Scene

Notre Dame Style Spotter

D-Season

Football season might not be in full swing yet, but former Irish tailback Armando Allen and senior safety Jamoris Slaughter have found a way to keep themselves busy in the off season.  The two talented football players got together to form the rap group D-Season.

St. Baldrick's Day

The idea is pretty daunting. It takes a lot of confidence for ladies and gents to rock the Natalie Portman "V for Vendetta" or Bruce Willis look. It's normal to want to switch up your look, but the bald-headed birthday suit is definitely a hard core move. For St. Baldrick's participants, it definitely makes a statement — that you care.

Opera comes to Notre Dame and sells out

A tale of two lovers both sought by others but only craving each other has made its way to the Decio Mainstage. Opera Notre Dame's production of "Le Nozze di Figaro" ("The Marriage of Figaro") took audiences by storm last night when it opened to a full house in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center.

Matthew McConaughey surprises in 'Lincoln Lawyer'

I am, admittedly, a Matthew McConaughey hater. His cheesy smile, annoying surfer drawl and propensity for asinine romantic comedies have always rubbed me the wrong way. This is part of the reason I had to be dragged to see "The Lincoln Lawyer."

Do the Bossy Girl Rock

Don't take Tina Fey's memoir "Bossypants" to class or the library, because laughing out loud is a guarantee. With the tagline, "Once in a generation a woman comes along who changes everything. Tina Fey is not that woman, but she met that woman once and acted weird around her," you can get a taste of Fey's special brand of self-deprecating humor, which permeates the whole book.

Weekend Calendar

"True Grit" SUB Movie

Sequel Showdown

The sequel. It's one of the hardest movies to make in Hollywood. If you start with a lackluster film, the sequel could easily eclipse the first installment and rocket the series to fame. But if the series begins on a high note, unfortunately (unless the producer oozes talent) there's no direction to go but down. Hollywood has taken sequels in many directions trying to bring credibility to the genre, from replacing actors and actresses to changing settings. Below, Scene judges if they work.

ND Literary Festival welcomes Audrey Niffenegger

Audrey Niffenegger, author of the internationally bestselling novel "The Time Traveler's Wife," will conclude this year's ND Literary Festival Wednesday. A book signing will follow Niffenegger's speech, and copies of "The Time Traveler's Wife" will be available for purchase at the event.

Your Highness' offers cheap laughs

From the opening frames, "Your Highness" presents a crude, humor-ridden mix between "Lord of the Rings" and "Harold and Kumar go to White Castle." With the talent of Oscar nominee James Franco and winner Natalie Portman, it wouldn't be much of a stretch to ask for a decent movie, but the little redeeming value doomed "Your Highness" to the likes of "American Pie 6: Beta House.

Culture Tantrum

As many of you are well aware, my weekly tantrums tend to focus on quips about the music industry and qualms about television. Few may know, however, that my first geek title — before music geek or TV geek — is that of Lord of the Rings geek. Which if you are a Colbert Report fan who caught the James Franco episode last week, you will understand why my roommate walked in on me yelling, "Nenya! Nenya! Galadriel's Ring of Power is Nenya, you idiot!" at my laptop in the middle of Colbert's rapid-fire questions to challenge Franco's Tolkien trivia superiority (Btw, Colbert pwned Franco. Fëanor and the Silmarils can get pretty tricky, if you know what I mean). So when I got the chance to interview Ethan Gilsdorf, who has quite possibly written the definitive book on fantasy geek culture, I was about as pleased as Pippen at elevenses.

Chris Brown grows up with 'F.A.M.E'

Favorite Tracks: "Yeah 3x" "Look at Me Now" "Next 2 You"

The Cant Resurrection': interesting and refreshing

For those looking for a unique new album this year, look no further.

Movie rewind: John Hughes classics

John Hughes's movies do the impossible — they make audiences feel nostalgic for high school, an extremely difficult task. With "The Breakfast Club," "Pretty in Pink" and "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," DeBartolo Performing Arts Center's midnight movie series will bring the best of the 80's back to Notre Dame.

O.A.R. owns the stage

Of A Revolution (O.A.R.) gave Notre Dame students exactly what they were looking for Friday night: an excuse to be carefree, happy, maybe a little tipsy and completely at ease while they listened to music that brought them back to a time before finals and parietals.

Scene Style Spotter

Name: Andrea Suarez

Chiddy Bang steals the show

The only problem with the Student Union Board (SUB) concert Friday night was that the order of acts was backwards. O.A.R. was good, and they may be the better-known band, but Chiddy Bang didn't just steal the show; they owned it.

O.A.R.

Make sure you're nice to your freshmen dorm mates, because they might just become your lifelong career partners. At least, that's what happened to Jerry DePizzo, saxophonist and backup vocalist for O.A.R. (Of a Revolution), the revolutionary rock band performing at tonight's S.U.B concert.

Your Highness' quests for box office gold

Natalie Portman and James Franco team up with classic funnyman and writer Danny McBride ("Tropic Thunder," "Pineapple Express") for this epic tale of adventure set in the middle ages. Portman, a 2011 Oscar winner, and Franco, a nominee, are sure to be just as incredible in this legendary movie.

Chiddy Bang: Anything but an opening act

One of hip-hop's fast-rising stars, Chiddy Bang, comes to South Bend tonight to join O.A.R. in S.U.B.'s annual spring concert. Though some may be more inclined to see O.A.R., considering they have been around longer, but Chiddy Bang can't be dismissed as simply an opening act.