Top Ten Halloween Movies to Watch This Year

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With Halloween coming shortly, there's no better way than to celebrate with some spooky movies. Below is a list of bone-chilling movies that everyone will enjoy.

10. Girl vs. Monster - In this adventurous, spooky Disney movie, Skylar discovers that her parents are monster hunters when she lets monsters out of a secret chamber in her house. Along with her friends, she must go on an adventure to capture the revenge-seeking monsters.

9. Spooky Buddies - The movie features the adorable, well-known puppies and their adventures in a haunted mansion!

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8. Casper - This genuine, comical movie includes the adventures of four ghosts; one is friendly and lovable and three that are a bit on the mischievous side.

7. Double, Double, Toil and Trouble - The Olsen twins star in this lovable movie. Their family is having money troubles and and are on the verge of losing their house. Shortly after the news of this, the twins discover that their Aunt Agatha is a witch and is the source for all of their problems, including losing the house. The girls set out on a quest to take the magic moon stone (the source of her powers) from their evil aunt.

6. Scared Shrekless - This movie, as you can tell by its title, features the lovable and well-known Shrek and his pals! They get themselves into trouble when they try to put on a scary story contest, but soon find out that they will have to stay the night in Lord Farquad's haunted mansion.

5. Twitches - This Disney movie follows two tween witches that were separated after they were born and adopted by two different families. The girls finally end up meeting on their 21st birthdays, and find out that their birth mother needs them to use their powers to save the spooky world where they were born.

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4. Return to Halloweentown - Following the many movies of Halloweentown, this movie follows the main characters Marnie and Dylan, who decide to go to college at Halloweentown University. The college is also known as Witch University, where they find themselves into a bit of trouble because of the magical powers.

3. Halloweentown High - In this drama-filled Halloween movie, the gang wish to attend their local high school. The only downside? If they do attend they have to do so under certain circumstances. If they cause trouble at the school, they will end up losing all of their powers! Unsurprisingly, they do bring trouble to the school, but not the kind that they would expect. The Knight of the Iron Dagger comes to the mortal world to bring down Marnie and her friends!

2. Halloweentown II: Kalabars Revenge - The Cromwell family respectfully divides their time between "Halloweentown" (a world in which the magical monsters can escape and be themselves) and the real world. A son of their old rival threatens to reveal the monsters' world, and Marnie is the only one who can save things!

1. Halloweentown - These well-known spooky movies features the world of the monsters in Halloweentown.  When a teenage girl named Marnie learns that she is a witch, she is given a responsibility to take care of a whole other world with supernatural monsters. This one is a family favourite!

by Samantha Arsenault and Rayna MacVicar

10 Top Movies to Watch Over Thanksgiving Weekend!

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10. Rocky - If you're looking for a comical, dramatic movie to sit with the family and watch, Rocky is the best choice! Rocky Balboa is a struggling boxer trying to make it to the big time and while watching this you and your family will too experience and share the struggles and success that Rocky has!

9. Home For The Holidays - This movie is great for the family to watch together, considering its humour and drama. Plus, this movie reflects many other dramatic and comically dysfunctional families!

8. The Blind Side - This movie tells of an emotional and inspiring life of a foster child. It reveals what being kind and thankful for what you have is extremely rewarding, which is perfect for Thanksgiving!

7. Holidays - This is an unusual holiday movie because it falls within the horror and comedy genre. The movie features comedic horror stories that revolve around all of the holidays, not just Thanksgiving. If your family likes horror movies that aren't too scary then this is a great choice!

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6. Pieces of April - Unlike many of these movies, Pieces of April shows that not all Thanksgivings are joyous, and family will always matter whether you want it to or not. This movie is good to watch with the family because it explores the reality of dealing with relationships.

5. The Incredibles - In this action packed movie, the main focus is family which is definitely appropriate for thanksgiving.

4. Jack and Jill - This movie is great for the family because of its humour and family related setting. It proves that mostly all siblings do not get along most of the time, but they always come together in the end.



3. Son-in-Law -

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If you and your family adore sitting back and laughing at movies, then this is the perfect film for you and
your family! The movie tells of an out of place girl who returns home from college for Thanksgiving and happens to fall for somebody who is the complete opposite of herself.

