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July 2, 2007 PIONEER 3Comments and ReviewsYippi-ki-yay, moviegoersThose hungering for a summer actionmovie need look no farther than “Live Freeor Die Hard,” the latest installment of theclassic “Die Hard” franchise.Bruce Willis reprises his role as JohnMcClane, a hardened NYPD detective witha talent for violently resolving seeminglyhopeless situations.After the FBI suffers an unprecedentedcomputer security breach the night beforeIndependence Day, law enforcement agencies across the country are sent to escortthe nation’s most notorious hackers toWashington, D.C. for questioning.McClane grudgingly agrees to escortMatt Farrell (Justin Long), a top FBI suspect in the incident, to the capitol for questioning. McClane reaches Farrell’s apartment and ends up spoiling an intricateassassination attempt on the younghacker.By the time the two reach Washington,those behind the security breach havebegun systematically taking command ofcomputer-controlled infrastructure acrossthe nation — including television broadcasts, 911 service and traffic signals.As crippled government agencies try todeal with the elusive threat, McClane andFarrell begin tracking down and stoppingthose responsible before the plan is complete — as violently as possible, naturally.“Live Free or Die Hard” easily fulfills audience expectations with its intense ac-tion sequences, from brutal close-up fightsto explosive chase scenes.The film, coming in at 130 minutes running time, also manages to strike a perfect balance between action and humor.McClane’s eternally cocky outlook andFarrell’s just-barely-serious hacker attitude feed off of each other as the two throwthemselves into harm’s way, resulting ina memorable mix of action, plot development, and one-liners.Avid fans of the previous “Die Hard”films, however, might take issue with thenear-absence of McClane’s well-knowncatchphrase: the venerable cop doesn’tutter “Yippee-ki-yay . ” until the film’sclimax.This is likely due to the film’s PG-13 rating, which forces McClane’s language toconsist of marginally less profanity thanthe previous films.The attitude behind the words, however,hasn’t changed a bit and neither hasMcClane’s direct approach to problemsolving.The end result is an action-packedthriller that manages to be both grippingand fun. “Live Free or Die Hard” is completely worthy of the hype. Both newcomers and longtime fans of the series will loveit.Rating: A —Drew HamptonStaff WriterQuestions? Comments? Voice your opinion by sending aletter to the editor at editor@occc.edu, or drop it off at thePioneer’s office on the second floor of the Main Building.A phone number must be included for verification.Academic Advising comes in many shapes andsizes and is never a one-size-fits-all. With the summer semester well under way and the fall semesterquickly approaching, we ask ourselves and the students, “What is next?” and “What will the nextgeneration of students need?” Then, in preparationfor the changing needs of the students, the AcademicAdvisers (often still referred to as “Counselors”) worktogether to plan for the future and the continuedsuccess of the students, because Academic Advisingisn’t “just advising” anymore.Some of the exciting things that are planned for thefall semester include:New Handbooks — These handbooks are designed for parents and families of college studentsand offer a wealth of information and answers.“A Family Guide to Academic Advising”“A Guide for Families of Commuter Students”“Helping Your First-Year College Student Succeed,A Guide for Parents”New Student Advising — This short presentation covers the foundations of education at coursecatalog, class schedules, credit hours, etc. The presentation will be hosted in the Academic Advisingarea; will be available in several sessions each hour;and is designed for both students and parents.Peer Advising — Our Peer Advising program began in April and has really taken off. Peer Advisers,who are also students, work with students offeringhands-on assistance with Mine Online and classschedules, as well as answer basic education questions.Transfer Center Fair — The fall Transfer Fair isscheduled for Oct. 10. This event hosts colleges anduniversities from several surrounding states whoparticipate to assist in offering our students unlimited possibilities for their educational experiences.Triage Desk — Our new front counter should beinstalled in July with seating for the student, theAcademic Adviser and a support staff member toassist with scheduling appointments, telephonecalls, and general questions from the students.As Academic Advisers, we strive to find and promote all of the resources that are available for thestudents. Three additional resources that we promote to the students are:Career Fair — The fall Career Fair is scheduledfor Oct. 3 and is hosted by the office of Career andEmployment Services. This event hosts over 100businesses offering students and the communityopportunities to learn about the businesses andapply for jobs.Learning Communities — Learning Communities are noted as a growing trend and promoted foraiding in student success in college classes. Thisfall, OCCC is offering Learning Communities in English, History, and Sociology.New Student Orientation — These sessions arehosted by Student Life and offer the new student agreat overview and the resources available at OCCC.—E.J. WarrenAcademic Advising Director

