Mount Hood

A year in review: Movie edition

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

According to the Motion Picture Association of America, an average of 600 movies are released every year in the United States. Out of those movies, only a handful of them stand above the rest. Although I couldn’t have possibly seen every movie released this year, I did make it a goal to see as many as I could. Below I will discuss four of my favorite movies of 2018. Reader beware: there may be spoilers.

Fourth place: “A Star is Born”

So, in the interest of complete transparency, Lady Gaga could record herself watching paint dry and I would absolutely love it. With that in mind, I enjoyed this movie immensely. The movie is the fourth remake of the original 1937 movie starring Fredric March and Janet Gaynor. This new version is widely different from the previous versions, but it works.

Lady Gaga’s talent makes the film. I believe that many people went into theaters not expecting much from Gaga, as I did myself. I was very surprised to find, however, that she matches veteran Bradley Cooper’s acting skills. Her singing skills, however, blow Cooper’s out of the water. In my opinion, the only detriment to the movie is Bradley’s mediocre singing.

But where Cooper’s musical skills fall behind, he makes up for with his directorial vision. The cinematography is beautiful and accentuates the chemistry between Gaga and Cooper. Not only is the acting full of emotion, the way the movie is shot accentuates that emotion and drew me into the film.

Overall, I would give the movie a four out of five stars.

Third place: “BlacKkKlansman”

I consider this movie in my top four of 2018 not because it was fun to watch, but because it was hard to watch. The movie was difficult to digest because while it portrays the prevalence of the Klu Klux Klan in Colorado Springs in the 1970s, it connects the the present, in which racist rallies are still being held.

The movie was so impactful in my opinion because although it ends with a victory for the main character (based on a real person), there really is no happy ending. The movie ends with four minutes of video of the racist rally in Charlottesville in 2017. It really accentuates the political tension we are feeling in America today; it made me wonder how far we have really come.

I would rate “BlacKkKlansman” four out of five stars.

 

Second place: “Hereditary”

The release of “Hereditary,” I believe, raised the bar for the entire genre of atmospheric horror cinema. As someone who enjoys horror movies that do not rely too heavily on jumpscares (I have a higher tolerance for body horror, and I think less of movies that use jump scares as a crutch) I enjoyed this movie tremendously. Every element of the film came together perfectly and was executed with a level of skill that I believe is hard to match. The acting was superb (Toni Collette, you’re doing so good sweetie), and the use of color, depth of field and the development of three-dimensional characters combine to create a movie unlike what the horror genre has ever seen before. The film is a slow burn; a descent into madness.

The movie tackles so many complex things and weaves a story that isn’t too cluttered or too simple — easy mistakes to make in the horror genre. It is rare for a singular movie to change the landscape of a genre forever, but I believe that is what “Hereditary” has done.

Overall, I would rate this film five out of five stars.

First place: “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”

I didn’t expect to be impressed by this movie, much less find it to be one of my favorite movies of the entire year. I’m not even much of a Spider-Man fan. But aside from the plot or characters, the animation alone would have shot this movie into my top four. I felt like I was inside a comic book. The animation is like nothing I’ve ever seen before, and the pure artistic talent within the movie is astounding.

Even though I am fairly new to the Spider-Verse, the movie was easy to become involved in, as the storyline is pretty accessible to people new to the Marvel universe. I even caught on to some of the smaller details from watching other, smaller Marvel shows, such as Daredevil. The Spider-Man humor is right up my alley and watching all the Spider-People interact was incredibly fun. John Mulaney is in it; who wouldn’t love that?

Overall, I would give this movie a five out of five stars.

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of livenationproductions.com (“A Star is Born”), focusfeatures.com (“BlacKkKlansman”), sonypictures.com (“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”)

Analysis: “Birdbox” vs. “A Quiet Place”

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

In early April 2018, the box-office hit “A Quiet Place” premiered in theaters around the country. According to Forbes.com, the post-apocalyptic film made over $213 million dollars in less than a month.

Ushering in the end of 2018 was another movie about the end of the world along the same vein, “Birdbox.” Since its release on Dec. 23, “Birdbox” has been watched by 45 million Netflix accounts, according to Forbes.

Both films entertain the idea of an apocalypse in which humanity has to adapt to the “loss” of one of their senses; in “A Quiet Place” it’s hearing or sound.

“Many people in the deaf community (myself included) are cheering the film on…’” commented Pamela J. Kincheloe in her guest article on the Huffington Post website. While the movie is a refreshing take on horror, popular criticisms of the movie cite the fact that the film is catered only to hearing audiences.

“The scenes with ASL are captioned for the hearing audience, but the spoken scenes were not captioned for the deaf audience,” said blogger T. Frohock on his website tfrohock.com.

Another criticism of “A Quiet Place” centers on the closing scene of the film. In the end, mother Evelyn and her daughter Regan discover that the secret to killing the bloodthirsty aliens lies in Regan’s cochlear implant.

