Tag Archives: movies

Movies on the Hill

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Over the weekend, I had the chance to curl up and watch The Intouchables, a French film about the friendship formed between a wealthy quadriplegic man, Philippe,  and his Senegalese caretaker, Driss. I loved the film; it was fun, upbeat, and at times, poignant, and the characters were phenomenal.

Seeing this French film made me excited for a class I’m taking this fall, German Cinema. For one night a week for a whole semester, I’ll spend three hours discussing and watching German films, some in German, some in English. This course will be offered by the foreign languages department, though McDaniel offers many more film classes through the communication department. The communication department offers these film analysis classes as part of their cinema major, but students of any major are also welcome to take such classes as electives.

Of course, you don’t have to be enrolled in a film class to watch movies on the Hill; there’s plenty of other ways to get your movie fix. The Office of Student Engagement shows movies a couple of times a month, and various academic departments and student groups will also show films. For example, Astronomy Club played Star Wars episodes I through VI every Sunday night for the last six weeks of this past semester.

Most notably though, Film Club, a student organization started by first year students during my first year on the Hill, screens movies twice a week. The movies they show tend to be classics and other high-quality films, and the club president, Nick, likes to pick different themes of movies for each month. To learn more about Film Club, check out their Facebook page and this tumblr my friend Charles made for his New Media Writing class last fall.

Your movies options aren’t limited to what’s shown on McDaniel’s campus. You can also watch new releases at the Regal Cinema in Westminster or you can see some indie, foreign, and other films at the Carroll Arts Center–in walking distance from campus on Main Street. (My favorite is when they show Rocky Horror Picture Show every year in the fall.)

And last but not least, there’s nothing like gathering up some friends, popping some popcorn, and watching movies from the comfort of your own dorm. (McDaniel’s Hoover Library can help you find an awesome DVD at no cost to you.)

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Movie theaters near campus

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This weekend, a friend and I went off campus and saw the new The Great Gatsby movie. It was a great break from studying for finals and we were both struck by the amazing costumes, crazy party scenes, and how perfectly Leonardo DiCaprio fit the role of Gatsby.

Source: http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/50d3273ceab8ea6a3700000b-960/the-great-gatsby-leonardo-dicaprio.jpg

Seeing the movie reminded me how many theaters there are around campus. For anyone who wants to check out a new film, check out these locations:

Westminster Town Mall.  The main draw of this theater is its proximity to campus. I have friends who have walked to the mall from campus for movies, food, and shopping.

Gettysburg Village. If you have a car, heading to Gettysburg is fun because it is right by the Gettysburg Outlets. The theater is really clean and usually not very full, and they have awesome stadium seating.

Hunt Valley Regal Cinemas. This is where I went this weekend! Like Gettysburg, it has stadium seating and lots of places to shop and eat. My favorite places to visit besides the theater are Noodles and Company, Wegman’s, and Ulta.

Carroll County Arts Council. If you’re looking for something nearby but less mainstream, the Arts Council is only a few blocks from campus. They hold foreign film festivals every year and this week are doing showings of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Lincoln. You can also check out local art while you’re there.

It’s always fun to take a break from reality and see a movie, and what better time to take a few hours off than finals week!

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Prof Picks a Flick

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McDaniel professors seem to always come up with new ways to continue educating their students outside of the classroom in unique ways and “Prof Picks a Flick” is now the latest version.

The Honors Program was approached by Dr. Madsen from the Psychology Department and Dr. Raley from the Sociology Department to put this plan into action. They had their first successful event Tuesday evening led by Dr. Raley! While many of the honors students were excited for this event, none of them could match the excitement that Dr. Raley had for her premiere as the first professor to host “Prof Picks a Flick.”

What flick did she pick? A 2004 film called “I Heart Huckabees” starring famous actors such as Dustin Hoffman, Jude Law, Naomi Watts, Mark Wahlberg, and Jason Schwartzman. Take a look at IMBd’s short synopsis:

“A husband-and-wife team play detective, but not in the traditional sense. Instead, the happy duo helps others solve their existential issues, the kind that keep you up at night, wondering what it all means.”

