Mount Hood

The Death of David Bowie

By: Declan Hertel
Entertainment Editor

There is no one else in the world I could think of who could be so deeply abnormal as to turn their own death into a piece of art. But David Bowie certainly was and it puts an impossibly perfect cap onto an excellent and diverse career.

I listened to the first half of “★” (pronounced “Blackstar”) when it came out, and was very impressed by it. The spacey, dark electronic sounds of the title track were a surprise to me, but much like the other weird parts of Bowie’s repertoire, it scratched an itch I didn’t know I had before I heard it.

The third track, “Lazarus,” stood out as another gem, not least because of the music video that accompanied it. The song’s first lyrics are “Look up here, I’m in heaven / I’ve got stars that can’t be seen / I’ve got drama, can’t be stolen / Everybody knows me now.”

In retrospect, it should have been painfully obvious. But there are some people who are so iconic, so ubiquitous, so seemingly immortal that we all begin to believe that they’re immortal.
Upon hearing the news of his death, I immediately set to listening to “★” again. It was as obvious as it should have been at first: David Bowie had, absolutely and intentionally, given us a parting gift: one last hurrah. And it was glorious in the purest form of the word.

Bowie created a piece of performance art out of his death, one that I will be forever thankful I was able to experience. He released an album, gave us two days to process it, and then died, revealing its true genius and meaning. While I think the album is great purely on musical merit, it had a higher, ethereal level of greatness that only became clear after he passed, and will never be experienced again in the same way. It’s a work of art that existed to those who heard the album before he died, and only to them. It lasted for a short time and now is just a memory. I’m still kind of reeling from the whole thing.

David Bowie, you were a great artist who inspired many, including myself, and told us all that it’s totally cool to be an oddity, because he knew what it was like to be one. I’ll leave you with my favorite of his lyrics:

“These children that you spit on / As they try to change their world / Are immune to your consultations / They’re quite aware what they’re going through.”
Goodbye, David Bowie. The stars look very different today.

Box Office Force: “Star Wars” Soars

By: Ashton Newton
Staff Writer

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (TFA) opened on Dec. 18 with the biggest worldwide opening weekend of all time at $529 million. Since then, TFA has become the top-grossing movie in America, surpassing James Cameron’s “Avatar.” The film has broken numerous other box office records, including the top grossing IMAX opening of all time.

Reviews for the movie have been mostly positive; TFA is currently sitting pretty on a 93 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. Reviews say that the movie is great for veteran fans and newcomers alike. In a review for Empire magazine, Helen O’Hara said, “It packs a planet-sized punch, launching a new generation of characters who – by the end – take a place next to Han, Leia, and the rest. Star Wars is back, and this is just the beginning.”

Fans don’t have to wait long for a new Star Wars film; Gareth Edwards’ “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” comes out this December, starring Felicity Jones (“The Theory of Everything”) and Mads Mikkelsen (“Hannibal”). “Rogue One” takes place between episodes III and IV. After “Rogue One” in December, fans will have a six-month wait until episode VIII in May 2017 and Episode IX in 2019.

Anthology films much like “Rogue One” will also be coming out. In 2018, a Han Solo movie directed by Chris Miller and Phil Lord (“The Lego Movie,” “22 Jump Street”) will be coming out, as well as a Boba Fett movie in 2020.

Rumors have resurfaced recently that Ewan McGregor has been in talks for three upcoming movies with Disney. Fans have been asking for a Kenobi movie for a long time, focusing on Obi-Wan’s life during the 18 years between episodes III and IV. Ewan McGregor also had one line hidden in “The Force Awakens,” reciting Alec Guinness’ famous “These are your first steps” so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him reprise the role as a ghost in future Star Wars films.

New Star Wars material is available right now, too, if you can’t wait until December. Disney has released a number of new canon books including Check Wendig’s “Aftermath” and Claudia Gray’s “Lost Stars.” There are also a number of comics out and more are being rapidly released. There is also Disney’s “Star Wars: Rebels,” which will be returning to finish out season two later this year.

