Stormont Child's Play

By Lyra McKee (17)
Headliners


Officials have met to discuss the importance of play in the first summit of its kind. The 5 Nation Summit, held in Stormont buildings, Belfast, saw workers debate government policy concerning recreation for children.
Junior Ministers Ian Paisley and Gerry Kelly addressed the Summit.
"As an Executive we are sincere about making positive changes for children and young people over the next 10 years", Mr Kelly said, "Prioritising and protecting their rights and addressing their needs are key issues for us."

Chairing the event, Children's Commissioner Patricia Lewsley spoke of the need for a Children's Minister within the Executive to ensure play policies are carried out. The problem is you don't have a Children's Minister, you have two Junior Ministers. "There is no clear line of responsibility." Jacqueline O'Loughlin, Playboard's chief executive, said that consultations on play policy between Government Officials and children's charities were not producing desired results. "[They] are edited greatly by the time they reach ministerial level."

Sizing up a weighty problem

By Orlanda Brennan - Headliners


Models are skipping meals, drinking and smoking and their bodies are not able to cope with the pressure.
The media has criticised this trend as it is taking a toll on the modelling world.
There have been many articles blowing the issue wide open and showing the consequences of this social sickness.
Most models I see are anorexic and I don’t think it’s in any way being a role model as teenagers are wanting to look like models.
Actresses are also following their lead and are going on the downward spiral to a lot of health issues.
Teenagers today see models, actresses and singers as role models and are copying these stars style, hair and now even copying the size zero popularity and it’s not in any way healthy, especially for teenagers who’s bodies are still developing.
I don’t believe people get this way on purpose as there has to be a problem behind it and it needs to be sorted.

Takin the Nik

Nikii Clinton (16) - Headliners

Taking the Nik on Free Speech, Retro chocolate and Incorrect Science

Citizenship for GCSE, what is with that? Citizenship is supposed to be about moulding our opinions of society and helping us to figure out our opinions.
So I guess if we have to do it for GCSE we should be allowed to have our own opinion right?
Well for our Citizenship Coursework, we were told to choose a topic.
So I choose sectarianism in Northern Ireland, I wanted to try to answer the question: Is sectarianism in Northern Ireland about religion or politics?
Now, I thought this is a good question which I actually want to find an answer to, not just for my coursework.
However, my teacher called me to her class and told me “the board says you cannot do that question for your coursework...” she said it was because I wouldn’t be able to get a straight answer.
I’ve to resort to using the question: Has sectarianism in NI increased or decreased after the Good Friday Agreement?
That question is so boring and just adds the snorefest that is citizenship class, if I was able to do my own question I’d enjoy citizenship and maybe actually learn something. Pffft, school.

Mmmm... Wispas are back. Okay they may be a Cadburys rip of Aero bars, but you can’t not love them.
And where did Golden Grahams go? Seriously, they’ve been replaced by Cinnamon Grahams. That’s just not right. Golden Grahams were the shiz.

Smarties, you ever get the random fact/question the back of the packets, you know the ones I mean.
Well me and a friend were eating Smarties and he read out the question on the pack, “What is the smallest planet, beginning with P?” Pluto would have been the answer, but it isn’t a planet anymore.
So we rang the company to put them right and they’ve now agreed not use the question anymore.
So it seems Smarties don’t have the answer after all.

American Gangster Review

Review - Daniel Stewart (19) Headliners

Gangster gunning for Oscar glory

November for a lot people is when the dreaded cold’s, flu’s and fevers’ begin to arise as winter draws near. With the 80th Academy Awards coming up in February and the nominations in January, Oscar fever is beginning to rear its glamorous head and one film to be released that might catch its symptoms is Ridley Scott’s, “American Gangster”.

Starring Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe, two of today’s acting heavyweights who have both won the little golden man. The film tells the story of Frank Lucas, (Washington), who went from being the quiet driver of one of New York’s leading crime bosses, to building his own empire by ruling the city’s drug trade.

Russell Crowe plays Richie Roberts, the type of police detective which the phrase, “an honest cop” was coined for. When Richie finds a bag of one million unmarked dollars, he turns the money in, demonstrating how whiter than white this character truly is. Being close to what actually happens on the streets of New York; he can tell the power has shifted from the established mafia families.

