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Benet Kinghorn | Staff Writer

Vinny Harvey | Staff Writer

Take a look at

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Movies in the Making!

Les Miserables gets one thing right for sure: the songs can’t help but inspire people. Espe-cially the song “Do you hear the people sing,” a song so powerful that the music moved be-yond the performance and became an anthem. This anthem was heard by protestors in Hong Kong in 1996 on the seventh anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. This Massa-cre was the murdering of thousands of students protesting the oppressive government in Bei-jing in 1989. The songs from Les Miserables are no ordinary songs; they are songs that stir the heart, and the actors in this newest version of an old story add a new layer of emotion. Les Miserables is a story about oppression, love, and hope. Before all of the singing Les Miserables was a book written by Victor Hugo in 1862. From there, it transformed into a Broadway musical in 1987, and fi nally a mov-ie in 2012. The main character of this movie, Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), is a prisoner who broke his parole. Valjean’s prison guard Javert (Russell Crowe), relentlessly pursues him. Fantine, (Anne Hathaway) is a single mother who resorts to prostitution to earn money. Fantine eventually becomes sick and Valjean agrees to care for her child Cosette (Amanda Seyfried). Les Miserables certainly stuck out from other movie-musicals. This is mainly due to the fact that it was one of the few musicals that actu-ally recorded its songs live rather than record-ing them beforehand. This element allows the acting to go beyond words and actions

developing the characters through the sing-ing. Anne Hathaway’s phenomenal rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream” keeps you gripped with her passionate facial expressions enhanc-ing the tale of the love of her life. Hathaway proves that not only can she act in comedies, but she can also pull off tear jerker dramatic performances. Hathaway’s elegant and grace-ful voice no doubt upstaged the other actors and actresses in this movie. While Hugh Jack-man did have some trouble with a few of the high notes, his transition from prisoner to freeman, is almost unrecognizable thanks to an excellent costume team and Jackman’s act-ing. Jackman “cleans up well” for lack of a better phrase. Crowe was also a strong asset to this cast. He effectively depicted a relentless prison guard with his constant stare of death. Not once in the movie did I see Crowe smile, which fi ts in with his character who is a nit-picker for the law. Of the major actors and actresses, Amanda Seyfried had the smallest role. Although she possessed a very lovely voice, she was scarcely seen in the movie. Unfortunately when she was in the movie, her ‘Romeo and Juliet’ romance was too much of a cliché and lacked excitement. Overall, this was a good movie, and I con-fess I had to buy the movie soundtrack after-wards. The songs have been stuck in my head now for several weeks. This movie was prob-ably the best musical-movie I have seen due to its individual elements of live recording and exceptional acting.

The Mount Michael 2013 Oscars ceremony was a hit around the world. The Oscars were viewed in over 200 countries. The Hollywood and Highland Center in Hollywood, CA was booked so the school turned to hold the event in the Palace. This year’s show was emceed by former biology teacher Nick Modrcin. The night began with the arrival of all the stars. Mount Michael Road was backed up with limos and expensive sports cars. David Cormier and his wife Eileen Sullivan, co-stars in the movie “Les Miserables,” rolled up in their red Chevy Camaro. After everyone’s arrival the clear favorite for best dressed was Sister Carol Jean Van Den Hemel OSB who made a dramatic entrance on the red carpet in her tangerine twirl dress designed by Gail Raabe. Head of school David Peters was the clear favorite of the well-dressed males wear-ing a cowboy inspired tuxedo designed by Bro. Mel Tichota OSB. After all the stars were settled in their seats the show began. The lights shined down on the stage and Modrcin, a surprise host returning from retirement, walked out to center stage in a bright orange tux. He kicked off the show by saying “Sorry I am late I have been busy be-ing the stuntman for Daniel Craig since I am such a spitting image. It is a burden and takes up a lot of my time but I am happy to take one

for the team.” As the show went on, some actors and actresses were fortunate enough to win an Oscar. Others were let down by the members of the Mount Michael Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences. The night’s biggest winners didn’t come as a surprise. Best Actor went to History teacher John Roshone for playing the role of Lincoln in the fi lm “Lincoln.” Best actress went to the Journalism teacher Gina Fosco for playing Tif-fany in the movie “Silver Linings Playbook.” The movie with the best visual effects went to “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” di-rected by Richard Akromis. The biggest win-ner was “Lincoln” which was also awarded Best Picture. It was directed by David Pri-mavera, written by Fr. Richard Thell OSB, and set designed by Fr. Daniel Lenz OSB. Primavera had some inspiring words to say, “ I would like to thank everyone, especially my third period accounting class for giving me the inspiration to produce this fi lm.” What a night! The Palace was fi lled with the best stars from around the world. In any case, all the stars left and headed straight to most exclusive Oscar after party held in the crypt of the Mount Michael school building. Modrcin left the audience with a good night and told the seniors good luck not getting se-nioritis.

