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Movie Poster Reviews

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EIC
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Written by George Hillman. 

Here’s a look at some of the movie posters that are currently out on walls and poles near you. Check out these reviews to find out which ones you should stop and look at and which ones you should block out from your peripherals at all costs.

Hangover Part III

Starring: Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis

Dimensions: 27 by 40 inches

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

The latest instalment in the Hangover movie poster series, The Hangover III poster might not be as good as the original but it’s still a lot of fun and a great way to spend 30 seconds. Personally, I was a huge fan of The Hangover I poster and  it’s was great to see our three favorite hungover-looking guys back in an upright pose. Although this final poster in the series isn’t as laugh-out loud funny as the previous two (all three guys have all their teeth and there’s no baby or even monkey wearing any funny accessories), I still think this one has all the humour and heart we’ve come to expect from these posters. I don’t want to give away too much for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet but they are going to be dressed a lot differently than we’ve seen before. So, if you’re a fan of photos of three guys with a big title placed below them you should definitely check out The Hangover III poster!

The Great Gatsby

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Tobey Maguire

Dimensions: 40 by 60 inches (Bus Stop Version)  

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

While I may have been sceptical when I first heard they were turning my favorite book cover into a movie poster, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by The Great Gatsby. It’s a little more complicated looking than the book, which I wasn’t exactly a fan of, but at least the guy in the tuxedo is more handsome than just a disembodied pair of lips and eyes. Overall, I thought this movie poster captured the spirit of the book cover nicely even if its second half (the right side) might drag a little.

Citizen Kane

Starring: Orson Welles, Dorothy Comingore, Everett Sloane

Dimensions: 27 by 40 inches 

Rating: 1 out of 5 stars    

Released in 1941, the Citizen Kane poster is still one of the most acclaimed and top selling movie posters in the world but in my opinion it just doesn’t hold up to today’s glossy, non-illustrated posters. The poster not only looks extremely dated but it has little intrigue or suspense to it all. There’s practically no plot (SPOILER), just three people looking in different directions. All in all Citizen Kane is just another overrated top-selling movie poster that has no substance or style.

 

George Hillman is a top movie poster critic who has reviewed over 10,000 titles since 1973. However, he has never seen a movie in his life and has still never made the connection between movie posters and movies.

Notes from this month’s Board of Governors meeting

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EIC
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Here’s what the university’s highest governing body talked about this month

By Alison Roach

 

Food Services

The board talked about recent improvements to dining services, noting that the renovations to Chartwells and its meal plan have been earning great reviews from students. The Dining Hall is now opened for meal plan holders for the first time ever during a summer semester, and expects another 30 per cent increase in meal plan sales this fall.

Board Chair Brian Taylor also spoke about SFU’s dealings for a Starbucks at the Burnaby campus, specifically the push that SFU has been giving the corporate giant to offer more Fair Trade coffee throughout Canada. The university sent a delegation down to Seattle this month to discuss this, and Taylor commented that the university may “be able to bring the big giant to its knees.”

Bookstore

The VP Finance report showed that the newly opened Spirit Shop inside the Burnaby SFU Bookstore has already seen increased sales of 43 per cent compared to sales this same time last year. The Bookstore has also decided to drop the retail price of used textbooks by 15 per cent to encourage students to buy used textbooks. It was also noted that the Harbour Centre bookstore location continues to face difficulties in traffic due to the summer renovations in the mall, and solutions are trying to be found.

Building

The SFU Observatory project is moving forward with a consultant selection in the works, and the location set to be just south of Strand Hall on the Burnaby campus, between the AQ and Cornerstone. SFU Burnaby is also working on a plan to develop an art gallery and intercultural centre, to be funded from private donations. In SFU Surrey, the university, TransLink, and the city are in talks to develop a plan for a new bus exchange to replace the current one, which is located on SFU property.

Academic Programming

The Academic Operations Committee has approved a few program changes, including two creations and one dissolution. The committee approved full program proposals for a graduate certificate in curriculum and instruction in the Faculty of Education and a concurrent Bachelor’s-Master’s program in the School for International Studies. It was also decided to dissolve the joint major and joint honours in computing science and philosophy. These changes will go into effect in the fall semester.

