Quote of the Month: Lily

"She is a strong independent Godzilla. She doesn't need a man to get pregnant!" Lily W.

GadgetJax Reviews: The Incredibles by Disney Pixer

The theme for Summer Reading this year involves Super Heroes! To tie in with it, I decided to do something obviously related to Super Heroes, but what?

"Okay, how about one of the original Super Hero comic books, like that classic '60's Spiderman & Batman?"

*Reads*

"It's a story, but not much for a review. How about one of the Marvel movies of recent times?"

*Watches*

"Oh, dear. OH, DEAR. That was NOT a movie I would consider suitable for a review at ALL. Okay, I need something good, but it has to be kid friendly! C'mon brain! Give me an idea!"

*Sorry, Jax! We wasted all of your best ideas coming up with this running gag!*

"Drat! Well, it's 11:45. I better head down to the Library now. I'm helping out at their showing of the Incredib-"

*Pauses*

"Perfect!"

The Incredibles is a Pixar Movie. Personally, I would call it their best movie, but considering just how emotional things like Up and Toy Story can get, I'm not sure if I can call The Incredibles the best of them all without being chased at with torches and pitchforks - so I'm gonna review it instead!

The world of The Incredibles is your typical city in a typical hero story: Town constantly attacked by the villain of the week, the supers (yes, that's what they call them) come and save the day, rinse and repeat. Everything seems like your typical hero movie for the first few minutes until the plot twist...

Due to many of the supers helping out many others in need when they don't want it (things like stopping a suicide, which is actually quite frightening for a PG movie), they are forced by law to never commit any more acts of heroism with their powers ever again. This plot twist is great because it creates a very complex scenario about the individual sense of right that everyone has: Is it right to avoid doing the right thing because the law prohibits it? Another thing that makes this twist so great is that you don't need to understand it to enjoy the movie. If you're a little kid and you can't follow with it, it's not a problem! You'll be quite entertained by the jokes and fight scenes anyway!

As for the main character, the protagonist of the story is Bob Parker(aka Mr. Incredible). Once the law forbids supers from being supers anymore, he marries fellow super 'Elastagirl' and starts a family. Ironically enough, all of his children are born with super powers as well, which leads to a few really touching moments later on due to that law I mentioned earlier. 'Dash' wants to compete in sports, but isn't allowed to because of how his incredible speed would give him an unfair advantage over every other competitor. 'Violet' wants to be a normal child like all of her schoolmates, but can't due to the supernatural abilities of herself and her family.

The animation behind the movie is still amazing as ever. It's been 10 years since it came out in theaters, but the detail is still amazing. Characters look very vibrant and filled with personality, and since many of them share personality traits with the more typical kind of person, it's easier to relate to each problem that they individually encounter in the movie.

The comedy is spot in this movie, but kind of like Big Hero 6, the entire movie sort-of falls behind because of it. Believe me, the jokes in this movie are great, but there are just one too many fat jokes. They aren't that bad at first since they all revolve around Mr. Incredible, but they get very boring after the 40 minute mark because they get so repetitive. The idea behind a joke is the 'I get it!' moment, so when every joke with Mr. Incredible is built the same way, there's no 'I get it!' moment anymore, which kills the comedy in the later portions for him. Other characters are still continuously funny like Frozone's 'Super Suit' scene, but considering that Mr. Incredible is the main character, you would expect more from him.

Just like previous reviews, there's only so much you can compliment a movie for without spoiling it, so how about we end this review on a positive note? The Incredibles is great, and anyone that likes Superhero movies or Disney movies will love it - and it's getting a sequel directed by Brad Bird! Huzzah!!

Cardboard Review by Zack

Cardboard by Doug TenNapel

This graphic novel is filled with subtle meaning and innocence. Yet behind all of this is a story about two families. One where a father struggles to provide for his child and one where the child is a spoiled brat. Will they survive the mistakes they made or will they be crushed and smothered by their own creations?

By Zack

Tell us what you think about the book at our Teen Book Club meeting on Wednesday July 1st at the Highland Branch! 