Colin Svoboda | Staff Writer

The Oscars’ Buzz at the Mount

Nicholas Hoult (featured in the show Skins) and Te-resa Palmer star in a zom-bie apocalyptic struggle for survival; however, Hoult (a zombie) miraculously falls in love with Palmer (a survivor) as they develop a special relationship.

WARM BODIESIn this intense action thriller, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson seeks re-venge on a group of drug cartels who frame John-son’s son with a drug distribution crime.

A GOOD DAY TO DIE HARD

In his fi fth “Die Hard” series fi lm, John Mc-Clane (Bruce Willis) heads to Russia to see his son Jack, a CIA op-erative, who is working to prevent a nuclear-weapon catastrophe.

SNITCH

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Colin Svoboda

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The Star Trek franchise releases its latest movie Star Trek: Into Darkness on May 17, 2013. With the hype, people are hoping that the sequel of Star Trek (2009) will refl ect the exact mind-bending sci-fi an-tics of the original TV show, Star Trek: The Original Series. With the new movie release, the Star Trek franchise may just live long and prosper. In Star Trek: Into Darkness, the crew of the USS Enterprise meets an unstoppable force from within its own organization. Seeking a weapon of mass destruction, James Kirk (Chris Pine) struggles to battle the unknown force that destroyed everything that his fl eet stood for. Throughout the adventure, he will have to rely on Spock (Zachary Quinto), Leon-ard “Bones” Mccoy (Karl Urban) and the rest of his crew. In each Star Trek movie, one question really gnaws at the avid trekker: will the movie have the same Star Trek feel as the Original Series? From the smart-al-eck sass of Dr. “Bones” Mccoy to the psychedelic quests of the USS Enterprise, no other TV series can match the mental coaster that the Star Trek franchise once attained. English teacher Ed Wilberding thinks that the prequel did a good job, “I think the director made an effort to make the characters as close to the originals as possible.” It was easy for him to relate to the Star Trek franchise because it began when the Apollo 11 mission to the moon took place, “We were in the middle of the moon missions during that time, which added to the effect of the series.”

In Star Trek (2009), the cast displayed the characters with precision. Along with many of the happy trek-kers, one was William Shatner. The original Captain Kirk in Star Trek: The Original Series, Shatner said that the movie was “terrifi c” and “certainly refresh-ing to the franchise” according to an interview from Gustavo Leao on trekweb.com. The movie received a 95% on RottenTomatoes, a well-known aggregator of movie reviews. The movie made $257.7 million dollars. While Star Trek: Into Darkness is still in produc-tion, many rumors about the villain character have surfaced. People question whether the director, J.J. Abrams, is making the plot a redo of The Wrath of Khan. Although this may be true, John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) is displayed as the known villain in the movie. In the trailer, John Harrison takes the role as a quiet toned evil being; his soft spo-ken personality fi lls space with an uncanny awe. Although the Original Series may be over, J.J. Abram’s Star Trek: has re-booted the franchise and the second movie should solidify its popularity. “The new Star Trek movie looks awesome. I am hop-ing for some suspense in the new movie, but also a great adventure that will top all of the old series and other movies of Star Trek,” said junior Nick Beck-man. Wilberding is glad the series has new life, “As long as there is public demand, why not keep making them? May the series live long and prosper.”

Lights. cameras, action! The Oscars will be held on Feb. 24 in Hollywood CA in the Hollywood and Highland Center. The show will be broadcasted live on ABC at 6 PM. The Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences through a voting process will pick the winners for their respective category. About forty Mount Michael students were polled regarding their favorite nominated actor, actress, visual effects and best motion picture. At Mount Michael “Lincoln” won Best Picture, Hugh Jackman won Best Actor in “Les Miserables”, Jennifer Lawrence in “Silver Linings Playbook” won best Lead Actress, and “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” won best Visual Effects. This story is a spoof article about how the Oscars would go at Mount Michael.