Mount Hood

Review: “Detroit”

By: Ashton Newton
Entertainment Editor

Vancouver based folk duo Sheldoncole released their first EP “Detroit” in December. Sheldoncole is comprised of Sheldon Kozushko and his brother Nic, who are originally from Newberg, Oregon.

I really enjoyed the EP. Sheldoncole’s style is reminiscent of folk artists such as Jose Gonzalez and Greg Laswell. The lyrics are simple yet thoughtful and hold strong emotion that is easily felt by the listener.

The highlight of the six-song EP is definitely “West Coast.” With a catchy tune and beautiful lyrics, “West Coast” is one of the best songs on the EP.

The song “Merely Breathing” is less memorable than all the others. It feels a little all over the place, while the other strong songs on the EP are well-crafted and focused. In both lyrics and music, “Merely Breathing” had me waiting for the next song rather than enjoying it.

Another strong song is “Live for Love.” The song is sad, but thoughtful and hopeful. Sheldoncole’s friendly and uplifting style pairs well with the feeling of melancholy, creating a different and hopeful vibe in the song.

“Made for No” is heavily focused on the lyrics: a story of heartbreak and grief. The song has the most memorable lyrics on the whole EP. I found myself humming the chorus hours after listening.

The EP ends with a song called “Detroit”, a soft, relaxing spoken word song retelling the story of a night in Detroit. The song is a lot less focused than the rest of the EP. It feels out of place and ends the EP on weird note.

Sheldoncole’s debut EP gets a lot right, but misses the mark occasionally. Yet its thoughtful lyrics and all around good music makes “Detroit” a pleasure to listen to.

Contact the author at journalentertainment@wou.edu

Review: “Monster Trucks”

By: Kevan Maloney
Freelancer

“Monster Trucks” is a movie entirely undeserving of being on screen. Director Chris Wedge direct this $125 million budget movie but it felt like everyone taking part in the production of this movie just stopped caring halfway through. That isn’t to say that the premise is bad, I actually feel that it has potential to be a good movie but gets bogged down by its chosen style and target audience.

The actors made it abundantly clear that they had stopped caring about this movie. Because of this, the acting fell way below what a paying moviegoer has come to expect. Lucas Till, who played the part of Tripp, began by putting on a half decent performance but joined the ranks with the rest of uncaring actors by the end.

The acting wasn’t the only subpar piece in this movie. The CGI was atrocious and obvious, which is a shame considering that “Monster Trucks” relies on CGI to make up several characters.

The soundtrack wasn’t so bad, however, it did have the feel of a cheesy early 2000s Disney channel movie in the sense that It just pulled semi-popular songs from all different genres and threw them in at appropriate times in the movie.

The only part that I felt was decent was the storyline because it didn’t attempt to do anything extraordinary. The story was exceedingly predictable, you saw everything coming 10 minutes before it happened. It felt like they just cut and pasted some movie ideas from other movies.

All in all, I felt that this movie had the potential to be a good movie, but was put together so irresponsibly that all the good ideas fell apart. “Monster Trucks” just felt forced and poorly put together.

3.5/10
– The cast didn’t put as much effort into it as necessary
– The CGI underperformed
– The soundtrack felt ramshackle
+ The storyline wasn’t terrible

Contact the author at kmaloney15@wou.edu

Editor’s Picks

By: Ashton Newton
Entertainment Editor

Editor’s Recommendation:

Terry Pratchett’s “Discworld” book series is the perfect thing to get completely absorbed in. With over 40 books in the series, spanning different timelines and groups of characters, there is always somewhere new to explore on the Discworld.
The series takes place in a fantasy world on a disc shaped planet that rests on the back of a giant turtle who is flying through space. “Discworld” is filled with wizards, adventures, Death and more. The series even contains books explaining the science behind the exciting and complex world.
With so much in the “Discworld” series to explore, it’s worth it to give it a try and check it out.

