Lara Bonner

Articles by Lara Bonner

‘The Pirates! Band of Misfits’: Quirky pirates create witty film

Arrrgh, maties! A new pirate adventure from the creators of “Wallace and Grommit” offers up a surprisingly witty and snicker-worthy story, made possible by its quirky characters and captivating visuals.

‘The Lucky One’: Sparks story shines

The romantic drama “The Lucky One” is the seventh film to be adapted from a Nicholas Sparks novel. Like “The Notebook,” “The Last Song,” “Dear John” and others before it, “The Lucky One” delivers a story about a star-crossed romance that must defy the inevitable odds. Aside from underwhelming acting from the leading man, “The Lucky One” offers a horribly cheesy but nonetheless enjoyable love story — puppies included.

‘The Hunger Games’: Film leaves loyal fans hungry for more

Suzanne Collins’ “The Hunger Games” was one of the most highly anticipated book-to-movie adaptations since “Twilight” and “Harry Potter.” Its plot offers up the opportunity to create a daring and powerful on-screen story about government corruption and the dangers of glorifying violence in the media, with a little romance in the mix. Though the actors embody their roles with a precision that will please the film’s main audience — the young adult fans of the book series — the second half of the film rushes the story, minimizing the impact of the premise’s underlying themes.

‘Project X’: Comedy commits party foul

The scenario: Unsupervised teenagers decide to have a party. Logical conclusion: Things spiral out of control. Director Nima Nourizadeh’s film “Project X” is all about predictability, going for the obvious again and again — and  the film doesn’t seem to be ashamed of itself. Thomas (Thomas Mann) is the stereotypical unpopular high school kid, and [...]

Drinking black water

Black water. Together, these two words don’t exactly make most people feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It kind of freaks you out. Water is supposed to be colorless! Dark water is probably an indicator that it is dirty. Muddy. Something gross. I was Tumbling on Tumblr the other day (as I often do) and [...]

Sleeping in Style

Last year, the Chum Buddy was featured in The Ithacan‘s Accentuate section of the paper. And for good reason — for those of you who don’t know, the Chum Buddy is a stuffed animal/sleeping bag hybrid shaped like a shark. This innovation dares you to sleep in the belly of the beast! You daredevil. Apparently, [...]

Plants instead of pearls

Designer Colleen Jordan, who was a Featured Seller on the popular website Etsy, has come up with a new way to go green: “Wearable Planters.” You can wear a plant around your neck! As a fashion accessory! Oh, the things we can do in 2011. No, but really — although I don’t know if I [...]