2. Free Birds - If you have younger siblings or children then this movie is a great choice for you. The comical movie tells the tale of a determined turkey that tries to prove everybody wrong, and succeeds.

1. A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving - You can never go wrong with Charlie Brown, especially when it's for a family event!

Written by Samantha Arseneault and Rayna MacVicar

Elementary Christmas Concert 2014

KH & KN presenting their "Christmas Chant"

Blackville Elementary grades K to five had their annual Christmas Concert which was held in the cafeteria on December 16.

There was a huge turn out with many parents and people from the village who came to watch. MC's Jorja Donovan and Cohen Munn were a huge hit with their humour and great presentation of the classes from K to 5.

A majority of songs were sung including "Reindeer Love to Boogie" which was sung by KH and KN. Also 3TM did a great job with their song "Nuttin' for Christmas". Grade 1C sang "Reindeer Pokey" followed by Grade 3M singing "Feliz Navidad" and their intro saying "Merry Christmas" in different languages.

To view more pictures of the Elementary Christmas Concert click here!

By Ashton O'Donnell      
Photos by Jules Keenan

Band and Choir Night 2014

Elementary Choir 

Blackville School held their annual Band and Choir night. It took place in the school cafeteria on December 9.

The evening featured the Elementary Choir, School Girls Choir and the Blackville School Jazz Band/9T Band class. The MC's were Vice Principal Pamela Underhill and Principal Rodney Buggie.

Blackville School Girls Choir 

During the concert the audience heard "S.A.N.T.A" and "Ebenezer Scrooge" sung by the Elementary Choir, and "Carol of the Bells" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" from the School Girl's Choir.

The Blackville School Jazz Band/9T Band class played "Frosty the Snowman" and "Feliz Navidad." 

To view more pictures from Band and Choir night 2014 click here!

By Ashton O'Donnell
Photos by Noah Donovan

Tales From The Borderlands: Zer0 Sum Review

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Embrace the chaotically hilarious world of Pandora once again in the new episodic graphic adventure game based on the Borderlands series in Tales From the Borderlands.  The game is developed by Telltale Games in partnership with Gearbox Software and 2K Games, featuring voices from Chris Hardwick as Vaughn,  and Patrick Warburton as your nemesis Vasquez.  Episode one of Tales From the Borderlands is named 'Zer0 Sum' and was released November 25, 2014 on PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, and PS4.


Tales From the Borderlands: Zer0 Sum puts you in the lives of Rhys (voiced by Troy Baker) and Fiona (voiced by Laura Bailey).  Rhys is a normal Hyperion employee who works with his best friend Vaughn, and is about to receive a promotion in the company.  Suddenly you learn that Vasquez, (who is one of those co-workers that you hate) kills the former boss and promotes himself to be your new boss.  Rhys and Vaughn embark on a journey to Pandora to screw over one of Vasquez's business deals, so that you can gain your promotion you truly deserved.  On the other hand, Fiona is a con-artist living on Pandora with her sister Sasha, who were taught by their adoptive mentor, Felix.  Rhys and Fiona get mixed into each others lives when they come to find out that the deal Fiona was about to rip was the deal that Rhys was about to go through with.  Rhys, Vaughn, Fiona and Sasha then set off to retrieve their stolen money from the leader bandit Bossanova.  This sends the group through a crazy journey into the monstrous world of Pandora.

Tales From the Borderlands: Zer0 Sum is the first instalment of the very first season of the newly loved series.  Telltale Games are known for their outstanding work on their other projects such as The Walking Dead Season 1 & 2, The Wolf Among Us, and their newly released Game of Thrones series.  As far as episodic games go Telltale Games is the master of creating them, and they certainly don't disappoint with Tales From the Broderlands.

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The story of Tales From the Borderlands is without a doubt hilarious and super addictive. Each episode is approximately two and a half hours in length, and the time will fly by without even noticing.  All the game play mechanics are executed perfectly like the transitions between dialogue choices and action sequences. Although there are some rare occasions where the game will drop frames or even freeze for not even a second. The original Borderlands series is a full out first person shooter, and this take on Borderlands allows the player to get more of a story experience rather than focus on nonstop action which is nice.  I can tell from experience that the Tales From the Borderlands seems to run more smoothly on next-gen (Xbox One & PS4 & PC), rather than current-gen (Xbox 360 & PS3).  Another great feature added to Tales From the Borderlands is the fact that the actual choices you pick literally happen, and the crucial choices result in more intense and explosive events.

