Tag Archives: featured story

A&E, Christian DiMartino, Peter Hyle

A cappella advances onto state finals

Leave a comment

By Peter Hyle and Christian DiMartino

This year, FC is privileged enough to not only bring their band and orchestra to state, but their choir as well. The a cappella choir specifically is looking forward to a challenging competition against 16 other high school choirs. Since the choir has not been to state in four years, everyone currently in the choir is experiencing this for the first time.

Many students involved have their own opinions why this year has been so successful.

“I think this year is so different from any other year I’ve been in a cappella. Right when the year started we were pushed very hard to come together and learn a 50-page song, an entire mass, and two solo pieces to perform with the Louisville Chorus,” said senior Nella Cox.

There are many factors that determine who wins in this Saturday’s competition.

“There are three judges at the competition, and they mainly listen for sound quality, rhythm, emotional involvement and those sort of things. Another big factor is our vowel shapes, which is the way we shape our mouths in order to produce the right sound,” said sophomore Henry Miller.

Everyone in the choir is anxious for their competition for their own reasons.

“I know that everyone in choir will give an incredible performance this Saturday, so I’m not nervous about that. It’s all the other schools we’re competing against that makes me really anxious for the competition,” said junior Andrew Mills.

Some students credit their teacher for all of the success that they have achieved this school year. 

“It is obvious to me that we wouldn’t have gotten this far without our wonderful director Mrs. Hampton. She is an outstanding teacher and she has really pushed me and motivated me more than any other adult I have met. I know that a lot of my friends in choir feel exactly the same way,” said junior Dakota Arnold.

Hampton said that the feeling is mutual.

“They really just work extremely well both individually and collectively. They get along very well, and they try to be better with each new day. This group has worked harder than any choir I’ve had in recent history. I’m excited that they get to be a part of this elite competition,” said Hampton.

 

A&E, Features

Orchestra members prepare for state qualifiers this Saturday

Leave a comment

By Megan Johnson

Twenty-five years. For some people, it is an amount of time that can fly by. To others, it feels almost as if it is an eternity. However, to the orchestra students, 25 years marks a significant anniversary for the art that they love.

On Saturday, the orchestra will be headed to state qualifiers for the 25th time in a row.  Several of the orchestra members are elated to be a part of  this event , including junior Garrett Metz.

“I’m very excited because my dad was a cello player who was involved in going to state for the first time,” said Metz.

Other members, however, claim to be feeling a sense of nervousness, such as junior Layne Hartman .

“We are competing with seven other schools, but nerves always come with performing,” he said.

However, members like sophomore Shannon O’Brien feel nerves take away from the experience.

“Being nervous doesn’t help anyone; I try and stay calm and encourage others to do the same,” said O’Brien.

Several classical numbers will be played, including “Danzon” by Antonio Marquez, “Pas de Deux” by Tchaikovsky  and the first movement of Dvorak’s 8th symphony.

Hartman shared that orchestra is not all fun and games; it requires a lot of work.

“Being in orchestra requires a time commitment, but it really requires effort. We must play the correct notes together and play them with style. We have to make beautiful music, and that isn’t easy,” he said.

Metz explained that orchestra has not only taught him the art of working together with others, but how to manage his time around his activity. Metz also shared an interesting fact that of which orchestra inspires.

“You use a completely different part of your brain to create music. Plus, you’re not only working by yourself, you’re working with 60 other people,” said Metz.

O’Brien summed up her orchestra experience in one simple sentence.

“It takes patience, persistence and lots of sass.”

A&E, Christian DiMartino

‘The Amazing Spider-man 2’ fails to live up to previous films

Leave a comment

By Christian DiMartino

I attended the 11 p.m. showing of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 last Thursday night, and had planned on writing the review the next morning. Much to my surprise, things didn’t quite happen like that. Once the movie was over, my friend and I exited the theater and then discussed how mixed we were on the movie for an entire hour. Days have gone by since then, and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 still has me so torn, it has taken me this long to express myself.

This is the first big blockbuster of the summer, and one of the most highly anticipated, but even I had some doubts. As a non-Jamie Foxx fan, his casting seemed off. That wasn’t the only concern, but it was the main one. So once the negative reviews arrived, my doubts deepened.

Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man, as wonderfully surprising as it was, was unnecessary, mainly because the studio only waited five years to reboot Sam Rami’s Spider-Man movies (I personally would like to see those continued, but, whatever). As unnecessary as it may have been, it actually turned out to be the second best Spider-Man adventure, ranking behind Rami’s perfect Spider-Man 2 (sue me, I don’t care, it’s amazing). What brought the movie to life was the chemistry between Peter Parker/ Spider-Man and Gwen Stacy (on and off-screen couple Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone). They worked so well together that I was tempted to hug myself. Webb, who’s only other non-Spider-Man movie is 500 Days of Summer, knows what he is doing when it comes to the romance. Also, Garfield is perfect in the title role; a worthy replacement for Tobey Maguire.

