FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2015 | VOLUME 1 ISSUE 32

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NEW TONETFLIXWHAT YOU CANEXPECT TO SEEIN APRIL

MOVIEREVIEWWIL SESSIONSREVIEWS‘CHAPPIE’

WHAT’S HOTON TVWHAT SHOWSARE PEOPLEWATCHING

JakeCowleyMAKING A ‘START’ WITH A MUSICCAREER

INSIDE

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He’s 17 and with his first album, JakeCowley (pronounced Cool-ee) offers a vari-ety of genres in The Start.

“There (are) two or three gospel songs onthere,” he said, “but there’s a variety foreveryone. We have R&B gospel, countrygospel, blues, power ballads and someSouthern gospel songs. ‘You’ll Never WalkAlone’ is an adult inspirational song, but itdoes have the meaning of Jesus in it,because you’ll never walk alone with Jesus.”

The name of his album, The Start, isindicative of how the First Baptist Churchof Minden member got his “start” in musicand launching his first album along with hiscareer.

“It’s a young and innovative approach togospel,” Cowley’s father, Jeff, said. “There’s acouple of songs that are very contemporaryin nature for younger people – forteenagers. There needs to be appeal to ayounger generation, music that communi-cates to them on their level.”

Launching his first album is exciting andnerve-racking, Jake Cowley says.

“I’m glad the good Lord gave me theopportunity to do something like this andcarry this with not only the people aroundme but hopefully all over and bless peoplein a positive way,” he said. “I’ve been nerv-ous, but it’s a lot of fun.”

As a young child growing into his teenyears, he sang at church and other venuesspreading the message of Jesus throughsong. And when he and his family becamemembers of First Baptist Church of Mindenabout two years ago, he met a man thatwould help his music career take off.

Todd DuBose, music minister at FBCMinden, offered Cowley a spot in thechurch’s gospel quartet, Chordsmith. Cow-ley continues to sing with this group today.

DuBose says Cowley will go far in hiscareer.

“He’s amazing,” DuBose says. “He’s ahard worker; he practices all the time. I’ve

had a lot of talented kids come through, buthe will take off.”

DuBose says he happened upon Cowleywhen his daughter and Cowley were extrasin a movie and, as they say, the rest is histo-ry. DuBose introduced him to GordonMote, an award-winning pianist who isblind. Jeff Cowley says the opportunity tohave the album produced by Mote, throughDuBose’s connection to him, was a “Godthing.”

“His mentors have made a huge impact,”Jeff Cowley said, “allowing him to grow anddevelop and introducing him to the rightpeople that provided a path for him to con-tinue to get this album done.”

The title song, The Start, was written byDuBose, and Cowley says he doesn’t wantto choose a favorite from his album,because the 12 songs on it are the topchoices out of hundreds of songs. However,he seemed most excited about You’ll NeverWalk Alone because it resonates with himspiritually. Jeff Cowley called the song an“old soul” song, and it’s the only song on thealbum that is not original. The rest are new,fresh songs.

“I cannot have a favorite, because they’reall good songs,” he said. “Picking all thesongs was hard, but I feel like with eachsong not only did I have a connection, butpeople who would listen to them had a con-nection. I personally enjoyed each and

every one of them because they had a spe-cial meaning behind each song.”

Cowley has been singing since he wasjust 2 years old. His father put him on top ofthe pulpit with microphone in hand, and hesang Jesus Loves Me – on key, on pitchthroughout the entire song. Jeff Cowley saysthat’s when he and his wife Denise realizedtheir youngest son had been given a gift.

“He got most of his talent from hismom,” Jeff Cowley said, laughing. “Neecy(Denise) has had a lot of influence on himfrom the time he was a baby in his musicaltaste and just his love for music in general,because she loves music. We were involvedin church work and music and we did thatfor a number of years. We had the opportu-nity to provide an environment where hecould learn to sing.”

He says his son’s gift of song is a God-given talent. He and his family believe thatno matter what God blesses a person with,that person should use the talents Godbestows, he says.

“I’ve always sang,” Jake Cowley said,“and at about age 8 or 9, I was singing atEvangel, my church, and I think after I sangAmazing Grace there, that was the first timeI knew that’s what I wanted to do for therest of my life. I was saved when I was 6years old, and I was in my room sitting withmy mom and dad. We’d just finished Biblestudy, and we were talking about dying. So,I asked if I die, what happens? I realizedthen that I wanted to become a Christianand be saved. With that, I think that’s whengospel music really took a different turn forme.”

Cowley will be in concert at 6 p.m. Sun-day, April 12, at FBC Minden. The concertwill also feature Gordon Mote, AngelaPrimm, Gayle Mayes and Chip Davis as wellas the First Baptist Minden CelebrationChoir and Orchestra.

For more information, call the church at377-4434.

The concert is free.

FUN FACTS ABOUT JAKE

Favorite food: Italian (Japanese runs aclose second)Favorite music: Blues, R&BFavorite color: BlueFavorite car: Porsche, Range RoverSportFavorite TV show: Andy Griffith; he alsolikes The Voice, American Idol

Singer Jake Cowleyreleases first album

all the new movies and TVshows you can expect to see inApril.

