BU Review Collection

By:

Posted: 3/16/10

"ABRAHAM LINCOLN:
VAMPIRE HUNTER"
The "New York Times" best selling author of "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," Seth Grahme-Smith, has published another novel that combines fantasy with 'real-life.' "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," the story follows one of America's most popular presidents, throughout his life - a life full of death, chaos and menacing vampires. The hidden history behind the Civil War is revealed and we learn just how big a role vampires played in American History.

Grahme-Smith delivers a suspended belief of reality-by flawlessly incorporating historical quotes, passages from letters, newspapers and even having creatively restored photographs within the novel.
The intertwining of history and fiction is for the most part successful. Grahme-Smith offers an interesting point of view to war that re-tells some of history's most infamous figures as the monsters they 'really' were.
-b.lawler

"GIRLS WHO LIKE BOYS WHO LIKE BOYS"
Melissa De La Cruz and Tom Dobly's novel, "Girsl who like Boys who like Boys," is a collection of essays that reveal the inner-workings of a unique type of relationship. This assortment of stories explores the dynamics between straight women and gay men-how they function, why they work and most importantly the appeal to this form of friendship.

"Girls who like Boys who like Boys," has a variety of contributing authors, everyone from serious journalists to famous Hollywood figures. By having this mixture of writers, gives each story a different flair and multiple perspectives. "Girls who like Boys who like Boys," is a fun read that is soaked with wit and humor.
-s.rapp

"ALICE IN WONDERLAND"
With all of the hype that Tim Burton and the story of Alice down the rabbit hole created, this film fell a little flat. The special effects and a handful of the characters was the saving grace for this film.
Johnny Depp was stellar as the Mad Hatter and Helena Bonham Carter was fun as the Queen of Hearts, but the entirity of the film left me wanting more.
The 3-D IMAX was very but I think that this film would work just as well in a regular theater. But the Cheshire Cat effects is the biggest reason to see it in 3-D.
-eskarr

"THE OFFICE"
The hilarious spin-off of the acclaimed British show "The Office," is in the middle of their sixth season. With an amazing cast including Steve Carell, John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer, they poke fun at the 'typical' work environment.
The most recent episode follows Jim on his first day back from paternity leave. Jim's work nemesis Dwight takes over his desk, creating 'Mega-Desk' and Jim counteracts this with a prank of his own.

This 'mockumentary' on a group of everyday office workers-where the workday consists of personality clashes, inappropriate behavior and boredom-continues to be entertaining without being repetitive.
I now understand why this show is an award winning comedy and why it has a large fan following.
-b.lawler

"SHE'S OUT OF MY LEAGUE"
I am not going to lie, I had every doubt about this movie when I first saw the trailer for it. Come on, geeky guy meets a woman out of a herbal essence commerical, I wonder how this one is going to end.

Honestly, this movie surprised me and turned out to be a very cute comedy. It has the occastional bar joke, but it was a very enjoyable film.

The cast are practially character actors in their first starring role and it was very exciting to see Forman's mom from "That 70's Show," Debra Jo Rupp, playing the mother of the main character.
-e.skarr

SPOON"
The indie- rock group Spoon's newest album "Transference," is different from the band's preceding six releases. "Transference," isn't the type of release fans of the band would expect. But then again in the past, Spoon has never been preoccupied with the current trends hitting the airwaves. "Written in Reverse," takes advantage of different rhythms and resembles the band's previous style. The beat is consistent and the band has strong vocal harmony.

In many ways, this is Spoon's most basic album yet. It's narrow and at times seems limited within the set cords being played. Most of the songs sound raw and un-edited, but these songs sound like the original samples and could have been cleaned up a bit.
-b.lawler

"DUBFX"
Dubfx, the international electro-gypsy, released his first studio album, "Everythinks a Ripple" last January. While, the recordings retain the trippy feel of his live performances, the tracks are all too clean for the gritty artist.

The beats are overly synthesized and the processed vocals sound hollow compared to the soul of his sophomore live album, "Live In The Street." However, because the album was recorded in studio the album has a cohesive feel that was lost in the Dub's earlier work. All in all Dub has created an album that is perfect for chilling, but he has not broken any new ground with this album.
-b.harley