Now, Webb returns with the sequel, and Stone and Garfield are as charming as ever. In fact, they just might be the greatest comic book couple of them all. It’s a bold statement, but a true one. The visual effects are spectacular and the entertainment value is high. Also, there are some strong moments here. There were times when I let the action carry me away, and these times were reminiscent of the other movies. But yet, there were a few short time periods where the movie was so bad that I felt like my soul was being shanked.

The sequel picks up some time after the original (original isn’t exactly appropriate but that’s beside the point). Peter Parker is still trying to fight crime, while protecting the ones he loves. Peter and Gwen are still dating, which leaves him with a guilty conscience. If you remember from the previous movie, Peter promised Gwen’s late father (Denis Leary) that he would avoid her at all costs. He doesn’t do that, until he begins seeing Captain Stacy everywhere. He is also still trying to figure out what exactly happened to his parents and how they were involved with the sinister Oscorp company.

If that wasn’t bad enough, just wait. Enter Max Dillon (Jamie Foxx), a grown-up Steve Erkel who becomes obsessed with Spider-Man after he rescues him. Dillon, an Oscorp employee, soon falls into an eel tank, gets stung a lot (duh), and becomes Electro. Judging from that last sentence, I wonder how Oscorp is still a running company. It clearly isn’t a safe work environment. Anyways, Electro, who can manipulate electricity, is pretty cool and one of the movies many visual marvels, but his motives for killing Spider-Man (Spider-Man doesn’t remember him) are weak.

Then, enter Harry Osbourne (Dane Dehaan), Peter’s childhood friend and son of Oscorp founder Norman Osbourne (Chris Cooper), who carries a very distracting Hitler haircut. Seriously, that haircut drove me crazy. When Harry becomes terminally ill, he believes that Spider-Man’s blood can save his life. So, let’s just say, he wants Spidey dead too. Harry certainly is an interesting character, but had Dehaan done what he did with Chronicle, then the performance would’ve been remarkable. Instead, Harry is just whiny (he has a temper tantrum) and, well, his haircut is obnoxious. I’m not letting it go.

TASM2, like the constantly bashed Spider-Man 3, has a little bit too much story and just a bit too many villains, but it works. Also, the action sequences are a knockout, and Garfield shares some sublime moments with Stone and Sally Field, who plays his Aunt May. While a good amount of it does work, it is kind of a bumpy ride.

The scenes with Dillon talking to himself are awkward and occasionally dumb. In fact, Electro doesn’t become cool until the final hour. Despite this however he is quite the special effect. The soundtrack is bizarre, and the score doesn’t always mesh well with what’s happening on-screen. Spider-Man himself seems a little too jokey this time around. Sometimes, he tries so hard to be funny I’m surprised the crowds of people “oohing” and “awing” didn’t hand him a microphone.

Also, some of the one liners from him and Electro, again, shanked my soul with their stupidity. Not all of them are bad though, just a handful. Not to mention Paul Giamatti’s brief performance as The Rhino is inconceivably dumb. If he is the lead villain in the next round (there’s supposedly two more movies coming out at least), then you may just have to count me out. Giamatti is a great actor, but his accent is too difficult to take seriously. Also, there are a few loose ends that need to be tied up, and some of them probably won’t be in the sequel.

Lastly, the movie would’ve been better had the ending not dragged on. Had the movie stopped at a certain point, then it would have had more of an effective and poignant ending. Instead, the movie wants to get everyone jazzed up for round three, so it sets up the next movie… but not very well.

There is more wrong with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 than right, but yet it still gets my recommendation, I guess. How? Well, its target audience (Spider-Man fans) will go for it. Being one of them, I enjoyed a good amount of it. Yes, it had its ups and downs, but it is still an enjoyable movie to some extent. It’s a close call though; if round three is a similar movie, then expect harsher criticism. Whether we like it or not, more Spider-Man is coming. Hopefully it’s a bit better the next time. The Passable Spider-Man is a more appropriate title.

The movie still has me torn though. Right now, it’s good, borderline okay. Ask me in a month or so and I might say otherwise. As of now though, Spider-Man is getting a pass. Next time, he might not be as lucky.

 

A&E, Columns, Forum

Columnist discusses film versus literature

Leave a comment

By Isaac Mathewson

Whenever a film adaptation of a famous book is released, there is almost always someone who’s quick to say “It’s not as good as the book.” Others, especially younger people, will say “You can’t understand the film unless you read the book.”