International Engagement

The external relations committee rolled out a new international engagement strategy for 2013-2016 that focuses on deepening SFU’s relationships with current partners and growing in areas where the university has begun to develop those relationships.

The areas the strategy focuses on in particular are China, India, Brazil, Chile, Western Europe, and the United States. The board spoke about the importance of diversifying the university’s own programming to ensure that international students don’t become too heavily concentrated in one faculty or department, as has been seen with Chinese international students in the Faculty of Business.

At the beginning of the academic year, over 65 per cent of all international undergrad students and 25 per cent of grad students were from China, a “concentration [that] limits the intercultural diversity of our student population, and presents challenges and opportunities for developing alumni engagements, language programming, intercultural connections, and student support programming,” according to the report.

Peak Humour Open Letters

By
EIC
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1

An Open Letter to “Cute Bus Guy”

I’m not creepy. Really. Okay, maybe a little creepy, but I swear it’s endearing once you get to know me. I’ve noticed that you know a couple of people that I . . . have met before. That’s basically mutual friends, which makes looking for you on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Bebo, Pinterest and MySpace completely rational. And my attempts at making eye contact with you then awkwardly almost smiling may need some work but hey that’s just friendly bus practice!

Anyways, I noticed you’ve grown out your hair a little bit. It looks good. You look kind of rugged now, it’s a good look for you. I’d like to tell you that in person but first I’d have to learn your name . . . and then figure out a way to make it seem completely normal that I’d known there had been a change . . . and why I know your name.

Maybe I’ll just make something up, like find out your name through some other source (still haven’t checked Tumblr or Nexopia or Google+ yet) and then say hi and pretend we’ve totally already met. Then you’d feel silly for forgetting we’d met and just go along with it.

And then I could add you on Facebook and then you’d learn my name and it would become just a normal thing for us to chat on the bus, you know, about your hair length or whatever. Then we could fall in love and elope to Ecuador… Or not, it’s your call. You just seem like someone who might enjoy the warm climate and friendly people of Ecuador.

I might stick with my current plan and stare at you like a scared rabbit every time you walk onto the bus, that seems to be going pretty well. Sometimes I like to think that you’ve named me ‘cute bus girl’ in your head, and maybe you’ll read this and decide to say hi the next time you see me, because you’ve been wanting to but felt unsure. You probably won’t but, it’s a nice thought. I hear Ecuador’s nice this time of year . . .

Signed,

Your Secret Stalker Admirer

______________________________________________________________________________

An Open Letter to the Person who Opened my Letter

Hey jerk. What the hell were you thinking opening my letter without my permission? I’m a deeply private person and I don’t want anything I write to end up just all out in the open or anything! I can’t imagine what I would do if a letter of mine somehow ended up in a public forum and could be read by anybody who wanted to. . . Uhhh, I don’t even want to think about it. Anyway, hopefully you’ll see this and learn from your mistake.

Signed,

Mary Siegel

______________________________________________________________________________

An Open Letter to People Who Like Short Sentences

You’re welcome.

Signed,

Brevity

______________________________________________________________________________

An Open Letter to Anyone Without a Spam Filter

I have tried reaching you several times. Your late relative, who happens to be a relation of yours going by family name passed away. She has left you an inheritance sum of six figures in London the united kingdom. Please confirm your full name,age and contact info, so i can begin the legal process of redeeming your lawful entitlement before the bank is compelled by law to keep the funds as no nextofkin.

Signed,

Randomly Generated Name

______________________________________________________________________________

An Open Letter to “Creepy Bus Girl”

I’m a cute guy. Really. Like a really cute guy. And I’m not creepy at all. But does being a cute guy mean I have to be stared at every time I just go on the bus?

I’m sure you probably know people who know me, but hey, I’m a popular guy, I have a lot of friends. It’s not like that would make us mutual friends or anything . . . I mean I get so many friend request on Facebook that I’ve had to increase all my security settings (I did the same on Twitter, LinkedIn, Bebo, Pinterest and MySpace too). And that weird eye contact you try to make before awkwardly almost smiling just isn’t proper bus etiquette!

