by Erin Franklin | Aug 30, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
Brandon Burlsworth is hailed as the greatest walk-on in college football history. Burlsworth was also drafted by the Colts, has a trophy named after him that’s given to a player who started his football career as a walk-on and is responsible for the Brandon Burlsworth foundation, which helps underprivileged kids, both physically and spiritually. He’s also quite the virtuous, pious guy — not exactly fitting the Division 1 football player stereotype. Greater tells viewers this and more. Burlsworth started out his football career as an overweight middle schooler who was the only kid on the bench for his school team. However, his perseverance and dedication soon landed him a spot on his high school team, then a place as an Arkansas Razorback and eventually a spot in the NFL. Burlsworth’s incredible journey was cut short, however, as he died in a car accident just a few days after he was drafted by the Colts. The film is Christian-based, so it not only covers Burlsworth’s life, but it, of course, also delves into broader themes, namely the question, “Why does tragedy happen to a good person?” If you know Burlsworth’s story, the film carries no surprises; it’s main focus is the messages it shares. Chris Severio stars as Burlsworth; Neal McDonough (Arrow) plays his much older brother Marty and Leslie Easterbrook (Police Academy film series) plays Burlsworth’s mother Barb. It’s Serverio’s first feature film, and, while he is not the strongest actor of the leads and doesn’t necessarily look like a D1 football player, he holds his own and shows promise for the future. McDonough is the best actor of the group, portraying a much softer, vulnerable...
by Patrick Carpenter | Aug 27, 2016 | News Slider, Opinion, Sports
So we lost week one in horrifying fashion. We left several points on the field, and Centennial scored 14 points in the final 72 seconds to win. It was definitely not the opening anyone would want. Their quarterback finished 9-25, and most of those completions came on the final two drives. I had a big “hoorah” blog lined up in my head for if we had won, but I wasn’t able to write it. For a moment, I questioned doing this. Is this really something I wanted to do? Do I really like football this much to go through everything we did simply to lose like that? Sunday rolled around, and we put it behind us. It happened. It’s over. Time to regroup. It made me sick the rest of the week, but, in a way, I loved that. I loved that I finally had some drive in me. It didn’t matter what happened because we are a team. We lost as a team. Everyone has to get better. Tuesday we had the best defensive practice I think I have seen. Offensively, our line was beginning to gel. Going into Riverdale, no one gave us a chance. Riverdale is full of athletes and extremely talented skill-guys. But we were prepared. Riverdale features many of the top recruits in the state such as safety Gentry Bonds, who committed to Georgia Tech. We put up 21 unanswered points, but they began to trickle back into the game little by little. We fumbled at the 1-yard line right before we could have scored. Those thoughts from the week prior against Centennial came...
by Erin Franklin | Aug 11, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
In a summer filled with movie remakes, sequels and superhero installments, Pete’s Dragon ranks as one of the best remakes in a summer composed of so-so flicks. The film is an adaptation of Disney’s 1977 live-action/animated musical that didn’t go down in the Disney hall of fame with the likes of Beauty and the Beast, Mary Poppins or 101 Dalmatians. 2016’s Pete’s Dragon thankfully wanders with poetic beauty from the slightly odd and unsteady original. The new Pete’s Dragon begins harmlessly with a much younger Pete going on an “adventure” with his parents. What seems to be a joyful road trip for the young family soon changes to a terrible tale as the car is flipped over, horrifically killing both of Pete’s parents. The frightened new orphan, clutching the book — “Elliot Gets Lost” — with which he was learning how to read, ventures into the woods alone. That’s where he finds Elliot, a giant, furry green dragon. This moment in the woods marks the beginning of a truly remarkable friendship between the two. Six years later, Pete (Oakes Fegley) is a rambunctious boy, bounding though the woods with his best friend Elliot, the dragon, who doesn’t appear terrifying in the least. The story is really a simple boy-and-his-dog tale; however the dog in this tale just happens to be a big, sometimes invisible and very lovable dragon. Pete’s seemingly idyllic life is interrupted when he sees Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Natalie (Oona Lawrence) from a distance. Grace, a park ranger, is taken aback by the fact that this young boy has been living in the woods, which she...
