Jupiter Ascending

The Wachowski...siblings seem to operate within this epic universe where human beings are interchangeable, moving parts. In The Matrix, we're batteries; in Cloud Atlas, we're parts of different people; in Jupiter Ascending, we're embryos for space royalty. We're harvested like crops for them to bathe in our...youth juices to keep their skin tight and their lips pouty. The working class has their DNA recombined to create wolf-men and bee-boys. It's not the cluster fork it sounds like, but it's distinctly odd and perplexing. I have to wonder how they sold the idea: Cinderella...outer space...manimals...youth juice.

SpongeBob Movie

by Jackson Franco

When a new SpongeBob Movie was announced, I hoped it was not going to be like the current episodes. The main plot is almost identical to an earlier episode called "Pressure." Although, in the episode, Sandy challenges SpongeBob and co. to go to the surface and they were actual objects, not 3-D figures. The movie takes a while to start and the superpowers they gain are very brief. (On a side note, they meet this weird dolphin character with an Illuminati medal. I'm serious, look closely.) Overall, this movie has decent humor and was all around okay. 

Whiplash

This movie got me thinking about limits. What are the limits you're willing to go to for something you want? Whether you're a musician, a painter, or an athlete. Could you put yourself through the physical & mental trials depicted at the Shaffer Conservatory of Music--trials better suited for Navy Seal training. Everybody has that something extra they want from their lives, but would you sacrifice a piece of yourself (mind, body, soul) to get it? Like most people, I have yet to be truly tested.