“It is the implant, not the signing deaf person, that is heroic,” said Kincheloe.

The biggest difference shown in “Birdbox” is that blindness, in the end, is seen as a true advantage in the new world. In this way, blindness isn’t portrayed as a disability, really. But where “Birdbox” improves upon “A Quiet Place” in certain arenas, it still falls flat in some ways.

“Instead of killing themselves in gratuitously gory ways… people with mental illnesses become literal agents of evil, obsessed with carrying out the monsters’ mission to destroy humanity,” commented writer Jess Joho in her Mashable article. So it seems that while “Birdbox” portrays one disability as a positive, it throws a whole other set under the bus.

While “A Quiet Place” and “Birdbox” are audience favorites, the way they portray disability leaves some wanting more.

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of netflix.com (“Birdbox”), paramountmovies.com (“A Quiet Place”)

Upcoming on-campus entertainment

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

Jan. 11:

Event: Rainbow Dance Theatre

Description: The Rainbow Dance Theatre group returns to Western with two works entitled “iLumidance” and “The Garden of Earthly Delights.” The performance will feature dancers using ultraviolet light and electroluminescent wire. Western students get in for free. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 the day of the show. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Location: Rice Auditorium

 

Jan. 17:

Event: “Mama Mia! Here we go again” sing-a-long movie night

Description: A showing of the second movie in the “Mama Mia!” franchise will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Free popcorn and snacks will be provided.

Location: Werner University Center Willamette Room

 

Jan. 18:

Event: Visiting artist John Gorka

Description: John Gorka is a folk musician who released his 14th album in January of 2018. From 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., Gorka will hold a free songwriting workshop in which attendees will get his take on the craft. RSVPs are encouraged and can be found on the WOU event calendar webpage.

Location: Rice Auditorium

 

Event: John Gorka performance

Description: After his workshop, Gorka will perform his original music. Tickets are free for WOU students. Otherwise, they are $25 in advance and $30 the day of. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Location: Rice Auditorium

 

Feb. 4:

Event: Todd Davis poetry reading

Description: Environmental writer Todd Davis will come to WOU to meet with students and give a poetry reading. The reading is open to the public and starts at 4:30 p.m. This event is free.

Location: Hamersly Library room 107

 

Feb. 20:

Event: Paul Roberts concert

Description: WOU has invited musician Paul Roberts to perform for students and community members. Western students get in for free, and general public tickets are $8. The concert starts at 7:30 p.m.

Location: Smith Music Hall

 

March 5:

Event: Chamber and Guitar Ensembles

Description: The Chamber Ensembles, directed by Dr. Keith Karns, will perform in a concert with the Guitar Ensemble, directed by Christopher Woitach. The performance will start at 7:30 p.m. Western students are admitted for free, and the general public can purchase tickets for $5.

Location: Smith Music Hall

 

March 15:

Event: Western Oregon Voices

Description: Western Oregon Voices will perform their winter term concert. The ensemble’s performance will be directed by Dr. James Reddan. The concert starts at 7:30 pm. Public tickets are $5, and Western students get in for free.

Location: Rice Auditorium

 

This is not a comprehensive list of all the winter term arts events. To see more events, visit the Western events calendar at http://calendar.wou.edu/.

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Smack dab in the middle of a Western jazz concert

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

Western Oregon Voices gave a warm and cozy end to a rainy, festive night with their jazz-themed concert, “Pass Me the Jazz.” Following the 51st annual Holiday Tree Lighting, the auditioned ensemble of 13 students, accompanied by a jazz combo, performed five jazz pieces and one traditional Christmas song, “Carol of the Bells.”

The accompanying jazz combo included Noah Adams on drums, Jacob Marsh on bass, and Julia Harrington on piano.

Dr. James Reddan directed this concert, his second performance in one week. Dr. Reddan is a nationally and internationally acclaimed conductor, clinician, and adjudicator. Reddan has also won two awards: one for “Excellence in Music Education” from the American Prize in Choral Music and one for being the conductor for the first “Honored Artist Choral Ensemble” by the American Prize.

“I chose to focus on jazz specifically because of the many musical doors it opens for the singers in this ensemble,” said Dr. Reddan. “The skills that the students learn from singing vocal jazz repertoire translates extremely well and benefits them when performing in all other styles of vocal music,” he added.

Despite some difficulties with sound, the concert went down without a hitch, and the smooth uniform style of the performers added exponentially to the overall ambiance of the performance. The song choice included pieces that were recognizable but not naggingly cliché.

Starting Winter Term, Western Oregon Voices will be performing in and around Salem. Auditioning for an international festival and performance is also on their radar.

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Great American band music comes to Western

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

Western’s wind and percussions ensembles and the Chemeketa wind ensemble paired up to perform a substantial concert on Thursday, Nov. 29.

