[email protected] Technique Entertainment Editor: Jennifer Aldoretta 9 Friday, Entertainment May 28, 2010

Sequel thrills comic film fans with action, 2 humor By Chris Ernst Staff Writer

Iron Man 2, the sequel to the 2008 blockbuster, Iron Man, had the sev- enth-highest opening day ever and with good reason. Among so many mov- ies based on comic books, the Iron Man franchise is a breath of fresh air. It combines action, comedy and charisma in a way that pleases fans and raises the bar for other summer blockbusters. starts almost immediately after Tony Stark announced he was in fact Iron Man at the end of Iron Man. There is nothing in the sequel that cannot be inferred, so watching the original recently or even at all is not all together necessary. Throughout the film, Tony Stark and try to handle the situation and the company now that the cat is out of the bag. The two constantly butt heads and war with words to get the other to see just how ridiculous they are being. The cast is really quite fantastic. Robert Downey Jr. brings so much to Tony Stark, making him someone the audience can actually sympathize with. Gwyneth Paltrow also breathes life into the typical “over-stressed as- sistant,” as Pepper Potts. She is the voice of reason, saying the things the audi- ence wants to scream at Stark. Sam Rockwell as is so easy to dislike and feel sorry for at the same time. It is a pleasure to hate him. Watch out for his dance moves and spray-tan-hands, both of which are sources of several laughs. The cast is really alive and is one of the main reasons Iron Man 2 is so enjoyable. No actor gives the impression of just doing it for the money (but if they are, then they are great actors) but rather for the greater good of the story. Each actor fits into the plot perfectly, neither feeling like the sole focus of the movie nor ignored. What is definitely not ignored is the action; there is plenty of action and excitement and all of it is presented well. There is never confusion over what FILM the audience is watching. Thinking back to The Bourne Supremacy, which also had a lot of action Iron Man 2 (but made it very difficult to focus and understand what was going on) or GENRE: Action, Adventure Transformers II, which presented many vague, shiny figures, Iron Man 2 has clear, easily understood and exciting action. It is very pure and matter-of-fact STARRING: Robert Downey with the way several scenes are presented. There is no fancy camera work or Jr., Scarlett Johansson and mind-bending angles. It is just the good guys versus the bad guys. Mickey Rourke Iron Man 2 is a great movie, but it does not quite live up to its predeces- DIRECTOR: Jon Favreau sor. It was almost hurt by the success of Iron Man, which had the advantage of having no expectations attached to it. Iron Man 2 only falls short when RATING: PG-13 compared to its predecessor, which was slightly more funny and original. RELEASE DATE: May 7, 2010 However, this comes with the territory of introducing a new superhero. Once the honeymoon is over, it will not be quite as good as when it was new. OUR TAKE: «««« « Iron Man 2 is a fantastic blockbuster, especially when compared to many other similar comic book summer movies. It is exciting, funny and wholly

Image courtesy of Paramount Pictures entertaining. Extant fans and newbies alike can enjoy the film.

