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Your Highness' offers cheap laughs

By The Observer · Monday, April 11, 2011

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.

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Culture Tantrum

By The Observer · Monday, April 11, 2011

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.

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Movie rewind: John Hughes classics

By The Observer · Monday, April 11, 2011

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.

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O.A.R. owns the stage

By The Observer · Sunday, April 10, 2011

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.

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Chiddy Bang steals the show

By The Observer · Sunday, April 10, 2011

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.

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O.A.R.

By The Observer · Thursday, April 7, 2011

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.

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Your Highness' quests for box office gold

By The Observer · Thursday, April 7, 2011

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.

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Chiddy Bang: Anything but an opening act

By The Observer · Thursday, April 7, 2011

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.

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CJ Fam: No 'Ordinary Pop Star'

By The Observer · Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Ark Music Factory.  The first thing to pop into most people's heads after that sentence probably ranges from "Rebecca Black" to "auto-tune" to "exploitation." Some people may have even experienced nausea.  Basically, unless you are Ryan Seacrest, you most likely have a fairly negative view of the new music production company.

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Culture Tantrum

By The Observer · Wednesday, April 6, 2011

It has come to my attention through a number of encounters and conversations that there is a negative sentiment growing like a weed in the hearts and minds of collegiate uprights everywhere. At first it seems absurd. But I have heard through the grapevine something that goes far beyond anything I could ever imagine to conceive during my tenure in college. It is just this: Facebook is bad.

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Waiting for Superman' at DPAC

By The Observer · Wednesday, April 6, 2011

"Waiting for Superman," which plays at the Debartolo Performing Arts Center this weekend — though certainly not a lighthearted, fun movie — is the must-see documentary of the year. Davis Guggenheim's highly politicized film analyzes the flaws in the American public school system and received the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. Guggenheim is also the director of "An Inconvenient Truth," the 2006 informative documentary about global warming, and several TV shows, including "Alias," "24" and "Deadwood."

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Muffet McGraw: Scoring Fashion Points

By The Observer · Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Fashion is never fluff. It's a weapon of communication. An accessory or a complete ensemble can project strength to your opponent, encouragement to your team and unstoppable confidence to all those TV cameras. If you have any doubt, just tune into a Notre Dame women's basketball game, and take a look at Muffet McGraw on the sidelines for proof. Like the armor of an Amazonian woman prepared to do battle, Muffet's outfits fly in the face of expectation and disarm you with their fierceness.

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Styx: a concise history

By The Observer · Monday, April 4, 2011

The Chicago band Styx grew to fame in the late 1970s, melding progressive rock with hard rock guitar and strong ballads. Originally, twin brothers Chuck and John Panozzo joined up with neighbor Dennis DeYoung in 1961 to form "The Tradewinds."  Chuck left the band briefly to attend seminary school, but returned to the band on the bass guitar in 1964.  During his absence, Tom Nardin stepped in to fill Chuck's void on guitar, but left in 1969 and was replaced by John Curulewski. James "J.Y." Young joined in 1970.

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Ever heard of a band called Styx?

By The Observer · Monday, April 4, 2011

When you think of Styx, you are most likely going to imagine one of those classic bands that you know you like, even if you can't remember what exactly you like them for. With songs like "Come Sail Away," "Mr. Roboto," "Renegade" and "Lady," all of which are perennial radio standards, Styx is a band that has been burned into your psyche since birth — or at least since you began listening to the radio. They're a staple of the large and encompassing beast that makes up the ocean of Rock Before Our Time, landing on lists where even the least pedantic of rock enthusiasts can find something to hold on to. If you're a classic rock guru, you know them well. If you've ever forayed into progressive rock, they're essential. If you couldn't be bothered, you'll probably like them anyway. Consider yourself dared.

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Fashion by Felicia

By The Observer · Sunday, April 3, 2011

There are some things in life I consider inalienable rights. While the Declaration of Independence of our dear, beloved country may consider these to be among the greater themes — life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — I consider smaller issues to be just as, if not more, inalienable. These include but are not limited to: shopping, traveling around the globe, visiting museums, attending good entertainment, lounging in bookstores for hours on end and my own "Italian moments."

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