They soon discover that choosing a god isn’t as simple as it seems, mostly due to the fact that gods demand so much. Finally they found Luka, the raccoon god of prosperity, who in return for his services only demands a small portion of their good fortunes…and a place to stay.

At first the young couple doesn’t seem to mind their new roommate, and the parties, but soon realize that they had entered something that they will find difficulty escaping with their lives.

Divine Misfortune is A. Lee Martinez’s comical portrayal on how religion is seen more as a fad in these modern times, and how it is taken way too seriously, but if you’re looking for a good laugh and a book that is controversial as well, then this could be the book for you.

                                                                                                                                                                                                           By Cody Zivley

   Many comedies hit the screen and give their audiences a few hearty laughs before promptly growing stale. However, every so often one reveals itself to be enjoyable not only the first time, but the second, and maybe even the third time as well. It’s not the plot that brings viewers back to a movie, but the performances, the scenes and dialogue that friends can giggle over time and time again.

   Date Night is one such movie.

   Opening to the average day of average married couple Phil (Steve Carell) and Claire (Tiny Fey) Foster, the movie soon takes a sharp turn when, on their weekly “date night”, the two assume another couple’s identity to mix it up and nab a table at the hottest restaurant in Manhattan. Little do they know, the couple they pretend to be is currently on the wrong side of a local mob boss.

   Despite the common concept of a case of mistaken identity spiraling out of control, the couple’s misadventure is still an entertaining one. Overall, it’s well paced and the humor well placed. Adding to that, Carell and Fey are a match made in comedy heaven. On screen, their chemistry is unquestionable and even the pair’s talent for improv is utilized to make the movie something to remember.

   By the end, it’s clear that Date Night doesn’t merely roll out laughs as it also boasts a highly realistic portrayal of marriage. It rings true with a message all married couples can appreciate: the slump of routine doesn’t have to end in divorce. Rather, sometimes a marriage just needs a little kick, and that kick is precisely what separates Date Night from the mass of other comedies.

Grade: A-

   With a whopping total of $16,007,426 opening weekend, The Last Song hit a high note as it rang through theaters. It is the movie to delight girls and guys of every age that love a good ‘chick-flick.’ Based on its novel by Nicholas Sparks, the Last Song challenges the boundaries of young love and rebellion.

   Ronnie Miller (Miley Cyrus) plays a teenager who is shipped to her father’s home in North Carolina for the summer. Upset from her parent’s divorce, Ronnie comes aggravated and uninterested in her father or the idea of being there in the first place.

   Along the way, she meets new friends and discovers young love with Will Blakelee (Liam Hemsworth).  As they adventure into summer on an amazing journey, they are threatened with many tough decisions that they must face together and apart.

   Creating a story full of unexpected challenges, Sparks embarks on another journey of love he is known for. Yes, the thought of yet, another mushy love story comes to mind, but this movie is definitely out of the box. With an unpredictable ending and many new twists, this movie is sure to bring a tear to everyone’s eye, as did the book.

Right away the film pulls the audience with a man dressed in a superheroes costume, standing proudly over the edge of a forty story building looking triumphantly at the people below him who stare back at him in total awe The man then opens what seem to be homemade wings from a compartment attached to the back of his costume and fearlessly jumps off the building. The crowd cheers and applauds his heroic efforts. The scene is heroic and victorious music plays as the man glides through the air, straight down into a car ending the heroes five seconds of fame.

  The movie is casted brilliantly with many, young new actors who prove they will have a long future in the movie business, such as thirteen year-old Chloe Moretz (Hit Girl), who plays one of the most interesting and deep characters I’ve seen on film in a long time.

With a script worthy as such movies as Spider-Man and The Dark knight, and a cast including Nicholas Cage’s best performance in years, Kick-a** has everything in place to become a cult classic for the new decade.

                                                                                                         By Cody Zivley

   Lewis Carroll’s well known and forever fascinating world takes on new life with the help of director Tim Burton’s vision and modern CGI. Having opened earlier this month, “Alice in Wonderland” has since held tight to its spot at the top of the box office and it’s not hard to see why.

   The movie shows us what happens some time after Alice’s initial adventure in Wonderland. Thus, rather than repeat the well-known tale, it takes us into the future where Alice returns to the world of fantasy and is reacquainted with familiar characters such as the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), Abosolom the Caterpillar (Alan Rickman), and the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter). At the same time, both Alice and the audience are introduced to new characters such as the Red Queen’s much kinder sister, the White Queen (Anne Hathaway).

