Matt Mitgang | Student Life

Three Kings provide traditional pub fare such as burgers, wings and sandwiches.

The bar at Three King’s offers a wide selection of beers, including local favorites like Schlafly’s and Urban Chestnut. The bar is up front and there are plenty of tables in the back to mingle with friends over drinks. Three Kings boasts strong drinks for the best prices. Wednesday through Sunday nights feature live music and often a lively crowd that ranges from the early 20s to the mid-40s.

Student Life sampled the lunch menu, which consists mainly of sandwiches and burgers. The pub’s signature Three Kings Burger, a half-pound beef patty topped by bacon, bleu cheese and balsamic relish on sourdough, proved delicious. While no one proclaimed it the world’s best burger, for eight dollars, it was more than enough for lunch and was well priced. Unfortunately, we did not sample the Captain Crunch Shrimp, our server’s suggestion, but when we return, we’ll order it immediately.

The decor and ambience of Three Kings are its strongest features. The bar, paneling and furnishing are mahogany. Three Kings is smaller than competing bars on the Loop, like Cicero’s and Blueberry Hill, which gives the pub a more intimate atmosphere. Three Kings tries to evoke the look and feel of an English pub and for the most part, it succeeds. The pub’s best assets are large prints of photographs of University City from over 100 years ago. Despite being a new establishment, Three Kings succeeds in feeling like a part of University City and the culture of the Loop largely because of these photos.

In older English, an ordinary was an inn that offered regular meals at fixed prices. While it does not let rooms, Three Kings Public House otherwise suits this definition. Whether a customer orders a draught or a sandwich, he can expect a good return on his dollar. However, besides the inexpensive drinks, nothing about Three Kings makes it particularly attractive to people looking for a new favorite bar. But with the right friends, this ordinary has the potential to be quite extraordinary.

3.5/5 stars

Davis: School is over for the boy wizard, and danger lurks around every turn. This is not only the darkest Potter film to date, but also the one with the most suspense.

Alex: It’s definitely true. The score, editing and camera work all help to create a feeling of suspense throughout the movie. Given that the audience already knows that there’s danger lurking around every corner, the construction of the film only furthers the sense of foreboding.

Davis: Even when I knew Harry and his friends would manage, scenes felt frantic. I think Yates made a wise decision to use handheld cameras, especially in chase scenes. The relatively tranquil scenes, too, contributed to the suspense. Yates cuts between characters during conversation at strange times, disrupting the normal rhythm of a filmed conversation.

Alex: The editing in general was strange at times. There were some times that the reel just faded to black and into another scene. It disrupted the flow of the movie and didn’t seem to serve much purpose.

Davis: There wasn’t much balance behind the camera, certainly. As much as I liked the handheld cameras in chase scenes, Yates also chose them for some interior shots. The jerkiness proved more distracting than foreboding, and I found myself more annoyed than alert.

Alex: I don’t know. I like that the handheld cameras made the whole movie tenser. I also thought the actors were really successful at furthering the suspenseful tone of the film.

Davis: Past Potter films profited from a supporting cast featuring some of Britain’s finest, from Maggie Smith to Kenneth Branagh. In this film, Harry and his friends are alone, and I think these young actors really shouldered that mantle well. Rupert Grint, as Ron Weasley, really shined in this movie. He evolved from the dopey comedic sidekick to more of an exasperated and testy friend. Grint put more emotion behind some lines in this film than all the “bloody hells” of the previous films combined.

Alex: Grint was actually able to show different sides of his acting ability. I do have to say, though, that the few appearances from supporting cast members were also very memorable. As always, Ralph Fiennes was phenomenal as Voldemort in one of the opening scenes. In terms of new actors so far, Rhys Ifans stuck out as Xenophilius Lovegood. He brought his desperation for his daughter to life.

Davis: Whoever cast the Lovegood family brought some of the best actors to the series, without a doubt. The screen time with Ifans was some of the most memorable for me, especially when detailing the origin of the titular Deathly Hallows.

Alex: I have to agree that the “Tale of the Three Brothers” was one of the most memorable scenes in the movie. Its animation perfectly fit the childhood story. It was superbly done. I also really enjoyed all of the scenes with Dobby. I really missed him in the last few movies, and he was charismatic and memorable in this one.