“The Force Awakens” is out now, and there are plenty more Star Wars adventures to be had in the coming months.

“The Revenant” nominated for 12 Oscars

By: Conner Williams 
Editor in Chief

With the recent box office takeover by “Star Wars,” not much else has had a chance to catch more than a glance from moviegoers.

But whether or not the lightsaber fever dies down, Alejandro Inarritu’s “The Revenant” should be on your list of movies to see, and soon. Inarritu also directed “Birdman,” which won the Oscar for best motion picture last year. “The Revenant” has been nominated for 12 Academy Awards.

It’s no surprise that a film that required an actor to survive sub-zero temperatures, freezing rivers, and eat a raw bison liver would have Leonardo DiCaprio (“Titanic,” “The Wolf of Wall Street”) as the lead. DiCaprio’s co-stars also deliver strong performances, including those from Tom Hardy (“Mad Max: Fury Road,” “The Dark Knight Rises) and Domhnall Gleeson (“Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “Ex Machina”).

DiCaprio has often gone to great extents to give noteworthy, passionate performances, but his role in “The Revenant” takes it to a whole new level.

“The Revenant” is the true story of Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio), a 19th century fur trapper who is viciously mauled by a bear and left for dead by his comrades. Glass must utilize all of his survival skills to rehabilitate his body and withstand the extreme conditions in order to exact his revenge.

Filmed in the heart of the Canadian wilderness (and in Argentina when the snow melted) with nothing but natural light for the cameras, all those involved in the making of the film had to dig deep in order to make this project happen. The crew often times had less than two hours of daylight to work with before the sun would set once again. There were even some instances in which filming almost ceased due to several severe frostbite scares.

DiCaprio gives the performance of a lifetime by doing anything necessary in order to give the film the most authentic feel possible, including refusing to eat a fake bison liver for fear that it would not look real. DiCaprio also stripped naked in below-freezing temperatures for one scene and jumped into an icy river for another.

While not as daring a request as surviving extreme weather conditions, DiCaprio did have to grow and maintain a scraggly, dirty beard for nearly a year, even during breaks in filming.

After four best actor Oscar nominations, this looks to be DiCaprio’s most complete, complex, and sincere role. Many film writers have predicted that “The Revenant” will be the film that brings it home for him. The official nominations will be announced on Jan. 14.

A mildly erotic collection of poetry and short prose

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By: Katrina Penaflor 
Managing Editor

Where to begin? Well, to be honest, I’m not entirely sure, as I’ve never reviewed anentire book of poetry before. But I guess I’ll start with “Dirty Pretty Things” was very good. Fair start?

Now on to actual details, to let people know what in the world I read and why anyone else should care to read it.

The author of the collection is Michael Faudet. I first discovered Faudet’s writing on Tumblr while scrolling through my feed.

I had never read anything of his before and his poem “A Question for Anna” caught my attention. It was only one line long, so perhaps it still falls under the category of prose.

It read, “Do you know what a palindrome is Madam?”

I couldn’t decipher what it was about this line that caught my attention, but I think it had to do with how clever it was. Madam, obviously falling under an example of a palindrome, completing the cheeky joke.

From there I kept reading Faudet’s work on his blog and eventually received “Dirty Pretty Things” for Christmas.

Let’s start with the introduction, which was interesting and odd in all the best ways. Instead of a regular run of the mill insight on the work of the author, the intro talked about the book “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

The importance of this was to describe the significance of the story to Faudet and his girlfriend and poet Lang Leav, who wrote the introduction. I enjoyed this candid insight to the relationship of the two writers because it laid the groundwork for possible inspirations behind the fantastical and dream-like voice the author has.

A majority of the poetry and writing is quite short, sometimes two or three lines long and nothing over four pages.

The reoccurring theme of Faudet’s writing is the overwhelming array of emotions that occur when one falls in love.

