While the plot is nothing new (plane crashes, a few survive, they’re goal afterwards is to survive, blah blah blah), I still decided to see the movie. After all, seeing Liam Neeson go one-on-one with a wolf like the trailer leads you to believe was going to be entertaining no matter what the rest of the movie was like.

I’ve been wrong before, and this was one of those times. If you don’t want me to spoil it for you stop reading now.

That epic battle between man and wolf? It doesn’t happen. That’s where the screen goes dark. I haven’t been more disappointed in a movie’s ending since I realized the aliens were killed by water, but somehow decided it would be a good idea to invade the only planet that had any in Signs. Unfortunately, The Grey doesn’t have the excuse of being directed by M. Night Shyamalan to explain its downfall.

After two hours of watching Neeson and six others brave Alaskan wilderness and fight off an obscene amount of vengeful timberwolves, I expected some kind of closure. Instead I get a rip-off of the ending of The Sopranos.

I’m being harsh though. The characters in the film were well developed and interesting, and the acting was excellent. After a while you begin to feel for the characters, even if you are trying guess which one will go next. I was honestly surprised by how much I liked the majority of the movie, it’s upsetting  that it was ruined by the ending.

If you go in without expectations, this movie could be great; but if, like me, you want what the trailers promised, you’ll only be disappointed.

The story follows former Jeopardy! champion Thomas Horn as Oskar Schell, an intelligent, albeit odd, nine-year old on his quest for answers after his father’s death on 9/11.

After a year of grief and growing disconnection from his mother, played by Sandra Bullock, Oskar reenters his father’s room for the first time and finds a key in an envelope labeled “Black”.

From there the audience accompanies Oskar all over New York City in search of the right Black, sometimes joined by the mysterious and silent “Renter”, played by Max von Sydow. Sydow’s performance, while silent, is easily one of the best of the film. His silence is intriguing and his expressiveness more than makes up for his lack of words.

Between the subject matter, the people he meets, and the ending (I won’t spoil it for you), Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is most definitely a tear-jerker. However, the movie doesn’t just play on the audience’s emotions; it is legitimately moving.

What I witnessed at the end of the film is a testament to that. As the movie ended and the screen went to black, the theater remained completely silent. Throughout about 5 minutes of credits, not a single person moved. I sat there grasping everything I had just seen, thinking on the movie’s messages and drying tears, and I can only assume everyone else was doing the same.

Overall, I would definately recommend going to see Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. It’s good acting paired with a good story and absolutely worth a watch; just don’t forget tissues.

1) The Weeknd, House of Balloons

The Weeknd released a series of three mix tapes this year including House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence. From Abel Tesfaye’s (the Weeknd’s) Michael Jackson cover on Echoes of Silence which eerily recalls Jackson’s voice, to the despondent and pessimistic, yet captivating lyrics, Tesfaye’s mix tapes are the best thing I’ve listened to all year.

House of Balloons is by far the best of the three. While Echoes of Silence builds on lyrics and melodies from the previous two, House of Balloons is an entirely unique work. In it Tesfaye’s character struggles with his lustful desires, releasing all of his socially unacceptable thoughts and vengeful, self-satisfying behaviors.

The album lacks the discretion that many artists have when creating an album, and that’s one of the qualities that makes this mix tape so exceptionally good. Through the heavy bass patterns reminiscent of early R&B and his smooth, seductive vocals, Tesfaye creates this miserable, brooding, dispiriting sound that somehow always leaves me wanting more. *Listener discretion is advised.*

2) Thursday, No Devolucion

When I first listened to Thursday, I was hardly a fan. Their past albums were just too serious and full of screaming. However, No Devolucion seems to get it right. The perfect combination of  harsh and smooth vocals, lyrical content and instrumentation make this their best work.

The lyrics themselves are the key ingredient that enticed me to repeatedly listen to the record. There’s this tranquillity and serenity in the way singer Geoff Rickly sings and in the layered, smooth guitar lines, despite the poetic and complex ideas presented in the lyrics.

