Mount Hood

Review: Collide

By: Ashton Newton
Entertainment Editor

Part “Fast and Furious” and part “Ocean’s Eleven,” “Collide” is an over the top action film with an incredible cast. The film follows an ex-criminal named Casey, played by Nicholas Hoult, who has to return to a life of crime to save his dying girlfriend, played by Felicity Jones.

From start to finish, both Jones and Hoult give uninspired performances. Their love story is the root of the film, but their bland performances didn’t leave me rooting for them.

Ben Kingsley plays a crime lord named Geran. Kingsley’s performance is over the top. Complete with his distracting fake Turkish accent, every time Kingsley is on screen it’s hard to see past his ridiculousness and to understand what is happening.

The highlight of the film is Anthony Hopkins’ sinister villain, a crime lord who Casey wrongs at the beginning of the film. Hopkins is in his groove with this role as he jumps from monologue to monologue in a style.

The plot is bland, weak and predictable. There’s not much that goes on in between Hoult getting tortured by bad guys and running from them in car chases. The character interactions mean almost nothing unless Hopkins is on screen, and Hoult dealing with the emotional implications of his situation is so cheesy at times that I laughed out loud.

The setting of Germany is one of the best parts. Watching car chases unfold in the German countryside and on the Autobahn is out of the norm of action films and makes for a very interesting experience. Especially when there’s not much to look at during the overly lengthy and uninteresting action scenes.

When trying to have emotional or romantic moments, “Collide” fails completely. The film attempts to be rooted in romance, but any romance appears to be exposition that is rushed so people can shoot each other faster. Casey’s race to save his girlfriend means nothing because there are no emotional connections to these characters due to their lackluster performances.

Overall, “Collide” is a poor excuse for a film and a complete waste of time. The cool German setting and Anthony Hopkins’ performance aren’t even enough to keep this film from being something worth spending time or money on.

Contact the author at journalentertainment@wou.edu

¼
+ Anthony Hopkins being Anthony Hopkins
– Paper thin plot

“Hard to Believe” documentary aims to raise awareness of organ harvesting

By: Byron Kimball
Freelancer

On Feb. 23, Salem resident Timothy Gebhart held free viewings of the 2015 PBS documentary “Hard to Believe” for local residents. Directed by Ken Stone, the documentary concerns the practice of forced organ harvesting from Chinese prisoners.

Filmed in the style of a police procedural, “Hard to Believe” is one of many documentaries in recent years that aims to raise awareness of the issue.

A CNN report done on June 24, 2016 claimed that China was “… still engaged in the widespread and systematic harvesting of organs from prisoners.”

As the documentary discusses in further detail, the organs, ranging from kidneys to hearts, are often harvested from a person shortly after execution. The organs are then sold to so-called “transplant tourists,” who travel from all over the world to China for life-saving organ transplants.

For Gebhart, the issue is personal. He is a long-time practitioner of the meditation practice Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, which has been outlawed in China since 1999. Many of the victims of forced organ harvesting are fellow Falun Gong practitioners, according to www.stoporganharvesting.org.

When asked to share his thoughts about both organ harvesting and the documentary, Gebhart responded, “Not too many people are aware of organ harvesting in China or of the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners in China. We have found that once people know of this issue, and are familiar with it, it is much easier for change to occur.”

He suggests that viewers emboldened to action after viewing the documentary help raise awareness through social media and by writing to their local legislators.

Viewers who wish to learn more about forced organ harvesting are encouraged to visit both www.hardtobelievemovie.com and www.stoporganharvesting.org to learn about the practice and find out what they can do to help.

Contact the author at bkimball16@wou.edu

Six more Wolves qualify in last chance meet

By: Burke​ ​De​ ​Boer
Sports​ ​Editor

Western Oregon runners took advantage of Seattle Pacific’s final NCAA indoor qualifier by posting six provisional times and recording a new school record.

Three of these were recorded in the women’s 800 meter. Sophomore Olivia Woods crossed the finish line first, at 2:10.14. Her event-winning time set a new school record. She was soon followed by junior Suzanne Van De Grift, with a time of 2:10.57 and junior Megan Rose with a time of 2:13.18.