At first, I thought that Telltale Games would have a tough time creating an episodic adventure game out of the Borderlands series, but they sure nailed it.  Any Borderlands fan must play this game because it is going to be an awesome journey through out the rest of the season.  I've also been told that people who aren't that big into Borderlands will enjoy this game, and I don't disagree with this statement.  Tales From the Borderlands blew me away with the things they were able to alter from the original series.  They are able to set the stage perfectly for the next episode, which will leave you in wonder of what is in store for you during the next episode.  Needless to say, Tales From the Borderlands is a must buy, and is personally my favorite Telltale Games made to date.

 by Brody Nash

Assassin's Creed Unity Review

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Through fear, crime, betrayal, and bloodshed, experience the newest extension to one of the most well known major action-adventure franchises today. Assassin's Creed Unity has something for everyone's inner assassin. Ubisoft and Ubisoft Montreal, have done it once again, they have managed to make their seventh instalment to the Assassin's Creed series and it surely lives up to its predecessor Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag. Directed by Alexandre Amancio and written by Travis Stout, Assassins Creed Unity hooks you in as soon as you start the game. Assassins Creed Unity was released November 11th, 2014, and is available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.



Assassin's Creed Unity puts you in the life of Arno Dorian (voiced by Dan Jeannotte) a native Frenchman, son of an Assassin, set during the eve of the French Revolution in Paris. After the death of his father and being blamed for the murder of his adoptive father, Arno sets out to become a member of the Brotherhood of Assassins, where he slowly rises through the ranks. Driven by revenge and the will to save Paris, Arno sets out to seek the truth during this tragic period in history.

Assassins Creed Unity was the latest Ubisoft product created with the AnvilNext game engine, with new implements that will change the way you play. One of the newest additions is the Phantom Blade, which replaces the second Hidden Blade from previous Assassin Creed's. This weapon allows you to kill stealthy from a distance. It is a blade, attached to a crossbow type mechanism that allows you to shoot knives at people, to kill without being noticed. Since staying in the shadows is a major part of how you play through the game, this weapon comes in handy in tougher missions.


Another huge difference is the addition of the "Parkour Up" and "Parkour Down" mechanics. These new abilities allow the player to easily scale up and down (hence the name "Parkour Up & Down") buildings and obstacles. This gives the free running element have much more flexibility within Assassin's Creed. This aspect makes the game feel much more fluent and not as slow as the previous games. Another smaller addition to the game is that the world of Paris is huge, and allows you to roam to and from different districts while many in game activities appear like; fist fights, chasing a pick-pocket, or just simply solving a murder mystery. The last big addition to the game they implemented was the co-operative multiplayer, which allows you to freely roam Paris with your friends, or do missions and heists if that's more your style.

Many of the major aspects of Assassin's Creed Unity are executed excellently, but there are always some flaws in every creation. So far, from my experience with the storyline, I am really enjoying it but I find some things could be explained a little better before the missions are started. The voice acting is spot on in my opinion; all the voices are different and it's hard to find similarities in the sound of the characters which is an awesome aspect to the game.

Most of the gameplay mechanics within the game are great, and make you truly feel like an assassin the entire time. Although there are some bugs, mostly with NPC (non-playable characters) walking through buildings and obstacles, or standing on other characters. Also sometimes the costumes, hair, and weapons of some characters will become wonky, and might also cause the frame rate to drop, not drastically, but enough to notice it for a second. Even with the flaws, all the other gameplay aspects allow the player to feel more like an assassin than ever before in any other Assassin's Creed to date.

Assassin's Creed Unity really gives you a grip on life within the French Revolution, while telling a gripping tale about rising above revenge and thinking more about the innocent, rather than yourself. Assassin's Creed hasn't been known for recreating the exact moments from that time period, mostly because they add the Brotherhood of Assassins into the time eras, causing some events to have some twists, which play out well. Assassin's Creed Unity brings new tech and new elements that will change the series for the better in the long run. Assassin's Creed Unity is definitely a must buy this holiday season. Always remember the Brotherhood code; "We work in the dark to serve the light. We are Assassins."


by Brody Nash