"Reviews"

DAN RECOMMENDS:

I May Be Wrong But I Doubt It
Charles Barkley (Random House)
Charles Barkley says the things that we all think of but are afraid to say. On the basketball court Barkley was successful because he was very aggressive and wasn’t afraid to go up against anybody. He brings that same thinking to this book. Charles Barkley talks about issues from being a role model to the tragedy of September 11th. You may not always agree with what he says but you will be entertained by how he explains his ideas and he will make you think while you laugh. This book is perfect for intermediate level English students.It has short chapters that discuss different topics, which gives us a fun and interesting ideas.

Radio
(Colombia Pictures)
Cuba Gooding Jr. stars in one of this year’s best movies. This movie is based on the true story of football coach in the 1970’s who becomes friends with a mentally challenged young black man nicknamed Radio. Cuba Gooding Jr. does an Oscar-worthy job as the mentally challenged Radio. Radio wanders around town minding his own business until one day the high school football team decides to play a joke on him. They tape up Radio and lock him in the football supply shed until the coach notices what is happening. The coach then lets Radio loose and makes friends with the man. The story shows how a small town becomes friends with a mentally challenged man because of the kindness of the football coach.

RUN-DMC
Greatest Hits
(Arista Records)
Run DMC are the responsible for Rap music as it is today. They were the first rap group to mix hard-hitting rock and roll guitars with the heavy beats and rhymes of rap music. They brought rap music from the neighborhoods of New York City to the rest of the word. They were the first rap group to have a video on MTV and the first rappers to have an album go platinum. This album is a collection of their greatest hits from 1983 to 1993. If you love rap and want an album that is easy to understand and sing along with, this is it. These songs are rap classics that every rap fan should know about.

JOSEPH RECOMMENDS:

Man’s Search for Meaning
(Published by Simon and Schuster)
In his book Man’s Search for Meaning, Dr. Viktor E. Frankl takes you into his life at a Nazi concentration camp, where he was stripped to nothingness and left for dead. In this interesting book Dr. Frankl shows how through all the suffering and pain of the camp he was able to overcome his hard times by finding meaning in his life, even though he had nothing to live for. His work is a historic achievement to psychology and a very worthy read.

The Pirates of the Caribbean
(Walt Disney Pictures)
The Pirates of the Caribbean is a funny action adventure/comedy based on the exciting Disneyland ride. Johnny Depp’s crazy character Jack Sparrow completely steals the show as from the beginning to the end of the show you never really know what to expect. Helping his efforts are the great cast of Orlando Bloom and Geoffery Rush, who for my money plays the best villains in Hollywood. The Pirates of the Caribbean takes you on an fantastic journey through the high seas. If you like treasure hunting pirate movies, this one stands high and above the rest.

Live
Birds of Prey
(Radioactive records)
When I first heard the song “Heaven” off Live’s newest album Birds of Prey, I was instantly surprised by the energy that was created. It made me believe Live was as important today as they were before.Until now, their biggest commercial success had been Throwing Copper. Heaven’s strong spiritual lyrics prove that it’s ok to present a positive message in rock and roll and sell records. “I don’t need no one to tell me about heaven, I look at my daughter and I believe.” This is just one example of an album full of well written verses, complimented with powerful sound. If you like old fashioned rock and roll, I would highly recommend you give this album a listen.