By Peter Hyle
Thursday, May 2nd the world language classes held an International Picnic at Galena Lamb Park. Before putting an end to the tradition a few years ago, this event was held annually. This is the first year it has been brought back, and is now something they plan to continue yearly.
By Peter Hyle
Recently, another one of Stephenie Meyer’s novels was transformed into a major motion picture. Leading up to the release of The Host, it received a lot of interest from fans of the author. I never planned on seeing this movie but because I did, I feel obligated to give it the review it deserves.
It is not very often that I dislike a movie, which is why this film caught me by surprise. The beginning is off-putting and confusing. I had to pick up bits of information as the story moved forward, and I think it would have been more entertaining if everything had gone in the correct sequence of events.
The movie takes place in a futuristic world where small aliens have invaded and possess human bodies. There are hardly any actual humans left, and the main character Melanie (Saorise Ronan) is one of them. When her body is taken over an alien called Wanderer (the humans call her Wanda) is left with intense and annoying symptoms of schizophrenia.
The best part about this movie was The Seeker (Diane Kruger), a possessed human who makes it her personal mission to hunt and kill Wanderer. Right when I was about to give up on this movie altogether, she would keep it afloat with her fascinating character development. The unexpected remarks from the voice inside her head prevented me from taking the dramatic scenes seriously. Not only that, but some of the scenes themselves were completely bizarre. At one point, a character simply hit the brakes, and the entire car would fly into the air and spin around like it was hit by a semi truck.
Towards the end of the movie I could definitely tell that this was based off of a Stephenie Meyer book, because it had the same conflicts as the Twilight saga. It was essentially one girl trapped between two men (Max Irons and Jake Able), and it reminded me so much of Twilight that I could hardly stand it. If you liked those movies then you will probably be amused by the unnecessary drama throughout The Host.
In all, this movie is just an attempt to milk more money out of the Twilight fans. The basic plot does have potential, and I will admit that the world this film took place in was interesting. But the good portions of this film are completely overlooked due to the ridiculous dialogue, characters, and scenes.
By Peter Hyle
This past week at FC, English teacher Anne Martin’s sophomore English honors classes held debates over various subjects. These arguments covered topics such as gun laws, government spending, and technology. Devoting well over a month to this assignment, students perfected their speaking skills and learned new ways to form argumentative claims.
This assignment served many purposes in each of the classes.
“It had them practice skills of argument, which is a standard,” said Martin. “It also required them to speak in a proper, elegant manner and tested their collaboration skills.”
Students realized the immediate challenges, and even some that were unexpected.
“My partner and I both had differing views about our topic, so it was hard to decide what should be our final debate. In the end, we compromised and it turned out great,” said sophomore Jordyn Boling.
Despite the problems, each student was given both instructions and time to prepare.
“It took about a month to go through the process of writing their argumentative essays. We took a break after they were turned in so I could grade, and we spent that break watching student debaters online and practicing speaking skills,” said Martin. “After getting their papers back, I talked to my students about revising their work and we went over the time requirements, presentation order, and topics.”
During the preparations, many of the students felt at ease with the time and instructions given by their teacher.
“Mrs. Martin helped us prepare for the presentations by giving us a helpful rubric and strict, yet easy to follow ways to organize our debates. It was a lot of help and without it I think our presentation would have looked sloppy and disorganized,” said Boling.
Martin took her students opinion into consideration, making sure that the assignment didn’t come across as too intimidating or complicated.
“I talked to my first period class and had them help me edit the guidelines on my rubric,” said Martin.
Without all the instructions, the students might not have completed this assignment as smoothly.
“She didn’t hold our hand, but she made it clear what we needed to do,” said sophomore Brett Yeaton. “She gave us a great rubric and easy guidelines.”
Not only were the directions concise, but other components of this assignment made the whole project easier.
“I think that Mrs. Martin’s assistance was the only thing keeping me from looking like an idiot in front of my class,” said sophomore Caitlin Fien.
Overall, Martin’s sophomore English Honors classes impressed their teacher with their debates.
“I was very pleased to see my students rising to the expectations I set. Even though they were nervous, each one made it through the presentations. I hope now that they are more comfortable with public speaking, which is a big part of high school life,” said Martin.
By Peter Hyle and Christian DiMartino
For a new personality profile, reporters went behind the scenes and asked Floyd Central’s music teachers who some of the best and brightest they taught were. Click below to hear about sophomore Madeline Coffey and senior Christian Thomas.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_csMYIlrmE]
By Peter Hyle
Everyone knows the classic tale of Dorothy, traveling into the Land of Oz with her small dog named Toto. On her journey, Dorothy runs into multiple characters including Glinda the good witch, who tells her exactly what she needs to do. The 1939 film revolves around the characters trying to reach the Wizard of Oz, who turns out to be nothing more than a man behind a curtain. The Wizard of Oz starts where the newly released Oz the Great and Powerful ends.
The film starts much like The Wizard of Oz, in Kansas and more surprisingly, in black and white. It isn’t until Oscar Diggs (James Franco) gets sucked into a tornado that the stunning visuals and bright colors appear on screen.
On a journey of his own, Oscar meets three different witches and lies to them all. A conman at heart, he pretends to be the Wizard of Oz in hopes to gain the gold and the kingdom. After lying to Theodora (Mila Kunis), Evanora (Rachel Weisz), and Glinda (Michelle Williams) Oz must figure out who is truly good and who is secretly evil before he is killed.
This movie is both comical and suspenseful, and can easily be enjoyed by people of any age. Despite the funny lines and unexpected twists, Oz lacks in other areas. Things that were crucial to the first movie are insignificant in this prequel. Ruby red slippers have no place in this film, and neither do characters like the Tin Man or the Scarecrow. Thankfully, the Cowardly Lion does have a small part in this movie that brought a smile to my face.
Even though I am not a big fan of the musical numbers in The Wizard of Oz, a part of me wishes that this movie was filmed more like the original. Just about everything I saw in Oz was digitally animated, which I, at first, thought would make the film better. But after watching the entire thing, I feel like it doesn’t do the original movie justice in some ways.
Looking past the few problems I experienced with this Disney film, I think that director Sam Raimi did a wonderful job focusing Oz on the balance between good and evil inside this strange world. That is essentially the entire plot of both films, and I’m glad that this was clear throughout the movie.
In all, this PG rated film is over two hours of fun and excitement. Through all of the magic and trickery, it shows how Oscar Diggs, a small-time magician transforms into the Wizard of Oz. A prequel to a beloved classic, it answers questions that I didn’t even know existed inside my head. There were several things that I think the creators could have done better, such as adding more of the original characters. But in the end I think that Oz the Great and Powerful is pleasantly amusing and an all around thrill.
Check out the March 22 issue for another review of Oz from A&E reporter Beth Brumeier.