In the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle changed writing with his books based upon crime fiction, with the famous detective, Sherlock Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes was a fictional detective that used his wit and resourcefulness to solve the crimes of his time. But now, Guy Ritchie has taken the detective and gave him a few other qualities in his movie, Sherlock Holmes.

Sherlock Holmes is about the famous detective dealing with a new case. Holmes, played by Robert Downey Jr., and his partner Watson, played by Jude Law, finish off a case for a man named Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong), whom is accused of using magic to cause chaos in the people of London.

Days after Blackwood is put to death, he is rumored to be resurrected from the grave. Holmes takes the case under his wing. Holmes starts the case by tracking down the criminals associated with Blackwood as more people of London are killed.

Holmes slowly moves through the case as Blackwood continues to rise in London. Unknowingly though, Blackwood is turning the entire city against him and causing Holmes to have to hide from the public. Holmes now has to work even harder to catch Blackwood.

Guy Ritchie made a great movie. He took Sherlock Holmes, a detective that relies on wit to solve mysteries, and gave him the ability to fight and to cause trouble. He also added a bit of comedy and sarcasm to the personality of the detective.

Also, Ritchie picked the perfect actor for Holmes. Robert Downey Jr. has the ability to portray a sarcastic, comedic, and witty character, of which Holmes is. Robert Downey Jr. easily portrayed the part of Sherlock Holmes. Jude Law was also a perfect choice for Watson.

The movie had a great plot. Holmes doesn’t reveal what he knows; causing the criminals to think that they are safe, and then Holmes comes out and reveals their plans.

The movie also portrays Holmes wit and cleverness in a tough situation. Holmes goes through his thoughts in a tough situation and plays it in slow motion, then showing the same situation in normal speed as the detective actually commits to what his plan was.

Sherlock Holmes is a movie that shows a new side of the famous detective while still keeping the wit and cleverness that caused Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s books to spark a revolution in crime fiction.

"If I Die Young" single cover as it appears on iTunes. This is The Band Perry's second single.

By Kevin Spillman
Round Table Editor

Three siblings from Nashville, called The Band Perry, have their song “If I Die Young” featured on iTunes free single of the week. The three members are Kimberly, Reid, and Neil Perry. After signing with Republic Nashville, in August 2009, they released the single “Hip to My Heart” within the month. “If I Die Young” is the latest single off their new self-titled EP.

This song is soft country with very light vocals from Kimberly Perry. They have been described as sounding like Lady Antebellum or Sugarland. On iTunes the song has garnered a 4 star rating out of 5. Many reviews say they like the melodic vocals and sweet sound. There are a number of reviews that label the song as “Eh…” and only giving it 3 stars.

“If I Die Young” is a pure country song that many fans of the genre will enjoy. Other than that not many people will enjoy it other than a slight section of soft pop listeners. If you like country, this very well could be a great hit in your collection.

People go through life not knowing the troubles that some have to go through to gain success. Some of these people never experience any type of problem and are not grateful for what they have.

Others realize the struggles and attempt to give help those in need. This is the case in The Blind Side, a movie based off a true written by Michael Lewis and directed by John Lee Hancock.

Michael Oher, played by Quinton Aaron, is a boy living in extreme poverty with a mother that has severe addictions to drugs and alcohol seems to have no chance in life, until he is picked up by an unlikely family.

Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) takes Michael in and with the help of her husband, Sean (Tim McGraw), and the football coach (Ray McKinnon), Michael is accepted into the local private school. Due to Michael’s large size and athletic ability, he is immediately put onto the football team at the school.

At first only Leigh Anne and her son, S.J. (Jae Head), take heart to Michael, who is nicknamed Big Mike. The two work with Michael to try to fully understand him, which is a struggle due to him being extremely shy.

Michael slowly reveals more of his past life to his new family, showing the struggles he has gone through in the past. The family works together to help him overcome this past and get used to a new life.

As Michael becomes more of a member of the family, he grows in confidence and he becomes more successful in what he does. All the people he becomes close with start to understand his situation and respect what he does, causing his dreams to come true and his life to become much easier.