Editor’s Disparagement:

I recently bought the popular strategy game “This War of Mine.” The game is set in a modern day besieged city, where survivors inside must search for supplies, eat and avoid sniper fire from enemies outside the city limits.
While the game is challenging and sometimes fun, the harsh realism and dark art style make for a unenjoyable experience. There’s a difference between playing a dark game and playing a game that just puts you in a terrible mood for the rest of the day.
The art style also focuses primarily on the color black, which gave me a headache after a while.
If you’re in the mood to feel terrible, “This War of Mine” is for you. Otherwise, almost any other game is happier.

Contact the author at anewton15@wou.edu

New year, new shows

By: Alyssa James
Staff Writer

Entering into 2017 means more than just a new year and a new you; it means new TV shows to premiere. Since shows ended in the fall, it’s finally time for old shows to return for their winter season and for new shows to start with high hopes of lasting just one season.

“Riverdale” will be premiering on The CW. This one-hour drama is based off of the “Archie” comics. The chief creative officer of the “Archie” comics, Robert Aguirre-Sacasa, is the writer for the show. It will follow Archie and his friends in their small town. The tagline for the show speaks for itself: “A great place to get away with it all.” You can catch this show on Jan. 26 at 9 p.m.

For something less dramatic, check out the show “Powerless” which is premiering on NBC. It’s an action-comedy sitcom show based in the DC universe. Emily Locke, played by Vanessa Hudgens, is the Director of Research & Development at Wayne Security. With this job, she deals with all the citizens that are tired of the fights that the superheroes have with their villains. It premieres Feb. 2 at 8 p.m.

HBO is releasing their new miniseries show “Big Little Lies” starring Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and Shailene Woodley. This show follows three mothers as their lives begin to spin out of their control into chaos. This comedy-drama will only have seven episodes and will premiere on Feb. 19 at 9 p.m.

Some shows have already premiered but are definitely worth checking out. If you like to be able to watch TV shows whenever is convenient for you, Netflix released the TV show adaptation of “A Series of Unfortunate Events” on Jan. 13.

If you want more drama in your life, ABC premiered their new season of “The Bachelor” on Jan. 2. It is on every Monday at 8 p.m. Not into drama but enjoy laughing? Another season of “New Girl” began on Jan. 3 on Fox; catch it every Tuesday at 8 p.m.

No matter what, there is a show premiering this winter season that will suit you. Take some time to explore and enjoy the latest TV entertainment.

Contact the author at ajames16@wou.edu

DC movie extravaganza

wonder-woman-colorimdb-com

By: Kinsey Bushart
Staff Writer

DC’s Cinematic Universe has ramped up production and, in the next few years, is planning on releasing more superhero movies.

One of these is Ben Affleck’s “The Batman.” Affleck is starring, directing and writing in his newest DC exertion. Back in August, Affleck released the name of the film’s villain: Deathstroke. This information was released on his Twitter when Affleck posted a short video of the villain.

Unfortunately, this latest Batman movie is not without its own problems. Critics, including Bret Easton Ellis, have been quoted talking about the major issues in the script that have yet to be ironed out.

“The Flash” has also been in the limelight, the film has lost two directors since it’s introduction and is looking for its third. The Flash had a cameo in “Suicide Squad”, and “The Flash” solo film is set to release March 16, 2018.

DC is also planning on the expansion of the Aquaman enterprise. Willem Dafoe will be making his debut in 2017 in “Justice League,” and is set to appear in the solo “Aquaman” film. Dafoe will be reprising his role as Nuidis Vulko in the solo film, which is projected to be released July 21, 2018.

The Wonder Woman trailer was also released recently. This movie comes long before “Dawn of Justice.” At the beginning of the trailer Diana sits at a desk in modern times and recounts her story.

