MULTIMEDIA

'Cats head north for 'war' against RedHawks

Ohio has swept the Battle of the Bricks so far this season, defeating Miami in both Athens and Oxford.

Post Streetview: Have you ever heard of or used Box? Will you use it now that OU has a subscription?

Letter: Reporters' values are inconsistent in America

Last April, in a letter to The Post, I voiced my disagreement with a self-serving WOUB-TV commentary by Dr. Thomas Hodson, then the interim director of OU’s Center for Public Media. In his commentary, he had praised “fairness” and “understanding,” which, according to him, characterized the work done by the Public Media Center’s graduates in almost every one of the media markets. Contrary to Dr. Hodson’s observation, I pointed out that in my travels across the nation, reporters that I have read/seen/listened to, for the most part, seemed to have no awareness of any value system beyond that of their high school peers.

Post Rock: Festivals, encores and more

OU alumnus to serve as commencement speaker

Chuck Stuckey, former CEO of RSA Security, Inc. and a 1966 Ohio University alumnus, will deliver the commencement address for those graduating this year.

Men's Basketball: Akron awaits Ohio in Thursday's MAC Quarterfinals

CLEVELAND — Neither Stevie Taylor nor Javarez “Bean” Willis put up especially gaudy stat lines, but when it mattered the most, each rose to the occasion in Ohio’s second-round Mid-American Conference Tournament victory against Miami.

New day off for students next fall

Fresh off spring break, Ohio University students received news they’ll get another — albeit shorter — reprieve from classes midway through next Fall Semester.

Cartoon: 3/12/14

Cartoons represent the majority opinion of The Post's executive editors.

Sports Column: Pass by college, go directly to D-League

The National Basketball Association’s Developmental League, most commonly known as the D-League, is not the most legitimate feeder system into the big leagues. With small-town markets, trivial venues and lack of talent compared to its big brother organizations, it’s no question why not all NBA teams have a D-League affiliate.

Joint application could increase grant funding

The city of Athens is considering collaborating with Athens County and the city of Nelsonville on a grant that could rehabilitate several low-to-moderate income homes and rental properties throughout the city.

Live Basketball Notebook: Ohio vs. Miami Second Round MAC Tournament

PREGAME

Gamer Girl: Wireless phone hook-up is car's coolest tech perk

This spring break for me was a memorable one. After waiting for what has felt like forever since getting my driver’s license, I finally purchased my first car: an adorable white Ford Focus.

Athens theater group brings famed fantasy author's work to the stage

The authors of

Voter Expansion Project reignites political struggle

As former President Bill Clinton launches a campaign to change requirements to vote, another political battle between the Democrats and Republicans has ignited yet again.

Beyond the Books: Smart, skillful money management is key for college students

Guys, budgets are severely underrated.

Gamer Girl: Wireless phone hook-up is car’s coolest tech perk

This spring break for me was a memorable one. After waiting for what has felt like forever since getting my driver’s license, I finally purchased my first car: an adorable white Ford Focus. There are a ton of really fun features about the car, but to avoid boring you all with my excitement, I’m going to focus on one of the coolest things: Sync. To be honest, I never really knew anything about Sync before I got in the car for a test drive. I’ve always loved cars with some fancy-schmancy tech features, but I never thought it would be something I would actually have. Sync is a feature in newer Ford cars that allows you to wirelessly connect your phone through a Bluetooth connection. Connecting it took less than five minutes. All I had to do was turn on Bluetooth and enter a specific code. Now, with the press of a convenient button on my steering wheel, I can say a variety of voice commands to control my phone. Phone calls go through my car so I can talk without even touching my phone. I can answer the calls, call anyone from my contacts or even type in a specific number with the number pad on my console. I can also ask Sync to read recent text messages to me. As someone who is always attached to my phone, this makes driving super safe, but also doesn’t make me disconnect during my drives.I also love the media features Sync has. Through this wireless connection, you can play anything from your phone — music on your device, your favorite Pandora station, your current audiobook selection or whatever else you desire. It’s so nice to not have the clutter of cords that would usually allow you to do this, and you don’t have to worry about having bad audio quality from the cords that connect your device through the cassette tape player or the cigarette lighter. I’m sure there are a ton of other things Sync does that I’ll be obsessing over, but for now, you can find me on the roads cruising to my 2000’s Hits Pandora station and constantly calling my mom to tell her just how much I love wireless dialing. 