Davis: Dobby’s return was most welcome. Both he and Kreacher, the other house-elf, looked so alive in this movie. The films’ ability to make the extraordinary look so ordinary without distracting us from the important issues, like love and death, is its greatest strength, and definitely why they’re good companions for the books. How do you think this one matches up with Rowling’s novel?

Alex: I think it matches up pretty well. Splitting the book into two movies definitely helped them fit in most of the details. While I was disappointed that some small, inconsequential parts didn’t make it in, I think it was relatively close to the first half of the book.

Davis: My heaviest criticism of this installment concerns its lack of character development. The book features Harry, Ron, and Hermione all struggling with developing feelings of doubt, love and desperation. Harry’s main internal conflict for the first half of the novel is whether to pursue Horcruxes (the keys to defeating Voldemort) or Hallows (which, if Voldemort acquires them, would make him the fabled “master of death”). The film omitted the internal conflict, and while Harry was more interesting in this movie than others, he was also relatively flat.

Alex: They did leave a lot of their inner struggles out, but they could add them into the next movie. I guess we’ll just have to wait until July to see “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.”

Macall polay | Paramount Pictures

(Left to right) The morning national news program, “Daybreak,” has a new producer, Becky Fuller (Rachel McAdams) who must referee the show’s two bickering hosts, Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton) and Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford) in Paramount Pictures’ comedy “Morning Glory.”

Becky has her work cut out for her. For starters, she has to deal with her two co-hosts. The first is the uppity mess that is Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton), and the second is Paul McVee (Ty Burrell), an anchor with a foot fetish. Becky fires the more disgusting one (that’d be Paul), and sets her sights on a new co-host: the acclaimed nightly news anchor Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford). She hires him, but as he’s a reporter of journalistic integrity, he doesn’t play ball.

Mike won’t banter with Colleen, and he refuses to say the word “fluffy.” In other words, he’s horrible for morning television. Becky makes it her mission to get Mike on board. And that’s as far as the story goes. We’re 30 minutes in, and the movie has nothing left to say for the next hour.

McAdams is peppy in a way that is more frightening than endearing. She’s always careening from one side of the screen to the other, and you’re always worried that she’s about to bump into somebody, knock a vase off the table or just stumble off the screen entirely (and yet, she never sweats through her work suit).

McAdams’ character is optimistic and nothing else. Basically, she staunchly believes that everyone can always do a better job than they are doing now, and sometime near the end of the movie you’ll realize that she’s given Mike the same pep talk on three separate occasions.

But take a step back, and you’ll see that Becky is the product of an underwritten story. The premise is initially exciting, but screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna runs through her bag of tricks in short order. There are only so many ways to lampoon morning television, and there are only so many times a weatherman can be enthusiastic about weather vanes before it becomes grating. In an effort to keep the movie under two hours long, the story blindsides Becky with hardship near the end, but before you know it, her darkest moment is over. Just in time for a segment on frittatas!

There are little moments of redemption. I think I could watch Matt Malloy ride, and pass out on, roller coasters for hours on YouTube. Keaton and Goldblum are perfectly cast. Too bad they’re hardly in the movie. Ford is suspiciously perfect for his role. He is “suspiciously perfect” because both Ford and his character are wildly overqualified for their positions, and you might just wonder if Ford is acting at all.

Directed by: Roger Michell
Starring: Rachel McAdams, Jeff Goldblum, Diane Keaton, Harrison Ford

Allow me to preface this review by saying that my opinion evidently means a great deal to Paramount. In order to get this review, the studio paid to fly me to California and did everything in its power to make the two days I spent there as pleasant as possible.

I do appreciate that opportunity. And I wish I could repay them by raving about the brilliance of “Jackass 3-D.” But I find it hard to say anything constructive about two hours’ worth of six idiots hurting themselves in every way imaginable.

I will say this: Jackass knows exactly what it is. If you liked the first two movies, you’ll probably like this one too. It’s not highbrow or complicated, and it doesn’t try to be. The fact is, there’s a large contingent of the American public who will pay good money to watch guys getting hit in the crotch, over and over, in a variety of ways and by a variety of objects. In three dimensions.