Standout track, A Darker Forest, takes on qualities of existentialism, questioning whether life’s choices matter, and reflect the lost and let-down theme of most of this album. The use of echo and repetition, and even the minor key it’s in, work together  to even further the idea of life being a lost cause, and never being satisfied with the mediocrity of our lives.

This was a great step for them. Sadly, Thursday won’t be releasing anything further because they announced their break-up mid-November.

3) Real Estate, Days

Easy, the first track off the album, sets the mood for the rest of the record. It falls somewhere under the category of beach-folk-indie music. Every time I listen, I lose myself in the nonchalant, laid-back, summer-esque tracks. The group seems to take delight in simple things from the surrounding world.

In, It’s Real, singer and guitarist Martin Courtney sings, “skated across the frozen sea.” Interestingly enough, he talks of things that aren’t even feasible, but in this dream world that Real Estate has created, anything is possible.

Given the description of the style, it would be easy to assume that Days is bland, but that is far from the case. There are so many layers of melodic, acoustic, upbeat guitar that it’s hard to determine how many parts are actually going on at any given time.

The rolling, cheery rhythm pulses through each song and it’s just a magnificent blend of harmonizing, lulling vocals and intertwined, crisp, clear guitar.

4)Gotye, Making Mirrors

It seems that some of the most creative and inspired albums are made during periods of desperation and depression. Wouter De Backer, who performs under the stage name Gotye, delivers a multifarious collection of songs that seem about as bipolar as the albums on this list.

The album begins on a more solemn note with tracks like, Somebody That I Used to Know, the first single off the track (and by far the best), evoking hidden but indelible memories, recalling the strange emptiness of a broken relationship. Backer’s own battle with depression shaped the more passionate songs on the album. But then, as Backer overcomes this, he shifts gears and writes songs like, I Feel Better, which could easily be disguised as a mo-town song from 50 years ago.

With a drumming background from his previous band, Backer made the album interesting, making the beats, rhythm and percussion (many of which were sampled) very diverse and atypical from song to song. The album sounds like a mix between Beck’s albums Odelay and Sea Change but with more powerful vocals than Beck could ever muster up.

Because Backer’s introspection was the idea behind most of this album, it’s very easy to empathize with because we all experience these emotions. It’s something many artists attempt to achieve but never really master.

As the host of Peabody Energy’s Christmas Party, my family and many other employers’ close ones gathered to celebrate the holidays at the Opera House. The venue had multiple ball rooms, two including smaller stages, where attendees were treated to a buffet h’orderves styled dinner. Alongside the dinner food were dessert stands with a variety of cupcakes, cake balls and hot chocolate.

Other than the food, I was pleased at how visually striking the Opera House was. Even after restoring many elements of the theater, every room remained in its original, ornate state from the 30s. My favorite detail was the ceilings, which were extremely rich in color and design.

My first complaint is the seating. Inside the theater, which I find gorgeous, the seats did not appear to be new. I was sure of that after sitting in them for the first 30 minutes of the show; my legs went numb. It was also very stuffy and close-knit.

Even though the seating was uncomfortable, the show made the numbness worth my while. The show included several special effects, which surprised me as I assumed the show wouldn’t be especially spectacular.

Stefan Karl, star of Nickelodeon’s LazyTown, plays the Grinch. In my opinion, he did an outstanding job with the character. What made his acting come across so well was his improve; the show had a personal element as Karl interacted with audience members throughout the play.

Like most non-regular play goers, I would assume the repetitive music becomes obnoxious during the play. While the “Whos” squeaky voices did get to be a little much for my taste, I enjoyed the production and its amusing sense of humor.

Attending Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas put me in the holiday mood for December and makes me excited to go back to the Peabody Opera House. I am looking forward to attending future productions.

The first half of the last movie in the Twilight Saga, Breaking Dawn: Part 1, was released on Nov. 18, or at the midnight showing of Nov. 17 into Nov. 18.

I was able to see this at the midnight showing, even though I am not as obsessed as some people are. In fact, I am not really obsessed at all. The only reason I decided to go was because I have never been able to go before, and I thought seeing a movie at midnight sounded like fun.

