Have you ever heard these lyrics? “Metal on metal/ It’s what I crave/ The louder the better/ I’ll turn in my grave. /Metal on metal/ Ears start to bleed/ Cranking it up/ Fulfilling my need.”

If you haven’t, don’t worry, you’re not the only one. The lyrics come from a song entitled “Metal on Metal” from a heavy metal band called Anvil. Heard of them? Neither did I until I saw the movie “Anvil: The Story of Anvil.”

Anvil is a band that, according to their official Web site, was first created in 1973 when lead singer Steve “Lips” Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner came together in Toronto. Five years later, guitarist Dave Allison and bassist Ian Dickson joined them and Anvil was created. They released an independent album called “Hard ‘N Heavy” in 1981, followed by a signing with Attic Records. Once they signed they re-released “Hard ’N Heavy” as their first album and Anvil was on their way to stardom. Or so they hoped.

In the next 28 years Anvil would go on to sign with three other companies (as of right now, they are not signed with anybody) and produce 17 albums (including one that is still being worked on). Currently, Kudlow and Reiner are the only original band members left in Anvil.

As of 1991, Allison was replaced by Sebastian Marino, who was then replaced by Ivan Hurd in 1996. Then Dickson left in 1996 and was replaced by Mike Duncan. Despite all the replacements and changes, the band is still not as big as they would like to be.

There are two events, however, that helped them get recognized. One was a huge concert in Japan back in the summer of 1984 where Anvil, along with other famous metal bands like Scorpion and Whitesnake, performed in front of hundreds of fans. The other major event was their documentary “Anvil: The Story of Anvil,” which was released in select theaters on April 10.

VH1 Classic created a concert series called “The Anvil Experience” where you could screen the movie and then see the band perform live.

The movie itself was absolutely amazing. It made you laugh. It made you cry. And in true metal fashion, it made you want to bang your head. I was in my seat cheering them on every step of the way because the film really delves into their lives. Their family life. Their band life. Everything. It shows the real hardships of being a band and trying to make it big in such a difficult business.

Kudlow and Reiner are in their 50s now and are still rocking out like they did when they were in their 20s. At times they played in front of five people while at other times they played in front of 500 people. But no matter what the audience size, they still rocked hard and had fun. In the end, they get what they want – a little recognition. They’re not finished yet with what they started. With confidence, perpetuity and new-found recognition, trust me when I say, this is not the last time you will hear of Anvil.

LISA ARPINO
Staff Writer

Every Monday night wrestling fans see John Cena screaming out, “The champ is here.” He follows this loud and proud declaration with a series of bone-breaking bodyslams and clotheslines. His opponents never stand a chance. But on March 27, Cena showcased a different side to the wrestler as his second feature film, “12 Rounds” was released in theaters.

“12 Rounds” pretty much had the same plot as Cena’s first movie, “The Marine,” where Cena’s wife or girlfriend is kidnapped by a convicted felon resulting in an action-filled adventure to find and save her. Both movies were filled with explosions, car chases, car crashes and just pure destruction. But the major difference is “12 Rounds” is a lot more interesting and has more edge of your seat action than what “The Marine” presented.

Along side Cena was Aidan Gillan, who, according to IMDb.com, starred in “Shanghai Knights” with Jackie Chan and Owen Wilson, as the sadistic Miles Jackson.

The film also features Ashley Scott, who starred in “Walking Tall” with Dwayne Johnson (now formerly known as The Rock), as she takes on the role of Cena’s girlfriend, Molly in “12 Rounds.” It was directed by Renny Harlin, director of “Die Hard 2,” and one of the producers was Mark Gordon, who also produced “Speed.” Another producer was the Chairman of the WWE himself, Mr. Vince McMahon.
What I really loved about this movie was the action, even though there were times the cinematography was so bad that you couldn’t see what was happening.

However, I think that added to the suspense of the movie because you would be sitting in your seat moving around trying to see what was going on. It really kept you thinking what’s going to happen next from beginning to end and the action was never ceasing. Also, the characters in this movie, more specifically the character of Miles Jackson, were very intriguing.