APRIL 1And Now ... Ladies and Gentle-men.. (2002)Bandolero (2000)Barnyard (2006)Bound (1996)Buffalo Soldiers (2001)Down to Earth (2001)Leprechaun 3 (1995)The Beautician and the Beast(1997)The Crocodile Hunter: CollisionCourse (2002)Leprechaun 4: In Space (1997)Leprechaun 6: Back 2 tha Hood(2003)Suicide Kings (1997)Sunset Strip (2000)Underworld (2003)Whiteboyz (1999)Wrong Turn at Tahoe (2009)

APRIL 2

Life Partners (2014)Sinbad: The Fifth Voyage (2014)

APRIL 3

All Hail King Julien, Season 1(5 New Episodes)Derek: Special Starry Eyes (2014)The Quiet Ones (2014)

APRIL 7

Preservation (2014)Wilfred, Season 4

APRIL 8

Halt and Catch Fire, Season 1(2014)

APRIL 9

Pioneer (2013)

APRIL 10

Broken (2013)Burning Bridges (2014)Confusion Na Wa (2013)Finding Mercy (2012)Finding Mercy 2 (2014)Flower Girl (2013)Forgetting June (2013)Knocking on Heaven's Door(2014)Lagos Cougars (2013)Lies Men Tell (2013)Mad Couple (2014)Marvel's Daredevil, Season 1(2015) (Series Premiere)Mad Couple 2 (2014)Matters Arising (2014)October 1 (2014)Onye Ozi (2013)The Awakening (2013)Ties That Bind (2011)

APRIL 12

The Identical (2014)

APRIL 13

Video Game High School, Sea-son 3

APRIL 14

The Babadook (2014)Goodbye to Language (2014)Kink (2013)

APRIL 16

Hot Fuzz (2007)

APRIL 17

Baby Daddy, Season 4 Chris D'Elia: IncorrigibleThey Came Together (2014)

APRIL 18

Noah (2014)

APRIL 21

A Girl Walks Home Alone atNight (2014)

APRIL 25

Sons of Anarchy, Season 7

APRIL 26

The Nutty Professor 2: Facingthe Fear (2008)

APRIL 27

National Treasure (2004)

New toNetflix

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3

BY WIL SESSIONSGuest Columnist

Chappie is the newest film bywriter/director Neill Blomkamp, andit has the same familiar problems ashis other well known hit District 9,and it all has to do with it’s lack oforiginality.

The movie, centered around arobot with artificial intelligence, isbasically a retread of older, betterSci-fi movies like Short Circuit,Robocop, and Artificial Intelligence,but with none of the joy, depth, orambition involved.

It’s strengths(what few there are)lie within it’s visual style and cast.Chappie’s visuals are absolutelystunning, with CGI characters thatlook as though you can actuallyreach out and touch them, and setsthat are bleak and dark but help thebright visuals of the explosions andcharacters stand out.

The film’s cast is also unique with

many very talented actors andactresses like Hugh Jackman(sport-ing a mullet that would make Billy-Ray Cyrus blush), Sigourney Weaver,Dev Patel and Sharlto Copley, whostars as the voice of Chappie.

However most of the talent is castaside for rave-rap artists Ninja,Yolandi, and America who serve asChappie’s “family” alongside Patelwho plays Chappie’s creator. Jack-man and Copley are the standoutswho both deliver great performanc-es that actually bring a hint of depthto their characters, but are draggeddown by the underwhelming script.

Chappie is essentially a joyless,bland experience that really offersnothing new from Blomkamp whenit comes to the film’s uninspiredstory, but has enough visual specta-cle to at least keep you entertained. táä=pÉëëáçåë=áë=~=ëÉåáçê=~í=_Éåíçå

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Review: Chappie has stunning visuals

NEW YORK — SuttonFoster doesn't turn backtime on her new TV series,"Younger," she just liesabout her age.

The TV Land series pre-mieres Tuesday with twoepisodes, beginning at 10p.m. EDT.

Created and producedby Darren Starr (behind"Sex and the City"),"Younger" stars SuttonFoster as a 40-year-oldnamed Liza, who isdivorced and finds shecannot get an entry-leveljob in publishing becauseshe's considered too old.So, with the help of afriend (Debi Mazar), shepretends to be 26 yearsold.

The lie snowballs andLiza finds herself not justpretending at work (with adeliciously over-the-topboss played by MiriamShor), but also creating asocial life as a 26-year-old.Liza gets a youngerboyfriend who thinksthey're the same age and anew BFF (Hilary Duff).Sometimes she forgets thelie isn't real, like when shecracks up over a "suicide

pact" she makes withDuff's character to enforcewhen they get "old." Othertimes it takes her a fewbeats to catch up, likewhen she tries to deciphertexting acronyms.

There are shades of"Sex and the City" in"Younger." The series wasshot in Manhattan andBrooklyn, and PatriciaField is the wardrobe con-sultant. While the premiseis about age, the heart ofthe show is the friendshipsamong the women.

Cast members talkedabout the series in recentinterviews, with theiranswers edited for lengthand clarity.

