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Television Review: The Scoop on 'In the Loop'

By Christian Becraft / Staff Writer | October 1

Director Armando Iannucci described "In the Loop", a spinoff of his BBC series "The Thick of It", as an "anti-West Wing" in that it presents political bustle without the glamour of idealism.I, however, think it shares a closer analogue with another television series, The Office.It's hard not to think of Ricky Gervais' landmark series as hand-held cameras zip through the offices of staffers and low-ranking members of both the British and American governments.The film's protagonist, Minister of International Development Simon Foster (Tom Hollander), suffers from the same foot-in-mouth disease that perennially hampered David Brent.Of course, when Brent fouled up, he didn't aid the start of the Iraq War.Foster set off a media storm when he said in an interview that the possibility of an upcoming war in Iraq is "unforeseeable."He immediately reports to Director of Communications Malcolm Turner (Peter Capaldi), a blisteringly profane Scot who informs Foster of his error.So Foster should have said war was foreseeable, then?Well, no.

Let's All Blame Canada, eh?

By Andrew Sims / ONLINE EDITOR | October 1

OK look, I know America is No. 1, awesome and the best in the world, but recently America's copycats and people who want to be us have gotten to be a little ridiculous.I'm calling you out Canada.Normally I realize Canada is a remarkably sound thinking place, our much calmer neighbor to the north.Like an older brother, we will say, who watches over his slightly younger brother America and all his crazy adventures, and then completely ignores his step-brother Mexico further south because nobody likes to talk about the things Mexico does.Canada is like that nerdy, dweeb of a friend who stands behind you when you are about to throw that rock at the hornet's nest saying, "Now come on America, I don't think that is such a good idea.

Ball State Game, Warm Up for UT

By Patrick Dever / Assistant Sports Editor | October 1

Once again, Auburn took a 10-minute break during the game.Luckily, it was the first 10 minutes this week.Auburn was fortunate Ball State didn't take more advantage of the weekly break.With the exception of that hiccup, Auburn played a fundamentally sound football game.Junior wide receiver Terrell Zachary continued to impress and improve with five receptions for 122 yards and two touchdowns.Zachary's break away speed and ability to elude defenders make him an important commodity on the offense.His best ability might be his ability to create YAC, or yards after catch.His two touchdown receptions against Ball State measured 46 and 65 yards, respectively, and neither of them were caught in the endzone.The offensive line continued its domination of opposing defenses by not allowing a sack for the third time this season.Two sacks in four games is a feat of which NFL teams dream.Senior offensive tackle Andrew McCain said the offensive line has worked hard to get to where they are right now."Giving up only two sacks in four games is good, but it's also two sacks too many," McCain said.Senior quarterback Chris Todd entered the record books Saturday, becoming the first quarterback in Auburn history to throw for four or more touchdowns in consecutive games.Todd also tied the Auburn single game record for touchdown passes with five.Auburn's defense had a good showing, holding Ball State to 260 yards of total offense.Tackling was better Saturday than it had been the past few weeks, but the Tigers' turnover margin wasn't where it was from the first three games.An area of defense that still needs improvement is stopping opponents on third downs.Currently Auburn ranks last in the SEC in opponent third down conversions.

Halo ODST is Simply 'Oh so Delightful'

By Andrew Sims / ONLINE EDITOR | October 1

Now, I can come at this review in two different ways.I can start by telling you what was wrong with this game, and then I can tell you what's good about it.Or, I can just ease you into my description.

Reel Review: "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell"

By Ben Bartley / COPY EDITOR | October 1

To start off on the fair and balanced foot, I will admit I was a Tucker Max fan going into the movie.Yeah, I liked the book.

To Fail is to Truly Live

By Ben Bartley / COPY EDITOR | September 24

Failure is an ugly word. To fail is to be a loser--something unclean and decidedly uncool.Most of us do everything in our power to avoid failure, because failure is synonymous with worthless.

Sloppy Field, Sloppy Tackles, Fun Game

By Patrick Dever / Assistant Sports Editor | September 24

Saturday was probably the most exciting game at Jordan-Hare Stadium since the 2007 Iron Bowl victory.That said, Auburn's tackling was as sloppy as Pat Dye Field looked during the 50-minute quagmire.West Virginia's Jarrett Brown and Noel Devine almost never got tackled on the first hit.This was made evident by WVU's 509 yards of total offense (207 rushing, 302 passing).Devine's three rushing touchdowns were also due to poor tackling.His 71-yard touchdown run was achieved after breaking three tackles.