“12 Rounds” is an action-packed movie that is also filled with suspense, love and laughter. It will keep you guessing and gasping from the title sequence to the end credits.

The film may have even sparked a series of future WWE film productions. WWE superstars like Cena and Johnson aren’t the only ones making movies; TNA wrestlers are making them too. According to lordsofpain.net, Kurt Angle is starring in a movie called “End Game” that is being distributed by North Shore Picture. As of right now there’s no release date.

Overall, “12 Rounds” was an excellent movie and I would definitely recommend all of you to go see it.

LISA ARPINO
Staff Writer

On Monday, Feb. 23, the brothers of Tau Kappa Epsilon sponsored an event up in the dining hall called the Date Auction. Max Stein and Sean T. McGrath hosted the charity event. All of the proceeds and donations benefited The Bridge Academy, a school that helps with the education of children with learning disabilities. However, in years past, TKE has done philanthropy work and donated mainly for Alzheimer’s charities. Why the change? Stein, the philanthropy chairman of TKE, explained, “A current member [who will not be named] was attending this school and he decided that he would like to give back.”

By 8:30 p.m. fellow FDU students started to file in. When the event began around 9 p.m., people were still steadily flowing into the dining hall. The dining hall was pumping with a large crowd of people, some with their money or credit cards already out, ready to buy their date and help raise money for a great cause.

As each participant available for bidding went up to show their goods, they were introduced by either McGrath or Stein. Each provided the audience, the potential buyers, with a set stats ranging from what year they were in FDU to their major to some fun facts about them. They were also brought up to the stage by popular music, provided by DJ Shane Balkaran, including Soulja Boy‘s “Crank That” and Flo-Rida feat. Kesha’s “Right Round.” Each person started out at a different amount, usually $5, and then would go up from there.

The first person to go up was Mike Sorbino and he only went for a recession-friendly $9. Everybody was just as shocked, but the night did get better as the auction progressed.

Most of the time people were only getting one person as a date, but some were lucky enough to leave with two, three, four people or even a whole fraternity. Practically all the brothers of Phi Sigma Kappa came together and were auctioned off for $125. That was impressive, but it didn’t compare to when four young women from different sororities came together and were auctioned off for $200.02. At one point, when the ladies were being auctioned off, it became a game of “The Price is Right” between McGrath and another brother. One would say, “$187,” while the other would retort, “$187.01.”

There were two occasions during the event where the audience got to see some skin. First, Alex Patruno of Phi Sigma Kappa decided to rip off his shirt to show off his muscles. In the end, he was auctioned off for $50. Later in the night, Shawn Kimball came on stage and announced that for every bid he got he would take off a layer of clothing. By the time he was auctioned off at $20, he was in his Led Zeppelin boxers. There was also a raffle where if your ticket was picked, you had a chance to write down your number and would get a call later that week from a mystery date. Some lucky person will be getting that call soon.

After all of the festivities were over, TKE was able to raise over $1,000 between the auction and donations. According to Stein, last year they were able to raise $1,400 for Alzheimer’s, which was because they charged for admission last year and this year it was free; they figured that they were able to raise about the same amount.

The Date Auction was a night of laughter and shocking moments, but it was a very successful night for TKE and the Bridge Academy nonetheless.

