Mount Hood

Review: “The Circle”

By: Ashton Newton
Entertainment Editor

“The Circle,” directed by James Ponsoldt, is a thriller about a tech company that is connecting everybody online and the implications that complete social transparency has on people, based off of a 2013 novel by David Eggers. It’s an obvious response to things like the cloud and Facebook, but due to poor performances and odd pacing, it really packs no punch.

Emma Watson’s character, Mae Holland, starts out as a customer service representative for The Circle, a tech giant with goals to place cameras all over the world for complete online transparency.

Mae Holland is the worst protagonist that I’ve seen in a recent film. Watson’s performance was passionless and amateur-feeling and the character choices were so sporadic that it was hard to pinpoint what the character’s actual values were. Her trials, her achievements, her personal life: they all felt meaningless. Watson’s poor American accent and atrocious fake cries helped to make Holland not only unlikeable, but distracting to the movie itself.

That said, there are some side characters that keep the movie from being absolutely horrible. Tom Hanks and Patton Oswalt play the two in charge of The Circle. Both men believe what they’re doing with The Circle, having everyone’s information, is right, but are taking immoral steps to make it happen. Hanks gives a likeable but untrustworthy performance, causing me to like him, hate him, like him, hate him and like him again.

Karen Gillan plays Mae Holland’s friend and fellow employee at The Circle. Her performance throughout the movie is by far the best. She shows a side of working for a tech giant that isn’t all yoga breaks and exercise ball office chairs and acts as the film’s sole voice of reason.
Cultural relevance is what “The Circle” is really banking on; working at The Circle is much like what is shown of working at companies like Google and Facebook. There’s an emphasis on fun, but all the while The Circle is collecting every bit of information that anyone has.

The problem with this is that the protagonist weaves in and out of supporting and disliking The Circle, so much so that I was lost on who I was supposed to care about that I stopped caring altogether.

“The Circle” is an intense movie with a great concept. While watching, I was constantly wondering where the film would go next, and it did go down some unexpected and interesting roads, but without anyone or anything to root for, the film fell short of what it was trying to be.

“The Circle” stands tall and tries to speak loud, but no words come out.

¼
– Awful performance from Emma Watson
– Poor attempts at cultural relevance

Contact the author at journalentertainment@wou.edu

Artist spotlight: Patty MeLT

By: Ashton Newton
Entertainment Editor

For many students, music is a great hobby. Writing, playing and even listening to music is beneficial and rewarding. Western student Patrick Jaursch, sophomore psychology major, takes that one step further by pursuing music as a passion.

“My music is very freeing. For me, I write music to get away from the stresses of life. Music is a way for me to relieve and get things off my head while I express myself through a creative outlet which allows me to make something that I can enjoy doing and other people can enjoy hearing,” said Jaursch.

Jaursch goes by the name Patty MeLT for all his music, a name he carefully chose.

“I chose Patty MeLT as a name because I love music so much that I wanted to take the whole ‘rapper’ stereotype out of its box,” said Jaursch. “I’m Patty MeLT because it clicks in your head and makes you say ‘isn’t that a sandwich, that’s kind of weird.’ I just wanted to evoke an emotion that’s off-putting.”

Jaursch is actively writing and recording new music. In 2016, he released a 10-track album called “TIMBERLINE: A Comprehensive Journey” that featured rap, some folk and a skit. A new single, “T I D E S,” was released on April 10 and marks a shift in Patty MeLT’s music.

“I’m moving onto bigger and better things, making music that actually comes from my heart. I’m doing things because it’s what other people do, I’m on my own path now.”

Patty MeLT’s next big project, which doesn’t have a release date yet, comes straight from the ideas that he begins to work with in “T I D E S.”

He says the album “is about saving the world. It’s a story, an audiobook. It’s not actually an album, I can say that much. While there’s music in it, more than anything I want to convey a message, so I’m trying to tell a story. I wrote a book and I’m having somebody, who if people listen to my music they’ll know who they are very well, narrate the album.”

When he’s not making music, Jaursch enjoys hanging out with friends, writing poetry and doing anything creative.

“I just like to be creative, I’m a very creative person. I’ll just draw, I’ll make music— anything that entertains me.”

Western has helped Jaursch follow his passions of music with their music program and services on campus.

“Western does a great job of being sure that students have access to resources. For example, our music program has studios on campus and drum labs that are both useful, and students who are music majors and minors have access to them. Western has been great at accompanying me with a studio that I can work with,” said Jaursch.

To anyone else wanting to follow their passions in music or any other field, Jaursch made sure to point out that it’s important to do what’ll make you happy.

“Follow your dreams, follow your passions. Do what makes you happy in life more than anything,” expressed Jaursch.

Patty MeLT’s music is available for streaming right now on Bandcamp and Soundcloud.