And let’s talk about the 3-D. As Johnny Knoxville joked, “It’s kind of a no-brainer to make your third movie in 3-D. That’s how you get the title.” But the sad truth is, unless your name is James Cameron, 3-D technology doesn’t make that much of a difference to the overall experience of a movie. Besides which, the nature of Jackass is spontaneous, since so much of it is based on pranks. According to director Jeff Tremaine, “We were always ready to drop the 3-D cameras and shoot it with the run-and-go cameras…oftentimes, we’ll spend all this money, have this grand illusion that this one bit’s gonna be great, and while we’re setting that up, the funniest thing in the whole movie happens right next to it.”

Don’t get me wrong, there were a few scenes, notably one with a massive explosion where debris seemed to be flying at the audience, where the 3-D was amazing. And, as Bam Margera put it, “It’s the first movie in 3-D with shit and puke and stuff.” It was unpleasant enough watching the camera man throw up multiple times over the course of the movie; I think I’m just as glad that the 3-D technology didn’t materially alter my experience of those scenes.

That even the camera man, who surely is exposed to disgusting sights and smells every day, was unable to control his stomach should give you some idea of what to expect. I guarantee that at some point, someone is going to throw up right there in the movie theater. And, given the kind of audiences “Jackass 3-D” is likely to draw, some of the people will cheer.

And that, I think, is what draws people to Jackass movies. Maybe the disclaimer at the beginning of the movies warning you not to try this at home is unnecessary for most, but nearly all the Jackass stunts are extensions of common occurrences. Almost everyone has been stung by a bee, had a tooth pulled out or had to use a port-o-potty and gotten grossed out. These aren’t pleasant experiences, but there’s always a part of you that wonders what would happen if you took them to extremes—if you played tetherball with a beehive, pulled out a tooth unanaesthetized with a string tied to a Lambourghini or bungee jumped in a port-o-potty full of dog poo. The Jackass stunt guys, for reasons known only to themselves, have volunteered to help us answer these all-important questions, risking death or serious injury. Even if you close your eyes and look away while they’re doing it, you have to admire that kind of complete recklessness in the name of entertainment. As Preston Lacy put it, “I don’t have a yearning to get hurt. I have a yearning to make people laugh, and this is how I do it.”

Directed by: Jeff Tremaine
Starring: Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O

Read Nora’s comments on the cast

Unfortunately, the app keeps these functions separate from one other. Neither map is integrated with the departure or arrival times. In fact, arrival times are conspicuously absent from Metro STL. Sure, you can figure out how long it takes to get from Skinker to the Stadium by examining every intervening station’s departure time, but, that is clearly tedious. There should be an easy way to ask the app, “I am located at X, and I want to get to Y by Z time—what time should I leave?” but there isn’t.

As with most iPhone apps, you can’t argue with the price. It’s free, but that doesn’t stop it from being annoying. Helpful, but annoying.

The key Bad Religion elements are firmly in place—power chords, harmonized “oohs” and “aahs” and drumming that keeps everything cohesive and chugging along—but the band has moved beyond the formula to create a record that streamlines and updates their sound. The treble guitar on “Wrong Way Kids” and “Only Rain” is pleasantly reminiscent of their earlier track, “The Quickening.”

Singer Greg Graffin busts out of his vocal comfort zone on tracks like “Someone to Believe” and “The Resist Stance,” opting for a higher range with a greater emotional payoff. As always, the lyrics are worth a close listen. Intricate wordplay shares the stage with an insistent political message.

Love old Bad Religion but want a new twist on it? Never listened to them before but feel like political punk is for you? Grab “The Dissent of Man.”

for fans of: Rise Against, Anti-Flag
tracks to download: ‘Someone to Believe,’ ‘Ad Hominem,’ ‘Pride and the Pallor’

That being said, No Age has an aptitude for pairing chaotic noisiness with a strong melodic backbone. This formula works wonders on the brash, foot-stomping sing-along “Skinned” and the emotionally distressed “Valley Hump Crash,” in which the increasingly desperate pleas of singer Dean Spunt are mirrored by rising swells of white noise and screeching guitars. The successful balance of noise and pop on some tracks makes it all the more frustrating when they neglect their pop sensibilities, either mumbling their way through songs or forgetting to sing them entirely (Really guys, THREE instrumentals!?)These flashes of greatness make me hope that next time, No Age will realize it’s possible to grow up and still be young at heart.