LISA ARPINO
STAFF WRITER

In the trailer for Chris Evans’ newest film “Push,” the movie was heralded as “the greatest action movie of 2009.”
This larger than life statement is an evident advertising lie. It was barely action-packed with more morose and depressing moments than action throughout the entire movie. There were, literally, two significant fight sequences that really grabbed the audience for maybe five minutes. And then what followed? A whole lot of nothing. Just a confusing, cinematic roller coaster ride filled with endless questions of what to do next, where to go, whom to trust, etc. It was somewhat understandable until towards the end when you didn’t know who to believe, what was going on, and what exactly was the truth. I think Roger Ebert said it best when he stated on rottentomatoes.com, “‘Push’ has vibrant cinematography and decent acting, but I’m blasted if I know what it’s about.”
“Push” stars Evans and Dakota Fanning, along with Djimon Hounsou from, according to imdb.com, hit movies like “Amistad” and “Blood Diamond,” and Camilla Belle from the 2006 remake of “When a Stranger Calls.”
Fanning goes from playing a sweet, innocent girl to playing a rebel who likes to curse and drink. Talk about a complete 180. Belle’s character has no depth whatsoever and actually doesn’t speak for the first few scenes that audiences see her in. Really the only characters that I found to be sympathetic were Evans’ character and Fanning’s character. All of the other characters merely cluttered the busy movie and made it that much more confusing. They did little to help the progression of the plot.
The main plot is that the aforementioned characters, along with numerous others, have these “special powers” that they’ve had from birth. Some of them are very strong while some of them are somewhat weak in the overall execution of their powers. Their powers range from telekinesis to someone who can see the future to someone who can make you believe one thing happened while it never did. Confused? So was I. It reminded me exactly of “X-men” except you don’t have the Professor Xavier character coming in to help the person utilize their powers and become stronger.
In the end, the audience is left with a cliffhanger, which means there’s possibly going to be a second “Push.” Oh, I can’t wait.
The majority of the movie, except for the beginning, took place in Hong Kong, which is not a bad thing, but it makes me question the motives of the location switch. If the beginning of the movie started in America then why didn’t it just stay there instead of going thousands of miles to Hong Kong? Maybe it’s just me, but I think that’s a little weird and unmotivated by any action in the film.
All in all, the movie wasn’t exactly what I expected. I was hoping to see an action-packed film that would keep me hooked from beginning to end. Instead, I saw a drama that had me scratching my head. What did make it bearable and somewhat enjoyable, however, was the great soundtrack and Evans’ performance. I would only recommend this movie if you’re a huge fan of either Fanning or Evans and are willing to sit in a theatre for about two hours being bored out of your mind.

LISA ARPINO
STAFF WRITER

On Wednesday, Nov. 12, FDU became the laugh factory of Madison, N.J., as it hosted the New Jersey Comedy Festival. On this night, six fellow students became comedians for five minutes in a contest to figure out who would go on to the finals to become the king or queen of comedy.

To kick off the show, the audience was introduced to comedian TJ Del Reno who joked about our new president, NJ Transit and his own voice, among other topics.

After Del Reno was Mike Caruso who decided to take on the role of a nerd and win over the ladies with his smooth talk. Caruso was hilarious. Next was Gordon Baker-Bone, who talked about our newly elected president, Barack Obama, and how he can’t hide being black. Baker-Bone was also very entertaining.

Then there was Shamia Casiano, whose routine focused on the fact that she’s not ghetto, that she can dance and she can’t do dances from hit songs like “Crank That” by Soulja Boy and the two step. Her jokes were carefully planned and also very witty.

Then the performers took a little break so Del Reno could chat up the audience some more. After Del Reno, Christine Tirrell talked about when she came out, how her family reacted and first dates. She was very comical.

Then Sabrina Noel came up and spoke of her freshman year at FDU, among other topics.

Finally, we saw Aaron Gage talk about being Jewish and being in relationships. He was very amusing.
As the judges convened over the contestants, the audience got to hear some more hilarious stories from Del Reno, including his picture day in school and his hilarious experience in Times Square for New Year’s.

After some time, Dennis Hedlund, creator and executive producer of the New Jersey Comedy Festival, went up on stage and announced that Caruso, Baker-Bone and Gage were the winners.
Caitlin Regan, FPC’s campus relations chairwoman and senior at FDU, enjoyed the event and was happy with the turnout since they had over 100 people come out for the contest. She said that the performers were awesome and she was really happy that the audience responded well to them. She can’t wait to work with Hedlund again and is hopeful of hosting the event next year.

According to Hedlund, he brought about the festival for two reasons: to help college students become comedians and to also help out his son, Derek. He stated that he wanted students to get the feeling of being up on stage as a comedian.

He said that they’ll have new-found respect for comedians because it’s very tough to do, even though they’re only on stage for five minutes.

He also wanted his son to “see the inside of various colleges throughout the state. And most importantly, to meet and talk with the students from the various schools to see what New Jersey college he liked best to attend.” Both reasons are very noble ones to begin this festival.

LISA ARPINO
Staff Writer