Reel Review: 'Gamer could not have been lamer'

By Andrew Sims / ONLINE EDITOR | September 24

Some of you may be asking "What is Gamer?" Is that a movie? No, it's an attempt at a movie and they just so happened to put the amazing Gerard Butler in it.I swear there were at least four times where I was literally laughing out loud in the theater.

New Jay Leno show does not fulfill revolution hype

By Jacob Cole / STAFF WRITER | September 24

Horror Has a Chin: My Week with the Jay Leno Show.After a summer of promotion so staggeringly ubiquitous that even its host introduced it as "overhyped," "The Jay Leno Show" debuted last week.Did it live up to the network hype promising some sort of revolution by bringing comedy to the drama-heavy 10 p.m.

Humanity Gives Darwin, Theory of Evolution the Finger

By Kate Davis / GRAPHICS EDITOR | September 24

The human race has stopped evolving. Charles Darwin defined evolution in terms of natural selection, survival of the fittest.

Reel Review: Jennifer's Body is the only good thing in the movie

By Brittany Cosby / Campus Editor | September 24

For the boys who dream of taking Megan Fox to dinner, be careful what you wish for.In this scenario, you will wind up being the main course in Fox's meal plan."Megan's Body," or excuse me, "Jennifer's Body" is a horror movie about demonic possession in a high school girl, Megan Fox, with a couple of one-liners thrown in there from dialogue provided by the acclaimed Juno writer, Diablo Cody.This movie starts out with promise in flashback mode in the mental institution with a powerful kick to the face.It comes to an abrupt halt with a fire scene in a bar where Jennifer and Needy, Amanda Seyfried (the dumbest plastic from Mean Girls), go to watch a band play and the least expected happens.Somehow Jennifer ends up in a child-molester van in the middle of the woods with an up-and-coming band that offers her up to the devil for success while ironically singing Tommy Tutone's "867-5309."(On a side note, this may explain how bands like Nickleback and Hinder are famous.) But something goes wrong and she comes back a flesh-eating monster that preys on boys.I will say that the scene in the kitchen with Megan Fox smiling with blood covering her teeth was frightening enough, but when she goes exorcist and throws up black goo right after that the audience is laughing, and not from the jokes.So a few more lame murder scenes happen and more boys get eaten before it is explained why this is going on.Then out of nowhere starts a random up-close girl-kissing scene that drags on and on in which the males in the audience cheered to make up for the Fox topless scene being removed.Oh, and an awkward sex scene between Seyfried and the guy from Hotel for Dogs that keeps flashing during a killing scene to bring down the fear factor.I will say that Adam Brody did give a great performance as the quirky lead singer of "Low Shoulder" or the indie band that profits off these strange occurrences.But, he is not featured in the film enough to keep it from sucking less.

Don't Shell Out $9 to See 9

By Andrew Sims / ONLINE EDITOR | September 17

9, the movie, is unfortunately $9 I will never get back. Don't get me wrong, the previews were fantastic.

Whiteout Points Out the Obvious

By Martin Morrow / OPINIONS STAFF | September 17

The summer is winding down and with that comes a wide assortment of movies from the heavily advertised to the films you probably had no clue existed, and I find it only right to indicate a few of the hits and misses of the past few weeks.I'd like to give a special thanks to the Trussville Regal Cinemas 16 in Trussville, Ala., for allowing me to watch these movies for free.Remember how I mentioned movies that most people probably didn't know were coming out?Well sometimes that happens with good reason and such is the case of Whiteout.For starters, the title almost feels like we're in store for a movie about a snow storm that cancels school so instantly you're thinking feel-good Disney flick, but we're met with a terrible murder thriller set in Antarctica, of all places.At the beginning of the movie we're open with a title card that dares insult the intelligence of the viewer by displaying an image of Antarctica and telling us under it that the place is very cold because apparently seeing the snow didn't do enough justice.Another issue with this film is the way it tries to sell the obvious by having a character point out something and then show what the character pointed out in a crazy, long-drawn out fashion that just gives it a lame feeling.If a character mentions blood being in the snow, they really want to drive the point home that there is blood in the snow by showing you the blood in the snow, and it ends up being more cheesy than thrilling.You might jump a few times, but the biggest jump will be from your seat to the parking lot after sitting through this.