for fans of: Wavves, The Thermals, Sonic Youth
tracks to download: ‘Skinned,’ ‘Valley Hump Crash,’ ‘Chem Trails’

Is it a commentary on adolescents’ flawed perception of strife? We don’t care; we just want to crank the tight guitar fills and clean multi-part vocals and clap along until we forget about history papers and bio tests. And though the mercury is dropping in St. Louis, we can hold on to the last shred of summer with the Florida band’s beach-ready punk, wearing the album out until we can sing along with frontman Chris Farren’s malleable vocals on every track.

for fans of: The Gaslight Anthem, Against Me!
tracks to download: ‘Soulless,’ ‘Done with Fun,’ ‘5678’

Spoilers ahead—the plot of “Chrono Cross” is not necessarily fantastic, nor even particularly cohesive. It begins simply enough, with a boy named Serge who somehow falls across a rift to a parallel universe called Another World, in which he had apparently died ten years ago. But halfway through the game, Serge switches bodies with an anthropomorphic panther, and later, said anthropomorphic panther morphs into a supercomputer in evil cyborg form. But then it turns out that the true villains are actually dragons, until they’re not, and the actual villain is somehow revealed to be the final boss from “Chrono Trigger.” And I haven’t even mentioned time travel yet.

Did the plot make any sense? No, but it also didn’t remotely resemble the plot of any other game anybody had played at the time, and that’s a compliment that rings true today. It was much more than the plot that was unusual—everything else about the game, from its Mediterranean-inspired setting to the similarly influenced music, defied conventions. It makes sense, then, that “Chrono Cross” was meticulously fashioned by its creators to deviate from its beloved predecessor. They set out not to make a sequel, but a companion.

The rest of the game was not far behind. The battle system was a strange, multi-headed beast, dealing in seven stamina points and six elemental colors instead of the venerable action-time battle gauge. What it lacked in transparency, it made up for in possibilities, as the new system allowed players to do anything in any order, so long as they had the stamina points—and the mental arithmetic to deal with decimals.

Likewise, the entire tone of the game underwent a shift from playful heroism to muted melancholy. Gone were the colorful plains and mountains of old, replaced with the misty archipelago of El Nido and the hauntingly empty highways of the Dead Sea. The exotic and unfamiliar locales each gave off a lingering sense of menace that was absent in the more lighthearted “Trigger.”

“Chrono Trigger” was said to be made by a dream team of Japanese RPG developers, and looking back, I’d describe the birth of “Chrono Cross” as a perfect storm. Whereas the successes of “Trigger” came from its simplicity, “Cross” was a grand experiment that pushed and prodded the genre into a new form. Its eccentricities tested not only what players looked for in an RPG, but also what fans looked for in a sequel. Those who played it with closed minds found an outlandish plot accompanied by an overly complex battle system, and those who expected a sequel found unsatisfying ties to the previous title.

Both groups would be correct in their criticisms, but the legacy of “Chrono Cross” is worthy of so much more. Despite its sometimes glaring flaws, it is arguably a bolder game than “Trigger” ever was. It dared to be different, and for that alone, “Chrono Cross” is well deserving of your time.

In “Lisbon,” The Walkmen embrace and celebrate the melancholy and longing that flowed throughout their 2008 elegiac downer, “You & Me.” These NYC indie-rock veterans have always leaned toward the darker side, but “Lisbon” flirts with feelings of happiness and contentment. Vocalist Hamilton Leithauser captures this mixture of sentiments in the chorus of the horn-laden album standout “Stranded,” when he shouts, “I’m stranded, and I’m starry-eyed.” There’s a glimmer of hope in even the most downcast tracks, whether it be the jangly guitar line of “Woe Is Me” or the unexpected string section in “Blue As Your Blood.”

This would all seem terribly trite if it weren’t for the masterful presence of Leithauser, who manages to simultaneously play the roles of mopey crooner and triumphant rabble-rouser. Leithauser is in a class of his own, vocally. He wails like he’s exorcising the spirits of Frank Sinatra and a young Elvis Presley from his vocal chords. When paired with the band’s dynamic, not-quite-folk sound, this makes a particularly effective combination. The Walkmen let you have it both ways: you can fist-pump with one hand while wiping away tears with the other.

for fans of: Grizzly Bear, The National

tracks to download: “Blue as Your Blood,” “Stranded,” “While I Shovel the Snow”