Chemeketa’s ensemble, directed by J. J. Meyer, opened the performance. They played five pieces, all of which sounded impressively full despite the small size of the band. Songs played included “American Folk Rhapsody No. 2” by Clare Grundman, “Cajun Folk Songs 2” composed by Frank Ticheli, “Foundry” created by John Mackey, and “Down in the Valley” by Pierre La Plante.

Following Chemeketa’s performance was a set of performances by Western’s percussion ensemble. Two pairs of musicians played two movements each composed by Mark Mellits as part of a multi-movement project. Percussionists were Bailey Schafer, Noah Adams, Evan Saab, and Elijah Thompson.

Western’s wind ensemble was next in the line-up, directed by Dr. Ike Nail. Playing seven pieces, Western’s ensemble was slightly bigger than Chemeketa’s, but not by much; they still showed a great amount of musicianship and displayed a rich sound. Two songs, “Carnival of Venice” and “Reverie,” featured Keith Karns, a trumpet player and arranger. Karns is also the new Director of Jazz Studies at Western.

The final performance of the night combined both ensembles, finally filling all the stage seats and creating a truly large, triumphant, traditional-sounding group. “El Capitan, March” by John Philip Sousa was the closing song.

Both ensembles avoided the trend of playing holiday pieces, tempting being that it is that time of year. Despite the regular amount of missed notes and hiccups that any ensemble knows too well, the concert had a lively pace and there was rarely a lull in the action. Western’s wind ensemble exhibited a collegiate level of musicianship, as did Chemeketa’s even though their numbers were noticeably smaller. Coming together at the end gave the concert a sense of closure and the characteristically full sound of a classic American ensemble.

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

“Music of the Spheres”: Dr. James Reddan’s Western directorial debut

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

The “Music of the Spheres” concert choir and Chamber Singers concert on Nov. 27 gathered together a large crowd of friends, family, students and community members.

Western’s concert choir is the institution’s largest ensemble, according to the event program.

Songs from various parts of the world were performed, including “Tshotsholoza,” a South African freedom song that was sung when Nelson Mandela was released from prison. According to Director Dr. James Reddan, this song was chosen to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of Mandela’s release.

Also performed was the Austrian carol “Still, Still, Still,” “Sanctus” by Mozart, “Sure on this Shining Night” composed by Lauridsen and “Make Our Garden Grow” created by Leonard Bernstein.

The Chamber Singers are an ensemble comprised of around 24 students that performs mainly A Cappella music. Highlights included “Deck the Halls” performed in 7/8 time, “Babethandaza” which is another traditional South African song, and “Shalom Chaverim,” a traditional Hebrew song.

“In this concert, we celebrated music from different parts of the world, traditions, philosophies, religions, and ideologies,” said Dr. Reddan regarding the title of the concert. “Especially, at this time of year, it is important to celebrate our presence together and our ability to work together for more understanding for each other and the world around us.”

Dr. James Reddan is the director of all three on the choral ensembles at Western and only started approximately 10 weeks ago, as this is his first term as Director of Choral Activities. “Being new at WOU, everyone had to get used to me and me to them,” said Dr. Reddan, “choosing the music this summer was a great adventure, but more importantly, seeing the ensembles take ownership of the music to being it to life has made all of the hard work well worth it.”

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Poet Andrea Gibson releases new book

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

Andrea Gibson, a poet based in Boulder, Colorado, released their second book of poetry in 2018. “Lord of the Butterflies” is the fourth full-length poetry collection of Gibson’s. The poet’s other book, released in January 2018, is an illustrated book full of the most popular lines from their most famous poems and is titled “Take Me With You.”

Gibson burst onto the spoken-word poetry scene in 1999 and gained great popularity when they won the first Women of the World Poetry Slam in 2008. 2008 is also the year Gibson released their first poetry collection, “Pole Dancing to Gospel Hymns.” Gibson is busy in the LGBTQ+ activism community, and is involved in the anti-war and anti-white supremacy movements as well.

Gibson’s newest release includes 38 poems. The poems are a combination of old pieces that Gibson has been performing on tour, and some pieces that are completely new. Gibson’s new book tackles themes of family, gender, mental health, LGBTQ+ issues, politics and self love, to name a few.
This is quite on-theme for Gibson, but their writing style frames the topics in a way that seems fresh and evergreen. The poet grasps nuance with a simultaneous tightness and fragility that, in my opinion, is one of the reasons they stand out from the crowd.

I have personally seen Gibson perform their poems twice, so it was cool to read some of my favorite poems with their voice speaking along in my head. It’s also nice to have a physical copy of some of Gibson’s most popular poems. I think this volume really captures the scope of Gibson’s work in a way that improves on their previous books.

Information on Gibson’s shows and tour dates can be found at andreagibson.org. I would strongly recommend experiencing their work live if possible.

 

Overall rating: I would strongly recommend this book.

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

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