Word: formulaically
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...actors in a Wes Anderson movie put on a sort of theater of artifice; faces become masks, from behind which the humanity of a character can either struggle or fail to emerge. Perhaps the greatest failure of “The Darjeeling Limited” was in reversing this formula instead of developing on it. But the utterly blank faces of Fox, his family, and friends—posturing, wry, flummoxed, or brooding countenances as they fit their respective characters—allow for development that’s left totally up to the script. Fox?...
While enthusiastic about the district's reform plans, Boasberg is the first to admit that some of its turnarounds - and, by extension, some of the turnarounds across the country - will not succeed. "If we had a magic formula for school success, we wouldn't be lagging behind other countries like we are right now," he says. "We have to be prepared that some of these efforts will fail, but I'm confident that on the whole, they'll do far better than what they are replacing...
...underperforming schools, the most commonly chosen simply requires schools to make some change, any change - such as a new curriculum or extra training for teachers. Weak sauce, in other words. With this new $3.5 billion, districts (which will compete for cash obtained by states through the application of a formula) will have to show that they are ready for and capable of implementing one of four rather dramatic strategies: (1) replacing the school's principal and at least 50% of its staff; (2) closing the school and reopening it as a charter school; (3) closing the school and moving students...
...drink, smoke and experiment sexually with little guidance. Since they were not taught to develop internal controls, they have great difficulty with impulse control. Really, being a little less controlling when your children are young and a little more so when they are older is a much better formula...
While the Disney film wove comedy into a Disney-esque plot about a young girl breaking out of the confines of tradition to pursue her own destiny, the new Mulan focuses on patriotism, filial piety, romance and the difficulties of war. The formula is part of an evolving mainland genre that has seen filmmakers incorporating more nuanced, entertaining storytelling into patriotic plots. "China is anxious to be part of the global community. There's a lot of concern over soft power right now," says Poshek Fu, professor of cinema studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "Movies...