Associated Press: Agingis something manywomen worry about butSutton, let's be real, you'renot old.

Sutton Foster: I justturned 40 so I don't feelold. I still feel very relevantand ... hip to ... whatever'sgoin' on. (Laughs.) But Ido sort of understand. ...Even as I'm sort of navi-gating my own life and myown career you see likethis legion of young peo-

ple comin' down the pikeand you're like, 'Oh, wow!'There are roles that I'mgonna no longer be able toplay because it's a reality.'

Debi Mazar: It's a cur-rent conversation. Myfriend Madonna is sort oflike the cheerleader, theringleader of this discus-sion of ageism to a degree.She falls off the stage, shegets back up. Her tourshave sold out already likeacross the world practical-ly, and I mean she's 56. Ifind her really inspiring. Ithink that this discussionis something women have.

AP: "Younger" tapes inNew York and Brooklyn.Hilary, was it a difficultdecision to relocate fromLos Angeles?

Hilary Duff: I read thepilot and I'm like, 'Oh,such a good one.' ... Then Iget on the phone with(Darren Starr) and myagent and they're like, 'OK,we're shooting in NewYork in September,' and Iwas like, 'Wait, what? Ican't do that. My son juststarted school. I'm in themiddle of making myrecord. I'm separated from

my husband.' (She's sincefiled for divorce from for-mer pro hockey playerMike Comrie.) I meanthere was a lot — it was abig year for me, so it was abig chance and a big riskand I'm so glad I did it. Ithink the change ofscenery was good for me.

AP: What is thewardrobe for the show?

Miriam Shor: My char-acter, Diana Trout, canpush some boundaries. Ithelps you create the char-acter. She has the audacityto put on a necklace thatFlava Flav would be like,'Mmm, I don't think wecan rock that.' She'd belike, 'Yes we can!' She pullsit off.

AP: Nico, you're theonly male in the cast(playing Liza's tattooartist, Brooklyn hipsterboyfriend, Josh). What'sthat like?

Nico Tortorella: Fantas-tic! I wish every job waslike this. (Laughs.) Iwouldn't trade it for any-thing. Are you kidding? It'samazing.

40 is the new 26 in TVLand's new series 'Younger'

Zombies, basketball and Jesus Christ have beenhot television properties during the past week.

The Nielsen company said that AMC's fifth seasonfinale for "The Walking Dead" on Sunday was seen by15.8 million viewers. That's the third biggest audi-ence ever for the hit drama and its best for a seasonfinale. Its largest live audience, of 17.3 million, wasfor the first episode of this season.

"It's tough enough in today's competitive envi-ronment to command attention, and even harder tohold on to it," said Charlie Collier, AMC president,expressing pleasure in the show's growth throughfive seasons.

"The Walking Dead" didn't quite match the num-bers for Fox's new sensation, "Empire," which drew17.6 million for the finale of its first season earlier inMarch.

But the AMC finale reached 10.4 million viewersaged 18-to-49, the key demographic for advertisingsales, and "Empire" had 8.8 million in that age group,Nielsen said.

Given how television is watched, however, thosenumbers are like reporting the score of a baseballgame during the seventh inning stretch. Both showsare expected to gain millions more viewers whenpeople who watch through on demand services orDVRs are added in during the coming weeks.

The TBS network reached the biggest audience inits history with Saturday night's thrilling NCAAmen's basketball regional final between undefeatedKentucky and upset-minded Notre Dame. The gamewas seen by an average of 14.8 million people, peak-ing at just under 20 million during the tenseendingAnother network, the National GeographicChannel, reached its biggest audience ever duringthe weekend. "Killing Jesus," its story on the crucifix-ion of Christ based on the book by Martin Dugardand Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly, was seen by 3.7million people on Sunday, Nielsen said.

CBS won the week in prime-time, averaging 8.8million viewers. ABC had 6.1 million, NBC had 5.8million, Fox had 3.7 million, Univision had 2.9 mil-lion, Telemundo had 1.5 million, the CW had 1.4 mil-lion and ION Television had 1.1 million.

TBS was the week's most popular cable network,averaging 4.65 million viewers in prime time. AMChad 2.17 million, USA had 1.75 million, Fox NewsChannel had 1.68 million and the Disney Channelhad 1.49 million.

NBC's "Nightly News" topped the evening news-casts with an average of 8.7 million viewers. ABC's"World News" was second with 8.6 million and the"CBS Evening News" had 6.7 mil

For the week of March 23-29, the top 10 shows,their networks and viewerships: "NCIS," CBS, 16.23million; "The Walking Dead," AMC, 15.78 million;NCAA Men's Basketball: Notre Dame vs. Kentucky,TBS, 14.75 million; "NCIS: New Orleans," CBS, 14.42million; "Dancing With the Stars," ABC, 13.85 mil-lion; "60 Minutes," CBS, 13.83 million; "The Voice"(Monday), NBC, 12.2 million; "The Voice" (Tuesday),NBC, 11.62 million; "Madam Secretary," CBS, 11.47million; "NCAA Studio Show" (Saturday), TBS, 10.83million.

Hot on TV:Zombies, basketball

and Jesus

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