From the initial sexual interest, to the heartbreaking realizations of loving someone who doesn’t love you back, “Dirty Pretty Things” gives an honest look into the mind of a male speaker who is completely enthralled by his female muse.

A strong point for me was Faudet’s daring attempt at expressing characters’ sexual encounters with one another. He wrote with such whimsy, that the eroticism of it all nearly came across as some kind of dream. With characters dancing from bed to bed with nothing to worry about but his or her pleasure.
The only downside to this was at times the overuse of the words “fu*king” and “panties,” and “sex” tended to drag the writing down, and left a tackiness to some of the later poems.

I wouldn’t say this book is for everyone, as it often teeters back and forth from erotic to tooth-achingly sweet. I also could have done without the clichéd rhyming that occasionally popped up, and a few of the poems were just too short for me to pull meaning from.

But if looking at the work as a whole, I think Faudet created a clever and unique look at modern love. I appreciated his portrayal of characters who didn’t shy away from their sexual desires, and weren’t afraid to openly cry tears of joy and pain.

In addition, the way the words on the page were displayed visually were quite beautiful. I would absolutely read Faudet’s writing in the future, and would be interested in reading Lang Leav’s as she has spoken of her writing being inspired by Faudet.

The force has awoken, a little too easily

By: Conner Williams 
Editor in Chief

ATTENTION: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS, BUT SOME MAJOR PLOT POINTS HAVE BEEN INTENTIONALLY OMITTED

I’d like to start this review off by saying that I am a huge “Star Wars” fan; I bought my ticket to see “The Force Awakens” for the first showing available minutes after they went on sale. My friends and I arrived to the theater more than three hours early and hung out discussing our theories until the lights dimmed and our hearts began to race with anticipation.

I was utterly amazed. “The Force Awakens” was a roller coaster of emotions for me, filled with nostalgic moments and ones of sadness. I walked out of the theater in true awe, for one of my favorite series was back. I saw it again a second time days later, and loved it even more. But it wasn’t until the third time I saw it that I was able to put my crazed fanboy sense of pride aside and look at the movie for what it truly is.

Look, I liked the movie. The filmmakers used plenty of great props and costumes rather than CGI, which I thought was fantastic. It did a great job of providing viewers and long-time fans with plenty of nostalgic, emotional scenes that reminded us why we loved the series in the first place.

But that’s just the thing: I don’t need a reminder of why I love the series; I already know why I do. I wanted something new, something innovative, not the same plot with new characters and special effects.
And let’s be honest, things were way too easy for Rey. She goes from some nobody scavenger on a desert planet to one of the most powerful force users in the galaxy in a matter of hours (assuming the film’s plot occurs over the course of a day or two), pulling Jedi mind tricks without even knowing what they were beforehand, and beating a trained force-user in lightsaber combat (yes, I know he was injured, but I still find it hard to believe she got off without a scratch).

I also thought the film was a bit too comedic in some scenes that ought not to have been made funny. Kylo Ren gets informed of bad news and then throws a temper tantrum? All that does is make him seen less menacing. Now we have a laughable bad guy. The new droid (BB-8) served its purpose of comedic relief, but it seemed like there was just too much of it. “Star Wars” is traditionally lighthearted, but there are some aspects, like powerful force feats and all-powerful bad guys, that just should have been taken more seriously.

3 out of 4 paws.

Baker Street boys return

By: Conner Williams 
Editor in Chief

I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again: BBC’s “Sherlock” is one of the greatest television shows in history.

Each episode seems to be more cleverly written than the last, and this one takes the cake by a waterfall.

The long-anticipated special episode entitled “The Abominable Bride,” which fans were told is a standalone and is separate from the series, took us back to the origin of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch, “Star Trek: Into Darkness”) and John Watson (Martin Freeman, “The Hobbit”): Victorian-era London.

Complete with wonderful costumes and time-period props, the episode takes us back to the time when it all began, when Sir Arthur Conan Doyle conceived the brilliant crime-solving duo that has inspired countless detective narratives for more than 100 years.

