Arts & Entertainment

Too Cool for School: 5 Movies Every High School Graduate Should Have Seen

It’s the end of the line for graduating seniors across the nation, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to go home so soon. While most of the classrooms captured on celluloid paint a pretty stereotypical portrait of high school, these five films won’t disappoint filmgoers and certainly won’t have teenagers running out of the building. So stay after class just a little while longer …

East’s jazz bands, Spotlight vocalists close the year with “Jazz Explosion”

After a year of hard work & growth recognized by its directors, the musicians & vocalists of East’s bands, Spotlight, and In The Mix brought a year of improvisation to an evening of magical music.

REVIEW: The Cranberries memorialize late lead singer with In the End

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The Cranberries were one of the seminal coffee house bands of the 1990’s with their breakout hit “Linger.” Now, the band releases what may be their final album — one year after the death of vocalist Dolores O’Riordan & 16 years after the band hit the scene — for one final, tearful goodbye.

REVIEW: Endgame the perfect conclusion to the MCU as we know it

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For the past 11 years, all roads have been leading here. And Avengers: Endgame does not disappoint in its ability to make you laugh, cry, and cheer with childlike abandon.

Happily ever after: Spring musical’s pit orchestra makes a dream come true

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One of the crowning achievements for the spring musical Cinderella was never even seen upon the stage. Musicians, directors, & actors reflect upon the inimitable role that the pit orchestra plays in bringing all of the magic together.

REVIEW: Branches brings to light vulnerability of youth

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In this revised edition of her first collection of poetry — Branches — , Rhiannon McGavin explores the sense of fragility that holds the tender hand of adolescence.

REVIEW: Vachss’s Ultimate Evil takes Batman down a darker road but fails to bring the story home

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Social justice author Andrew Vachss abandons the traditional rogues’ gallery that Batman fans know & love and takes the Caped Crusader into areas much more real & much more moving. Unfortunately, Vachss’s story of abandoned hope seems to also abandon the refined storytelling that subject matter like this may require …

REVIEW: Sea Prayer a refreshing, moving glimpse into refugee crisis

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Told in breathtaking watercolors, Khaled Hosseini’s newest work — Sea Prayer —  portrays one refugee’s emotional turn as he prepares for his challenging journey to freedom.

Seniors cast, direct student actors in annual production

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As part of the annual production of short dramatic scenes directed by senior thespians, East Theatre students get to explore what it’s like to be led by directors their own age.

East Theatre to set sail with Yellow Boat

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East Theatre will present The Yellow Boat in the Performing Arts Center in late January.

Student musicians jam at School of Rock concert

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To celebrate the hard work & creativity demonstrated over the course of the semester-long course School of Rock, the young musicians hosted a free concert on December 10th.

REVIEW: Seasonal Sit-In: What to Binge & What to Bypass

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Winter break is right around the corner. Why don’t you forego some of those parties and spend a week or two with HBO’s The Sopranos? “This thing of ours” will astound you.

East actors lend their voices to Star Dance Alliance Drama’s ‘Mamma Mia!’

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Mamma mia! A small troupe of East actors participated in a local performance of the Star Dance Alliance Drama production of the ABBA-inspired musical.

 

Band students team with junior highs for Eastside Band Festival

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East band students took to the stage with junior high students from Bednarcik, Murphy, and Plank for the Eastside Band Festival. Throughout the day, the junior high students played with high school band musicians and gained insight into what it takes to perform at the high school level.

REVIEW: ‘Overlord’ packs punch with different ingredients of film genres

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Blending elements of action, classic WWII drama, and the horrifying possibility of zombie hordes, Overlord has something for every film fan.

‘Out of the Frying Pan’ … and into the fire

East’s fall production captures the seasonal process of bringing a script to the stage.

REVIEW: With ‘Trench,’ Twenty One Pilots dig deep into conceptual instrumentation

Twenty One Pilots’ Trench is a unique shift for the band, taking their sound into a world of in-depth instrumental symbolism

AP art students recognized at annual show

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On May 3rd, AP Studio Art students were recognized and displayed their year’s worth of work in the school’s LRC.

REVIEW: ‘Say Anything’ is anything but your average teen movie

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In 1989, writer-director Cameron Crowe broke from the conventions of the everyday teen movie and brought audiences the inimitable Say Anything starring John Cusack and Ione Skye. Watch it, and you too will understand why everything is going to be all right.

Senior Reese Rousseau shows that life not only imitates but can become art

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The winner of a number of awards and scholarships, senior Reese Rousseau has accepted that his life is a canvas, a piece of photographic paper, a sketch book, and more … simply waiting for him to bring life to it.

