Hello movie fans! If you’ve read Movie magic: take one, or even if you are unaware of the story, here is the original trailer released by Bourgeoise Productions for their upcoming student film, Where’s Wally?. The film will premiere at this year’s Golden Waffle Iron Film Festival and the Eyrie will continue to chronicle the its creation with our Movie magic series found in the A&E section. Stay tuned for Movie Magic: take two in early March, and enjoy the Where’s Wally Trailer found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPRi0EoSmm4 !

By Olivia Del Viscio

Over the past month, one word has been the headline of every entertainment magazine or website across America: Avatar. James Cameron, the director of other acclaimed movies such as Titanic, won the Golden Globe for his direction of this movie, which has garnered international attention for its special effects and record breaking attendance. The picture itself was nominated for four Golden Globes in all, and it won best motion picture—drama. Is the hype about this movie at all justified? I believe so.
For one, the animation is absolutely incredible. With a budget of $300 million, the animation had better be spectacular. Avatar was set on an entirely fictional planet, called Pandora, made from nothing but the minds of some of the film industry’s most brilliant people. The native people in the film, the Na’vi, are also completely computer generated around each actor.
In addition to the fantastic directing, the talent of each actor in this film was, as Jake Sully would say in the film, “outstanding”. Sam Worthington and Zoe Sakdana, who play Jake Sully and Neytiri, respectively, have managed to create two characters that will stay in people’s minds just as Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet did in Titanic.
Although the lead actor and actress were a large part in the picture’s success, the supporting roles were just as well done, if not better. Sigourney Weaver, who plays Dr. Grace Augustine, did an excellent job developing her character’s morals and values throughout the movie. In addition to this character, another supporting role worth mentioning is Michelle Rodriguez in her portrayal of the role of Trudy Chacon. The way Trudy personally changes throughout the movie, to understand what is right as opposed to what is expected of her as a pilot, was depicted brilliantly.
Even though the character was incredible, Dr. Augustine’s role has been under scrutiny since the movie’s release on Dec. 18. Many organizations, such as the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, believe that Dr. Augustine’s smoking in the movie sends a bad message to young people. Although an email from James Cameron explicitly stated he never wanted Dr. Augustine’s role to be “an aspirational role model” for teens, many adults continue to be outraged. He continues in his email, “She’s rude, she swears, she drinks, she smokes. Also, from a character perspective, we were showing that Grace doesn’t care about her human body, only her avatar body, which again is a negative comment about people in our real world living too much in their avatars, meaning online and in video games.” As far as this issue is concerned, I do not believe any absolute consensus will be determined without changing the rating of the movie, which is next to impossible at this point.
In addition to many other factors that make Avatar extraordinary, it is done in digital 3D. This allows the viewer to completely immerse him or herself in the film. In the new age of all this technology, it’s not off base to assume many movies in the future will have this feature to further improve the quality of entertainment for the viewers.
Avatar has completely revolutionized the future of the film industry. It is a film that other movies will need to live up to as far as special effects, acting and chemistry between characters are concerned. The tagline of this movie tells us to “enter the world” and viewers certainly do enter Pandora as they watch Avatar.

By Melissa Berman

Looking for a fun and different way to show someone you care this Valentine’s Day? Cookies are a fun and cost-effective gift you can give someone without breaking the bank. Below are a few Valentine’s Day themed cookies recipes, courtesy of The Food Network, that your special someone will be sure to love.

White Chocolate Valentines

Ingredients:

 Sugar cookie dough, at room temperature
1 teaspoon red gel paste food coloring
4 ounces white chocolate, melted
Pink gel paste food coloring

Equipment:

2 1/2-by-3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter

Procedure:

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Place butter and sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer and beat until light in color. Add the red food coloring, egg and milk and beat to combine. Proceed with recipe and chill for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Sprinkle a work surface and rolling pin with confectioner’s sugar and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move dough frequently to prevent it from sticking and add more confectioner’s sugar to the work surface and rolling pin as needed. With a 2 1/2-by-3-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut 36 hearts, re-rolling dough as needed. Place at least 1 inch apart on parchment-lined baking sheets, and bake until cookies are set but not brown, about 7-8 minutes. Let cool on the pan slightly before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

To make striped Valentine hearts, transfer half of the melted chocolate to a disposable pastry bag, twist the end closed, and using scissors, snip a very small opening in the tip. Starting at the bottom of the cookie, apply gentle pressure to the pastry bag and drizzle lines of chocolate back and forth over the cookie, moving up as the chocolate flows. Allow chocolate to set before eating or packaging.

