by Logan Butts | Sep 16, 2013 | News Slider, Sports
Before the semester becomes too overloaded with events and calendars gets completely booked, Lumination would like to offer a handy guide to all of the events coming up during the fall semester. September looks to bring a full slate of men’s and women’s soccer games. Pledge week also kicks off in September as Bid Night took place Sept. 12. Some of Lipscomb’s most anticipated events begin in October starting with the Tau Phi Cowboy show on Oct. 5, Paint the Herd on Oct. 30 and Haunted High Rise scaring students on Oct. 30. The women’s volleyball schedule kicks into high gear during October as well. Lipscomb’s annual Dodgeball tournament will start November off with a bang. The men’s basketball team will open up their season against Belmont with the Battle of the Boulevard against rival Belmont on Nov. 8, followed by the women’s Battle less than a week later on Nov. 14. Everything from sporting events across all sports to special Student Activities Board sponsored events, to usual favorites like Wednesday Night We Eat are taking place throughout the next few months, making Lipscomb’s campus a busy place. All sporting events take place at Lipscomb University unless otherwise noted. September: 16 Women’s Soccer Battle of the Boulevard vs. Belmont at 7:00 18 Wednesday Night Devo/Wednesday Night We Eat 19 SGA Coffeehouse Maggie Moo’s 9:45 p.m. Bison Square 20-22 Men’s Tennis MTSU Fall Tournament 20 Men’s Soccer vs. Appalachian State 7:30 p.m. Fun in the Square 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Almost Golf 20-21: Midnight Movie: Space Jam at The Belcourt 21 Volleyball vs. Kentucky 2:00 p.m. 22 Men’s Soccer...
by Logan Butts | Aug 15, 2013 | News Slider, Sports
After an off-season full of change, including the hiring of Casey Alexander as the new head coach, the upcoming 2013-14 Lipscomb men’s basketball team officially has its first schedule of the Alexander era, with tilts against conference foes and local competition filling out the slate. Following an exhibition match against Freed-Hardeman on Halloween night, Lipscomb opens the season against arch-rival Belmont in the first Battle of the Boulevard at Allen Arena on Nov. 8. The second round will take place down the street on Nov. 20 at Belmont’s Curb Event Center. The Bisons will take the court against two other Nashville squads in November as well. The Nov. 15 game against Vanderbilt will be the first between the opponents since 2009, and the Nov. 18 matchup with Tennessee State will be the first meeting of the Bisons and Tigers in over a decade. Lipscomb’s first out-of state trip will lead to the program’s first game against perennial heavyweight Georgetown in Washington, D.C. over the Thanksgiving weekend. “That will be an exciting time for our guys to go to the nation’s capital and play a premier program,” Alexander told Lipscomb Athletics. “It will be a dream come true for J.J. Butler to go back home and play in front of his family. There are a lot of really exciting parts to that game to look forward to. Hopefully some Bison fans will be able to travel with us.” December holds key non-conference road tilts for the Bisons against Murray State on Dec. 7 and the University of Georgia on Dec. 14. Lipscomb opens up conference play at Stetson on Dec. 30 followed...
by Logan Butts | Jul 19, 2013 | Opinion
Recycled fun. That’s the name of the game when it comes to R.I.P.D. Take a scene of The Avengers, throw in a plot point from The Dark Knight, add a full-on Coens’ Rooster Cogburn impersonation and mix it all together in Men in Black‘s central idea. And voila, you have R.I.P.D. Robert Schwentke (director of the extremely entertaining and surprisingly successful Red) once again tries to coast off of the charisma of his leading actors. And when the leading actors are Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges, that charisma can carry the film a long way. The sheer enjoyment of watching the leading duo, combined with the comfy familiarity and easily digestible material, leads for a night of recycled fun at the movies. Reynolds and Bridges toss zingers back and forth at each other with a pace that is almost as quick as the action-packed movie itself. The film wastes no time setting up the plot. It dives headfirst into the action with the death of Ryan Reynolds’ character, Nick Walker, only minutes into the movie. Walker is then promptly taken up to that big police department in the sky (the Rest in Peace Department, wink, wink) and is assigned to his native Boston division. Walker is assigned a partner, the grizzled chatterbox lawman Roy Pulsipher, who was literally lifted straight from the Old West. Their personalities clash and hilarity ensues, same as any other buddy cop film. Mary-Louise Parker (playing a high-ranking official for the R.I.P.D. named Proctor) more than holds her own with Reynolds and Bridges. The films’ marketing team also made the fascinating decision to give hardly any...
by Logan Butts | Jul 11, 2013 | Opinion
Welcome back, readers, to another edition of Logan’s Home Video Update! In honor of the upcoming Marvel film The Wolverine, I decided to dig through the series of X-Men films and pull out the best ones for this week’s recommendations. X-Men (PG-13, 104 minutes- starring Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart)
The first X-Men movie opened up the floodgates for the oncoming rush of modern superhero blockbusters that would eventually takeover the film industry. It had an impressive cast, with the likes of Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart and James Marsden all being perfectly suited for their mutant roles. It also didn’t hurt to have a villain with the charisma of Magneto and the acting prowess of Ian McKellen. It is a fun movie (especially any scene involving Hugh Jackman) and one that you can re-watch many times. X2: X-Men United (PG-13, 133 minutes- starring Hugh Jackman and Ian McKellen)
By far the best film of the original trilogy, X2 wasn’t settling for cute and enjoyable. It was going for greatness. This is obvious form the very beginning. The opening scene with Nightcrawler invading the White House still leaves me breathless to this day. Magneto upped his villainy, Wolverine and Cyclops traded stinging insults over their affection for Jean Grey and Halle Berry held her own as Storm. Once you reach the climax, you’re fully expecting anything to happen, and the ending doesn’t disappoint. X-Men: First Class (PG-13, 132 minutes- starring James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender)
In an attempt to erase the embarrassment of the previous two X-Men films (X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine), director Matthew Vaughn brought both style and tenacity...
by Logan Butts | Jun 28, 2013 | Opinion
In preparation for the upcoming summer blockbuster The Lone Ranger (we’ll have a review next Wednesday), the latest outing for eccentric superstar actor Johnny Depp, I am recommending some of his best roles. After delving into the actor’s filmography, I chose three of my favorite Johnny Depp-led films for this week’s Home Video Update. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (PG-13, 143 minutes- also starring Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley) The best adventure film of the last decade that didn’t take place in Middle Earth, Pirates melded fantasy, action and comedy like no other film since the Indiana Jones series. Since its release, the film has become a modern classic: even Klaus Badelt’s franchise-defining score is instantly recognizable. I found Depp’s performance as the beloved Captain Jack Sparrow to be the highlight of the film. He even earned an Oscar nomination for the role, something that rarely happens for blockbuster movies. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (PG, 115 minutes- also starring Freddie Highmore) Although the film doesn’t quite reach the delirious heights of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the first adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book, Depp’s performance gives the legendary Gene Wilder a run for his money. Depp uses his trademark eccentricity and knack for pulling off insane outfits and hairdos to his advantage in one of his multiple collaborations with Tim Burton. Rango (PG, 107 minutes- also starring the voices of Isla Fisher and Abigail Breslin) Rango was far and away the best animated film of 2011. I remember being blown away by the sheer amount of film references and hilarious...
