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Articles by Diana Beechener

Catch one last glimpse of these orange beauties before they head south for the winter

Each year as the leaves turn orange in Maryland, orange-tinted butterflies turn south. Monarch butterflies, easily recognizable in bold orange and yellow hues, visit Maryland each spring and summer to enjoy nectar and liquids from fruit.     While the monarchs might be fun to spot in your garden, make sure to keep pets and children from trying to sample the insects. As larvae, the monarchs eat a strict diet of only milkweed, which helps them develop cardenolides — a poison...

A trio of killers leaves a bloody path and a pretty entertaining movie in their wake

Let’s get this out of the way now: Killer Elite is not high art. Though veiled under the pretense of a globe-trotting spy thriller, the movie is basically an excuse to watch attractive men beat the heck out of each other.     And that’s fine. In fact, it’s pretty fun.     The movie follows mercenary Danny (Jason Statham: Gnomeo & Juliet) as he leaves the gun-for-hire business and tries to start over after nearly killing a child on his last...

A Hollywood stuntman moonlights as a wheelman but winds up in the mob’s crosshairs after a heist goes bad

Los Angeles stunt driver, Driver (Ryan Gosling: Crazy, Stupid, Love.), isn’t above moonlighting to make a little extra cash. He offers his services as a wheelman to robbers in the greater L.A. area.     He lives a monk-like existence, moving from one Spartan apartment to another and speaking with no one but his manager/boss/agent Shannon (Bryan Cranston: Contagion). Driver is content with that existence until he meets shy waitress Irene (Carey Mulligan: Never Let Me Go)...

Chesapeake Beach Resort unveils its all-new historic band shell for outdoor concerts

When Otto Mears first brought the railroad to Chesapeake Beach in 1900, he spent $6 million to build his dream town, a Monte Carlo on the Bay. More than a century later, Chesapeake Beach Resort partner Gerald Donovan is keeping that dream alive by rebuilding one of Mears’ original attractions.     “Mears built this huge boardwalk on the Bay, so people would come from around the D.C. area,” says Donovan. “He advertised it as one hour to the sea. It was...

A trio of great performances beats sports movie clichés to make a knock out

The Conlon boys were born to fight. Father Paddy (Nick Nolte: Zookeeper) devoured their youth training young Tommy for wrestling matches and beating the life out of the family while drinking away his Vietnam flashbacks. After years of abuse, his wife makes a plan to run and takes Tommy. Older brother Brendan chooses to stay.     The boys grow into very different men.     Brendan (Joel Edgerton: Animal Kingdom) married his neighborhood sweetheart, enjoyed a brief...

Silly shenanigans spoil an otherwise taut thriller

Three Mossad spies sneak into East Berlin on a mission to capture Nazi war criminal Vogel (Jesper Christensen: A Family). They return to Israel heroes, with a daring story of espionage and the scars to prove it. Thirty years later, the former spies are still national heroes and celebrities thanks to a new book on the mission. Problem is the book and the official story are lies. When a man in a Ukrainian nursing home claims he is in fact Vogel, the team must go on one last mission to protect...

No budget and absurd scripting leave this flick lost in space

In space no one can hear you scream, which is too bad for the astronauts of Apollo 18, since they spend a half the movie shrieking.     The film is purportedly pieced together from found footage of Apollo 18, a secret mission to the moon that caused the government to close the Apollo program for good. It shows three astronauts on a secret Defense Department mission to set up an audio device to spy on the USSR. Instead, they are attacked by an unimaginable evil.   ...

Barn dance to raise $$$ for St. Jude’s

Serenity Farm is no stranger to visitors. Each year, the working farm hosts pumpkin chunkin’, live nativities and more events, all while bringing in crops and tending livestock. This year, the annual fundraiser for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital is taking a new direction.     “We’ve been doing a children’s fun fair for about 10 or 15 years,” says co-owner Theresa Robinson. “We just wanted to try something different to raise money...

Because it’s not that scary

When a small, somber girl arrives at a creepy Rhode Island house, all hell breaks loose. Well, annoying basement monsters break loose, but you get the idea.     The film follows young Sally (Baliee Madison: Just Go with It), who is sent by her mother to live with her father (Guy Pearce: The King’s Speech) and his new girlfriend, Kim (Katie Holmes: The Romantics). Dad and Kim don’t have much time to soothe little Sally, for they’re busy redoing the sinister...

Once your school days are behind you, it’s time to learn for fun

Whoever said you can’t teach an old dog new tricks was barking up the wrong tree. Or visiting the wrong classroom.     In a tough economy, taking continuing education courses can make you a better job candidate. The National Bureau of Labor says that the more education you have, the more likely you’ll be hired. Most of those that choose to go back to school are female, according to the U.S. Department of Education, but men are enrolling more frequently.  ...