The James Logan Courier

By Jericho Faustino, Courier Staff Writer

Avatar, starring Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, and Zoe Saldana, takes movie goers into a classic James Cameron adventure. The graphics are unbelievable, and the 3-D experience just adds to the visual beauty of the movie – yet, the plot is another story.

The plot is pretty flat, and predictable. A paraplegic man is somehow in the military despite being in a wheel chair, gets sent to an alien planet, gets turned into an alien and goes crazy after having mobility back in his legs, is forced to spy on the native species of aliens, gets lost because of his excitement of having legs. Aliens capture him, and teach him their alien ways of life, while, at the same time, he is still spying for the military. However, he falls in love with another alien, turns against the military.

Blah, blah, blah.

By Olivia Guitron, Courier Staff Writer

The storyline of this book is truly amazing. By the same author as The Notebook, it’s bound to be a really good book. Dear John is truly a classic of this time. It is a book about long distance relationships and finding out that love can come quickly and be as passionate as a relationship that takes years to build.

John, the main character, is a wild child, and is completely reckless as a teenager. His father, who is usually calm and never lays a hand on John, accepts his son’s rebellious nature. Before leaving for the army, John yells at his father, for no particular reason. His years in the army calm him and make him think about all his wrongs and how unfair he has been with his father, and how he practically threw away his life by spending time and money on alcohol, bad friends, and one-night stands with girls.

By Olivia Guitron, Courier Staff Writer

Comfort & Joy is a story that will blow you away. This novel proves that magic can still happen even if you believe you’re too old for it. It’s a story of a woman named Joy who is having a rough time with her life. She’s a high school librarian and enjoys her job. However, she recently found out that her husband was cheating on her with her own sister. Joy can’t wait for Christmas vacation, when she feels like she can have some time to unwind, just not with her family.

She buys a ticket spontaneously because she feels like she needs a break, but has nowhere in particular to go to. Things turn out for the worse, however, when her plane crashes and she suffers a near-fatal accident. She has a vision of her dead mother, and wakes up, only to walk away from her own accident scene. She walks for hours on a deserted road with only trees to guide her. She finally comes upon a lovely hotel called the “Comfort Lodge”. She lives with a widower and his young son for some time, and realizes what it’s like to have a loving family to take care of and be in the company of as well.

By Billy O'Keefe
McClatchy-Tribune (MCT)


If "Avatar" movie experience is as extraordinary as early critical returns seem to imply it is, then, "James Cameron's Avatar: The Game" doesn't do it a great deal of justice. Rather, it's one of those highly imperfect games that, if engaged with dampened expectations and viewed presentationally as nothing beyond a respectable companion to the film, still can amount to a good time.

By Julie Mendoza, Courier Staff Writer

Hard Candy is brilliantly directed by David Slade and starring Ellen Page (most popular for her film Juno). The film is about a middle-aged photographer meeting 14-year old Hayley Stark on the internet. The two agree to meet in person and things take an unexpected twist. By the time Hayley decides to go back with the cyber stranger to his place, you’re not sure who the antagonist is. Little Hayley turns the situation around and decides to take the potential pedophile hostage. The question is, why?

The story becomes intense as Hayley tortures her cyber stranger as an attempt to expose his sick and repulsive habits. You begin to ask yourself who the villain is in the situation: The underage rebellious teen out for revenge or the possible sexual deviant. Hayley Stark provides evidence that you shouldn’t underestimate the small or innocent. It didn’t take long for Jeff Kohlver’s judgment to backfire. You never expect the ghost of your mistakes to haunt you until they show up at your front door.

By Julie Mendoza, Courier Staff Writer

Young, reckless, and uncertain — we don’t have anything figured out. We hope that with age that will change. When we’re forced into the “real world” unprepared, we expect valuable knowledge to suddenly appear, and guide us in the right directions. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.