However, I must say I was pleasantly surprised with the movie in general. I’ll start telling my thoughts from the beginning of the movie.

The wedding scene in the beginning was pretty emotional, even though I don’t think Kristen Stewart is very good at showing emotions. I got teary-eyed during the wedding, but this could be due to the fact that I get teary-eyed most every time I see any wedding.

The main thing that made me cry during this scene was the line that Bella said to her dad, Charlie, right before he walked her down the aisle. She turned to him and said, “Don’t let me fall, dad.”

Of course, she had a straight face when she said this and she showed nearly no emotion whatsoever, but I thought that was a perfect line for this point in the movie.

As usual, Charlie was a very funny character, especially throughout the wedding and reception scenes, with his witty comments to both Bella and Edward.

One of the funniest scenes in the movie was when all of Bella and Edward’s friends and family were giving their speeches at the reception. Each one was unique and funny, with Renee singing the lullaby she sang to Bella as a child, and Jessica complaining about why Edward chose Bella over herself.

The honeymoon came next, and the scenes were funny, but I must say the “wedding night” scene would be awkward to watch with your siblings or parents, so I suggest going to the movie with a group of friends.

As soon as Bella realized she was pregnant, the movie seemed to skip a lot of time, for Bella went from being on the island with Edward and not looking pregnant at all to being back home at the Cullen’s house looking like she was eight months pregnant.

Of course, part of this is due to the fact that the baby grows super fast, so the movie really only skipped two weeks of time, but I still think that was too much time to skip.

At this point, Jacob realized that Bella was back home and visited her at the Cullen’s house. He got mad, blah blah blah blah, blamed Edward, blah blah blah blah, then went back to his pack.

At this point, all of the werewolves can hear each other’s thoughts, and I was wondering how they would make this part seem realistic in the movie. I was disappointed however, because I feel they could have done so much better.

Each of the wolves’ voices blended together and it was hard to understand who was talking, let alone, what they were saying. This was one of the worst parts in the movie, considering the wolves did not look or speak very realistically.

Then, Jacob decided to break away from Sam’s pack and begin his own pack. Seth then Leah followed him and joined his new pack, agreeing to help guard the Cullen’s house (or should I say mansion).

Seth and Leah are not very good actors, but I do like their characters.

Now back to Bella and the other Cullens. They all realize that the baby (or whatever it is) is destroying her from the inside out, so they try feeding her blood. This was overly disgusting, because they showed her physically drinking the blood.

Although I realized it was not real blood, it still disgusted me and I could have gone without seeing this.

Basically, between this point and the birth scene, not much happens, except there is a confrontation between Sam and Jacob, and nearly a fight between Esme, Carlisle, and Emmett (who I must say is my favorite character in the whole movie) and a small pack of the wolves.

Not long after this, the birth scene begins. It was very true to the birth scene in the book, going into nearly as much detail as the book did. It was disgusting. By far the most disgusting part of the entire movie.

They didn’t physically show the baby clawing its way out of Bella’s stomach, but it showed her face, the blood, and you could hear everything going on.

I understand that they had to do this so that it mirrored the book, and I just have a weak stomach, so most people could probably handle this scene better than I could.

After this, Edward goes crazy and this was another point in the movie that pulled at my heart a little. However, this could possibly be because it was about 1:30 in the morning at this point, but still, you get the point.

I have read all the books, yet I still was somehow not sure whether Bella would live or not. The scene was fairly realistic and emotional. This was probably because Bella was supposed to look dead, so Kristen Stewart didn’t have to show any emotion, so it was realistic.

The very last scene is of Bella physically transforming into a vampire while she is still “asleep.” Then at the last second, her eyes snapped open with a dramatic “duh duh duh” in the music and they were blood red.

From there, the credits began and I left the theater, no longer tired at all because of the excitement of the movie. However, apparently there was another scene with the Volturi after the credits that I was not able to see (sad face). So be sure to stay for the credits when you see the movie!