The game is afoot as Holmes and Watson take on yet another seemingly incomprehensible case of murder and mystery. A woman dressed in a bride’s gown is spotted on a balcony shooting at multiple people before she turns the gun on herself. Then, hours later, she is reported by a police inspector to have murdered her husband in cold blood. How could she, whom had just committed suicide hours before, have killed this man?

Reluctantly sporting his trademark cap at the insistence of Watson’s words, “You’re Sherlock Holmes, wear the damn hat!” Holmes unravels the mystery thread by thread only to reveal that it isn’t what he thought it was; it’s something much greater, a resemblance to a case that has haunted him for years. No, Holmes must solve this case in order to solve another, a case that has baffled him and left his mind twisted from the day it happened.

I absolutely love the way that “Sherlock” episodes twist and turn all over the place, keeping me guessing as to where they are going next. This particular episode took me down a winding path that kept showing me what appeared to be the end of the road, but was actually yet another twist.

“Elementary, my dear Watson,” as Sherlock would so often tell his faithful companion as he tried to keep his bearings during the case. I felt similarly to Watson as I tried to keep up with the constant barrage of unexpected surprises this episode had in store.

The fourth season of “Sherlock” is, regrettably, tentatively scheduled to premiere sometime in the beginning of 2017.

If you missed “The Abominable Bride,” you can catch it again on Sunday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. on PBS, or you can stream it online at pbs.org/masterpiece beginning Jan. 11.
Did you miss me?

Space fights never felt so good

By: Declan Hertel
Entertainment Editor

This movie kind of transcends the need for a review. I guess the only reason you might want to read criticism is if you wanted to know if it goes the way of the much-maligned prequels.

Ladies and gentlemen, it does not.

“The Force Awakens” is really great.

The thing about the prequels is that George Lucas wanted to make “Star Wars” different. He wanted to move it beyond the lighthearted, action-packed, Saturday morning serial-inspired films that they were by introducing diplomacy and trade negotiations. While those things can be engaging and exciting (see: the “Star Trek” TV shows), they’re not Star Wars.

This is what is great about “The Force Awakens:” it is made by people who grew up with the original Star Wars, and they know what made it so near and dear to their hearts. The fact is, it doesn’t take itself or its world terribly seriously, and doesn’t try to be hard sci-fi or an adult political drama. It’s a story of ACTION and ADVENTURE in SPACE! It’s got massive spaceship dogfights! It’s got adorable robots! It’s got battles with SWORDS MADE OF LIGHT! It’s full of wisecracking, swashbuckling heroes! It’s fun! It’s space fantasy of the highest degree! The original trilogy was awesome then, and it is awesome now. THIS is why. THIS is what “The Force Awakens” remembers about Star Wars, and what it executes with perfection.

All the series newcomers turn in excellent performances. Daisy Ridley and John Boyega’s Rey and Finn are characters that I will follow anywhere through the galaxy. Adam Driver’s Kylo Ren is an intriguing new masked villain. Seeing the familiar faces of the original trilogy was a delight. I loved everything about this movie.

I would have said that this is a movie near exclusively for fans of the series, based on a great deal of humor coming from references to the previous films, but then a friend of mine who had never seen any Star Wars loved it. This is the sign of a good reboot. Totally enjoyable and accessible by newcomers to the franchise, but dripping with fanservice for those who have stuck with it all this time. I applaud all those involved with “The Force Awakens;” I think you did us longtime Star Wars fans proud, and created many, many new ones in the process.

Now, a franchise as big as Star Wars is going to have people going to the theatre, many of whom are longtime fans, who hate the movie before they walk in. At this point in its release, you, dear reader, have probably heard them espousing their bitter opinions. I would like to recommend that you don’t listen to those people and go see the movie for yourself. Maybe you’ll like it, maybe you won’t, but don’t let someone who hates movies tell you to hate this one.

But as for my verdict, “Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens” is really, really great. If you haven’t seen it already, ohmygod do it now.