Away We Go is a movie based on the story of an unconventional couple who recently discover they’re having a baby, but fear being incompetent parents. The purpose of the film is for them to decide where to raise their baby. “Where can we go where our baby girl can experience nature? Because being materialistic is too cliché for our daughter.”

By Krystyna Wolny, Courier Staff Writer


Winter break is a vacation long awaited. However, many teenagers find themselves with a common problem - boredom. The first few days are filled with sleeping in and playing video games, but it gets old quickly. There are a variety of ways to stay entertained over break, and many students agree on one thing; hanging out with friends.

By Shamal Asnani, Courier Film Critic

Dec. 4 marked the release date of Armored, a crime thriller with a plot focused on a robbery executed by the only people who could be trusted.

The main character is an employee named Hackett (Columbus Short), who is struggling heavily in his finances, and is risking the possibility of losing custody of his younger brother. He works for an armored car company that is responsible for delivering large sums of money safely.

By Olivia Guitron, Courier Staff Writer

My Sister’s Keeper is a sad and tragic story of a girl who was created just to be a provider for her sister. This novel pursues various characters’ points of view and follows the story with their contribution. Anna has been artificially created to be a perfect genetic match for her sick older sister, Kate, who has leukemia. Anna, fed up with having to use her body without directly being asked, has a breaking point when she is asked to give up her kidney for her sister. She hires a lawyer for medical emancipation: being free from having to give up her body parts without her consent.

This is a heartbreaking account of a girl who has to supply her sister’s needs, no matter how extreme these needs may be. Cord blood, white blood cells, bone marrow, or ultimately a kidney are just a few reasons why she was created in the first place.

By Justin Hoeger
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)


A nation-building game in which the action is confined to islands, "Tropico 3" installs the player as dictator of a fictional Caribbean country.

The game is not unlike this year's "Dawn of Discovery" for the Wii, though it is more involved and more informative.

Players can choose from several prefabricated leaders, such as Fidel Castro, Che Guevara or Augusto Pinochet, or create their own from scratch.

By Julie Mendoza, Courier Staff Writer

Looking for a holiday activity for you and the family? Attempt to make memories this year with your loved ones. Christmas is an annual event and a special occasion that should be taken advantage of. Break the tradition and start something new. Looking for a productive event to enjoy during the holidays? Here are some ideas.

—Buy tickets to concerts being held in the Oracle Arena! Live 105’s Not So Silent Night takes place 12/11, Metallica performs 12/20, and Lil Wayne 12/23.

By Beatrice Esteban, Courier Staff Writer

While doing our annual Christmas shopping at the Great Mall of Milpitas, my family and I were hungry and eager to grab a bite to eat. To our great relief we walked by the sign of Fuji San Sushi, connected to the Great Mall.

Upon stepping into the restaurant, we were quite surprised to find that it looked essentially deserted: there was nobody sitting at the tables eating and chatting, nor were there even any waiters on the phone taking orders. After a momentary wait, the sushi chef came out and kindly had us take a seat. A waiter then promptly came out to both give us menus and take our drink orders. When our drinks came, my mother was upset because her drink glass was dirty – a reasonable protest from a paying customer. However, the waiter was kind and immediately replaced it with a cleaner glass.

By Beatrice Esteban, Courier Staff Writer

This weekend, I went to the Half Moon Bay area for the first time with my boyfriend for his birthday. After a nice time walking along the beach we were hungry, and since he goes to Half Moon Bay often he suggested we go to a place that he swore made delicious Mexican food, including the best tamales: El Gran Amigo.

By Shamal Asnani, Courier Film Critic

One of the bloodiest movies to date, Ninja Assassin, was released in theatres on Nov. 25. The film on a young man named Raizo, who was raised by the Ozunu Clan, a special group of ninja assassins.

The Ozunu Clan is led by Lord Ozunu, the man responsible for taking young children under his wing in order to provide them with the training required to become deadly assassins. Lord Ozunu viewed Raizo as very strong candidate of being his successor; therefore Raizo would constantly receive harsher punishment than the rest of his peers in order to ensure that he becomes one of his elites.