Based on a true story being set with the backdrop of gritty 70’s New York, gives this movie more of an edge of attitude. Both of the film’s stars are on fine form. Washington acquired Lucas's Southern accent, and Crowe practiced to match Roberts's manner of speaking and body language, requesting tape recordings of Roberts to assist in his preparation. The film also stars another Oscar award winner Cuba Godding Jr as a rival drug kingpin. This is Russell Crowe’s third movie with Ridley Scott after “Gladiator” and “A Good Year”. It is also Russell’s second movie with Denzel Washington after 1995’s “Virtuosity”.

Another factor that makes this movie appealing is the real-life roles have been reversed. Denzel Washington, one of the Hollywood’s most charismatic stars, is seen as one of the movie industries most well respected stars and an all round nice guy. Though when he does bad he does it well. Anyone who has seen “Training Day” will know this and how “King Kong aint got nothing on him” as he so politely put it. Russell Crowe playing a straight lace cop will be interesting since his last memorable performance in real life was tattooing a telephone to some poor hotel receptionists head.

Ridley Scott might well be in contention for best director award which he has never won, considering he has made classics, such as “Alien” and “Gladiator”. The only thing that could hinder the movies chances is that it has to follow up to last years big mob winner, “The Departed”. The movie takes the best elements of movies such as “Godfather” and “Scarface” without seeming like a cheap rip off. With stiff competition from “Atonement” and “Michael Clayton”, the Oscars are already heating up and don’t be surprised if Russell or Denzel add another statuette to their mantle pieces come February.

A bohemian rhapsody

By Alana Breen
(Headliners)





The Frames are an Irish band who have been happily established for the past 17 years and are refreshingly unique.
Their contemporary mix of Irish folk and smooth rock blends for a magical and bohemian concert.
I was lucky enough to see the band live for the second time in the Grand Opera House in Belfast - a laid back venue for a laid back band.
Frontman Glen Hansard belted out each song with pride and passion which left me with the feeling that each song was his last.
Star Star was my favourite hit of the night, closely followed by Falling Slowly in which the band were accompanied by Glen’s girlfriend Marketa Irglova.
Hansard is without a doubt a superior lyricist and an outstanding vocalist and onstage he is a master in his craft.
When The Frames return to Belfast their concert should be made compulsory for discerning music fans. And when they do come back, I will be waiting in a front row seat.

Whizz Kidz: move a life forward.

By Sonya Gorman

(Headliners)

Whizz Kidz is a national charity which aims to equip families who can't get the adequate equipment such as personally designed wheelchairs off the NHS. Secondly it also provides disability awareness through training packages and also through the Kids Board which Miro Griffiths deals with.

Before meeting up with Miro and the rest of the Whizz Kidz on the Kids Board in City Hall, we were really nervous. Probably because there was no one to meet us so we had to approach the group ourselves. We didn’t know what to expect. Standing from a distance, we noticed one of the members had fallen from their wheelchair but we were too conscious to offer help because we didn’t know if our help would be appreciated.

During the meeting itself, Mark the facilitator, ensured that we remained separated in each of the activities that took place. This helped us feel like we fitted in because we were able to offer ideas of our own when brainstorming the “Don’t Push Me Around” campaign and we no longer felt like intruders merely sitting in on a meeting, taking notes.

The activities really helped us bond with many of the Whizz Kidz and because of this we were then invited to a karaoke party that Mark and the other facilitators were holding at the Holiday Inn later on that evening. This was where we were able to interact with certain members and interview them more personally, particularly Ambassador for Northern Ireland, Gareth, who is based in Coleraine.

They surprised us by having the DJ introduce two of the charity’s close friends taking the mic to sing “Cheeky Girls” and when we realized we were the object of attention we felt immediately accepted, however we vowed revenge and in turn had several members sing Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” in which we were roped into due to the fact that this was the last song we would hear that night. On our knees, we no longer noticed the wheelchairs.

Arriving we were anxious, leaving we were privileged.

Zodiac is Zodicrap

Zodiac Review - Daniel Stewart (Headliners)

Director: David Fincher
Starring: Jake Gyllenhal, Mark Ruffalo, and Robert Downey Jr.
Rated: 15
Currently released on DVD

A movie that I thought I would be very interested in watching but which I didn’t get to see in the cinema but later when it came out on DVD this month. Even with all the critical acclaim I was more bitterly disappointed than thekid you always see in Woolworths that cries when the damn thing doesn’t get whatever sweeties it wanted.