HTC Droid Incredible LOST finale leaves questions unanswered blends function, fun TELEVISION ers satisfied, the show failed to provide TECH REVIEW has built upon this foundation and is the best the casual viewer or the twist-seeker Android phone to date. LOST: the final season with any meaningful resolution. Droid Incredible There are two hardware components that NETWORK: ABC For the uninitiated, here’s a quick set this phone apart from most other An- synopsis of the show’s past six sea- MANUFACTURER: HTC droid devices on the market. The first is the RUN TIME: Feb. 10 - May 23, sons. Lost begins with survivors of a processor. Like the Nexus One by Google, 2010 crashed commercial flight waking up SERVICE PROVIDER: Verizon the Droid Incredible has a one gigahertz in a seemingly uncharted island. Early Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, which OUR TAKE: ««««« episodes of the first season carried the Wireless is much faster than the ones found in other tone of a standard survival series with smartphones on the market. This means that By Yameen Huq characters handling their day-to-day DIMENSIONS: 4.6 x 2.3 x 0.5 the phone is faster than the Droid and much Contributing Writer lives and surviving while attemping faster than older generation Android phones to understand and coexist with one OUR TAKE: ««««« like the T-Mobile G1 and Sprint Hero. After six years of having their another. The second is the camera. The Droid -In brains scrambled and contorted by Then, in a plot twist, the island is credible has an eight megapixel camera with misdirection and numerous twists and revealed to have its own pre-existing By Andrew Akker dual LED flash. It takes very stunning and surprises, viewers finally witnessed the inhabitants, people who were a part Contributing Writer bright photos. end of the ABC television series, Lost. of some previous colony. In addition, Other hardware improvements the In- A show known through the years for an unknown known only as the Six months after Verizon released a new credible has over other phones include hav- its chaotic storyline, multiple time- “Smoke Monster” seemingly murders line of smartphones headlined by the HTC ing 512MB RAM, double the amount of lines and alternate universes, its finale many existing characters. The first few Droid Eris and the Motorola Droid, there is a the Motorola Droid. The screen is a 3.7 in. was hoped by many to provide long- seasons served to lay the framework new addition to the Droid family: the HTC AMOLED capacitive touch screen that in- awaited answers to some of the show’s of this seemingly inspired and un- Droid Incredible. The previous two Droid cludes multi-touch gestures like pinch-zoom. biggest questions. usual show, which not only concluded models have brought success to the Android There is a MicroUSB port on the side along Alas, a show that raises so many what was mentioned above, but also market, allowing those on Verizon to experi- with volume rocker, as well as a 3.5mm head- questions and twists can only expect to conspiracy theories, alleged “magic,” ence the evolving world of the Android mo- do so much in its 150-minute conclu- underground laboratories and polar bile operating system. The Droid Incredible See HTC, page 10 sion. While providing the emotional closure that will leave long-time view- See LOST, page 10 10 • May 28, 2010 • Technique ENTERTAINMENT