Contact the author at journalentertainment@wou.edu

Review: “DAMN.”

By: Kevan Maloney 
Staff Writer

Two years after his last album, Kendrick Lamar returns better than ever with his latest release: “DAMN.”. He brings a fresh take on his career by making an album that sounds much more modern than any other album he has made to date. Despite how original this album is compared to his earlier work, Lamar still highlights and brings out his highly thematic lyrics and his unmatched flow, for which he is best known. While his lyrics are second to none, his ability to perform them is better than ever.

The first song released from this album was “HUMBLE.” which became an instant hit, with his high-powered rapping skills combined with a rags-to-riches storyline. It’s the perfect song to use as the frontline for the album.

After listening to this album a few times, some songs seem to shine more than the rest. It comes to no surprise that “LOYALTY. FEAT.
RIHANNA.” is one of the best on the album. Lamar brings Rihanna into the song and lets her show off her best qualities and mixes it with his best, this created an instant hit.

“DAMN.” is Lamar’s fourth studio album, featuring 14 songs. Unlike his previous albums, “DAMN.” has no skits.This album came out of left field for those who weren’t paying attention. It took a little over two weeks from the release of the frontline single to the release of the full album.

Compared to rest of his albums, “DAMN.” is almost as imaginative as “To Pimp a Butterfly,” while sounding nothing it by abandoning the styles of his previous works. “DAMN.”, follows the tropes of early and modern rap, as opposed to the jazz inspired album “To Pimp a Butterfly.” “DAMN.” takes on a more violent tone as he verbally duels with several artists and public figures, making for some of his hardest hitting songs on this album.

This album isn’t the best Lamar has made, yet it is still one of the best albums on the market. It’s an amazing and imaginative album, though it’s missing the same quality in the middle of the album, which would have made it extraordinary.

Contact the author at kmaloney15@wou.edu

Celebration of galactic proportions

By: Ashton Newton
Entertainment Editor

Each year, fans from around the world gather to celebrate “Star Wars.” This year’s celebration took place from April 13-16 in Orlando, Florida and brought in huge crowds to celebrate the 40th anniversary of “Star Wars.”

Fans gathered together to watch panels with “Star Wars” actors, writers and directors. During the many panels, new content was revealed, tributes were given and actors shared their opinions and favorite moments.

The most talked about moment of the Star Wars Celebration was the trailer reveal for “Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi.” Following the trailer reveal, stars Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega took to the stage alongside director Rian Johnson to discuss the themes, characters and speculation surrounding the film.

While Johnson didn’t reveal much about the film, he did tell the audience that “things are going to get dire.”

Also during the Star Wars Celebration, Disney announced a new line of toys accompanied by new animated shorts titled “Forces of Destiny.”
Launching later this year, “Forces of Destiny” will consist of 16 original shorts focusing on six of the most influential female “Star Wars” characters. Both Daisy Ridley and Felicity Jones will reprise their roles as Rey and Jyn Erso, respectively. The shorts and toys will release this summer.

Fans dressed in costumes from all eras of “Star Wars.” One of the most viral videos from the celebration showed fans in cosplay reenacting the end scene of “Rogue One” in the middle of the convention center.

In one of the most heart wrenching parts of the celebration, Mark Hamill took to the stage to give a tribute to the late Carrie Fisher.

“Here’s a panel I was hoping wouldn’t happen for another 30 years,” said Hamill. By the end of the emotional panel, there were few dry eyes in the audience.

Hamill’s tribute wasn’t the only one; a tribute video was shown during the panel, as well as tributes from George Lucas and others who had worked with her throughout the years. Finally, the panel ended with John Williams performing Leia’s theme.

During the celebration, it was announced that season four of the animated show ”Star Wars: Rebels” would be the last. A new trailer was revealed and present fans were surprised with a screening of the first episode of the season.

The Star Wars Celebration is taking a year off in 2018, but Disney told fans to keep their ears peeled for more fun announcements this summer. In the meantime, the trailer for “The Last Jedi” is out now and fans are taking to the Internet to speculate and get excited.

“Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi” comes to theaters on Dec. 15.

Contact the author at journalentertainment@wou.edu

Nintendo Prepares for an exciting 2016

By: Ashton Newton
Staff Writer

Nintendo has a big year planned for 2016. Fans have a lot to be excited for, including a new system, the NX, which is shrouded in mystery. Nintendo first officially announced the NX back in March 2015, saying that the NX is a “dedicated games platform with a brand new concept” before going silent.

Since then, rumors have begun popping up all over the Internet about NX. Rumors say that Nintendo will release a handheld in 2016, with the full console coming in 2017.

Rumors have also surfaced that the NX will be able to pair with mobile devices and PS4’s. As to what this means specifically, the general public is not sure, but there are hopes that this will be a means to share games between the devices or use them as second screens.