by Patrick Carpenter | Aug 5, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
After a brooding Superman, a brutal Batman and a Woman of wonder, DC’s brand new cinematic universe brings us a a squadron of highly dangerous, misfit criminals, aptly named Suicide Squad and chosen by A.R.G.U.S Director Amanda Waller. After the death of Superman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, the United States government is looking for a contingency plan in case the next Superman is not on their side. With a new threat now facing national security, Waller finally convinces the Secretary of Defense to enlist the Suicide Squad, which is designated as “Task Force X.” With an interchangeable line up of the Suicide Squad in the comic books over the years, the film chooses many of the foes Gotham’s Bat has locked up in Belle Reve prison. Led by Colonel Rick Flagg (Joel Kinnaman), the team is highlighted by Floyd Lawton (Will Smith), a.k.a Deadshot, former Arkham Asylum psychiatrist Harley Quinn (Margot Robbie), Gotham sewer-dweller, Killer Croc (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) and The Flash’s villain-from-down-under, Captain Boomerang (Jai Courtney). Audiences had yet to be introduced to magic in the DC universe, until the Squad found its true enemy, the Enchantress. Suicide Squad is the first film in the DCCU not to be directed by Zack Snyder (Man of Steel, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice). Instead, heralded director David Ayer (End of Watch, Fury) leads DC’s gang of misfits into the most fun and colorful DC film to date. It hasn’t been a secret that many critics panned DC films for not having humor and being too dark (even for Batman), but Ayer constructs his characters differently then we’ve seen...
by Jade Spilka | Jul 28, 2016 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
Modern-day technology comes to life in Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman’s thriller Nerve. High school senior Vee Delmonico (Emma Roberts) is tired of living in the shadow of her best friend Sydney (Emily Meade). However, this all changes when Sydney introduces Vee to Nerve, an online reality game similar to truth or dare. Nerve is divided into two categories: watchers and players. Players are dared by the watchers to perform and film embarrassing or dangerous tasks. The only way out for the players is to succeed, bail or fail. Vee decides to try Nerve and is immediately dared to kiss a stranger. This dare leads her into an exciting partnership with fearless veteran player Ian (Dave Franco). Vee and Ian’s partnership quickly becomes popular among the watchers, but as their popularity increases, their dares only become harder. Soon, Vee and Ian find themselves in the top 10 of all Nerve players, thanks to a series of difficult dares, but it all quickly becomes too much for Vee. Freaked out by the intensity of the game, she reports the game to a police officer — going against the only rule Nerve enforces. Vee is now seen as a “snitch” to the watchers, and she is deemed a prisoner while all the money is taken out of her family’s bank account. The only way to win back her money and freedom is to win the entire game. Once she learns that Ian, too, is a prisoner, Vee sets out to win Nerve, but it may not be in the way the watchers expect. I am usually not a fan of thrillers...
by Patrick Carpenter | Jul 26, 2016 | News Slider, Opinion, Sports
As Coach Carpenter, one of my main responsibilities is “coaching up” the freshman players. The first day we were on the field with them, Coach Webb huddled up the skill players and asked, “Who here is a quarterback?” No one raised their hand. He kind of snickered to himself and said, “All right, well, who here would call themselves a quarterback.” Finally two guys raised their hands. Ian and Josh. In eighth grade the year before, Josh was the starting quarterback and Ian was the backup. Coach Winfree and I went through fundamentals with them — quick catch and throw, three step drops, basic follow throughs on release and how to grip the ball — basic things just to get those kids warmed up. After so much fundamental work, we went to work with the wide receiver groups. We had them throw slants, hitches and seams — simple routes that will be incorporated in their growth. Holy cow were we impressed with them. They were young with a lot of talent, but Coach Winfree called them “coachable.” I thought that was the perfect way to describe them. The act of being coachable is very important. If you aren’t coachable we can’t help you. Coachability is the willingness to be corrected and to act on that correction. It’s humility. It’s being able to realize that you need the guidance of others to be better. In a way, I have had to be coachable the past two months as well — primarily because of how raw of a coach I am. I’ve sat to the side watching these coaches coach up...
