As the cold weather approaches, I know I find myself anywhere but outside when it comes to staying warm! Don’t get me wrong, I love the winter, but without the beach, the pool, or even the backyard to chill out, I grow bored with my surroundings. Where does one go for excitement during such a cold season?!

Might I suggest . . .  Patriot Cinemas?

For you fellow students who may not know of Patriot Cinemas, it is the Hanover movie theater! I don’t know about you, but I sure remember going to the movies all the time back in middle school. Why not pay them another visit this holiday season? Sometimes it does get a bit cold in the theaters, but throw on a fleece jacket with some fuzzy socks and boots and you’ll be good to go!

Located right behind the Hanover mall at 1775 Washington Street, the theater has all of your ‘need-to-see’ movies for this season. Currently showing “Horrible Bosses 2,” “Penguins of Madagascar” (showing in both 3D and 2D based upon your preference), “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1,” “Dumb and Dumber to” (no, that is not a misspelling of “two”), “Big Hero 6,” and so many other great options! Check out the rest of the shows online at patriotcinemas.com. You can check out the shows coming soon, or you can even buy your tickets right from the website. If only you could buy the popcorn and snacks online too!

Did I mention the beyond affordable cost for the movie tickets???

Adults– $9.50
Children under 12 – $6.50
Seniors (65 & over) – $6.50
Daily Bargain Matinees until 6:00pm– All Seats $6.50
SUPER TUESDAYS !! All Seats for All Shows – $5.00
(3D Movies – $2.50 Premium Fee for all Admissions)

Close your eyes and imagine the smell of buttery popcorn, the sweet flavor of the cherry ice slushies, the delectable taste of cheesy nachos, and the anticipation of the movie you’re about to view. Sounds good to me! Looks like I’m going to be seeing a movie this upcoming Tuesday! How could I skip out on a $5 movie ticket!?!? Now all I need is somebody to go with . . . any takers?

Warning: Contains spoilers if you have not yet seen Mockingjay or read the books.

In the eyes of many, the third installment of The Hunger Games did not disappoint. Theaters everywhere hosted 8 pm, 10 pm and midnight premieres which fans attended, both dressed up as characters and clad in pajamas per usual. For myself, I sported a t-shirt with the widely known symbol of the mockingjay glistening in gold, surrounded by flames. According to online sources, including insidemovies.com, Mockingjay conquered the weekend’s ticket sales, and may possibly be the biggest opening of the year. While being compared to previous films as not grossing enough money in its opening weekend, the film itself was as spectacular as the original Hunger Games and its sequel, Catching Fire.

Mockingjay is emotion-evoking not only because  of the context and plot that dedicated fans will already know (a rebellion against the tyrannical Capitol), but with Katniss’ pleas for peace, humanity, and justice for her fellow victor, Peeta, who was left behind when she was rescued from the Quarter Quell. Even non-readers of the book can have their heartstrings pulled during the powerful District 8 scene, when Katniss visits a hospital of wounded only to see it bombed moments later by Capitol forces. The moment is empowering to Katniss, making it clear to her that she is the one who needs to bring justice to the people, and, more importantly, that she is capable of doing so.

We see a wide variety of both new and old characters in the film, including President Coin, the leader of District 13, who was reluctant to belief Katniss could lead the rebellion, but did not come across as resistant and suspicious as she did in the book. Gale, who was celebrated as a hero for rescuing many people before District 12 was destroyed, was eager to join the fight but still stood in support of a sometimes fragile, traumatized Katniss. A battered Peeta, whose scars from the Capitol’s torture grew worse as the movie went on, was a crushing sight for many fans.

Colleen Dowd, an HHS student in attendance at the Patriot Cinemas 8 pm premiere, has never read the third book of the series but is a “huge fan of the character Finnick.” Devastated that the woman he loves is being held by the Capitol after his escape, Finnick struggles to hold himself together and then delivers a crushing blow to the evil President Snow. (spoiler alert: Mockingjay Part 2 is not going to leave Colleen very happy)

During the highly emotional scenes, it was hard not to hear the intake of breaths from many fans and viewers in the theater. Junior Annika Rowland, a fan of the series and a bibliophile says, “I thought Mockingjay was great, except there was not much action compared to the last two films, in my opinion. I’m looking forward to seeing the second part of Mockingjay.”

Mockingjay followed the recent trend of splitting the final, highly anticipated last film adaptation in a book series into two, such as Harry Potter and Twilight. Viewers are in store for a lot of tears, and a lot of action, when the final installment of the movie premieres next November.

Music is one of the most important things ever, without a doubt. Think about a world without music. It would be completely different from the one we live in today. It would be even more dreadful to walk into work, school, or anything you dislike without absolutely bumping to “Don’t Stop Believing” in the car beforehand.

What’s odd about the concept of music is, why do we like it? (“Duh Eric, ’cause, like, it sounds good.”)(Ok, voice in my head, shut up! It’s bigger than that)  Different  people are attracted to different types of music; that’s well known. What I’m curious about is why do we enjoy, say, the sounds of music but not a lecture? Why do we enjoy having our ears bombarded by varying frequencies of sound?

What I’ve found is quite interesting. Music can make us feel different emotions (“Lol of course it does.”)(I don’t need this right now, voice. Cool it.) A sad song will bring up memories associated with sadness and the feeling is not necessarily due to the lyrics of the song. We recall a certain emotion when we listen to various genres. Generally, happy emotions are applied with pop or upbeat music while sadness could be in blues or easy listening.  There’s even science behind it. When we listen to good music, the limbic and the paralimbic areas of the brain stimulate the euphoric responses. The same effect is felt when we eat good food or uhhhh….how do I put it….when a boy and a girl wrestle.

I asked some teachers  which emotions they attached to certain songs. Mr. Perry associates Shiny Happy People by REM with the carefree days of college. Mrs. Lisa Green attaches  sadness to the song Tears In Heaven by Eric Clapton and, trust me, that song, which Clapton wrote after the death of his young son, makes you feel many things. Mr. Brown’s heart of cold-tempered steel is melted by the Happy Birthday song, which surprised me greatly considering I believed the only things that made Mr. Brown feel were the hymns of the battlefield.

Students I spoke to said music may pump them up before a game (for me, Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen has this effect). Others feel inspired, like Sophie Morril when she listens to Ave Maria.  Greta Barry and Maggie Fuller feel sad when listening to Forever and Always by Taylor Swift. “But only the piano version,” they said. Tyler Anderson feels “trippy” when listening to Laplux’s Without You.

“I wouldn’t be as happy without music,” one student told me. “It would be as if a whole part of my life would be ripped out.”

Music gives us a safe and responsible escape from the world, and we all need it to function no matter who we are.