girl from a small town where bonfires were common, but these children were from St. Louis. I’m assuming most of them rarely have the opportunity to start a bonfire in their backyards without a permit. They were literally having a blast. We also saw a group of international students who had never been outside of St. Louis to a real life, American farm. What a wonderful service the Eckert family is doing for these children and visitors. They get to experience another cultural facet that makes our community and nation unique.

So this weekend, or some weekend in the future, make it a point to get out of the city or your dorm to experience the outdoors and this fall season.

Reminiscing the good ol’ days

by Derrick Hawkins, Alestle photographer

Derrick Hawkins

I know I’m not old. I’m only 21, but I do remember the good old days — back in the 90’s that is.

It may be that I’m just not into kids’ stuff anymore,  but things kids have now are just boring. Kids now also expect too much. They need the newest iPod, Wii game or cell phone. A lot of people my age and older remember the day when there were no iPod’s. You had to walk around with a case of CDs (compact disc for people who have forgot) and a portable CD player. If you had one, you were the best thing walking. Having a VCR was a luxury; now it’s Blueray.

Kids now want to have the latest fashion from top designers. We were simpler. Remember LA gear?  You know the shoes that will light up when you walked.

Remember when playing tag, hide-and-go-seek, and red light, green light were just games, not weight loss activities, or when Reading R.L Stine’s “Goosebumps” series and waiting anxiously for the new one was the cool thing to do, not this “Twilight” vampire craze? Who didn’t enjoy playing with Nano Pets and Furbies all day, then forgetting to feed them so they died, but all you had to do was just press the reset button?

Once upon a time, Disney movies were not all in CGI but were actual drawings. Nickelodeon had all the great cartoons and shows, like “Rugrats” when they were still babies, or “Hey Arnold,” “Rocko’s Modern Life,” “Aaahh! Real Monsters,” and of course, “Ren & Stimpy.”

Remember the times when a friend moving away was the end of the world? When summer lasted forever, and when time did not matter?

I remember. I know there’s a lot more I can reminisce about, and  I hadn’t realized what fun things escaped us. Where did that time go?

What a load of hocus pocus

by Lindsey Oyler, Alestle reporter and photographer

Lindsey Oyler

Six Flags Fright Fest is the ultimate Halloween festival that is actually easily accessible to teenagers during the fall season. Costumes and faux cobwebs decorate the alleys throughout the Six Flags parks, and children watch “in fear” as gory goons strut about the entrances to rides.

However, I was unsettled when I found out one of the number one rules of Fright Fest. Teenagers and older are not allowed to wear any sort of costume in the park. In addition to this rule, there are no masks allowed in the park worn by anyone above four feet tall.

I grew up loving Halloween. I watched “Hocus Pocus” at least five times each year when the season arrived. An author in my hometown, Frederic Durbin, wrote a book called Dragonfly centered on a Halloween-esque environment, and I would begin reading it Oct. 1 and finish it the day after Halloween. I have my rituals, and they continue to this very day.

However, I wonder if we have lost the spirit. Halloween is no longer magical, it is a system. When I would watch my Halloween movies, I believed them to be as true the beating of my heart. I wanted so much to have some of their enchanting lifestyles or to run into some “good” magic.

Instead, the closest I got to their spells and witchcraft were the commercial orange and purple M&Ms and my Janis Joplin Halloween costume from last year. Maybe that’s why people are so drawn to the Harry Potter books. It permits them to think outside of our realm and into one of curiosity, wonder and simplicity.

Teenagers are drawn to magic and enchantment in this era of down-to-earth business, CEOs. We live for convenience, money and technology, and crystal balls, magic wands and silver bullets simply don’t fit into this way of life. Let us have our month of escape simply for our sanity.

At the very least, I’d like to wear an Obama mask while I ride on The Batman this year.

Get the facts straight, TMZ

by Catherine Klene, Alestle Online Editor

Catherine Klene

On Saturday, celebrity gossip Web site TMZ announced that author and poet Maya Angelou was hospitalized in Los Angeles after collapsing before an event. Rumors began to viral that she was near death or that she died.

On Sunday, Angelou spoke to a jam-packed Meridian Ballroom at SIUE.  Aside from needing some assistance to cross the stage, Angelou seemed to be a picture of 81-year-old health.

Talk about a quick recovery.

In reality, Angelou was never scheduled to appear at the Los Angeles event. She wasn’t even on the same coast.  Angelou was on her coach bus somewhere between her home in Winston-Salem, N.C., and St. Louis.  Alive.

There is a saying in journalism: “When your mother says she loves you, check it out.”  Confirm it with someone else.  When someone says Maya Angelou didn’t show up to an event, don’t assume it’s because she’s dead.

Instead of broadcasting information without any backing, call someone who might actually know what’s going on.  Find out what this person’s name is.  (For the record, “a source close to so-and-so” is not a name.  It’s a cop out.)  Get concrete information you can stand behind.  Don’t rely on the tip from an obscure e-mail, or the gossip Tweeter who likes to stir up trouble.

It may take a bit more time than just tossing the rumor up on the Web site.  Competition from other news organizations will bite at your heels, and the pressure to be first and fastest will bear down.  Still, the deadline crunch is no excuse for shoddy work.

People rely on news sources for accurate information the first time, and no matter how hard you try, you’re going to have a hard time convincing everyone someone came back from the dead.