The film is Zodiac and simply it didn’t fulfil its potential. The film is about the notorious 1960’s/70’s Zodiac killer from the San Francisco Bay Area that terrorized the San Francisco community with killing five known victims and taunting the police with letters and cryptic messages the killer sent to them which were published by the San Francisco Chronicle.

The movie follows the timeline of the known Zodiac killing but more so of the cartoonist that works for the San Francisco Chronicle, Robert Graysmith, played by Jake Gyllenhal, who becomes obsessed as the years go by, even becoming determined to find out who the killer’s identity is even when the cryptic letters have stop, the police stop bothering with the case and the Zodiac has become yesterday’s news. The film is based on the book that Robert Graysmith had written on Zodiac from all the information that he had kept and gathered throughout the years.

With a strong cast that also included Robert Downey Jr and Mark Ruffalo, the fact that it was a true story and the uneasy fact that the Zodiac killer was never caught which would make you watch your back as you get into your car at night, should have given this movie an edge over mediocre and gory or yet pointless horror movies of recent years, but it didn’t. It could have given you that uneasy feeling of without needing the traditional scares mixed with a topic not only could happened in real life that would make it gripping, but did actually happened, the stuff that makes a truly great thriller, but it didn’t. It could have been a lot of things, but it wasn’t.

Yes there are some moments that put you on the edge of your seat as the case unravels, but there few & far between. Apart from the murders, nothing really happens in this movie. They think someone is the killer, they talk about it, they talk about it, they try and get a warrant for a house search, they cant, they talk again about nothing. Jake Gyllenhal has a good performance as a man who was not involved in the police investigation becomes obsessed in his trail of the killer with the information that he receives but this thriller doesn’t thrill.

Extinction, the best of Resident Evil

By Orlanda Brennan
(Headliners)

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Oded Fehr, Ali Larter
Directed by Russell Mulcahy

Resident Evil Extinction is back for the third film of the series and possibly the last. As Paul W.S. Anderson is hoping to end the series in a trilogy.
Extinction is the best of the series by far with a more lateral storyline and has more realistic sets as it is filmed in Mexico.
The story took place five years after the infection of Raccoon City. In these five years the world has been run over by zombies. Although there is a supposed safe haven and refuge in Alaska, Claire Redfield (Ali Larter, heroes) said rightly “soon enough there will be more people dead than alive”.
Meanwhile Alice is staying hidden from Umbrella. That changes when she uses her powers of telekinesis to save Claire and her convoy from a flock of infected crows.
When the new artificial intelligence The White Queen finds Alice and tells Dr Isaacs (Iain Glen) he then becomes obsessed with finding her because she is the pure source that could bring them out of extinction.
The ending leaves the film wide open for what is to hope for an anticipated fourth film but I won’t spoil the ending for fans. I promise it’s the best in the franchise. And like original director- Paul Anderson said: “Never say never.”

Can You Dig It?

By Joe Smyth
(Headliners)






The Warriors is one of the greatest cult classics movies of all time. The film is set in the deserted night time of New York, where all the gangs ‘come out to play’. The story is based upon a rival gang leader who was “wasted” in cold blood. None other than The Warriors, a Coney Island based clique, are framed for the murder. The rest of the film follows the infamous heroes fighting through enemy gang territory to stay alive and reach their home turf in Coney.

The film was made in 1979 by Walter Hill and is still today a top notch movie. At the time the cast were unknown however they have gone on to star as the lead roles in other classic films or some other TV series’. James Remar (Ajax) has gone on to star in such soaps as CSI Miami, Sex and the City, Battlestar Galactica along with the newly released film Ratatouille.
While Michael Beck (Swan) has went on to star in many soaps such as Diagnosis Murder and Murder, She Wrote.

Thirty years on the success of the film is showed through the recent release of The Warriors Game. Fans are now furthermore overwhelmed with the latest news of a remake of the film. The game was close to the film and also gave a background history to the film, so it will be interesting to see how the remake comes along. This is definitely one to keep an eye on in the future.

I first saw this film at the beginning of the 2007 and was amazed at the simple yet powerful storyline. After a mind blowing intro we are suddenly plunged into the dark and seedy world of the “Armies of the Night,” where “the future will be yours if you can count.” After a brief and adrenaline rushed introduction to the Turnbull A.C.’s we see what The Warriors really face along their way home to safety. But how easy will it be to get home, alive, when everyone is looking for you?