While IMDb may have only awarded “I Heart Huckabees” 6.7/10 stars, Catherine O’Keeffe, President of the Honors Program, begs to differ. She reports, “The amount of laughter and thought provoking ideas stirred up discussion between students in all different departments. It was definitely a movie that you had to watch with a diverse group to put all the pieces of the movie together.” Other students commented on the interesting take it had on the purpose of life and coincidences that we encounter. Dr. Raley was a great facilitator for discussion and forced students to analyze the movie and truly comprehend the meaning behind the movie.

There is now plenty of excitement for the next “Prof Picks a Flick” event. Who will be next? I am personally hoping that a science professor will step up and lead a movie discussion about “Gattaca.” It would lead to some great discussion about the future of genetic discrimination… but that’s just me.

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Goodwill and Westminster Fun

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In honor of my birthday, my sister came up (from D.C.) to spend the weekend with me. We kept the Friday night calm, going to the campus showing of Sky Fall. James Bond will always have a special place in my heart, especially those played by Sean Connery. I grew up on these movies (along with millions of other people) and will never tire of the brand. We kept the night quiet though, going to sleep early. But Saturday was an entirely different story. My sister hasn’t spent much time at McDaniel, and to be honest, I don’t venture forth into Westminster and the surrounding area much either. We started with the local mall, which offers a couple key stores including Rue 21 and their chocolate shop.

Also neatly tucked in there is the local Regal movie theater. Identity Thief was playing, and if you get the time, I would highly recommend it. Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy are a hilarious duo that had my sister and me laughing until the end. McCarthy plays the misfit Diana who goes through life ripping off people’s identities and moving on with no strings attached. Bateman plays the mild-mannered businessman who is her victim, but who eventually grounds her as they both find middle ground. I’m not even exaggerating about its comedic value. After the movie was over, the lady in front of us stood up and let my sister know that she had an adorable laugh.

We went back down 140 to the Goodwill, which is most definitely my favorite place to shop. There are treasures untold there if you’re willing to comb through the racks and racks of clothes. I’ve always wanted to do a personal rendition of Macklemore’s song “Thrift Shop” in our Goodwill, but that will have to wait for another weekend. Ultimately, my sister and I both found cute blazers. Blazers are necessary for any young woman, for interviewing, for dressing up a cute outfit, for adding a little class to your day, and for preparing to join the working world women. With less than 100 days left of school, my summer internship is approaching way too fast. But Goodwill will certainly have me prepared for it at a quarter of the retail price.

To round out my day with my sister, I brought her back to campus after stopping for food (it’s Subway’s five dollar foot long month and there is really no sane way to turn that down). In typical fashion, we spent the last night cuddled up under blankets in my room watching episodes of Grey’s Anatomy and Nashville. That’s always how we spend our last night together. Even though D.C. isn’t far (especially thanks to the new transportation line that gets you there lickety-split from campus), I’ve never quite gotten used to saying goodbye and I don’t think I ever will. It just means she’ll have to keep visiting.

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De-Stress Movie Night

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The week of Midterms can be almost as stressful as Finals Week. Midterms are a time that everyone starts freaking out that everything they have been learning this semester is no longer in their brains and they need to cram it in there for one test that will be a chunk of their grade. The worst part though is waiting all Fall Break for your grades to be posted on Archway. The feeling of not knowing how the test went or if you are doing as well as you think in a class is awful. My Midterms week was studying for one huge test I knew I had on Thursday. I was dreading it. There were too many similar characters from too many books. I started studying for it two weeks early, and I’m still not sure how much it helped.  My apartment was a very stressful place for all of us living here this past week.

Earlier in the semester, my Co-Peer Mentor suggested we all have a movie night with our mentees. So I took action. I announced it on our FYS Facebook page that we would do a de-stress movie night at my apartment for anyone who wanted to come. Everyone was super excited about it the next day in class. We decided to watch THE LION KING because it’s supposedly HAMLET and we are the Shakespeare class. While it wasn’t the most educational thing in the world, it was very fun to sit around and eat pizza and sing along to classic Disney songs. We also did some bonding and swapped childhood stories about our first experiences going to a movie theatre and our first Disney experiences.

I think getting to know my mentees is really important. I am here to make sure they are adjusting well to college and doing well in school. To hear them talk about all the fun they are having and fun things that happen in their classes always makes me smile.  Seeing that they are becoming a part of the family on the Hill is awesome for me. I had such a great time my freshman year and I only want the same for them. I want them each to find their own place in the little bubble we call McDaniel College. I think they are all doing that quite nicely. I hope the next half of the semester treats them just as well.

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