Over all, I was impressed with the movie and may even see it again in theaters, despite its few flaws.

Returning to  the emphasis on dramatic historical events and interesting characters which drove his Invictus, Eastwood portrays one of histories most intense and colorful characters with all the skill that he deserves.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays J. Edgar Hoover from age 24 up until his death at age 77, with Hollywood magic creating a convincing old man out of 37 year old DiCaprio.

Starring opposite DiCaprio are Armie Hammer (Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss of The Social Network) as assistant FBI director and companion Clyde Tolson and Naomi Watts (Ann Darrow in King Kong) as personal secretary Helen Gandy. Both play the characters throughout their lives at the FBI, from the 1920′s through the 1970′s.

The cast blends effortlessly, making the tension between DiCaprio and Hammer as well as the camaraderie between DiCaprio and Watts believable. It is DiCaprio that shines most though, giving Hoovers character all the strength, angst, frustration and eccentricity he was known for.

The plot touches on everything history loves to mention about Hoover, from the rumored homosexuality to his infamous ‘secret files’. If you have any interest at all about J. Edgar Hoover or are just a history buff, this is a must-see film.

All I could think of was fried fish and hush puppies, and that’s not my idea of good eating.

However, the menu exceeded expectations.  I found a veggie burger, and so, of course I ordered that.

After I ordered my meal and before I received it, I had time to evaluate the overall atmosphere of the restaurant.  It was bustling and busy, but not overflowing, with an overall positive buzz going around.  One explanation, of course, was that we arrived when the Cards were competing against the Braves, during that pivotal game when we won.

Then my food came out, and it was warm, and looked absolutely scrumptious.  However, when I bit into the burger, there was some sort of sauce atop it that carried a bit of a bite.  Although surprising, the mystery sauce was not altogether unwelcome as it was full of flavor and really added to the overall taste of the burger.

Needless to say, I would go back to Syberg’s in a heartbeat.  I wouldn’t go so far as to say Syberg’s is my favorite restaurant ever, but I will probably be paying them another visit very soon.

Price of burger: $8.95

Overall, the album is vocally incredible, is beautifully mixed and has outstanding flow. The layering of harmonies and other voices over the main melodies of singer Jack Steadman blew me away.

The rhythmic ideas, guitar and bass lines and the variety of ideas and sounds throughout the entire album make a huge impact.

Though I love every song on the album, there are some definite standouts.

The record begins with How Can You Swallow So Much Sleep, and the transition from the trance-like indie start of Steadman’s trembling voice combined with the repetition of a bright guitar line to the adding of the dance drum beat, then striking lead guitar line and bass line truly sets up the rest of the album.

It’s all about a natural eb and flow, and each song is placed on a pedestal by the songs before and after it.

The droning punk aspects of Bad Timing, the cheeriness of Your Eyes and the clear 80′s influence on the whole album (especially Take the Right One and Lights, Words Gone) displays the large variety that encompasses the high energy of the album.

Bombay Bicycle Club wrote some fantastic parts for all of the instruments used on the album. My favorites include the repetitive, bright piano line on Shuffle, the echo-like beauty of the guitar line for Fracture and my absolute favorite, which is the intricate funk bass line of Beg (the dance song/best way possible to end the record).

British artist Lucy Rose provided the female harmonies for the album. Her airy voice layered gorgeously with Steadman’s. Her voice most noticeably stood out on Leave It, and truly, she added the spice the song would have needed had she not sang on the track.

There is one song on the album that presented itself as “the best of the best”. The fourth track, Lights Out, Words Gone is simply put, stunning. Somehow it is both mellow and energetic at the same time, creating a dream-like sound. It seems as though each instrument and voice are working in perfect harmony. Needless to say, the song leaves me breathless every time I hear it. I can’t bring myself to skip it when it shows up in a shuffle, and it is the first song in a long time that I am able to listen to over and over again.

A rarity for me, Bombay Bicycle Club’s latest record gets a five out of five. In my opinion it is not only flawless, but the best album that has come out this year. I certainly hope thatA Different Kind of Fix gets the recognition it deserves.