The Blind Side is an incredible true story about a boy who must go through incredible struggles to achieve his dreams. It is especially interesting that the movie was about a single person’s true story, while most movies highlight the teamwork of an athletic team working together to make a season great.

The acting of the movie was amazing. Sandra Bullock had a performance of her career and Quinton Aaron had a near perfect first performance.

Also, the way that John Lee Hancock made the story a truly realistic situation. The way he took the different point of views from Mrs. Tuohy, the rest of the Tuohy family, and the school faculty and morphed them together to bring the separate situations of Oher together was spectacular. Each person or group of people in this situation had different point of views of Michael in the beginning of the movie, but by the end, their views were all similar.

The Blind Side is an incredible story about a boy who had to defeat his past to achieve goals that match his potential. The movie shows the true struggles that some go through and the incredible kindness of a family.

Trinity artwork as seen on iTunes. Paper Tongues formed in Charlotte in 2007.

Discovered by American Idol judge, Randy Jackson, Paper Tongues is featured on iTunes’ Free Single of the Week with their song “Trinity”. All seven members of Paper Tongues hail from Charlotte, N.C. where they formed in 2007. After traveling to California to start their career, the lead singer met Jackson who became interested in the band and become their manager.

Although Paper Tongues is categorized on iTunes as alternative, that is a bit misleading. “Trinity” is a great example of how unique Paper Tongues is. Parts of the song sound like a pop hit while a few seconds later it changes into a hip-hop or British alternative sounding track. “Trinity” has a 4.5 out of 5 star rating and has received many positive reviews.

If you are a fan of pop, hip-hop, or alternative, you will most likely find something to like about this song. It is a great sample of new band that could be the next big thing.

We are the Union come out with a new album on March 30.

By Phil DiGioia
Round Table reporter

Artist: We Are the Union
Album: Great Leaps Forward
Year: 2010

Record Label: Paper+Plastick

Following their last album “Who We Are” the newest album “Great Leaps Forward” has been a real nail biter this last month. The reason is, on March 30^th the new album comes out on iTunes for all ska-core lovers to enjoy.

The last album really brought some great hits to the Ska, Punk, and Hardcore genres throughout the United States as well as Europe and Japan. “Who We Are” was new for many people who have listened to Ska and Punk bands such as Reel Big Fish and Big D and the Kids Table.

We are the Union has a great sound and if the new anticipated album is as big as all the hype is, then We are the Union will be on their way to a gold album. 

Coconut album cover as it appears on iTunes. Archie Bronson Oufit is a new alternative band from Wiltshire, England

By Kevin Spillman
Round Table Editor

Archie Bronson Outfit is a very strange name for a band, and their music is just as strange. Their song, “Shark’s Tooth”, off their recently released album “Coconut”, is the new free single of the week from iTunes. The band is from Wiltshire, England and, shortly after forming, moved to London where they were discovered by Domino records. To date, they have released three albums and are currently touring the UK.

Although only garnering a two out of five star rating on iTunes, “Shark’s Tooth” is a great song for anybody who loves British alternative from the 80’s. Many of the complaints against it have to do with the vocals which are distorted. This isn’t very common in mainstream music explaining why so many people don’t like it. Of the positive comments, however, they usually highly praise the band for their alternative sound.

Although not receiving much public acclaim, “Shark’s Tooth” is a great song for any fan of Echo and the Bunny Men, The Smiths, and other British alternative bands from the 80’s. Other than those groups, the mainstream audience will most likely not enjoy this song but they might find out about another music taste by listening to it.

A row of chairs lines the back of the stage. Three or four actors stand up front speaking into microphones. This play isn’t your grandmother’s play… but it is.

This is a radio play put on by Middletown High School senior Eric Looney. Rather than the usual play format of actors speaking and moving about the stage, the play is performed using a narrator, actors giving dialogue and a small number of sound effects.

The actors currently speaking go up to one of the microphones, give their lines and then, when the scene was finish, rejoin the other actors, taking a seat at the back of the stage.

This style of performance is used to create the effect of an old radio show.

The show was recorded live during the performance to give it the full effect.

The play was a spy-comedy written by Looney and featured many members of the Middletown drama community.