Voter Expansion Project reignites political struggle

As former President Bill Clinton launches a campaign to change requirements to vote, another political battle between the Democrats and Republicans has ignited yet again. 

New firm consults on aggregation

Electric aggregation efforts in Athens County will soon begin to move forward as the Athens County Commissioners hired a consulting firm at a meeting Tuesday.

The man behind the art

Chris Biester, sweating bullets on the Porch Stage at the 2013 Nelsonville Music Festival, with a guitar hanging around his neck, a towel in one hand and a bottle of generic cold syrup in the other, holds the bottle up for the audience to see, yelling “Tussin, the medicine of the uninsured.”

New ‘300’ sequel rises above expectations

300: Rise of an Empire MPAA Rated R, Our Rating 3/5 If there is one thing I am not a fan of in this world, it’s imitation.It may be the sincerest form of flattery, but I feel, generally, it is lazy, unimaginative and extremely restrictive. I disliked the fourth season of Community before it was cool to do so; I thought Kick-Ass 2 was a juvenile attempt to be as funny and edgy as the original; and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 was a hazily made reminder of why the Phil Lord-Chris Miller touch is so important.And so I had my reservations about 300: Rise of an Empire. Due to commitments with Man of Steel, director Zack Snyder did not return to the helm of this film, although he did earn a screenwriting credit this time around.Taking over is Noam Murro, whose only other film is Smart People, the movie that was a rip-off of every movie that has wheedled itself into the Sundance Film Festival for the past decade. I feared the worst.Apparently, I shouldn’t have because, much like this week’s other surprise, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, the movie captures the insanity and visual style of the original while blending in its own sensibilities. Is it as good as the original? No, but it is still a worthy successor.Based on Frank Miller’s comic book Xerxes, this movie is not exactly a sequel or prequel, but rather a sort-of inbetween-quel. It primarily follows Greek General Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton) as he leads his army against the Persian invasion, commanded by Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) and Artemisia (Eva Green).Let’s be honest: No matter how many fans the original had, it was no masterpiece. It was silly, stupid and about as historically accurate as Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor. But it was a shiny, well-oiled piece of fun entertainment, and kept its aspirations thankfully low.Much is the same with 300: Rise of an Empire. It’s still as stupid, silly and historically liberal as could be, but it knows it and tries to stay loyal to the original’s spirit while also infusing its own spunk. If anything, the film appears to be at its weakest when it tries to kiss the heels of the original 300.Case and point: the slow-mo, fast-mo thing that even Snyder has moved away from. It was fun enough back in 2007, but it is old now, and everyone and their grandma has tried to either copy or parody it. I am a little more lenient here because it is the sequel to the film that made this popular in the first place, but still. Do we need it in every other scene?With that said, this film succeeds quite well in action. The battle scenes are clearly shot, well-choreographed and CG-bloody as can be. This time, I make that final point in the best way possible. Though it grows repetitive as the film progresses, it is clear Murro and the screenwriters know what the audience wants and serve it in hearty portions.Where the film doesn’t succeed as well is when it tries for an emotional tug. More so than the first, this film tries to make you care about the characters. Though a noble effort, it ultimately is unsuccessful, weighing down the film with a great deal of time is spent trying to make you feel for these guys when, really, you don’t.What struck me so much about this continuation, in a good way, was the presence of strong female characters. One of the few returning characters is Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey), who not only gets more screen time, but plays a more prominent and central character than in the original. The female character that surprised me the most was Artemisia, who is not only the most developed character, but also the most interesting and entertaining.Green always brings flair to her performances, even just as the love interest in Casino Royale. But here, she not only gets room to shine, but uses her sexiness and mystique to her full advantage. It is key in why this sequel succeeds, and Murro and his crew seem to know it.I still don’t think this movie passes the Bechdel test, though.This installment succeeds in that, thankfully, it has a sense of humor about itself. It is more self-aware about its silliness and makes comedic use of it. Though nowhere near as quotable as the original, a line uttered by Artemisia in the third act is as worthy as any line repeated by 13-year-old boys after the first one.Additionally, the sex scene is one for the record books.Like the original, the film departs pretty open-ended — in fact, even more so than the original. It seems like they are hoping for a third 300 to make its way into theaters. Though I can’t guarantee fans will line up to see this one like they did the first time, I can say that it is worth the investment. It might be a cover band, but it’s admittedly a pretty good one. Will Ashton is a junior studying journalism and a writer for The Post. Talk 300 with him at wa054010@ohiou.edu.