Close your eyes. Imagine you are an 8-year-old child in Africa. Imagine living in fear of being taken away from your family by a rebel army. Imagine having friends that have disappeared who you know are now child soldiers and sex slaves. Imagine going to bed at night and wondering if you might be next. Imagine if no one knew.
Over the course of last week, the 10th Annual Newport Beach Film Festival showcased over 400 films from 45 different countries at Edwards Island Cinemas in Fashion Island and Lido Theater in Newport Peninsula.
One look at director Joe Wright's ("Atonement") latest film and you think you have it figured out. What it looks like from trailers and clips is your average awards-bait film; a disabled savant whose inner talent is brought out by his friendship with a saner person. For the most part, this assumption is correct, but a surprising lack of a few major conventions of the feel-good Oscar flick, and the strength of the two lead actors makes what could have been another sappy paint-by-numbers experience into something actually worth seeing.
Rather than turning left to go to the Loan Reserves Desk or making a right to the couches and study cubicles, students should take 20 steps straight ahead.
On Friday night, the Greek community held its 30th annual Songfest philanthropy event in the Bren Events Center. This year, the event raised over $30,000 for the Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer program, burying Songfest's goal of $25,000. Each fraternity and sorority at UC Irvine paired up in fall quarter and for the entire year rigorously rehearsed 12 minutes from a play of their choosing. The end result is three hours of singing, dancing and choreography. Past Songfests have included segments from plays such as "Wicked" and "All Shook Up."
We fly high, U-C-I, you know it! Now that I have the cheese out of the way, let me get even straighter to the point. UC Irvine sports have never been better. I repeat, never been better!