Junior Kennedy Rufener then ran the women’s mile in 4:57.01 to be the fourth Western Oregon woman with a provisional time. The time places her third in the school’s record books.

Sophomore Dustin Nading won the men’s mile race, recording a provisional time of 4:05.22.

Senior Josh Dempsey, who won the GNAC title for the men’s 800 meter on Feb. 17, shaved two seconds off his time to bring Western Oregon its sixth provisional finish. He ran the 800 in 1:50.94.

The NCAA Division II Track & Field Championship will be in Birmingham, Alabama, March 10 and 11.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

Dispatches from the sports desk

By: Burke​ ​De​ ​Boer
Sports​ ​Editor

It looks like we’ll be getting a massive crossover fight as Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. signal they’ll be meeting one another.

Both camps have confirmed that a deal is in the works, and Mayweather told ESPN that they are getting “very, very close.”

But would the 40-year-old retired boxer with an unblemished 49-0 fight record have his first ever mixed martial arts bout against the UFC’s biggest draw and current lightweight champion? Read that sentence again and you tell me.

Given McGregor’s strike-heavy style, a boxing match is the obvious answer, and that’s what the two have been ca
mpaigning for. This leads many to forecast a beatdown of the Irishman. I’m not inclined to agree. McGregor’s long history as a brawler is what earned him a reputation in the first place.

If Conor McGregor does lose, then he loses to one of the most notable boxers in history. All he has to do is put up a good fight and it will be a victory for the McGregor brand.

Even failing this, McGregor will be winning at the bank. His disclosed UFC earnings, disregarding any bonuses or sponsorships, are $9,542,000. The guaranteed salaries being floated for this fight? 100 million for Mayweather and 15 million for McGregor.

Amidst its world-touring spectacle, it can be easy to forget that the UFC promotion is actually small potatoes in the context of professional sports. Perhaps McGregor feels he’s outgrown the promotion. In fact, he’s already launched his own, following the Mayweather model. But UFC are ready to fight tooth and nail to keep their star on their side, and without their permission, the idea of this fight is going nowhere.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

A different kind of Shakespeare

By: Ashton Newton
Entertainment Editor

Western students are hitting the stage once again with the upcoming performances of Ken Ludwig’s “Shakespeare in Hollywood”.

Directed by Western’s Ted deChatelet, “Shakespeare in Hollywood” features a cast of Western students who have been hard at work rehearsing for the play.

“‘Shakespeare in Hollywood’ is based around ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ by William Shakespeare. Oberyn and Puck, the two fairies in ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’ come to Hollywood and find themselves in Hollywood by accident and have a bunch of hijinks and run around Hollywood making a bunch of mayhem” said Hunter Atkin, sophomore Bachelor of Fine Arts acting major and cast member.

“It’s a fictional story about the making of the film ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ back in the 1930s, it’s a real film” added John Bryant, sophomore Bachelor of Fine Arts theatre major and cast member.

Much like Western theatre’s previous production “All in the Timing,” “Shakespeare in Hollywood” is a comedy focused on bringing laughs and lightheartedness to campus.

“The play’s farcical, which pretty much just means slapstick, ridiculous comedy, way over the top acting, very heightened. It’s hilarious” said Atkin.

“With this being a comedy, we get to lighten the mood with the 1930s setting. It makes it easy to go with the setting. Some of the costumes and props we use coincide with it being in the 1930s, so it is harder than if the play was in modern day, but it didn’t make it difficult and we were still able to have fun with it” added Bryant.

Reflecting on being in the cast, Atkin said, “My favorite part of being in the cast is that Ted, the director, pretty much let the cast decide what’s happening in the play. He let us do whatever we want. He gave us the scripts, gave us the parts and just let us go, so he had an image in his head, but we really just threw out ideas and just did stuff and he just kept it in and kept integrating all of our ideas together.”

“Ted’s a really good director. A lot of directors will just say ‘this is what I want, do it this way,’ but what Ted does with his actors is he will give suggestions, but he’ll also trust his actors and see what they will bring to the table. It’s a nice mix of what we can bring and if something doesn’t work, he can fine tune it” said Bryant.

While working on “Shakespeare in Hollywood,” the cast had a great time working together has cast members and as friends. Asked separately about a story that stuck out during rehearsals, Atkin and Bryant reflected on the same event.