Bon Iver, one of my absolute favorite artists, performed a sold-out show with eight brilliant others and an amazing opening band.

The night started with Canada-based Kathleen Edwards, who had a beautiful, pure voice. She played violin, unfortunately only on one song because of her fantastic ability at guitar and piano. She was backed up by two men who both sang and played guitar.

Though they were completely stringed instrument and vocal based, they filled up so much space (mostly because her voice was ridiculously full and angelic).

Edwards’ songwriting abilities are amazing, and I honestly believe that her lyrics and melodies make her a universal artist; anyone could find positive aspects to her music.

When the nine-piece band of Bon Iver came out onto the stage, the crowd went completely nuts. They started with high energy and blew my mind within the first 20 seconds. The lighting was dramatic, the sound was full beyond belief and level of talent was astonishing.

Here are the instruments I saw: 15 guitars (acoustic and electric), an electric bass, two full drum kits, numerous percussion instruments, two keyboards, a viola, a violin, clarinets, a bass saxophone, an alto saxophone, a trumpet, a French horn, and six vocalists.

This was all just for Bon Iver; just one band. Are you kidding me?

I think if they even attempted to cram that stage with one more instrument, no one would’ve been able to move around. It was straight up incredible.

Each and every song was different in the sense that there was new lighting and new instruments used. The musicians were multi-talented and everyone played at least two different instruments.

One song would be horns based, one strings based, one more rock based with a focus on drums and the electric instruments. The variety kept me constantly captivated.

Justin Vernon, the lead singer and persona behind the band, sang beautifully and did a great job at leading the other musicians.

It was very clear to see how dedicated each and every performer on stage was not only to music, but to Bon Iver itself. They took Vernon’s older songs and transformed them form acoustic based songs to full band songs.

I can only imagine how much time and effort the conversion of those songs took.

The show was practically perfection, and nothing proved this more than the very last show of the night. Playing a crowd favorite called Skinny Love, they had Vernon singing lead and everyone but the two drummers crowded around two microphones singing beautiful harmonies.

Shows like that are hard to come by, and I know I’m a lucky girl for getting to see Bon Iver live.

As a picky eater and a vegetarian, I’m used to having a very limited choice as to what I will eat at any restaurant. However, this was not the case at Genghis Grill.

You walk in, and must wait to be seated, which proved to be a problem for our group when we arrived there at 7:30 p.m. on a Friday night, something I would not recommend if you are in need of food quickly. We had a 20 minute wait, but were finally seated and ordered drinks.

When you are seated, the host(ess) hands you a silver bowl. With this bowl, you walk up and choose all your ingredients, scooping the amount you choose into your bowl.

First is the meat section, which I skipped, then you come to bowls of spices. You spoon the desired amount on to season your meat. In my case, I passed the meats and spices and went to the spread of vegetables, where I was not disappointed in the options laid out. After picking my vegetables, I went back to the spices. What I did not realize was that the tofu was put out with the vegetables, and I had completely overlooked it.

After the vegetables, you pick up another bowl and fill it with your choice of sauce.

Then, you hand it to a chef and choose your starch, which includes rice, pasta or tortillas. At this time, they ask if you have any food allergies and note it on a card that they put with your food.

You go back to your table with a number and wait while the “grill masters” stir-fry your meal.

I had a mix of broccoli, carrots and green beans with a citrus garlic herb seasoning and the honey soy sauce. Unfortunately, I missed the tofu or I probably would have added a few pieces to my bowl. I chose brown rice as my starch.

I thought the food was delicious and a quick, healthy option, as I expect there is not always such a long wait to be seated. I loved my sauce and seasoning, and they complemented the rice and vegetables very well, ending up in an unusual but very enjoyable meal.

Overall, I thought Genghis Grill was a great restaurant with so many different options that I would struggle to find someone who couldn’t come up with at least one combination they love. Also, the restaurant was nice and clean, with friendly servers.

Price of Meal: $10.26 without tip