Tigers Play 3 Quarters, Enough for W

By Patrick Dever / Assistant Sports Editor | September 17

Auburn's victory over Mississippi State answers some of the questions from the Louisiana Tech game, but also opens up new questions.The running game is amazing.Two straight weeks with two backs rushing for more than 100 yards each is incredible.

Kayne West Stirs Emotions When He Steals Winners Spotlight at the 2009 VMAs

By Martin Morrow / OPINIONS STAFF | September 17

Being black and living in Alabama the majority of my life, I've seen and heard the worst of racism throughout my years.I've been harassed by the police; I've been unable to date girls of races outside of my own; and yes, I've even been called the sinister "n-word."But it wasn't until I watched the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards that I came to realize why racism still exists in society today.The brilliantly talented singer/songwriter Taylor Swift won the award for Best Female Video besting the likes of the popularly insane Lady Gaga and the insanely popular Beyonce.The crowd applauded such a victory because Swift was truly the underdog and out of the blue came none other than the nefarious Kanye West.We all understand he is a great rapper and producer in addition to one of the biggest egos the world over. So for Kanye to jump on stage, steal the microphone from Swift, and proceed to bark about how Beyonce's video was one of the best videos of all time just seemed a little over the top, even for Kanye.For most, there is a breaking point and trust me, I have tried to allow Kanye to save face for me despite that it almost cracked when Kanye started a trend of wearing sunglasses that: 1) Don't protect against the sun. 2) You can't see out of.I still allowed Kanye a pass, but not after this stunt.So now the question is asked as to how West provided an OK for such a horrible thing as racism.Now, while I don't condone racism, I find it to be understandable once you see things like Kanye West jumping on stage to tell Taylor Swift she isn't worthy of an award.Something about the ignorance of West makes you angry.It makes you so angry the only thing you can possibly blurt out is how much you hate him and anyone like him.At this point, you can't tell who or what you should be angry toward following Beyonce allowing Swift to do her acceptance speech when Beyonce won Video of the Year.

Judge News, Not Opinions

By Natalie Wade / MANAGING EDITOR | September 17

A recent study released by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press indicates 63 percent of Americans believe news stories are inaccurate.This percentage in 1985 was 29 percent lower.The same study showed the number of people who believe articles often favor one side of an issue is up 8 percent.Obviously something has changed.The Associated Press article published by the Mobile Press-Register explored the idea of a suffering business, striving for readership and struggling to keep up with new media.In a way, that viewpoint is favorable.

Credit Needed for the Overachievers

By Lindsey Davidson / Editor | September 17

Graduation is closer than I would like to accept.In this period of denial, the 'hopeless' job search has begun with the never-ending tweaking of resumes and cover letters.I've been reflecting on the classes that I've taken to prepare me for the scary real world.As a journalist, are those 30 extra elective hours required really going to help me land that first job?I would complain about how much I hate history 1010, and that's why I've waited till now to take it, but those classes are needed to make us well-rounded.Or something like that.Class skipper, I am, I will admit, but my devotion is to another aspect I know will be beneficial to my career.The best advantage this university has given me academically is working an internship into my curriculum.But I also feel I wouldn't have succeeded without the experience I had with this 'extra-curricular' activity.Gogue has a vision of wanting all students to study abroad or receive a touch of cultural influence before their diploma is handed over.I couldn't agree more.It's the external experiences in college that make students excel.The wasted hours could go toward the activities that a large quantity of students devote their entire four years to instead of classes that will only exist on a transcript.More classes should intertwine with the student projects and credit given to the workers.The science labs have students who don't see the outside world just to have the chance to get into their professional schools.The engineering school gives large grants to student projects for young minds to tinker.A redesign and distribution of credit would be most beneficial for us and employers.It drives students to work more for the application and not the theory.It's just giving a little credit to the students that go above and beyond.Not everything can be taught in a classroom.

Parents Let Go, Kids Think for Yourselves

By Lindsey Davidson / Editor | September 10

The president's speech gave quite an uproar before it was actually given to the munchkins this week.I'm sure you read the countless extremists' comments warning and protesting the president of the United States addressing the younger population he was elected to lead.