This issue has been present since the beginning of cinema. There are people who defend either side, with some defending both as they are separate art forms that are equal in value, and others who say that there really is not much room for two, you have to pick one or the other. This has led to a rising conflict between the two biggest art forms in the world — film and literature.

The truth is that both of them have strengths and weaknesses and they should be looked at in different angles. Literature gives better descriptions as well as an opportunity to learn new things and create imagination, all while telling a good story. Film is more to be enjoyed for admiration for the actors as well as all the hard work that goes into the making and writing of them. Both are terrific art forms that stimulate the mind and help people think.

However, that is not what the general public takes issue with. Many people believe that film is solely for entertainment and that only literature has any educational or artistic value. I find that statement to be absolutely appalling, because film packs a great amount of artistic value and there are many great careers in the industry. Cinema is a very young form of art and many older people who grew up on folklore and literature often tend to dismiss it as overblown rubbish. Fortunately, there are many people who support film as they consider it a very important form of art and is a new look on classic stories brought to life in different ways.

Of course, as I mentioned earlier, there are many people who say that movies that are adaptations of classic works can never be seen as their own story. They believe that books are virtually entirely better than movies. Again, I cannot agree with that statement because many films based off of books have worked perfectly well on their own, such as The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Gone with the Wind. It all really comes down to which version was really better, the book or the movie, neither one is better simply because of their art form.

Another thing worth mentioning is whether it’s necessary for an audience member to see the book that the film is based on in order to understand it. I say this as an experienced critic and writer, it is not. I have seen many movies based off of books, and I haven’t read the books to most of them. These include some of my favorite movies such as The Silence of the Lambs, GoodFellas, A Clockwork Orange,and even the original Godfather, and I can still get through these films just fine. Maybe some movies nowadays are for people who read the books, such as The Hunger Games and Divergent, and if that were the case, I’d like these movies less. But in all honesty, sometimes that’s the fun of cinema, not knowing about what you are watching and where it came from and seeing it in a new and different way.

It really all goes down to opinion. In reality, no art form is better than the other, just the work that they depict. The main question shouldn’t be which is better; books or movies? The question should be: which version did it better; the book or the movie. There are people who prefer one form over the other and that is perfectly fine. However, no one should hate on either because they are entirely different.

Columns

Columnist urges readers to write their feelings out

Leave a comment

By Danielle Shealy

A piece of paper can take us anywhere, but it’s deciding where we want to go that’s the hardest part.

Writing is the best addiction to ever have because it’s like our own personal psychologist. We can write down how we feel and then if need be, we can throw it away after.  Writing lets us be who we are without any judgement.  It also lets us feel how we want to feel without any opposing views on certain issues.  A pencil can turn into our own private airline and take us anywhere in the world we want to go. Although my writing is messy and my process is also unconventional, I write my best pieces this way.

I would describe my writing as word: puke.  When I puke my words out on paper, I tend to over-compensate by adding more words than I need to get my point across.  Also, I tend to use a single word, multiple times, throughout the paper.  These tendencies are fixable but if I didn’t have these mistakes in my writing, then it truly wouldn’t be my voice speaking through the page.

I have always wanted to go to New York City, but never had the money or time, so I made up my own New York.  In the New York I imagined, it’s not quite as busy and people are a little friendlier. There are more businesses that give job opportunities to people with disabilities and less buildings that aren’t accessible to wheelchairs.  Most importantly though, there are more people willing to help others in my New York.

There have been so many times when I was writing either for myself or others that I didn’t realize how I really felt about something until the words were right on the paper. As people of society we feel like everything we have to write about has to sound formal and proper, but that’s not the case at all. Writing is made for free expression, but I do understand sometimes where we would need to make our writing proper for research papers, an argumentative essay and anything that has to do with professionally presenting a point.

People shouldn’t be scared to share their opinions if it helps them become stronger and more empowered.  We should accept others and their opinions because views of the world should never be one-sided.  Writing is the best way that I can show my opinions and views of the world to others and I hope people look at my writing as being well-rounded.  As a writer, I want to make my opinion heard, but I also want others to understand that writing could be a good way for them to express their feeling and opinions too.

Writing is absolutely terrifying and I understand that completely.  It’s like falling from a cliff without knowing what to expect at the bottom.  Not all prying eyes will like what you put out there, but if it matters to you, put it out there anyway.  Some of the most famous writers were told that their pieces would never go anywhere, but are any one of us the kind of person that just gives up?

When you are inspired to write, please do it.  You never know who will be reading.