"Jukebox" single artwork as seen on iTunes. The members of Kidz in the Hall met during a talent show at the University of Pennsylvania

By Kevin Spillman
Round Table editor

“Put a quarter in the jukebox”. You will be hearing that a lot from the latest free single of the week from iTunes. The song is “Jukebox” by Kidz in the Hall, a hip-hop duo from Chicago and New Jersey. The group began in 2000 when members Jabari Evans (Naledge) and Michael Aguilar (Double-O) met at a talent show at the University of Pennsylvania.

Although the people behind iTunes liked the song, everyone else doesn’t. The song has a 1 ½ star rating out of five and most reviews are negative. The song sounds just like any other hip-hop song, but the vocals are monotone and the song seems empty and without substance.

The only people this song could be recommended for would be anyone who really likes hip-hop and can’t get enough of it. Other than that, it is very wise to steer very clear of this track.

Sam Worthington, left, as Jake Sully and Zoe Saldana as Neytiri. Although not winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards, Avatar is still a groundbreaking film.

Imagine walking through a world full of overgrown plants, deadly animals, and a society of creatures that look like blue, oversized humans.

Now imagine this world being torn apart because of a war caused by greedy humans that care for nothing but the rich supplies that have been found.

This is the world that James Cameron turned into the movie, Avatar. He used his vast imagination to create a movie that is now revolutionizing the film business.

Avatar is about Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), an ex-marine that travels to the moon Pandora to take over his late brother’s job of communicating with the local species, the Na’vi. Sully is then separated from his group and is saved by a Na’vi, who at first brings him to the tribe as a captive

But unlike most of the humans, Sully is believed to have a good heart and is accepted into the Na’vi and is then taught all of the ways of their culture by Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), the princess of the specific tribe that Sully is brought into. Throughout his education, he learns the truth about the Na’vi, and begins to respect them and wants to be more like them.

Just when Sully is accepted into the tribe, the humans remove his job of diplomatically befriending the Na’vi and begin to attack the tribes. Sully must regain his honor in the tribe by defeating his own race in battle.

The movie is by far a movie that is overall great. The plot is unique because of the way Sully’s alter lives as a Na’vi and as a human form together as the movie progresses. By the end, Sully’s alter lives meet together after the climax of the film.

The movie also incorporates some of the greatest computer graphics ever used. The computer graphics allows for the movie to be more realistic and cause a viewer to feel as though they are right there on the planet, especially if the movie is watched in 3D.

By far, Avatar should have been awarded Best Picture of the Year award at the Academy awards. The movie had no flaws. The acting is great, the plot and setting are completely unique, and the special effects and computer graphics are some of the greatest ever used.

Although The Hurt Locker was a great film, Avatar was still deserving of the award. James Cameron truly made a comeback with his magical film that left many viewers in a trance after they came out of the theater.

James Cameron had gone all or nothing on creating Avatar. His work was a success, coming out with one of the best movies of the year and possibility the greatest technological advances ever used in filmmaking. James Cameron has truly achieved the title “King of the World”.

Artist: Modest Mouse
Album: No One’s First, and You’re Next
Year: 2009
Producer: Isaac Brock

Overview:

Following their last two albums, We Were Dead before the Ship Ever Sank (2007) and Good News for People Who Love Bad News (2004), indie sensation, Modest Mouse, have released a new EP titled, No One’s First, and You’re Next. The EP is made up of B-sides from their last two albums. It is about 33 minutes long, but that doesn’t mean it’s lacking any elements that Isaac Brock and his band have thought up previously.

Influences:

The style of music on this EP is the same as the last two albums with the cool guitar effects and a lot of loud yelling. A few tracks feature guitarist, Johnny Marr, of The Smiths. Marr laid down some lead tracks to go along with Isaac Brock’s lead vocals.

Sound:

The Band’s sound has changed a lot since Marr joined. His leads don’t always fit with the music and they sound a little “kiddish” and dumb. Songs that didn’t have him included sounded one thousand times better and were less spastic and random.

Comparison to last album:

This Album compared to their last two is pretty good. It’s literally the same music, but just wouldn’t fit on the last albums.

Final Say:

This EP is worth the money and it’s a really good sign of things to come.