LOST from page 9 bears. As the seasons deepened, so did the narrative. The story had always been sprinkled with flash- backs. These bits of insight served to heighten the viewer’s relation- ship with characters and provide a greater sense of depth to actions in the story. However, the third sea- son finale turned this concept on its head when it was revealed that the episode’s flashbacks were actu- ally flashforwards. This narrative choice, while certainly creative, added an extra layer of confusion and intrigue. To further add to that, this fi- nal season included flashsideways, another innovative storytelling Image courtesy of Gear Live technique that displayed a world HTC from page 9 2.1 (Android 2.2 having just been seemingly like the original, but announced at Google I/O). How- with the characters never becom- phone jack along the top. ever, it does not run a completely ing stranded on the island. This Looking at the exterior de- plain look of the operating system alternative timeline actually be- Image courtesy of ABC sign of the phone, there are a few like the Motorola Droid. comes the crux of the finale, tak- things worth mentioning. Born HTC Sense includes many ing precedence over the actual ac- only half way over. peared only in the Purgatory and, from what HTC calls a “race car useful features, the most impor- tion. It all went downhill from here. thus were never real, is a mystery inspired design,” the first thing tant one being useful widgets that Now, the finale itself starts off After more frolicking in the island as unanswered as every other mys- anyone notices is the contoured integrate well into the text mes- well enough. The characters are play pool, Jack shuts off the sys- tery in the story. layering on the back. HTC also saging, stocks and music applica- forced to fight the major antago- tem and saves everyone at the cost Ending the story in a terribly decided to add some red accents tions. nist, the “Smoke Monster”, who of his own life. politically correct conception (following the race car inspira- However great the Droid In- has now taken on the appearance The viewers are now left to of heaven that featured symbols tion), such as around the camera credible is as a device, there are of the deceased character John speculate as to exactly what the from all major religions ultimately on the back and on the earpiece a few shortcomings. The major Locke. island was, what the island hi- seemed like a feel-good copout on the front. thing is battery life. Typical use, For a show with one of the eroglyphics mean, why pregnant that skirted having to answer When the battery casing is normal internet browsing every so highest budgets, the room where women die on the island, who the questions raised during the last six open, the inside has a bright red often, a few texts and emails here much of the action takes place is smoke monster is, etc. The unan- years of the show. interior. It does not add any func- and there and music for about rather ridiculous. A cross between swered questions are seemingly With its random bursts of ac- tion or usability to the phone, but two to three hours in the day, will a family pool and one of Nickel- endless and leave the viewer com- tion and intrigue throughout a it adds a level of flare and looks power the phone for most of the odeon’s old kid’s game shows, the ing out of the show feeling the fuzzy and feel-good narrative, the cool. Although a MicroSD card day. main protagonists look terribly same way he did coming into it. Lost finale proves itself to be what is not included, the phone does The Droid Incredible is a per- goofy frolicking around in the As for the flashsideways, it most long-running mystery shows include an 8GB onboard storage fect mix of enterprise features for pool as they attempt move around turns out it is not an alternative tend to be all along: a giant pyra- location for things like music and power users and social features for giant rocks and shut off the is- universe at all, but a quasi-Pur- mid scheme. By attempting to pictures, and a MicroSD card up casual users. It is great for those land’s power. At times, this seems gatory, somehow created by the latch onto its viewers by answer- to 32GB can be added for a total who are looking to transition to almost reminiscent of something characters in order to meet after ing a previous season’s questions space of up to 40GB. This makes a smartphone but still want the out of a video game. they’re all long deceased. In fact, with more questions, the show the phone perfect for those who easy-to-use functionality of most After shutting off the island’s the final episode’s flashsideways backs itself into a corner where it also want to use the phone as an other phones. If anyone in the power, it is revealed in a minor narrative seemingly consists of ultimately cannot provide a rea- MP3 player. market is looking for an upgrade twist that the Monster has lost his heartwarming moments of all sonable resolution. The software on the phone is on Verizon, look no further than immortality, rendering it possible the characters gathering together Lost ends with this feel-good also a big part of the Droid In- the HTC Droid Incredible, which for Jack, the hero, to kill him. The in happy reunion. Why the writ- ending as if to say, “Yes, we never credible experience. It runs the lat- is $199 on a new two-year con- fight scene was relatively short and ers chose to include random plot had a plan for what we did, but at est widespread release of Android, tract or upgrade. surprising because the finale was points with characters that ap- least the ending is happy.”

sliver Need Cash for Grad School? www.nique.net hoopla! wanna fanta Apply for an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship! Thanks for blocking off every Skiles alternative so that I’m forced to be solicited. Come to the info session: I’ve known Victor for three years and he still radiates stranger danger. June 15th, 11:00am ANAK members unvailed, they’re all SGA goons. Conspiracy? dude in library east commons: what are you doing playing WOW Clary Theater, Success Center in the library at 5 PM on a Saturday? dude: what am I doing in the library east commons at 5 pm on For more information about this and a saturday? other fellowship opportunities, Ivi likes men. contact Dr. Karen Adams: 49ers, NFC West Champions 2010-2011 Eagles, last place [email protected] Raiders, Super Bowl Champs

NOTE: NSF fellowship only available to U.S. citizens and permanent residents Can the Ravens get anyy worse? LLUULLZZ at your mom 49ers > Bills > Ravens Is there a guiness world record for slivers? Guiness is soooooo good! Is it sad that I looked up the patent for the widget that releases nitrogen in the guiness bottle? Sliver what?! For real college sweetheart. I need my room cleaned. Know of something Wallace for president. Oh wait! Elections are over :( (or somebody) Ah! Push it! This is for all my out-of-states in the struggle! interesting on campus? It hailed on Saturday. Georgia weather are you kidding me?!?! I’m tired. Can’t we just be deatheaters. she’s so cute!!!! Tell us at [email protected] meet me in outer space...we could spend the night, watch the Earth come up Dr. J says “Don’t eat at Woodies” Yay Corey Boone! I’m slivering because I like to read the slivers on Friday and y’all stopped writing them. ENTERTAINMENT Technique • May 28, 2010 • 11