Anyway, I’ve recently grown out my hair a little bit so you wouldn’t recognize me. I thought you might not be attracted to this new “rugged look.” But damn, it’s just such a good look for me. It doesn’t seem to have thrown you off either, and now it just seems like you’re always thinking of saying something to me but then start calculating something in your mind and then stop.

Maybe I’ll just stop riding the bus and get a car. Oh, and for some reason that reminded me I still haven’t updated my security settings on Tumblr or Nexopia or Google+ yet. Hopefully you won’t do something crazy like find out my name from one of those pages and then pretend we’ve already met. I would never go along with something like that.

Maybe I really will get a car . . . then I could finally delete my Facebook account. I mean, the only time I ever use it is on the bus. You know what, maybe I’ll just move to Peru all by myself. I do enjoy its warm climate and friendly people, they’re a lot better than those stuck up Ecuadorians.

Or maybe I’ll just stick with my current plan of pretending you don’t exist and just keeping to myself, I’m doing a pretty good job of that. If you’re reading this I just want to remind you that I’ve nicknamed you “Creepy Bus Girl.” You probably won’t read this but that’s just a mean thought I’ve had. That reminds me, I’m sure Ecuador is miserable at this time of year, god do I hate that place.

Signed,

Forever Anonymous

 

(Credits: “Cute Bus Guy” written by Meghan Lenz, the rest by Brad McLeod.)

University Briefs

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EIC
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By Kristina Charania

Spray-on lens technology may revolutionize optical lens fabrication

UBC engineer Kenneth Chau worked with a team of researchers to create a spray-on substance for flat lenses which may radically change the way we manufacture and use optical equipment.

Currently, the majority of modern lenses in cameras, glasses, and microscopes are curved, obstructing the amount of light that can enter through these devices. The new adhesive will bind to flat glass surfaces and transform them into lenses for use in several capacities like the ultraviolet light imaging of small biological organisms.

“Curved lenses always have a limited aperture,” says Chau. “With a flat lens, suddenly you can make lenses with an arbitrary aperture size — perhaps as big as a football field.”

With files from The University of British Columbia Public Affairs

Hands-free devices will increase dangerous driving: study

Yagesh Bhambhani, a professor in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Alberta, has conducted a pilot study indicating that drivers using hands-free accessories drove more dangerously than control groups not using telecommunication devices. The driving errors observed include crossing center lines, switching lanes without signalling, and speeding.

A significant jump in heart rate and brain activity was also found in those using the devices — this compensates for the extra oxygen needed by distracted parts of the brain.

“[These findings are] commonplace knowledge, but for some reason it is not getting into the public conscience that the safest thing to do while driving is to focus on the road,” said Mayank Rehani, a graduate student working on the study.

With files from The University of Alberta News & Events

Understanding of magnetic fields in space enhanced knowledge of star behaviour

Aided by American and German scientists, the University of Saskatchewan has made surprising discoveries about the “flux freezing” of magnetic fields which will ultimately provide a better grasp on star formation and activity in space.

Astrophysicist Ethan Vishniac described flux freezing as magnetic field lines passing through gas and subsequently becoming bound to it and unable to move. When turbulence is considered, this definition changes: in turbulent liquids, magnetic fields move very quickly.

“It’s analogous to the way turbulence helps you mix cream in your coffee or the way the smell of perfume permeates a room,” says Vishniac. He notes that the team’s model is applicable anywhere else in the universe but on Earth because water and air are poor conductors.

With files from University of Saskatchewan News Releases

York University student trio draw comic challenging sexual violence

As part of a design class, three York University students have created a popular single-panel comic addressing sexual assault and slut shaming. “In a Tight Situation” features a distressed Superman saying, “I shouldn’t have worn such tight clothing! I was asking for it . . . It’s all my fault.” Batman sits beside him with a comforting hand on his shoulder and an empathetic expression.

York’s Centre for Human Rights hopes to release the comic as a t-shirt print and will distribute the print comic to students in future semesters. “We cannot expect police to change the social norms. We need to change the social norms,” says Noa Ashkenazi, York’s advisor on sexual harassment prevention and education.

With files from The Star

Word on the Street: NHL Playoffs

By
EIC
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0

Q: Who have you been rooting for to win the Stanley Cup since the Canucks were eliminated?