Don’t scramble for excuses, TMZ. “We have no idea why the organizers told us she was a no-show because she went to the hospital,” and “Our camera guy on scene was told that Angelou would not be there because she was taken to the hospital,” don’t make it better. Get your facts straight the first time.

Maybe then you won’t write a woman’s obituary before she actually dies.

Now Rating: ‘The Invention of Lying’

by Rosie Githinji, Alestle Opinion Editor

Mark Bellison has a power no one in his world can even fathom. He has the ability to lie.

“The Invention of Lying” is a story about a man who lives in a reality where people do not understand the concept of lying. Everyone speaks the truth, even when it is hurtful to others, and does not seem to understand why they should sometimes not say what is on their minds.

The movie has a few sad moments, which are quickly overrun with comedic relief, making you wonder why they bothered scripting a serious moment in the first place. The characters are engaging, somewhat na’ve and leave the viewer wanting more personality.

Bellison (Ricky Gervais) is a man down on his luck and not very good at his job. There are no prospects in the romance department because he is not a good-looking guy.

His love interest in the movie, Anna (Jennifer Garner), refuses to give Bellison a chance even though he has a good personality. She feels that since Bellison is not a strong genetic match, one of the things she is looking for in her marriage, they could never work out.

Bellison does not have many friends because a lot of his neighbors and fellow workers see him and automatically label him a loser.

The first lie told by Bellison happens when he is asked a question and instead of giving the true answer, answers with what he would like it to be. Since there are no repercussions from the initial lie, Bellison goes on to experiment with his newfound abilities and discovers no one else in the world has any idea he is not being truthful.

The movie follows Bellison as he climbs up the ladder to fame and fortune because of his ability to lie. As more and more people begin to believe that what he says is gospel, Bellison finds he is still not happy because he does not want to lie to get the woman he loves.

The movie is full of subtle allusions to biblical references, like using “the man in the sky” when referring to God and using old pizza boxes in the same manner as Moses and the Ten Commandments. It also shows what the world would be without propaganda.

It is a little hard to suspend disbelief while watching this movie, as one does when watching something with aliens or talking animals in it.

There are no advertisements proclaiming why one is better than the other, or politicians using lies to find their way into office. Movies consist of people reading stories from history instead of actors portraying different characters conjured from the imagination of writers.

The characters in the movie freely speak their mind, which is amusing at times, but there is a lack of imagination. The conversation is witty and sarcastic, but in a subtle way, making it hard to understand at various points in the movie.

Gervais delivers his lines with a dry humor, but not as well as some of his co-stars. Garner’s character portrays an innocence that is a little insulting to women because, even though she is a strong businesswoman, she is not able to stand up for herself and give her own thoughts and opinions.

“The Invention of Lying” is an easy laugh that does not require much brainpower to follow along. The trailers did not promise much, so it was not as disappointing as expected.

City Museum isn’t just for kids

by Rachel Carlson, Alestle A&E Editor

Rachel Carlson

Ever since I came to SIUE, all I’ve heard about is the St. Louis City Museum. Over the years, most of my friends have taken a trip to St. Louis and come back saying how much fun it was. Each time I wondered when I would get to spend some time at this larger than life-sized playground.

This past weekend I finally got to experience the wonder that is the City Museum.

Set inside an old shoe company building, the City Museum is anything but your traditional museum. Between 600,000 square feet and multiple floors, the areas and objects to climb, touch and slide down are endless.

Whether you prefer a treehouse setting, under the sea or an abandoned airplane, you’ll find something to entertain yourself no matter your age.

Families — or, as in my case, college student — can run amuck through the City Museum without feeling out of place. There’s a section with tiny tunnels to wriggle through, an indoor ball pit for toddlers, a seven-story slide for everyone and a bar in case mom and dad need a break. Brand new this summer was the addition of a four-story ferris wheel to the roof of the museum and a 76-foot long pencil set inside the indoor skateless park.

My adventure on Friday took me into caves, an aquarium and a very scary climb to the top of a metal cage.  I’d say my first time at the City Museum was a success and I can’t wait to go back again.

MTV sure isn’t what it used to be

Derrick Hawkins

by Derrick Hawkins, Alestle photographer

Everyone knows about MTV now, but most people don’t know how much it has changed.

In 1981 an idea came to television about a network that only played music. It was going to be radio brought to life. At the time, MTV wanted to target the youth and the new music of the time.

But over the years, MTV has lost its core idea to spoiled teenagers, and wannabe A-Listers. Reality TV has become a bacteria that spreads on TV networks, and MTV jumped on the board. Granted, MTV was probably the first network to start the trend with shows like ‘The Real World” “Road Rules” and “Singled Out,” but now it’s a little out of control. MTV rarely plays music videos. The last good music video program the network had was “Total Request Live,” which only played about 20 seconds of a video, but it was a video.

MTV used to be the place where music artists wanted to get their big break. MTV is single-handedly responsible for great music icons like Madonna, Duran Duran ,and the biggest pop icon ever,  the late Michael Jackson. But now all you see are rich girls on  shows like “The Hills”  and “The City,” having drama over what Gucci purse to go along with their Prada stilettos and where to eat sushi at.

Everyone wants that 15 minutes. I know I would love it, but  MTV lost its core values of what their own name means, “music television.” MTV needs get rid off some of the scripted reality shows and bring back the music video.