By Micah Mahinay, Courier Staff Writer

Also known as America’s hottest party, Blow Up held it down on last month for the lovely Ava Berlin’s (club owner/photographer of Blow Up) birthday party weekend. It’s located on 155 Fell St., at the Rickshaw Stop.

The cover charge at the club is $15 for 18+ and $10 for 21+, on Fridays except the first Fridays of the month. The weekly party features the resident house dj’s from the city, like Richie Panic and the co-owner of Blow Up SF, Jeffrey Paradise.

By Micah Mahinay, Courier Staff Writer

The Westin St. Francis Grand Ball Room filled with underage teens Dec. 4, dancing and screaming as the headliner The Toxic Avenger (Paris, France), co-headliner Designer Drugs (New York) and openers The Tenderlions (San Francisco) blazed the stage that night.

The show, OH SNAP! Super Force, an all age event, was presented by Time Stop in at the swanky downtown San Francisco hotel on Powell Street.

By Olivia Guitron, Courier Staff Writer

“When he woke in the woods in the dark and the cold of the night he’d reach out to touch the child sleeping beside him. Nights dark beyond the darkness and the days more gray each one than had had gone before […] Barren, silent, godless. He thought the month was October but he wasn’t sure. He hadn’t kept a calendar for years. They were moving south. There’d be no surviving another winter here”- The Road

The Road is truly a masterpiece. It is the story of a father and son trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. They must go further south, to the coast in search of the “good guys” as they call them, and on their way they meet many misfortunes and casualties that can only happen when food is scarce and everyone is paranoid.

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Posted by courier at 08:15 AM. Filed under: Entertainment

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By Olivia Guitron,
Courier Staff Writer

Marked is very much like the Twilight Saga, for all of those fans of vampires and bloodlust. This is a story of a girl named Zoey Redbird, who is physically Marked by a Vampyre on the forehead with the typical Vampyre mark of a crescent moon. Once marked, a person would have to move into the House of Night campus or suffer a horrible death. Becoming a Vampyre isn’t like Twilight because being marked has the same allure as being infected with the bubonic plague.

By Krislyn Perez, Courier Staff Writer

Baby Help is Marilyn Reynolds' sixth installment in the True-To-Life Series set in the fictional Hamilton High. The novel is about a teen mom named Melissa, a senior, and her baby girl, Cheyenne. Melissa loves her boyfriend and father to her baby, Rudy. She states that he is the most important thing to her, after Cheyenne, of course. So when Melissa starts learning about physical and mental abuse, she doesn't want to believe that these are the things that Rudy has done to her. Her thoughts are that Rudy doesn't hurt her all the time, only when he has been drinking. And he’s never hurt Cheyenne, so everything is okay.

Rudy is a very jealous guy; Melissa isn’t even able to have friends that are guys. She can kind of have friends that are girls, but Rudy is still made jealous by it. Melissa and Cheyenne live with Rudy and his mother, Irma. Irma is the type of wife that submits to everything the husband says and never stands up for himself. So naturally, this is how Irma expects Melissa to be as well.

By Billy O'Keefe
McClatchy-Tribune (MCT)

Without being behind the scenes, it's impossible to discern whether "Tony Hawk Ride" is a case of hardware failing software or software not properly utilizing hardware.

At least on appearance, it isn't due to shoddy hardware workmanship. To the contrary, the board controller that ships with "Ride" — picture a wireless skateboard deck sans wheels — feels durable enough to easily outlast the mountain of iffy plastic musical instruments that paved its way. It looks good, too — like a sophisticated piece of electronics instead of just another one-trick toy.

By Zola Boyd, Courier Staff Writer

Last weekend I had the chance to try a small Japanese bistro in Alameda. It was call Yellow Tail and it was delicious.