Set during World War I, Diana, a Amazonian princess leaves her island home to explore the world as well as protect it. She’s introduced to the war efforts after she rescues a soldier after he crashes his plane. The two are then connected during the rest of the war, and Diana finally seems to come into her Wonder Woman status. Wonder Woman is set to come to theaters June 2, 2017.

kbushart16@wou.edu

Editor’s Picks

By: Ashton Newton
Entertainment Editor

Post-rock is a subgenre of rock characterized by it experimentation with standard rock instruments. Post-rock songs are often long and usually instrumental. I’ve found that listening to post-rock is incredible for almost any occasion. For studying or sleeping, it’s relaxing and peaceful. Some of the most notable post-rock artists are Explosions in the Sky, God is an Astronaut, This Will Destroy You and Mogwai. Many post-rock artists also score films. Whether it’s studying, driving, sleeping or hanging out with friends, post-rock is always a great genre to listen to.

“Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” released in December. I enjoyed the movie a lot. The film itself has some negatives, especially in the first hour but, overall, “Rogue One” proves to be a worthy addition to the franchise. The third act of the film is one of the most tense and action packed in all of “Star Wars.” “Rogue One” has characters from both the original trilogy and the prequels and serves as an good precursor to “A New Hope.” While nowhere near perfect, “Rogue One” is a must see for anyone remotely interested in “Star Wars.”

Contact the author at anewton15@mail.wou.edu

The Legacies: 2016

By: Alyssa James
Staff Writer

As we have entered into 2017, we can easily think about all that happened in the past year. It may have felt like a rollercoaster with the numerous ups and downs that occurred during 2016. It is essential to remember what that took place over the last year but it is also important to pay tribute and remember all those we lost throughout 2016.david-bowie-colorusatoday-com

David Bowie passed away at age 69. He was a musician who won two Grammys and influenced five generations. In 1996 Bowie was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Alan Rickman was 69-years-old when he passed away. He was a well-known actor and director. Most notably, he is remembered for playing Severus Snape in the “Harry Potter” movie series and Hans Gruber in “Die Hard.”

George Kennedy passed away at age 91. He was an actor who starred in over 200 movies and shows. Kennedy received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in “Cold Hand Luke,” playing Dragline.

Nancy Reagan had a long life of 94 years. She was an actress and the First Lady of the United States to the 40th President, Ronald Reagan. The major cause she supported as First Lady was the “Just Say No” campaign about drug awareness.

Doris Roberts passed away at age 90. She is best remembered as Marie Barone on the television show “Everybody Loves Raymond.” Roberts was also an author and philanthropist; she supported groups like the United Activists for Animal Rights.

The artist known as Prince passed away at 57-years-old. He was a very well-known musician known for his elaborate stage presence and wide variety of music style. These genres include R&B, funk and rock, among others. He was ranked 27 on “Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Artists.”

Gene Wilder lived until age 83. Along with being an actor, he was an author, screenwriter, and film director. He played parts in such movies as “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein” and “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”

Alan Thicke passed away at 69-years-old. He was an actor, game show host, talk show host and songwriter. Thicke is most known for his role as Jason Seaver on the television show “Growing Pains.” He was inducted into the Canada Walk of Fame in 2013.

George Michael passed away at the age of 53. He was a singer and songwriter in the band Wham! Two well-known singles from “Wham!” were “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” and “Last Christmas.” Michael was an activist for LGBT rights and for HIV/AIDS charities.

Carrie Fisher passed away at the age of 60. She was an actor and author. She portrayed Princess Leia in the “Star Wars” film series. She also play major parts in other films such as “The Blues Brothers” and “When Harry Met Sally.”carrie-and-debbie-colorlatimes-com

Debbie Reynolds passed away the day after her daughter, Carrie Fisher, at age 84. She was many things, most notably an actress and singer. She starred as Kathy Selden in “Singin’ in the Rain,” and Aggie Cromwell in the “Halloweentown” movie series.

The world lost many talented and influential people throughout 2016. These were only a handful of those who passed away. Each not only impacted the world in their own way, but they touched individual lives in ways we will never be able to fathom. May they never be forgotten and always rest in peace.

Contact the author at ajames16@mail.wou.edu