Articles by Diana Beechener

Apollo 18

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. ...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener; 9/8/11

Serenity Farm Puts Its Barn to Work

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...

Article - News; by Diana Beechener; 9/1/11

Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark

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...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener; 9/1/11

Class Is In

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. ...

Article - Features; by Diana Beechener; 8/25/11

Fright Night

Vampires finally get to be the bad guys in this clever remake

Vampires have been in a sorry state for over a decade. With the advent of Twilight, True Blood and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, these creatures of the night have been defanged by popular culture. Turned into tortured and misunderstood souls, the once great monsters became the mopey teens of the horror genre. That’s why it’s a delightful surprise that Fright Night allows its vamps to have some bite. The film follows high schooler Charley (Anton...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener; 8/25/11

The Nose Knows

Dogs Finding Dogs sniffs out missing pets

Heidi doesn’t run. She surges. The original tracker for Maryland’s Dogs Finding Dogs, Heidi is expert at following the scents of animals who leave home without their owners. When the black German shepherd gets the scent, she follows her nose wherever it takes her: through brush, across mud, over concrete and anywhere else your pet may have gone. Today’s quarry is easy: Heidi is on the scent of Corpsman, a Doberman member of the Dogs Finding Dogs team. It...

Article - Features; by Diana Beechener; 8/18/11

The Devil’s Double

An Iraqi soldier finds himself in a Middle Eastern version of Scarface in this well acted thriller

On the eve of the first Gulf War, Iraqi soldier Latif (Dominic Cooper: Captain America) is doing his duty in the skirmishes and dreaming of the day he can leave the military and join his father in the family bookstore. Sadly, Latif bears a striking resemblance to Uday Hussein (also Cooper), the eldest and most psychopathic son of Iraqi ruler Saddam. When Latif refuses to become Uday’s fiday — body double — he’s flung into a cell. Failing to change...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener; 8/18/11

Can-Can

Talent Machine’s 13- to 18-year-old thespians bring to life Cole Porter’s Can-Can

Talent Machine’s 13- to 18-year-old thespians bring to life Cole Porter’s Can-Can, a musical about the music, dance, love and artistry of 1890s’ Paris. Featuring the songs Never Give Anything Away, I Am in Love and Come Along with Me. Fri. Aug. 12 & Sat. Aug. 13 at 7:30pm. Key Auditorium, St. John’s College, Annapolis. $12 w/age discounts: 410-956-0512; www.talentmachine.com.

Article - Theatre Reviews; by Diana Beechener; 8/11/11

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

This smart re-imagining of a Sci-Fi classic will make you want to join the Simian Revolution

It’s hard to win over a crowd when the premise of your movie is the demise of humanity. Still, at my screening of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, humans were actively cheering for chimpanzee Caesar (Andy Serkis: Burke and Hare) to kick some bi-ped butt. The film follows geneticist Will Rodman (James Franco: Your Highness) as he seeks a cure for Alzheimer’s, an affliction rotting away his father (John Lithgow: Leap Year). His latest serum is promising, until his...

Article - Movie Reviews; by Diana Beechener; 8/11/11

Five Loaves and Two Fish

Breakfast Club takes childhood hunger battle to the streets

Nathaniel Quimby spent the summer of second grade worried about his friends. The elementary schooler fretted that a friend who depended on cafeteria meals would go hungry during the break. “He wanted to know where kids got their meals during the summer when schools close,” says Ingrid Quimby, Nathaniel’s mother. “We came up with the idea of the Breakfast Club. With my pastor at Cedar Grove United Methodist Church, we decided to offer breakfast there....

Article - News; by Diana Beechener; 8/4/11