To make polka-dot Valentine hearts, color the remaining chocolate with pink food coloring to the desired shade of pink. Transfer to a disposable pastry bag, twist the end closed, and using scissors, snip a very small opening in the tip. Hold the pastry bag perpendicular to the cookie and apply gentle pressure to pipe a dot of chocolate. Release the pressure on the bag until the flow stops, and continue over the surface of the cookie, piping different sized dots, if desired. Gently tap the cookie to settle the chocolate and allow to set before eating or packaging.

note: If gel paste food colorings are not available, add liquid food coloring until you achieve desired color. For pink, simply use a little red.

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Yield: About 3 dozen

Sugar Heart Sandwich Cookies

Ingredients

Sugar cookie dough, at room temperature
6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 tablespoon pomegranate juice
Small red sugar hearts, for decorating

Equipment:

 2 1/4-inch round cookie cutter, 1 1/2-by-1-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter

Before you begin:

Prepare dough as directed and chill for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Procedure:

Sprinkle a work surface and rolling pin with confectioner’s sugar and roll out dough to 1/8-inch thick. Move dough frequently to prevent it from sticking and add more confectioner’s sugar to the work surface and rolling pin as needed. With a 2 1/4-inch round cookie cutter, cut 72 dough rounds, re-rolling dough as needed. With a small heart-shaped cookie cutter (about 1 1/2-by-1-inch), cut hearts from the center of half the dough rounds. Place the rounds and cutouts about 1 inch apart on parchment lined baking sheets. Bake until just set but not brown, about 6-8 minutes. Let cool on the pan slightly before transferring to a rack to cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the filling: In a small bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, butter, confectioner’s sugar, and pomegranate juice until smooth and fluffy. Spread about 1 teaspoon filling on each round cookie and top with a cut-out cookie. Place a red candy heart in the center of each. Leftover filling can be used to sandwich the small hearts together.

Recipe Summary:
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 2 hours
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Yield: About 3 dozen

As of today, the official name of the literary magazine is the eagLIT!

The final vote tally was:
eagLIT – 84    The Talon – 75   Prairie Persona – 8   Expressions and Perceptions – 5

The eagLIT staff is very proud of their new name and was happy to involve the EPHS population in choosing it. The eagLIT is currently accepting submission of visual artwork, poetry, and short stories. Thank you for your support and interest!

By Iris Nash

B-boying, breaking, or break dancing; whatever you wish to name it, it is one style of dance many students are passionate about.  Unfortunately, those students lacked the right resources to practice their passion in school until last year, when, then juniors, Andy Haung and Vassily Em started the B-boy Club.

After having a passion for break dancing and seeing it in others, Haung and Em decided it was time to start a club for break dance enthusiasts.  “[We] saw a lot of break dancers in school and we thought ‘why don’t we just get them together?’” said Haung.

However, Haung and Em’s dream of an official break dance club never came to life.  “The Student Activities office said that we needed an advisor for the club to be official, but also that we could still practice without one but the club won’t be official,” said Haung.

The duo chose to fly solo; even though the B-boy club is not official, the student activities office knows of their existence and provides the dance room for the club to practice every zero hour.

B-boy club is a melting pot of all grades, nationalities and skill levels.  Haung said the point of the club is to teach and learn from others while having fun and exercising.

Zero hour practice consists of fast moving, rhythmic music blazing through the sound system.  Practiced moves range from the windmill, to the swipe, to the turtle; a combination of intensely acrobatic moves which club members work to master.

One way the B-boys keep the momentum moving forward and challenge skill levels is by battling one another.  Battles consist of two members performing their best moves in an attempt to out-dance those they have challenged.  “It gives us a chance to see the levels we are at and how much we are improving,” said Haung.

The popular tradition for the B-boy club is participating in the annual NHS Variety Show.  Haung said the club meetings are used to practice their routine for the Variety Show, since most of the club members participate in that performance.

Official or not, B-boy club members’ effort and passion for break dancing allows them to share a unique talent with others.  In the words of Lady Gaga, “Just dance.”