Fans of The Legend of Zelda have something to get excited for too, with “The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD” releasing on the WiiU March 4.

“Twilight Princess” came out in 2006 for the Gamecube and Wii, and has held a solid fan base since.

A brand new Amiibo will be releasing with “Twilight Princess HD.” Amiibos are Nintendo’s line of collectible figurines that grant bonuses when paired with their games. Amiibos feature Nintendo characters, and the one releasing alongside “Twilight Princess HD” is Wolf Link, a character from the game.

Also in 2016, Nintendo’s “Legend of Zelda WiiU” is scheduled for release. Although not much is known about the next installment of the Zelda series, a few screenshots of the new game were revealed at E3 2014.

Nintendo promises that the players will have more freedom than ever before and that they’re “rethinking the conventions of Zelda.” Fans can be on the lookout for new information soon.

Additionally, Nintendo will be releasing “Pokkèn Tournament,” “Star Fox Zero,” and the well-received PC game “Kerbal Space Program” for WiiU in the first half of 2016. As well as Mega Man creator’s releasing “Might No.9” later this year, after several production delays.

Even with lower hardware specs than the Playstation 4 and the Xbox One, Nintendo’s WiiU has remained a competitor for both systems since launch.

Nintendo’s previous President, Satoru Iwata, who passed away in July 2015, is quoted as saying “Above all, video games are meant to be just one thing: fun. Fun for everyone.”

Fun is largely Nintendo’s goal for players, and there is a lot of fun to be had, both announced and unannounced, for 2016.

Whats Western watching?

By: Ashton Newton and Kinsey Bushart

“I’ve been watching ‘The Arrow’ since it’s been a long time since I’ve seen it. They’ve got five seasons on [Netflix] so it’s pretty good.”
Gael Maren-Valdez, exercise science, junior

 

“Workaholics for sure. It’s hilarious.”
Samantha Lindsey, interdisciplinary studies, senior

 

“‘13 Reasons Why.’ It was super good. It was crazy, I bought the book because it was that good.”
Kameron Acebo, early childhood education,
sophomore

 

“’The Walking Dead’ because it’s just entertaining”

Daniel Monrroy, business, sophomore

Blast from the past

By: Ashton Newton
Entertainment Editor

There was a lot of energy in the audience as Micky Dolenz, lead singer of The Monkees, took to the stage at Rice Auditorium alongside the American Metropole Orchestra as part of the Smith Fine Arts Series. The April-15-concert packed the auditorium for a night full of laughs and music.

The night began with a tune from the orchestra and an introduction from music director Keller Coker, before Dolenz took the stage.

Dolenz is not only the lead singer of The Monkees; he’s a beloved actor, director and producer, whose music and personality has helped to shape television and rock and roll.

Throughout his career, Dolenz had many different people write songs for him. During the concert he made a point to dedicate each song to the individual who wrote it. He performed songs written by individuals like Carol King and Neil Diamond.

Two songs from the Monkees movie “Head” were also performed. The tunes were met with much applause from the audience.

Between songs, Dolenz entertained the audience with stories of his career, his family and meeting The Beatles. Each song performed had a story alongside it, most of which were met with laughter.

“This is the song that got me the gig!” yelled Dolenz as he played Chuck Berry’s “Johnnie B. Goode,” which he sang at his Monkees audition.

The concert ended with the fan favorite “Daydream Believer,” in which the audience’s singing almost overpowered Dolenz’s booming voice.

Some members of the crowd were up and dancing as Dolenz finished out the night with “I’m a Believer.”

“Don’t forget, I was singing this song long before ‘Shrek,’” joked Dolenz.

The Smith Fine Arts series will finish out the season with Danilo Perez and The Western Hemisphere Orchestra on June 10. More information can be found at wou.edu/smith/current-season/.

Contact the author at journalentertainment@wou.edu

WOU logo

Facebook   Instagram   Twitter  YouTube  LinkedIn  wouTV

WESTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY
345 Monmouth Ave. N.
Monmouth OR 97361

503-838-8000 | 1-877-877-1593

Tools

Campus Maps
Canvas
Find People
Portal
Virtual Tour
WOU Email
Technical Support

Resources

A-Z Index
Accessibility
Academic Calendar
Class Schedule
Jobs at WOU
Partnerships
Student Services

Western Oregon University’s Land Acknowledgement
Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR is located within the traditional homelands of the Luckiamute Band of Kalapuya. Following the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855 (Kalapuya etc. Treaty), Kalapuya people were forcibly removed to reservations in Western Oregon. Today, living descendants of these people are a part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians.

Accessibility    Public Records    Privacy    Student Consumer Information

WOU prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression in all programs, activities and employment practices as required by Title IX, other applicable laws, and policies. Retaliation is prohibited by WOU.