Theme Crossword: The Size of It By Robert Zimmerman United Features Syndicate 45. Netsuke material 83. Collins or Silvers 46. Card game 84. Answer of a kind ACROSS 47. Roughly made 85. Max. opp. 1. Crowds 48. Spinnaker 86. Sauce rich in basil 5. Name in Genesis 49. Kind of skiing 87. Poplar 9. Recipe direction 51. -- -and-peck 89. Whistle sounds 13. Declines 52. Stout 90. Avant-garde artists 17. Writer -- Wiesel 53. Pitchman’s pitch 93. Cut 18. All-night dance parties 54. Reckoning 94. Armor plate 20. Firth or Farrell 55. Bout 95. List of candidates 21. Old instrument 56. Jawbreakers and lemon 96. Backpacker 22. Russian duchess drops: 2 wds. 98. Old Greek city-state 23. Prairies of America: 2 58. Word in a palindrome 99. Last syllable wds. 59. Thicker 101. Thicken 25. Brute 60. A cont. 102. On schedule 26. Galvanized vessels 61. “-- -- Blue?” 105. Mackinaw 28. “-- Today” 63. Plant bristle 106. Enjoying the lap of luxu- 29. Canvassed 65. Roll of dough ry: 2 wds. 31. Openings 66. Noisy group 111. “La -- Bonita” 32. Dieter’s concern 69. Contribute 112. Solitary 34. Seasoning plant 71. Unorthodox 113. Appearance 35. Offerings at theaters 76. Of country life 114. Guide 37. Favoring 77. Ardent lover 115. Nothingness 38. Special showing for focus 79. Gems 116. Connectives groups 80. Ironstone is one 117. Christmastime 42. A flower 81. Lupino and namesakes 118. Settles on (with “for”) 43. Spume 82. Americanprophet 119. Salamanders

DOWN 14. The majors: 2 wds. 35. TV superstar 1. Catty remark 15. Caliber 36. Deen or Zahn 2. Stew pot 16. Komatik 37. Feminine name 55. Spaces for ticketholders 74. Sharp ridge 94. Printer cartridge 3. High roller: 2 wds. 19. Royal house of 39. Nefarious 57. French painter 75. Slightest 97. Firkin 4. Marine creature Scotland 40. Slight burn 59. Stay 77. Noted WWII 98. Washington’s -- Sound 5. Remonstrates 20. Buckle 41. Keyboard key 62. Notion: prefix riveter 99. Western campus 6. Insults 24. Greek letter 43. Happily 64. Member of a family 78. Table scraps 100. Crackpot 7. Arden and Queler 27. Cheeseboard 44. Kind of unwanted 66. Name in children’s litera- 82. With the intellect 102. Make ready for surgery 8. Farmland 30. Too suave mail ture 84. Upbeat 103. Dismounted 9. Anaconda 32. Ice Age animal: 2 48. Lean 67. Broadcast signal 86. Kiddie carriage 104. Youths 10. “The Greatest” wds. 50. Pasternak’s 68. Show off 88. Bombards 107. Certain promise 11. Folks 33. Fast-food order: 2 Antipova 70. Spanish title 89. Soapy mineral 108. -- -au-vent 12. Surround, in a way wds. 51. Indic language 72. Pour 91. Privileged ones 109. Presidential nickname 13. Develop 34. Pal 53. Racing boat 73. -- -- Rhodes 92. Symptoms 110. From -- -- Z

NS_1123 Georgia Tech Newspaper Ad.indd 1 5/19/10 11:11 AM 12 • May 28, 2010 • Technique COMICS

Piled Higher & Deeper by Jorge Cham Non Sequitur by Wiley

Crossword Solution from page 11 COMICS Technique • May 28, 2010 • 13

Non Sequitur by Wiley DILBERT ® by Scott Adams