Photo credit: Cardboard Fibers on Flickr by Andrew A. Shenouda

Jurassic World Review by Zack

This smash hit took a bite out of the world's wallet opening weekend by raking in more than half a billion dollars. This movie roars to life with an all star cast of both Humans and dinosaurs maybe even a few hybrids. So if you liked the old ones this one will take a bite out of you heart.

Quote of the Month: Jack

Jack: Can I dress up as Sarah Palin?
Lily: You can be anything you want to be!
Jack: I want to be a Can Opener!

Come to the next Teen Advisory Board meeting this week (Wednesday June 17th from 2-3pm)!

Lily's Review of Oedipus a greek tragedy

Review of Oedipus a greek tragedy

No. Just No. I am required to read this for school. Just no. I was excited because I love the Greek Myths, but, just do yourself a favor and don’t read it, please. Just No.

-Lily

GadgetJax Reviews: Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading (I can't believe that title)

I know I set the world on fire with my last review. I covered Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and I called it bad. 

Very bad. 

Twilight level of bad.

So, I needed some time to cool off and find a book in a similar genre that was actually good, which took a long time. So much time, that I actually gave up and moved onto other titles that I would personally recommend: The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict, Little House in the Woods, and one I'm working on right now: Eragon. (Hear that, Zack? I cracked from boredom and finally gave into your wish!)
With so many other titles mixed in, I eventually forgot my quest for finding a new title and went on with my standard reading selection. Well, I would of, anyway, if I didn't notice a peculiar-looking title on the Juvenile Fiction shelf at the Highland branch. I picked it up, read it, liked it a lot, and then it reminded me a lot of Wimpy Kid's genre, so I decided to review. So, what book was it?

The book has what is probably the best title for any piece of fiction. It is called, and I quote, it is called, AND I QUOTE...

"Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading"

Wow. When you have a title like that, what could possibly go wrong?

The Guide to Not Reading (I can't take that title seriously, it's so hypocritical.) is just another title in the tsunami of Middle School stories right now: Simple tale, just like every other book about a depressed grade school boy, but with a twist. Charlie Joe is our main character and narrator for the tale, but he hates books. No, I mean hates them a lot. So much so, that he gets his best friend Tim to read any assigned schools books for him in exchange for cafeteria food. 

O.o

So, with such a special twist, you can expect a lot from this book, and it truly delivers! I would cover the bits and pieces of the book in detail, but that would ruin the story, and TRUST ME. DON'T. SPOIL. THE. STORY. 

With story out of the way, I would like to take a moment to reflect on why this book excels over the Wimpy Kid formula.

First thing it gets right is the main character, Charlie Joe Jackson. Greg Heffley was a terrible character because the book kept trying to encourage you that he was the only nice person in the story, which was contradictory to the way he actually acted. On the other hand, The Guide to Not Reading makes 101% emphasis on how Charlie Joe is such a ridiculous person by his hatred of reading. This aspect is reinforced so good that the book contains little snippets inbetween explaining why Charlie Joe thinks reading is bad. It's hilarious stuff, with the best in the entire book being a mini-segment where Charlie Joe says that people that read need glasses because the small words hurt their eyes! That's comedy gold!

Speaking of little snippets, the sour disposition Charlie Joe has towards reading is reflected from the chapters. Each one is only a page or two long, and all of the long ones are followed up by little notes from Charlie Joe(the narrator, reminder to you) saying that he'll make sure that the next chapters are smaller. Seriously, the writing for this book is as good as the stuff in early Spongebob, and you want to know how good early Spongebob is?

That's how good it is.

The final thing that The Guide to Not Reading excels in over Wimpy Kid and all of that series is the cast. All of the other characters are fleshed out like needed, and while this is a common staple to ANY book, I can't even begin to tell you how refreshing it is to read a book that takes a pre-existing formula and adds the finishing touch right on key. All of these characters are specifically designed to counter-balance Charlie Joe's personality, and as such, it helps make the book feel like a community I can connect to.

Bottom line, if you want a book that will truly make you laugh, read this title. It gets so much right, that all it needs to do is be funny. Yes, there are a few little things here and there that ruin the book, but I can't really say anything about those issues without spoiling the book, so I'll end on this note: Read "Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Not Reading." It's amazing.