REVIEW: ‘A Wrinkle in Time’

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Disney’s recent adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time wrinkles a five-dimensional story into a movie with merely two-dimensional themes and characters.

REVIEW: ‘Game Night’

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The laughter is infectious in Game Night, the new comedy that follows a group of friends who find that their monthly game night has turned into a real-life game that might just get them all killed.

Spoken Word Poetry Club makes noise at Louder than a Bomb

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Students from East’s Spoken Word Poetry Club performed in Chicago’s 18th annual Louder Than a Bomb poetry slam festival.

REVIEW: You should probably ‘chick’ out Nando’s

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Nando’s has a leg up on your tired chicken dinners. It’s Naperville’s home for a unique take on a traditional classic.

REVIEW: ‘The Shape of Water’

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The Shape of Water is a majestic feat of cinematic storytelling, but the film drowns in its own weird plot.

REVIEW: ‘Black Panther’ is the start of a new dynasty for MCU

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The newest Marvel Studios release, Black Panther, assumes the crown as one of Marvel’s most successful cinematic adventures.

Senior Scenes gives students a taste of directing

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Senior Scenes, a combination of various student-directed scenes, was an enjoyable learning experience for the East Theatre senior thespians.

‘Genuine Fraud’ puts twist on conventional mystery story

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E. Lockhart’s latest novel combines a riveting reversed plot line and a highly sophisticated character into an unconventional kind of mystery, one that will keep readers turning page after page on a constant lookout for the truth.

REVIEW: Bingeworthy TV

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Warm up this chilly season with a helping of these bingeworthy TV shows.

 

REVIEW: ‘Blade Runner 2049’

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A long time in the coming and a long time in the viewing, Blade Runner 2049 exhibits stunning visuals in a futuristic story of identity.

REVIEW: Very Merry Movies

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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Or is it? Our very merry film critic takes a look at two action movies that take aim at redefining the traditional holiday classics.

REVIEW: ‘The Disaster Artist’ 

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The Room is one of the best “worst movies” of all time. The Disaster Artist is one of the most unique films of the year. And yet, James Franco’s passion project isn’t a celebration of bad film making so much as it is a celebration of the quirky human spirit.

East band, choir come together for wintertime showcase

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As the temperature dropped outside, Oswego East High School’s band & choir kept its audience warm with its annual wintertime concert.

Marvel raises the stakes but may lose the plot with ‘Infinity War’

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Marvel’s cinematic universe has set the gold standard for big action, big fun, and big box office receipts. But with Infinity War — which promises to be a dark adventure for the entire Marvel universe — has Marvel suddenly flipped the script for the worse?

Spoken Word allows students to give voice to their hearts, minds

East’s new poetry club is the venue for young poets to exercise their writing skills, to develop their voice in poetry, and to take stock of what’s in their hearts

Granny B’s is the perfect place for fried comfort

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Take a break from the Thanksgiving dinner table this weekend and spend some time with the home style family of Granny B’s in Aurora, IL, where you’ll delight in down home soul food cooking from the heart.

REVIEW: ‘Murder on the Orient Express’

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In a lavish big screen adaptation of Agatha Christie’s classic mystery novel, the question is not so much a matter of “Whodunnit?” as it is a question of “Who shouldn’t see this movie?” Because all of the clues indicate that everyone should.

REVIEW: ‘The Way Way Back’ & ‘This Is Where I Leave You’

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If you’re looking to take a holiday from those tried & true movies that seem to embrace the idea that families can easily be fixed, then look no further than this dysfunctional duo of films that proves that, sometimes, what makes a family unique is the unique way in which a family defies traditional wisdom and resolution.

Grace Vanderwaal’s ‘Beginning’ is precisely that … ‘Just’ the beginning (ALBUM REVIEW)

Grace Vanderwaal, the 13-year old winner of America’s Got Talent in 2016, produces a profoundly pretty, personal, and passionate debut album that defies all expectations attached to her youth.

Trick R Treat fails to scare up the treacherous treats of the Halloween season (FILM REVIEW)

Despite its best efforts, this sometimes sickening, too often silly film comes up short as a true measure of what makes horror movies truly horrifying.

Lotta Sea Lice: A little patience gets you a lot of artistry (ALBUM REVIEW)

Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett deliver a daring duet by blending a steady concoction of blues, country, and bluegrass.

Green’s Turtles captures true nature of mental illness (BOOK REVIEW)

Many young adult novel authors  have tried and failed to successfully capture the reality of mental illness. John Green appears to have done it right, giving readers one of the most uncomfortable, harrowing, and honest novels of the year.

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