By Andrew Russell 

LifeAtStart.com Reporter

The Drop follows Bob Saginowski, a man who works a mob run bar when it’s robbed, leaving him to repay the lost funds and overcome the obstacles those around him impose.

Not many people have likely heard about this movie, but its probably the best one in theaters right now.

This is a different kind of movie, with an air of mystery all over the place. This must be do to the acting and design of the characters. Tom Hardy (Bob Saginowski) played a character who is seemingly stale with lots of dry humor added into his dialogue. Bob doesn’t seem like a character who would have the potential of scenes requiring great acting, but there are moments through out the movie that require a good actor to give off a certain vibe in order to execute some of the final scenes, and Tom Hardy delivers this well. Bob ends up being a fairly interesting character, although he’s not the only one in the movie you wish you could know more about.

The characters in this movie are all interesting for the most part. All of them give the idea that there is something to be known, and they all have moments that you question because it doesn’t seem quite right. The variety of people that are in this movie is very wide, from the quiet and sarcastic Bob, to another key character who is unpredictable and violent. This variety of characters makes interaction between them intriguing and keeps you guessing about whats to happen next.

This isn’t a movie for everyone, though. If you were dragged to it by a friend and weren’t expecting to see it this might not be as entertaining for you as it was for me, who has been a fan of Tom Hardy since the movie Warrior in 2011. If you’re a fan of a mysterious story with unpredictable but realistic characters, then you’d enjoy this movie.

I’ve been thinking about where I’d rate The Drop on a scale of one to ten, as eight seems a little too high and seven seems a little too low. This is really hard to put a definitive rating on with how difficult it is to compare to other movies. I’ve settled on a very specific 7.8/ 10, and I hope that I can be more general with my ratings in the future.

Contact Andrew at: [email protected]

By Julianna Ruiz

LifeAtStart.com Reporter

As the season changes the leaves are starting to fall and the nights are coming earlier. The chilly winds have gotten stronger and so has our need for the spooky, and first, we turn to movies. But, that’s not the only thing that will fulfill your thirst for creepy stories, books are a great alternative, maybe even the better choice.

Horror books just might be the best kind of story, especially if they are written by the most well-known horror fiction writer, Stephen King. Mr. King has a special way of telling stories. His descriptions make you feel the dark ominous presence even before the action has started, and goes into such detail that when the action finally comes it feels too close for comfort. He lets you feel what his protagonists feel, and get inside their heads, leaving you thinking about the story hours later. This all makes for a pretty great reading experience.

According to Goodreads, some of the better and more popular King novels are Pet Sematary, the story of a family moving into a home near a mysterious wood that holds secrets more terrifying than death, The Stand, the tale of an end-of-the-world earth, and the Dark Tower series, a journey with The Gunslinger and his trip to defeat a twisted image of our own world.

There’s also a lot of King stories that have, since being written, been turned into movies and tv series. Like Carrie, which has two movies, Misery, a movie that has horrified people for years, and Cujo, the movie that made people jump at the sight of a dog?

But, the books are always better, they go into deeper detail and give you more background than you could ever get out of a movie. This is why I strongly urge you to read a few of the books I mentioned above, because not only will you get a wonderfully unsettling story, but you’ll also have the chance to see the words blossom to life on screen.

Contact Julianna at: [email protected]

LifeAtStart.com STAFF

First, let’s start by saying all identities and personal information have been removed to protect the merchants and customers at Roy C. Start High School.

There are about 1,330 students in this school, and many of them are doing more than just their school work. These individuals are not only using their book smarts, but their street smarts — and putting their skills to the test.

A small merchant community is thriving at Start, but  is very low key and keeps business on a need-to-know basis.

But a new enemy has come into play against this emerging commerce — narcs. Yes, it can be hard to believe that teenagers would go out of their way to purposely bring down a fellow student who is only trying to support himself by helping others.

A local merchant gave this statement to LifeAtStart.com: “I have never hurt anyone by supplying them with a couple sweets and treats, in fact I like to think I am helping them out because I am not overcharging on my product.”

No, we’re not talking about illegal drugs. We’re talking about illegal candy.

For all of you who do not know it, selling anything in school is prohibited. The punishment for selling a bag of pot is the same school punishment as selling a bag of gummy bears.

So why would Start students take the risk?

“I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t have to, but with the price of gas and the cost to have a phone now-a-days you do what you have to do …” one  sophomore candy seller said.

A former king pin who has stepped down from what he referred to as the “candy cartel” had this to say: “With all the CPO’s and narcs the work just didn’t seem to be worth the pay off anymore.”

He added: “After having your locker raided it truly changes your views on what crime is worth the time.”

Another Start entrepreneur had a interesting point of view on his reasons for being involved in Start’s candy black market.

“I don’t have to do this. I have a job, but nothing beats the thrill of doing something you’re not suppose to and making a little extra cash on the side.”

After getting a handful of merchants together and discussing their business, every individual agreed that they had to stick together and watch one another’s back.

“We are all like one big family. We need to help each other out and if anyone gets any info on narcs we need to inform each other.”

Another said: “I never knew that selling candy bars and the occasional breakfast burrito would bring a community of teens together like this.  It amazes me that we all come together for the same common goal.”

By Rysa Lake
LifeAtStart.com Reporter

While many people enjoy going to fast food restaurants, I on the other hand do not. No matter where it is McDonalds, Burger King or Wendy’s, I just can’t bring myself to indulge.

I can’t say I’ve never eaten at places like the ones listed above because I used to all the time when I was little and still do from time to time. Now don’t get me wrong I do like the concept of fast food restaurants and being able to just grab something quick and easy to eat but there’s always that thought in the back of my mind that someone has done something to my food. It’s just like in a song written by Eminem when he says “He could be workin at Burger King, spittin on your onion rings,” with my luck I would get those special onion rings.

Another reason I don’t like to is because of documentaries I have watched. Watching Super Size Me shows Morgan Spurlock eating nothing but food that was served at McDonalds for every meal for 30 days, showed me the horrible affects fast food has on your body. These affects include weight gain, pre-diabetic stages and major fatigue. Food Inc. showed the production of the food that is served in the fast food industry along with the poor conditions the animals lived in and how they were injected with chemicals to make them bigger so they could have a larger product to sell.

Once I learned what was being put into my food, I felt like I needed to make extreme changes in my diet to get all the toxins out. I don’t want to make it seem like all I eat is organic because I definitely don’t. Every once and a while I’ll stop at Taco Bell or Wendy’s when I’m in a hurry and need something to eat but it’s once a week and anything more than that I feel like I’m going to grow a third arm from the chemicals.

I look forward to seeing what Semira has to say on this topic because I know she disagrees.  Check out her article and take the  poll.

contact me at [email protected].