4 PIONEER July 2, 2007Comments and ReviewsKing-adapted ‘1408’ Comedy appealsdark humor fansflourishes in theaterStephen King’s short story, “1408,”has been brilliantly brought to life indirector Makael Hafstrom’s new suspense/horror film of the same name.The story revolves around a roomwhere 56 people who stayed the nighthave died, 36 of which were suicides.John Cusack stars as Mike Enslin,an author in search of a substantialparanormal phenomenon to illustratein his next book.Samuel L. Jackson plays Gerald Olin,Dolphin Hotel manager, and keeper ofthe gruesome history of room 1408.Running only 90 minutes, this psychological thriller has an excellent plotthat develops steadily and results in anunusually-terrifying movie.It is said that no one lasts more thanone hour in room 1408, and that “onceyou check in, you don’t check out.”The well-positioned shock scenes anduse of dramatic intensity affirms thisfilm’s billing as a horror movie, despiteits PG-13 rating.The most interesting part of “1408”is that it’s hard for the viewer to discern reality from the character’s imagination. As Enslin starts to question thepossibility that his horror show ismerely a drug-induced nightmare, im-ages of reality begin to interrupt his lucid hallucination and further distort theaudience’s view of what is going on.The angle the director took with“1408” achieves a horror movie thatisn’t corny or cheesy, and is highly effective.The film is well made, interesting andgenuinely frightening. It’s an hour-anda-half well spent.Rating: A —Jay RocamontesStaff WriterOne man’s somber funeral becomes a fiascopunctuated by dark humorin the British comedy“Death at a Funeral,” directed by Frank Oz.The film begins slowly,introducing the deceased’sextended family on theirway to the funeral and giving a slight taste of thechaos to come.Matthew MacFaydenstars as Daniel, the harriedson, who is in charge of hisfather’s funeral arrangements.After finding the wrongbody has been delivered tothe ceremony, Daniel isforced to cope with his famous (and largely unhelpful) brother Robert, verballyabusive and wheelchairbound Uncle Alfie and ahouseful of other impressively dysfunctional familymembers.The funeral begins spiraling out of control as Simon,the fiancée of Daniel’scousin Martha, begins toact bizarre and inappropriate. It turns out Simon hasmistakenly taken a hallucinogenic drug incorrectlylabeled as Valium.Adding to the chaos isPeter, a dwarf who threatens to reveal embarrassingdetails about the deadman’s past unless the family pays him money.The acting throughoutthe film is excellent. Of special note is Alan Tudyk’sbrilliant performance asSimon.Tudyk’s facial expressions and antics stand outeven among the surrounding insanity.While the film’s humor isdark and often crude, filledwith profanity and bathroom humor, it works wellin advancing the painfulbut funny plot.While this is decidedlynot a family movie, thosewho appreciate dark humorare sure to enjoy it. “Deathat a Funeral” runs 90 minutes and is rated R for language and drug content.Rating: A—Drew HamptonStaff WriterDestruction aplenty in ‘Transformers: The Game’Paramount Picture’shotly-awaited blockbuster,“Transformers,” won’t bereleased until July 4, butfans can get a head start inthe war for Earth with“Transformers: The Game,”on PlayStation 2.“T ransfor mers:TheGame,” released June 26,allow players to either protect the world as a part ofthe Autobots, or destroy itwith the Decepticons.The game contains twosingle-player campaignmodes. Once selected, players are placed right in theaction and immediatelyinto an early mission to winthe planet.Each robot in the gamehas his own unique transformation effect and handto-hand combat moves.Both robot-mode and vehicle-mode are required tocomplete some missions.Similar to the “GrandTheft Auto” series, “Transformers: The Game” allowsplayers to either roam a cityto pick up missions, or tofreely go anywhere and destroy every building insight.Also hidden throughoutthe city are Energon cubes.You can locate all of themto unlock bonus content.If you’re tired of the missions, you can just performrobot stunts (ala “TonyHawk’s Pro Skater”) by hitting combinations of buttons to surf from one carroof to the next, or see howfar you can hurl a building.Even transforming from abot to a car is addictive, ifonly to watch the effects.The missions do becomerepetitive, and the storylinegets uninteresting, so players will eventually drift toward wandering aimlesslythrough the city.Another downside of thegame is that the city is quitesmall.For an open-ended gamethat gives gamers the freedom to explore uniqueplaces, this is a let down.Also, Optimus Prime, inall of his glory and weaponchoice, is only given missions that involve drivingaround the city to randomplaces. This does not do.Optimus is a dominantforce; he is not an errandboy.But overall, “Transformers: The Gam

OCCC Student By Eric Nguyen Editor O CCC experienced a 185,000 budget cut in its June monthly payment from the state after a shortfall in the state lottery, mean-ing some upcoming purchases might be placed on hold. The college has regularly received 2,096,000 each month from the state during fiscal year 2006-’07, OCCC President Paul .