   With this colorful cast, and their stunning character designs, one can expect to be treated to a grand adventure as they follow Alice and her friends through their quest to reinstate the White Queen’s rule and, as is according to the prophecy, slay the Red Queen’s vicious Jabberwocky. Throughout this journey, Alice learns not only more about Underland (“Wonderland’s” true name), but also about the power of choice and who she really is.

   Although the tale is a predictable one and the movie not quite what you’d call a masterpiece, it remains one that’s definitely worth seeing. If it’s not for the plot or the chance to see another Burton-Depp film, then a ticket’s worth the price for the wonderful use of CGI scenery and some engaging performances, Carter’s (the Red Queen) being most notable.

   By far, what makes “Alice in Wonderland” stand out most is its visuals, something that’s highlighted by the 3D, and as the movie’s high point, Burton’s vivid imagination is what will likely stick with audiences for some time.

   The country’s population of love-struck teenage girls had been counting the days until the premiere of Nicholas Sparks’ best seller-turned-movie when it opened February 5^th. Starring Channing Tatum (Step Up) and Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia), this love story sends the audience out of the theatre ardently inspired to always “love the one you’re with.”

   Starting on the beaches of North Carolina, one is immediately captured by the spring break fling that turns into what one assumes will be a lifelong love. The devoted innocence of the young soldier and conservative college girl endears the couple to viewers’ hearts.

   When the fateful letter arrives, hearts are broken along with John and sniffles are heard throughout the theatre. Ultimately, despite 45 minutes of heartache (as is Sparks’ signature), the film ends on a hopeful note that makes the time of bewilderment worth the $8 matinee.

   With talented performers, effective cameramen, a gorgeous setting (North Carolina)and captivating plot, Dear John earns it’s still growing profit $675 million. The writing talent of Nicholas Sparks has once again provided the material for an unforgettable film.

   As the Christmas Eve flurries of snow brought us a chill, Christmas Day opened the door to a new sort of a chill; a chill to the bone; a chill delivered to us in the form of “Sherlock Holmes,” a movie that combines pseudo-supernatural elements, sharp humor, and of course, a mystery to be solved.

   In the aftermath of his Iron Man fame, Robert Downey Jr. brings us into the world of nineteenth century London through a performance that can only be described as dignified. With impressive composure through all of the hi-jinks of Holmes and his sidekick, if Jude Law’s equally memorable performance can be seen as inferior, Dr. Watson.

   One of America’s sweethearts fell short though. In a plotline outside of the main good-guy-catches-bad-guy story, Rachel McAdams’s portrayal did not live up to the special effects and performances of her peers. She was good, but not great, seeming a bit dry in comparison.

   Shocks that have tubs of popcorn falling to the floor and suspense that leaves pulses throughout an audience keeping pace with the high-speed scoring are the key elements to this movie’s success. Guiding Mr. Holmes to a number two spot on the box office charts, preceded only by the controversial “Avatar,” is an sense of magic, a magic that doesn’t just exist in the cinema.

   This movie has the ability to convince an audience that not only is magic real, but that it’s frightening and then in a jaw-dropping twist in true Sherlock Holmes fashion, logic is the key to all mysteries.

   Grossing nearly $300 million worldwide, since it’s opening weekend, it’s no mystery that “Sherlock Holmes” is breathtakingly entertaining.

   Keeping in mind the fact that major Hollywood moviemakers have never found it important to remain true to the scientific nature of the way things work, 2012 delivers a healthy dose of disaster and enough amazing special effects to entertain its audiences and earn $148,787,000 as of Dec. 6.

   Any sentient being who purchases a ticket to see this movie goes into the theater expecting the cataclysm and special effects, not the scientific explanations behind them. In this area it excels, as audiences enjoy just over two hours of Jackson Curtis (John Cusack) and his family running, driving, and flying away from earthquakes and floods in a movie which does rely very heavily on CGI based destruction.

   With the use of special effects Roland Emmerich, director successfully delivers the onscreen demise of several cultural and religious sites around the world, including St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican and the statue of Christ in Rio de Janeiro. However, one landmark was off-limits in the movie: The Kaaba which, is considered by many to be the most sacred site in Islam. All Muslims around the world face the Kaaba during prayers, no matter where they are.