“Our director, Ted, was hanging out and we were rehearsing a bit where one of the characters comes on with a wine glass and gives it to another character very nonchalantly, because he’s the big boss man. We did it a few times and Ted was worried that we were going to drop the wine glass, so he comes up and takes it from one of the characters and asks our stage manager if it was plastic and drops it on the ground, the wine glass shattered and we had to take five minutes to clean it up. It was hilarious” said Atkin.

“Everybody just bust out laughing, it was really funny. We haven’t gotten to a stressful point overall where we’re too stressed about the play or things are tense. It feels really chill throughout because we’re working on such a fun show” added Bryant.

In the end, “Shakespeare in Hollywood” is a fun, audience pleasing comedy.

“Overall, I hope this is a show audiences get to enjoy. It’s a farce, it’s a chance to kick back and have a laugh. I hope it’s an opportunity for students and faculty of Western who may have busy lives, so I hope it’s a chance to leave this world and get immersed in this. Not for our sake, but to give everyone a break from the stresses of life” said Bryant.

“Shakespeare in Hollywood” runs in Rice Auditorium from March 2-4 and 8-11 at 7:30 p.m. with March 5 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $14, $10 for seniors and $8 for Western students.

Contact the author at journalentertainment@wou.edu

Voices raised at Salem rally

By: Stephanie Blair
Editor-in-Chief

Domestic abuse and sexual assault survivors, advocates and loved ones of survivors gathered on the Oregon Capitol building’s steps on Feb. 22 to support the services and protections infor survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

Despite the low-number of attendees and the cool, overcast weather, the crowd was lively and garnered a large amount of television coverage.

The rally began with speeches from various survivors and state officials, after which some attendees went into the capitol building to speak with senators and house representatives, as well as to find more information about how to support the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and the Oregon Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force, who partnered to organize the rally.

The mission statement of the OCADVS, a non-profit founded in 1978, as stated on their website is to promote “… equity and social change in order to end violence for all communities.” The coalition aids crisis centers and other resource centers for victims with training, connection to other centers and communities as well as providing other technical support, like posting job opportunities on their website.

The other sponsor of this event, Oregon Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force, has three main programs: the Prevention Program, the Sexually Assault Training Institute and the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program. These three branches each help to provide training and resources for organizations and communities.

According to the OCADVS, one in four women and girls in Oregon will experience domestic violence in their lifetime and one in five are sexually assaulted in their lifetimes.

On campus, Abby’s House provides resources for those struggling with or who have been affected by sexual and relationship violence. Trained student advocates are available to aid those in need.

If you would like to volunteer with Abby’s House, contact them by email at abbyshouse@wou.edu or by phone at 503-838-8219. Information is also available at the Abby’s House office, located in room 106 of the Werner University Center.

Contact the author at journaleditor@wou.edu

On to the tourney

By: Burke​ ​De​ ​Boer
Sports​ ​Editor

Men’s basketball won the final home game of the season and will enter the GNAC title tournament as the third seed.

The win came in the form of a 72-56 thumping of Montana State Billings.

Four players scored in the double digits, as Tanner Omlid hit the team-high 17 points, Ali Faruq-Bey and Demetrius Trammell each scored 11, and senior Evan Garrison scored 10 points in the last regular season game of his Wolves career.

The Wolves defense held Montana State to a .315 shooting percentage on the night.

The Wolves play Montana State again on Thursday in the first round of the GNAC Championships. The quarterfinal matchup will be the third time the teams play each other this year, after splitting the regular season series with a win a piece.

The tournament plays in Lacey, Washington. The other quarterfinal matchup pits St. Martin’s against Concordia. The top two seeds are Western Washington and Alaska Anchorage, and both have earned byes with automatic berths into the Friday semifinals.

The tournament promises thrills, as Western Oregon has played balanced against the other top teams this season. The only exceptions are Western Washington, who swept the Wolves, and St. Martin’s, whom the Wolves swept.

The tournament winner qualifies for the NCAA West Regional, which includes two other conference champions and five at-large bids in the eight-school playoff. At last rankings, Wolves were on the cusp of qualifying, ranking tenth.

Coming off the heels of the big win, Western Oregon at least has the psychological advantage over Montana State Billings.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu