Mount Hood

Staff picks: Favorite romantic movies

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

“Call Me By Your Name” (2018)

Based on a book of the same name, “Call Me By Your Name” is a movie following a young man named Elio who falls in love with a graduate student named Oliver. Oliver is staying with Elio’s family in Northern Italy, studying ancient sculptures for the summer. This film was nominated for best picture in 2018, and for good reason. The cinematography is superb and many important topics are explored, such as Judaism and how LGBTQ love was seen as forbidden at the time. Timothée Chalamet (Elio) and Armie Hammer (Oliver) are at an acting skill level that is matched in few other films.

Contact the author at cweedon16@wou.edu

Caity Healy | Editor-in-Chief

“My Bloody Valentine” (1981)

For those who know me, this choice comes at no surprise. I’ll take any opportunity I get to promote a classic horror film. Not a huge fan of romantic movies? This might just be your perfect Feb. 14 flick. It’s everything one could want in a cheesy 80s slasher — the holiday-hating deranged murderer wielding a pickaxe, who, in this case, has it out for anyone celebrating Valentine’s Day; the cliche one-liners, which in this movie come in the form of Valentine poems to warn of an imminent death; and the absolutely unnecessary amount of gore. What’s not to love?

Contact the author at chealy16@wou.edu

Kyle Morden | Digital Media Manager

“Crazy Rich Asians” (2018)

As a fellow Asian American, it is only befitting for me to recommend this movie. This film features an all-Asian cast, and it captures the true essence of what it is like to be a part of an Asian family — always having to live up to expectations. The story follows Rachel Chu as she meets her boyfriend’s crazy-rich family. Throughout the film, Rachel struggles to live up to the standards of her boyfriend’s mother. Although this movie might sound pretty dramatic, it’s a romantic comedy. You will be shedding tears of sadness and joy.

Contact the author at kmorden17@wou.edu

Rachel Hetzel | Designer

“The Princess Bride” (1987)

One of my all time favorite movies, “The Princess Bride,” is a witty fairy-tale adventure movie based on a novel by William Goldman. Buttercup is separated from her true love by Prince Humperdink, who plans to murder her and blame it on an opposing country to start a war. Her true love, Wesley, sets out to rescue her. Once reunited they must overcome the three dangers of the Fire Swamp: find the six fingered man, acquire a miracle and crash a wedding. This movie is inconceivably amazing, and I highly recommend it.

Contact the author at rhetzel18@wou.edu

Bailey Thompson | News Editor

“While You Were Sleeping” (1995)

If anybody is looking for a good old-fashioned romantic comedy that is not “The Notebook” or “When Harry Met Sally,” look no further than “While You Were Sleeping.” This hilarious and heartwarming story follows Lucy, a lonely ticket booth worker with no one in her life, as she finds a new family in the unlikeliest of ways. After saving a man’s life at her work, Lucy is mistakenly believed by his family to be the man’s fiancé. In the number of twists and turns that ensue, Lucy’s journey is one that will make you laugh, reminisce and admire the wonderful Sandra Bullock.

Contact the author at bthompson15@wou.edu

Ashlynn Norton | Photo Editor

“How to Be Single” (2016)

When it comes to Feb. 14, I’m the person who says “Happy birthday, Oregon” rather than “Happy Valentine’s Day.” Don’t get me wrong, I’m a romantic at heart, but I’m perpetually single so Valentine’s Day is not my fave. That’s why I recommend the rom-com “How to Be Single”. This movie is about four single women who are trying to go through life while being single. I love this film because it’s about finding yourself and how love looks differently for every person. You don’t have to be in relationship to be happy or feel love — just do what makes you happy.

Contact the author at anorton17@wou.edu

 

Photo courtesy of Paul F. Davis

Review: Netflix original “Velvet Buzzsaw” breathes life back into the slasher genre

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

Are you ready to be thrown back in time, to the age of slasher flicks with their dramatic cinematography and sense of impending doom? “Velvet Buzzsaw,” released on Jan 31, does just that. Featuring the talents of Jake Gyllenhaal, Toni Collette and Rene Russo, “Velvet Buzzsaw” brings old-school horror to a modern setting — the world of elite art.

This film begins with the secretary for an artist manager, Josephina, finding a collection of mesmerizing paintings when her elderly upstairs neighbor, Vetril Dease, dies. After being revealed to her boss Rhodora, the paintings are sold and showed in galleries, and Vetril Dease becomes one of the most talked-about artists in the scene.

In the beginning, all the audience knows about Dease is that his final wish was for all of his art to be destroyed. As Dease’s background is slowly revealed, he posthumously begins to take his revenge. Every person who used Dease’s art for personal gain is killed in a new and gruesome way.

“Velvet Buzzsaw” takes a satirical look at the world of the rich art elitist and adds in elements of suspense and murder, creating a slasher flick that was as nostalgic as it was unique.

For a Netflix original, the CGI was impressive. The cinematography was great, with its combination of wide shots and close-ups, along with dramatic zooms.

The sterile image of art galleries and the homes of the ultra-rich stood in stark contrast with the darkness and dirtiness of Dease’s art. The art focused heavily on the eyes — all of the figures in his paintings had their eyes closed or blurred out, almost like they had been gouged. Images of fire and smoke throughout the film were also significant, seen through the destruction of Dease’s pieces by fire and the abundance of smoking amongst the characters.

The dramatic imagery, obsession with revenge and satire within “Velvet Buzzsaw” made the movie an instant winner in my opinion. It had all the right qualities to make it a classically cheesy slasher film without seeming like just another sub-par remake. Also, It didn’t hurt that Jake Gyllenhaal was in it.

Overall rating: I would recommend this film to horror fans and newbies alike.

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Guest poet Todd Davis gives a poetry reading at WOU

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

Born to two farmers from Kentucky and Virginia, Todd Davis grew up working beside his father as his veterinarian assistant and bonding over poetry. Today, Davis lives in Tipton, Pennsylvania and teaches creative writing, American literature and environmental studies at the University of Pennsylvania. He spends much of his time outside, in the field collecting data to fuel his poetry.

Davis has written six full-length poetry collections, the most recent of which is titled “Native Species.” Davis writes of the visceral, potent habits of nature and often utilizes memory to tell his stories.

Davis started writing poetry when he entered college. Since then, according to Davis’s website, todddavis.com, over 300 of his poems have been published in a variety of magazines, including American Poetry Review and Poetry Daily. On Feb 4, in Hamersly Library room 107, Davis gave a poetry reading that was open to the public.

“Death is something I’ve always written towards in my poems, trying to make peace with it,” said Davis as he prefaced a poem he read called “Homily.”

Half sermon, half poetry reading, Davis’s event was incredibly silent, reflecting how his words captured the attention of Hamersly 107, a room packed with onlookers. His poems drew inspiration from many different sources, such as John Coltrane, Judeo-Christian theology, James Wright and his own family and students.

In his poetry, Davis faces many questions, like “are humans an invasive species?”, “how will we give our bodies back to the Earth when we die?” and “is death really an end or a transformation?” But these complex ideas are translated through simple language, bringing an accessibility to Davis’s poetry that some other, more traditional poets may avoid.

Davis left the crowd with a poem that he recited as a blessing: “Being a man who has seen no angels, and who at times doubts what he’s been told in church, I’ll simply ask what the poet asked: that God would make this world as beautiful to you as it has been to me.”

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

2019 Oscar nominations and demographics

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

In 2016, outcry from celebrities and audiences alike started the twitter trend #OscarsSoWhite — a hashtag addressing the fact that all 20 actors nominated for lead and supporting roles for the year 2016 were white. There were also several movies featuring actors of color that were looked over for nominations, such as “Beasts of No Nation.” Suffice it to say, the Oscars don’t have the best track record for diverse nominations. But how diverse are this year’s nominees?

Although every nomination by the academy is seen as prestigious, the categories shown in this graphic are some of the most anticipated by audiences. These categories also provide the most visibility to those nominated, and are historically how diverseness of the awards are gauged.

[fruitful_tabs type=”accordion” width=”100%” fit=”false”]
[fruitful_tab title=”Best Picture”]

“Black Panther,” Kevin Feige, Producers

“BlacKkKlansman,” Sean McKittrick, Jason Blum, Raymond Mansfield, Jordan Peele and Spike Lee, Producers

“Bohemian Rhapsody,” Graham King, Producer

“The Favourite,” Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday and Yorgos Lanthimos, Producers

“Green Book,” Jim Burke, Charles B. Wessler, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly and Nick Vallelonga, Producers

“Roma,” Gabriela Rodríguez and Alfonso Cuarón, Producers

“A Star is Born,” Bill Gerber, Bradley Cooper and Lynette Howell Taylor, Producers

“Vice,” Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, Producers

[/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Actor in a Leading Role”]

Christian Bale, “Vice”

Bradley Cooper, “A Star Is Born”

Willem Dafoe, “At Eternity’s Gate”

Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”

Viggo Mortensen, “Green Book”

[/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Actor in a Supporting Role”]

Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”

Adam Driver, “BlacKkKlansman”

Sam Elliott, “A Star Is Born”

Richard E. Grant, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

Sam Rockwell, “Vice”

[/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Actress in a Leading Role”]

Yalitza Aparicio, “Roma”

Glenn Close, “The Wife”

Olivia Colman, “The Favourite”

Lady Gaga, “A Star Is Born”

Melissa McCarthy, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”

[/fruitful_tab] [fruitful_tab title=”Actress in a Supporting Role”]

Amy Adams, “Vice”

Marina De Tavira, “Roma”

Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”

Emma Stone, “The Favourite”

Rachel Weisz, “The Favourite”

[/fruitful_tab] [fruitful_tab title=”Cinematography”]

“Cold War,” Łukasz Żal

“The Favourite,” Robbie Ryan

“Never Look Away,” Caleb Deschanel

“Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón

“A Star is Born,” Matthew Libatique

[/fruitful_tab] [fruitful_tab title=”Directing”]

“BlacKkKlansman,” Spike Lee

“Cold War,” Paweł Pawlikowski

“The Favourite,” Yorgos Lanthimos

“Roma,” Alfonso Cuarón

“Vice,” Adam McKay

[/fruitful_tab] [fruitful_tab title=”Writing (Original Screenplay)”]

“The Favourite,” Written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara

“First Reformed,” Written by Paul Schrader

“Green Book,” Written by Nick Vallelonga, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly

“Roma,” Written by Alfonso Cuarón

“Vice,” Written by Adam McKay

[/fruitful_tab]
[/fruitful_tabs]

Contact the author at entertainmenteditor@wou.edu

Designed by Brittany Figueroa

Review: “Oculus”

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

“For all my sisters” reads the dedication of Sally Wen Mao’s newest collection of poetry, “Oculus.”

In this her second collection of poems, released Jan 15, Mao weaves a complex story of technology, patriarchy, racism and time. Each poem is well-researched — not a single poem stands alone, but fuses into the landscape and context of a much bigger picture. Whether it be how technology has grasped our lives or describing the history of racist Asian caricatures in American cinema, every poem is carefully penned and laced with morbid imagery.

A series of poems throughout the book follows the imaginary journeys of actress Anna May Wong, considered the first Chinese-American actress in the United States, through time. Given the power of a time machine, Wong migrates through time and the history of American cinema, witnessing the way the industry typecasts and violates Asian people through racism.

Wong sees how Chinese women’s bodies are objectified and rejected simultaneously. Different Asian cultures are often appropriated in American shows and movies, but, as Mao focuses on in her writing, many Asian characters are portrayed by white actors in yellowface. Over the course of her journey, actress Wong travels beyond her death, and through Mao’s wit and style, calls for a reclamation of her culture and narrative.

In a poem that gives her book its title, Mao described how a young woman in Shanghai posted her suicide to Instagram in 2014. In the last section, Mao wrote a second poem under the same title, cataloging her experience watching Solange perform at the Guggenheim museum, the most photographed place in the world. Mao intricately analyzes, in these and other poems, how technology has morphed into a third limb for many, turning society into a sort of cyborg which catalogs everything.

In her poem “After Nam June Paik,” Mao wrote: “On the LCD screen, I offer light but no breath/ I author breadth but no depth/“… the surveillance camera records our prettiest nightmares.”

Mao’s poetry is eerie, brutal, futuristic and stunning. Mao writes on topics many find difficult to discuss, but shifts focus on what could be and what is to come. This collection truly is unique.

Overall rating: I would strongly recommend this book.

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of graywolfpress.org

Civil rights film series on campus

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

Civil Rights Film Schedule:
Jan.30 Eyes on the Prize (Continued episodes)
Feb. 6 Freedom Riders (Famous bus trips across the South in support of desegregation)
Feb.13 The Black Panthers (A documentary on the Panthers and their demise)
Feb. 20 A Good Day to Die (The story of Dennis Banks and the American Indian Movement)
Feb. 27 Incident at Oglala (The Leonard Peltier story of injustice on the Pine Ridge Reservation)
Mar. 6 American Outrage (The struggle of Western Shoshone women for tribal rights)
Mar. 13 The People Speak (Howard Zinn and friends provide a critical, social movement based history of the  U.S.)

The three months that make up winter term hold within them many significant dates: the anniversary of the women’s march (Jan. 20, 2018), Martin Luther King Jr. day (Jan. 21) and Black History Month (February), to name a few.

Winter Term also offers a class that focuses on film from the civil rights movement. For six years, Dr. Dean Braa has been teaching Sociology 407.

“I invented it, sort of. Years ago (the sociology department) had a discussion and we discovered that a lot of students, most students, didn’t know anything about the civil rights movement,” commented Dr. Braa. “Not many students have that opportunity, and we have looked at US history books … and most of the US history books I use, even around here, say little or nothing about civil rights.”

The film series is open to everyone, no matter if they are registered for the class or not. Participants watch 12 films across the term, including the documentary series “Eyes on the Prize” and documentaries following the Native American civil rights movement.

“We try to make it fun, I tell people ‘bring popcorn, bring snacks, bring your dinner if you want to,’” said Dr. Braa.

In the 50 years since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s death and the 37 years since the end of the Black Panther Party, civil rights film has been replayed in educational settings across the country. But why is rewatching this film so important?

“Well (the class) raises consciousness about social movements, it raises consciousness about racism and how terrible it is … this racism wasn’t just in the south,” explained Dr. Braa. Watching films from and about the civil rights movement is not only educational, but can teach about present-day movements as well. Dr. Braa discussed, “(injustice) is still going on now. We haven’t fixed it … (the film series) serves to show a connection; we gotta keep this movement going.”

Film and other art that was born out of the civil rights movement can show how successful social change happens.

“You want people to understand, positive change doesn’t usually come from within government, it comes from outside,” said Dr. Braa. Film from this specific period of American history shows that change usually happens when the status quo is upset.

“Social movements that kind of threaten government or put government under duress, that’s where positive change comes from,” remarked Dr. Braa.

A film is shown every Wednesday night from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the Health and Wellness Center in room 203. All are welcome to attend.

“What we hope you’ll take from this: to see (America’s) past but apply it to the present and see we still need to make some big changes,” concluded Dr. Braa.

 

Contact the author at howlentertaiment@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Dodie Clark’s “Human” EP review

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

Back in 2007, Dodie Clark started started posting her original songs — and covers — onto her Youtube channel, doddleoddle.

Since the its birth, Clark’s main channel and second channel, called doddlevloggle, have blown up, becoming a staple on Youtube. Hailing from Essex, England, Clark writes and performs on a variety of instruments, including ukulele, guitar and piano. On her first channel, Clark has over 1.7 million subscribers and has surpassed 200 million views; her second channel has seen similar success, with more than 900,000 subscribers and 100 million views, according to socialblade.com. Clark also has a VEVO channel, dodieVEVO.

Clark has released three EPs over the years, including “Intertwined” and “You.” Her most recent EP, released on Jan 18, is titled “Human,” and like her other EPs, was self-released. The title track to the album was released in September as a single and a teaser for her new project.

“Human” includes seven songs, most of which are studio-recorded versions of acoustic songs that Clark has posted on her Youtube channel previously.

The EP has a newly recorded version of Clark’s song “She,” which is arguably her most well-known song. “She” tell the story of Clark’s infatuation with a female friend and her struggle with accepting her sexuality.

This very personal collection of songs analyzes complex emotions and themes such as falling back in love after being hurt, losing friendships and the crushing pressure and guilt that often comes with internet fame. Clark’s intense vulnerability and her superb writing ability have only gotten better with age. When an audience gets to witness one of their favorite artists grow and mature through their music, the bond between them grows stronger.

The stringed instruments layered into the background and the vocal harmonies add a new depth to Clark’s songs. Clark has managed to keep the simplicity in her music that attracted her fanbase in the beginning, but she has also incorporated a new complexity that keeps her EP fresh.

Overall rating: I would recommend this album.

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of dodie.co

 

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