   Emmerich stated in an interview with scifiwire.com that he did actually consider destroying it onscreen, but said that his co-writer Harald Kloser told him, “I will not have a fatwa on my head because of a movie.”

(A fatwa in the Islamic faith is a religious opinion concerning Islamic law issued by an Islamic scholar. Western media frequently uses the term incorrectly to specifically mean an Islamic law pronouncing a death sentence upon someone who is considered an infidel or a blasphemer.)

   Movies like 2012 tend to provide very little substance and only vague attempts at scientific explanation, which makes them very easy for critics to pick apart. Looking at this movie for what it is, a disaster movie, it becomes clear that it has certainly delivered on its premise.

   Earning $34,119,372 its opening weekend and then more than doubling it the next, “The Blind Side” stands tall in box offices stats that are currently being dominated by a cult phenomenon. Starring Quinton Aaron and Sandra Bullock, in what some would call her most uplifting performance ever; this movie provides viewers with a truly heartwarming story, intertwined with an entertaining football movie.

   “The Blind Side” documents the true story of Michael Oher, a first round pick in pick in the NFL draft this year and uses his story to remind a society that is pockmarked with war, hate crimes, and gang fights, that there is still hope for the virtue of humanity; that genuinely good people are still around.

   Sandra Bullock offers an outstanding performance as Leigh Anne Tuohy, a role that one wouldn’t necessarily expect to see her in. In a character that could have easily been over-acted, Bullock is able to capture pure determination and compassion with ease, leaving audiences across the nation reaching for a tissue.

   Though this movie might not immediately appeal to those outside of football fandom, it is definitely worth seeing. First and foremost, it portrays a message. It reminds us just how fortunate we are. It gives us a taste of the hardships that some people go through on a daily basis that aren’t always thought about. We are shown how to act; with complete compassion and disregard of disapproval.

   As for the football fans, one is hardly denied the thrill of the game in this movie. With several action sequences, one might find themselves on the edge of their seats, shouting and clapping, just as they would at a real football game. The movie also features some familiar faces to football fans. Many real college football coaches, including Houston Nutt (former Arkansas head coach) and Ed Orgeron (former Ole Miss head coach) make cameos.

  “The Blind Side” is currently ranked #7 among the highest grossing sports dramas of all time, barely behind extremely popular movies such as “Rocky” and “Million Dollar Baby.” This movie does more than just entertain viewers; it leaves them wanting to make a difference.

   Melodically cascading its way into hearts across America through peoples’ funny bones, Glee has, no doubt, earned a spot in DVR’s across the nation. Viewers are given a 60-minute rebuttal to the success of High School Musical featuring side-splitting wit and music, from every era and genre, which will leave all who listen begging for more.

   Set in a very stereotypical high school, Glee follows members of the school’s glee club on their journey to the all-important sectional competition. Much like High School Musical, Glee follows the star athlete, Finn (Corey Monteith), and the less-than-popular girl, Rachel (Lea Michele), and their forbidden love. It’s your typical Disney Channel plotline thrown into the real world of teenage pregnancy, homosexuality, and the ongoing fight to fit it.

    Led by their sponsor, Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), who has his own issues involving his marriage and the obvious attraction he feels toward Emma (Jayma Mays), the school counselor, the glee club, eventually recognized as “New Directions,” fights for proper recognition of their talents and resolutions to their typical teenage issues.

   Just in case a hit TV show wasn’t enough, the Glee soundtrack has even been making an appearance on the mainstream music charts. Understandable, due to the musical experience of many of the cast members. Actors Lea Michele, Matthew Morrison, and Jenna Ushkowitz have all had their Broadway days and Kevin McHale was in the boy band “NLT.” Highlighting the power house voice of Amber Riley in several songs, the Glee soundtrack shines a new light on popular songs from the eighties, nineties, and today.

   Glee exemplifies diversity in music. Thirteen year olds across the nation now have eighties power ballads, such as ‘Don’t Stop Believing’, on their iPods and their parents can be found nonchalantly humming “The Thong Song” on their way to work. Glee is taking songs that are twenty years old and songs that are barely a year old and making them equally appealing to all fans of the show. By modernizing the classics and putting a new twist on the modern, Glee songs can be found all over the iTunes Top 100.

   Combining music and comedy in a whirlwind of angst, celebrity guests, and dry humor, Glee has brought to the silver screen something it has never seen before: a show that can be truly enjoyed by all ages.