Author merges history, fantasy

Todd Miller | Collegio Reporter “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.” Just let the name sink in for a moment. It’s the kind of thing you’d hear mentioned in an attempt to ridicule modern literature. It is a statement of fleeting ridiculousness along the same lines as “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” which was written by the same author (Seth Grahame-Smith.) If you simply dismiss this book then you would miss out on a work of well-crafted fiction. The idea is ridiculous only if you think of it like that. Vampire and zombie stories are popular right now, and if an author wants a vampire story to stand out then he needs to make it unique. Grahame-Smith…

‘Dead Man’ tells tales

Carl J. Bachus | Collegio Reporter Playing on the sordid political history of the criminal death penalty, Pitt State’s spring production of “Dead Man Walking,” based on the autobiography by Sister Helen Prejean, is amazing. The play is directed by graduate student Kristy Magee and based on a script by Tim Robbins. The production stars freshman Taylor Patterson as Sister Prejean, a nun chosen to correspond with death row inmate Matthew Poncelet (played by junior Jacob Hacker). Tasked with preventing his execution and saving his soul, Prejean finds herself repulsed by Poncelet’s personality. Poncelet pleads with Prejean to file an appeal on his behalf, claiming total innocence of the crimes he has been convicted of….

‘Cabin’ is novel approach to horror

Carl Bachus | Review Writer I cannot completely describe the plot of “The Cabin in the Woods,” because it would give too much of the film away. What can be said, spoiler-free, of course, is that this movie is perhaps the most original and intellectually ambitious horror film since the original “Scream.” “Woods” is the brainchild of co-writers Joss Whedon (“The Avengers”) and Drew Goddard (“Cloverfield”), who serve as producer and director respectively. The script is filled with Whedon’s trademark, tongue-in-cheek dialogue and contains several “Buffy” cameos. The most I can say about the plot is that it involves a group of college students who go on vacation to a cabin, and people die. Boy,…

Troublesome trio grace silver screen again

Todd Miller | Review Writer I was apprehensive about “The Three Stooges” before I saw it. It had the potential to be good if it was done well, but could also be horrible if done poorly. The potential was there for the film to lovingly return the Three Stooges to a modern audience, or completely stain the image of the comedic trio. The story begins with a trio of babies who were abandoned at the Sisters of Mercy orphanage. The three become increasingly difficult to adopt as they grow to be more unusual and inherently violent, and they eventually become adults, working as groundskeepers at the orphanage. The orphanage falls into financial trouble and is…

Drag Show performers strut their stuff

Jen Rainey | Collegio Reporter Dancers clad in fishnet stockings, black lingerie, leopard-print leotards and even a Billy Idol lookalike all made their way around the U-Club, dancing and showing off for students Wednesday, April 11. They were performing in the Pitt State Drag Show. “Many people never get the chance to see a drag show because they usually take place at a gay club or gay bar,” said Holden Kraus, graduate student in math and president of the PSU Gay Straight Alliance. “We wanted to bring this to a place where all are welcome and give everyone this experience.” The drag show was one of the various activities taking place during Pride Week, a…

Reunited and it ain’t so good

Carl J. Bachus | Review Writer Rating 2 / 5 Stars It just wasn’t that funny. That is about the worst thing that can be said about “American Reunion,” the latest theatrical installment in the once-hilarious teen comedy franchise. That may be where the film falls short as a comedy: The characters aren’t teenagers anymore and neither is the target audience. It was set up for failure from the beginning. The film picks up 10 years after the events of the third film, “American Wedding,” and the entire gang has gone their separate ways. Jim (Jason Biggs) and Michelle (Alyson Hannigan from “How I Met Your Mother”) are living in a sexless marriage thanks to…

This ship hasn’t sunk yet

3D rerelease of ‘Titanic’ still impresses students Val Vita | Collegio Reporter The sinking of the RMS Titanic in the frozen Atlantic waters 100 years ago reverberated around the world. In 1997, a movie combining the event with a powerful love story became big box office hit. Fifteen years later, the 3D version of “Titanic” was recently released and the love between the main characters still resonates strongly enough to draw people to the movie. “It’s one of the most perfect love stories ever,” said Aiperi Imankulova, junior in finance. “They met and a couple of days later he gave his life for hers.” Imankulova was one of several PSU students who attended the Pittsburg…

‘Wrath’ sequel proves a titan-ic success

Todd Miller | Collegio Reporter I wasn’t excited to dive into another action movie based on Greek mythology after seeing the uninspired “Immortals” last year. However, “Wrath of the Titans” is nothing like “Immortals,” and it manages to avoid the problems I had with the latter film. “Wrath of the Titans” is a sequel to “Clash of the Titans,” which came out in 2010. Perseus (Sam Worthington), demigod son of Zeus, is trying to live his life and raise his son with a life as a simple fisherman. Those dreams are shattered, however, when Zeus (Liam Neeson), informs Perseus that humans are losing faith in the gods, which is weakening their power. This could cause…

Crunching through competition

PSU student wins first Taco Tuesday tournament Jay Benedict | Editor-in-chief On Monday night, 5th Street Bar and Grill drew a large crowd who came to watch the University of Kentucky Wildcats get crowned champions of the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament. Another crowd gathered Tuesday night to see a different champion crowned. Eric Claudell became Pittsburg’s most accomplished taco-devouring resident after winning 5th Street’s first taco, speeding-eating competition. “I was shaking from the nerves and adrenaline,” said Claudell, junior in manufacturing engineering. “It’s just tough forcing yourself to eat that much that quickly. That, and I was really hungry. I hadn’t eaten all day.” Claudell went head-to-head with Pittsburg resident Josh Stovall in…

‘Mirror Mirror’ worth a look

Todd Miller | Collegio Reporter Director Tarsem Singh makes amends for the poor performance of “Immortals” last year with “Mirror Mirror,” a beautiful telling of the fairy tale Snow White. The story is told by the evil Queen Clementianna (Julia Roberts), who is not necessarily evil; rather she is vain. Snow White’s (Lily Colins) original mother died during childbirth. Snow White’s father, the king, decides to remarry after several years. He married Clementianna before dying, leaving Clementianna to rule the kingdom, and take care of Snow White. Snow White crashes a party, and begins dancing with the young Prince Andrew Alcott (Armie Hammer) whom the queen was trying to seduce. Clementianna proceeds to send Snow…