As I vegan I always try to choose restaurants with plenty of vegan and vegetarian options. At Yellow tail the miso soup we started off with was vegan and delicious. For dinner I ordered the tofu with lemongrass and shitake mushrooms, which was quite tasty. Every time I eat Japanese food the tofu is always too salty but here it was just right. Unfortunately I wasn't able to try the sushi but my companion had the unagi and said it was lovely.

By Shamal Asnani, Courier Film Critic

Richard Kelly’s latest movie, The Box, is a science fiction film which explores the lengths people are willing to go to in order to possibly live a happy life. The film stars Cameron Diaz and James Marsden as a middle class couple living in Richmond Virginia during the 1970’s.

In the beginning scenes of the movie, Norma (Cameron Diaz) receives a package on her doorstep. When she and her husband Arthur open the package, they find that it contains a glass covered button, along with a note stating that a person by the name Mr. Steward will be arriving at their house.

By Ranjana Prasad, Courier Staff Writer

The Blind Side with Sandra Bullock is a very touching and eye opening movie.

The movie is about Michael Ore, a football player on the Baltimore Ravens. He is taken away from his mother at a young age and never really has a home until a white family takes him in. This family doesn’t know much about him, but they still take him into their house and make him part of the family.

His life with the Touhys helps him become someone in life. They help him overcome the challenges he faces. He plays football for the high school in which he is enrolled and he is such a great player that many universities offer him football scholarships.

By Krystyna Wolny, Courier Staff Writer

Justin Bieber is a baby-faced yet spirited 15-year-old with a big voice that has captured the attention of many, young and old. He was discovered by his current manager via YouTube, which has had over 40 million views, and is now signed to Island Records. This Canadian native is a self-taught musician, and he has worked with Usher. His new single “One Time” is a catchy song about what he describes as “puppy love”.

Drop by room 509 for a free Justin Bieber sticker and poster, while supplies last.

By Gabriele Di Fiore, Courier Staff Writer

City of Glass is one of those books that will both confuse and severely interest you. It catches your attention from the very first sentence and keeps it there even after you have finished it.

The book is set in the 1980’s, New York. It follows the story of a man named Daniel Quinn, a simple person who loves to spend his time walking around the streets of New York and makes his living by writing mystery novels. He gets a weird late-night phone call from someone asking for a “Paul Auster.”

Quinn pretends to be this “Paul Auster” and meets the strange caller whose name is Peter Stillman. Stillman tells Daniel of his past history where his father trapped him in a room for nine years of his early life to learn God’s “language”. He asks Quinn, or Auster, to investigate and track the movements if his father who he believes is trying to murder him.

By Brandie Moore, Courier Books Editor

I kneel beside him, hands on my knees, toes buried in sand, wishing he'd look at me, wishing he'd speak. Even if it's only to tell me what I already know - that I made a grave and stupid mistake - one that will possibly never be erased. I'd gladly accept it - heck, I deserve it. What I can't stand is his absolute silence and faraway gaze. And I'm just about to say something, anything, to break this unbearable stillness, when he looks at me with eyes so weary they're the perfect embodiment of his six hundred years. ‘Roman.

Here it is everyone, book three to the Immortal series!

If you read the first two books make sure to get this one. You'll love it and all the information it holds. If you haven't then I suggest you pick up the first one and read it. If you like Twilight, Vampire Academy, or the Wicked series then you'll like this one too.

By Justin Hoeger
McClatchy Newspapers (MCT)

RATCHET & CLANK FUTURE: A CRACK IN TIME
4 stars
The latest in the always dependable "Ratchet & Clank" series sees the heroic duo still separated after the events of "Tools of Destruction." The action is just as fun as ever, and the game looks absolutely gorgeous.

Ratchet scours the galaxy searching for the abducted Clank, collecting new items such as hover boots, and battling robots, monsters and minions with various weapons (several of which can now be customized).