 

Boston, but only because I’m afraid of what they might do if they lose. Did you see what they did after they lost in their marathon?

Bill Grimsley, Stuck between too soon and too late

 

I’ve already moved on from hockey and am now focusing on my disappointing family.

Maude Stewart, Nothing’s working out for her

 

Whichever team has the most comfortable bandwagon . . . I don’t want to have to stand the whole time or anything.

Brian Bixby, Seasoned bandwagoner

 

I don’t care but I’m going to cheer for whatever team my friends hate the most.

Joey Spinelli, Just the worst

 

I don’t care either. I don’t have time to waste watching sports, I’m much too intelligent. 

Tony Jabrone, I was wrong, he’s worse

Board Shorts

By
EIC
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0

Notes from the latest SFSS board of directors meeting.

By Alison Roach

Build SFU committees

Members of the new SFSS board were appointed to committees in the Build SFU project, a Build SFU Joint Steering Committee and a Build SFU Building Committee. External relations officer Chardaye Bueckert and treasurer Emad Shahid were voted into the joint steering committee, while Bueckert, president Humza Khan, and business faculty representative Brandon Chapman were named to the building committee.

Fontaine also recommended that the newly formed Build SFU Project Committee be downsized and made to have less board representation with more members of the student community at large to take seats. The project committee will be discussing the large scale communication and consultation process that will be put in motion in the fall.

Studentcare mobile app

SFSS President Humza Khan gave a report on a Studentcare stakeholder conference attended by himself and several other board members recently, where they spoke to the SFSS healthcare provider about issues around privacy, timeliness, and accessibility. Khan announced the release of a mobile app by the healthcare provider that has been developed through the suggestion of SFSS members who attended the conference the previous year.

The app is currently only available for iPhones, and allows students to file claims, check their claim history, get information on their coverage, and receive refunds through direct deposit. The app allows quick processing, with claims going through within five business days. With the current physical mailing system, claims can take from two weeks to a month the process. The app is available for free on iTunes under the name “ihaveaplan mobile.”

Out on Campus budget increased

The Financial and Administrative Services Committee (FASC) of the SFSS recommended to the board to increase the Out on Campus student administrator wages by $5,300, and the EI / CPP / WCB expenses by $450. These increases are to be taken from the unrestricted surplus. The motion was easily approved by almost all board members, with only one abstention.

burns-i-view: Doomed

By
EIC
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0

By Stephen Kloppenburg

Doomed - burns-i-vew - Stephen Kloppenburg

A Strained Encounter

By
EIC
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0

By Sajid Akhtar

The following encounter is the result of a simple search for a little salvation on Burnaby Mountain. After running rectangles around the Academic Quadrangle and the rare failure of Google to provide me with an answer, I ended up having to turn for help to the only one who could help me in this hour of need . . . some girl hanging out in the hallway.  

Me: “Hello, can you please tell me where the Interfaith Center is . . .”

Stranger: “Center? Do you mean Center to play?”

Me: “No, no! Interfaith Center . . . where people go to pray”

Stranger: “Play? If you want to play you go to the East Gym”

Me: “No, pray! . . . P-R-A-Y”

Stranger: “You can play in the gym, the field … where do you want to play?”

Me: I don’t want to play . . . I want to pray!

*I put both hands together in aggression and did a typical praying gesture*

Stranger: “Yes, play, with an l, I know, if you go to the East G . . .”

Me: “No! Not play, PRAY! With an r!”

*Shaking my head profusely, I then demonstrated at least 4 variants of praying based on different religions*

Stranger: “You’re looking to . . . go to a play?”

Me: No, PRAY! P-R-A-Y!!!

Stranger: “Play?”

*Frustrated to no end I decided to make one final attempt to get through to her*

Me: “DO YOU BELIEVE IN GOD!?!”

Needless to say she did not lead me to the Interfaith Center. I still don’t know why my request was so hard to understand . . . whatever, I guess I’ll just have to pray for her. That is if I ever actually find the Interfaith Center. . .

Stranger: “What? You’re going to play for me? Just go to the East Gy . . .”

 

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Interfaith Center is located in the Academic Quadrangle just around the corner from the Physics entrance to SHRUM Science Center. This could be useful information both for anyone looking to pray as well as anyone interested in not being yelled a by someone looking for it.

SFU researchers could relieve pine beetle problem

By
EIC
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0

White spruce genomic maps may have huge effect on BC forestry

By Joel Mackenzie
Photos by Flickr

A group of Canadian scientists, including Steve Jones and Inanc Birol from SFU, have developed genome maps for the white spruce tree, a tree that is very common in British Columbia and important to the BC forestry industry.

Genome maps are orders of the genetic makeup of living beings. They assign DNA fragments to chromosomes, allowing researchers to identify specific traits that plants or animals have. The maps would greatly help by speeding up the process of selective breeding for the trees.

Jones, an SFU molecular biology and biochemistry professor, spent several years with the research team developing the software to find this information, and spent the last year and a half sequencing the spruce genome.

Jones said that those in the forestry industry will be able to identify the genes responsible for the certain traits a tree has, and therefore can ensure that “the trees they plant are the most suited to that particular region and will be more likely to develop into mature trees.”

Selective breeding has been used “for the last 10,000 years,” explained Birol, a computing science adjunct professor at SFU. “Before this research, breeders had to make educated guesses for the properties of the seedlings, then they would have to wait a number of years to measure the results on mature trees, and repeat.

“This research cuts down the waiting time between breeding cycles considerably, perhaps from 25 years to 5 years.” This information could be used to solve major environmental problems as well, specifically the destruction caused by the Mountain Pine beetle in BC over the last few years.

According to a report by the British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations, in 2001, the Mountain Pine beetle damaged almost 800,000 hectares of forest in BC. This amount continued to increase yearly, reaching over 18 million hectares of damaged forest by 2011; which included a substantial amount of commercially valuable pine, and was combated with a multi-million dollar Mountain Pine Beetle Action Plan implemented in 2001.

“The white spruce represents a significant percentage of the trees in those forests and across Canada,” noted Birol.“That’s why understanding the spruce biology at the genomic level will allow us to protect them against changing conditions and their effects.”

The Mountain pine beetle has become more prevalent in Canada in recent years due to the fact that the BC interior has recently not experienced the extreme winter weather which killed vast amounts of the beetles in the past; the last such weather event occurred in 1995 / 96.

There is also a dramatically higher amount of healthy trees in BC, as a result of BC’s wildfire management program being established in the last century. The research team’s hopes to combat this epidemic with this new genome research.

While Birol says that in the very competitive field in which this research is taking place, their Canadian project “has the most bang for the buck!” as it is “the first to report a genome at this level of construction.”

He added, “We are not done yet . . . just like the human genome, it will take several more years to ‘complete’ the spruce genome. And, it is a worthy effort, where competitors have to — and will — work together to accomplish.”

Collective Agreement negotiations continue

By
Peak Web
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0

Unrest within SFU’s unions not over yet

By David Dyck
Photos by Vaikunthe Banerjee

CUPE 3338 met with the university to continue bargaining for a new collective agreement several weeks ago, but according to the union, no tangible progress was made. CUPE 3338 unit 1, represents approximately 1,000 university staff members in a range of different positions such as library assistants, computer operators, store clerks, and others.

Even though the employees’ current contract expired over three years ago, there has been little progress over negotiations. A CUPE press release quoted CUPE 3338 president Lynne Fowler as calling the university’s last offer “insulting.” And in an interview with Fowler, she described the negotiations as going “very slowly.”

According to CUPE, the “insulting” offer was 0.5 per cent pay increases in the last two years of a four-year agreement. The union claimed that the offer was 75 per cent less than staff wages doing the same jobs at other BC universities.

Although no new meeting has been set up between the two parties as of print time, Fowler stated that this was primarily a result of scheduling conflicts. The university refused to comment on the negotiations; it is university policy to keep any comments private until an agreement is reached.

The last major labour event at SFU happened recently with the signing of a new collective agreement with the TSSU — the Teaching Support Staff Union. The university had been unsuccessfully fighting a bad faith bargaining ruling from the Labour Relations Board since January of this year.

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Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us: [email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024

Simon Fraser University’s independent student newspaper since 1965.

Contact us:
[email protected]

© The Peak Publications Society 1965-2024