Feature Article

I read an article of Top 10 Best Movies from Time. They made a list of top ten movies of the past year, 2013. The top ten movies were The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, 12 Years a Slave, The Act of Killing, Frozen, Furious 6, The Grandmaster, Her, American Hustle, The Great Beauty, and Gravity. I don't really particularly 100% agree with this list as there are a lot of other good movies that could have replaced it but the reasons they provided justified the choice. The author just summarizes each entry and added a little something about what was special about the movie. The movies I didn't particularly like was The Hobbit because I had no interest in seeing it and the people I knew that did see it were bored to death. Another movie is 12 Years a Slave. I thought the topic of the movie was overrated. Racism is always talked about and making a movie about it just seemed so repetitive. It was a well-made movie and the acting was phenomenal but I just didn't care for the theme. I really loved the movie Frozen. It's the first Disney movie in a while that I didn't think was too kiddish for me. I honestly enjoyed the movie for what is was and the message it sent out to kids. I really wanted to see Her because it had such a unique concept for a movie. Furious 6, I thought, shouldn't have been on the list at all. American Hustle was a great film, then again anything by David O. Russell within the last year is amazing. The Grandmaster and The Great Beauty I have no idea what they are about. I completely agree with the number one choice of Gravity. The movie was visually compelling and the story was brilliantly written. The sound and visual effects were stunning. Overall, the top ten had decent movies but didn't really talk about much great films. 

Review

I read a review of Wolf of Wall Street by Peter Bradshaw on The Guardian. I really love this movie and so this article very much shares my same views. The review starts off with a summary of the movie and I think it does so correctly without spoiling too much. The author of this review first talks about Leonardo DiCaprio and his acting skills. He goes into great details on how he portrayed the character and how the movie developed around him. He also goes into details about Scorsese's other movies and how they compare to this movie now. I think this movie is hilarious and although it is somewhat excessive with the sex and drugs, it just fun to watch! As he mentions, "But what gives the film its unwholesome black-comic fizz, and a measure of originality, is that Belfort never displays any remorse; there is no narrative comeuppance, no rebuke from anyone whose moral authority he recognises. The sulphurous whiff is conjured by his very impenitence. And if we suspect that in 2014 the financial world agrees with former Barclays CEO Bob Diamond that its 'period of remorse needs to be over'– well, maybe Belfort is the broker for our times. And he never saw any need for any period of remorse in the first place." he really breaks down the movie and offers his own interpretation of what the movie means to him and provide a great insight of how the movie should be looked at. I really love this movie and after reading this review, I appreciate the movie more.   

Editorals/Columns

An article that I read was titled, "The Rise of Antibiotic Resistance" by the editorial board of the New York Times. The article itself was very well written and kept me interested as I read it. The article discusses the daunting truth that antibiotics are being less effective because viruses and germs are becoming more resistant to them. This is a scary truth and I really liked how they brought up such a serious issue. This was a great editorial because it got straight to the point. They clearly stated each and every single one of their points and kept me engaged as I was reading the article. And like any editorial it tries to bring a solution to the problem at hand. They discuss the fact that hospitals and pharmacist need to develop new drugs as the fact that the last antibiotic was discovered in 1987. The article even discusses the possibility, if no new medicine is discovered, that this could be the end of the world as we know it. The common cold could be the next serial killer and you know you're next when you have a running nose. They are really behind. I think this topic is pretty interesting because it affects our everyday lives. I don't want to be scared of getting the flu or a cold. I want to be able to sleep at night knowing that I'll wake up the next morning. I also think it's interesting that it is happening all over the world. People are actually dying from common illnesses and even carbapenem, a drug that is used as a last resort failed to work for hundreds if not thousands of patients. It's pretty scary to think that I had no idea about this until I read the article. It truly helped to open my eyes to treat myself better and try my best not to get sick. I really think people should be more aware of the problem and that more people should know about it.

Profile

I read several profiles on Jared Leto and the one that stood out to me was an article on The Guardian by John Patterson. It was a very detailed article about how Jared Leto should win an Oscar for best supporting actor for his role Rayon, a transgender character in Dallas Buyers Club. The article goes on talking about the preparation for his role and really gives good insight on how he created this character. The article goes on to talk about his early life and how he became an actor and his successful roles he has taken on in the past. He was part of a TV show called My So Called Life and they talked about that for a little bit. The article then mentions his troubles with his serious approach to acting. Sometimes he acts out without meaning to because he is so immersed into the character. This really shows how much of a dedicated actor he is and how serious he is. I really agree with the article's opinion of him getting an Oscar because he truly was amazing of how he portrayed Rayon in the movie. I have never liked a character so much and so heartbroken at such a great loss. He really gave that character life and his immersion to the role is very apparent. The article then mentions about his band, 30 Seconds to Mars. The band in it of itself is such a success. He constantly tours but still manages to come back to acting in such a strong force. I think he's a great actor and really deserves the recognition he should receive.

Obituaries: Shirley Temple

I read the obituary of Shirley Temple by Aljean Harmetz. It was a really well written article that greatly illustrated the life of the actor. The Shirley Temple article really used a vivid and descriptive lead of what made Shirley Temple so well known: "Shirley Temple Black, who as a dimpled, precocious and determined little girl in the 1930s sang and tap-danced her way to a height of Hollywood stardom and worldwide fame that no other child has reached, died on Monday night at her home in Woodside, Calif. She was 85". I thought it was really a cute way of letting the reader know what made Shirley Temple, Shirley Temple. The article goes on saying on she was the one that really brought hope in the depression era and it really glorifies Shirley. I think this really shows how great of a person and actor she was. The article even mentioned things that I wasn't aware of like the fact that she had a mastectomy and helped other women to get tested for lumps when talking about cancer was a taboo. I really admire her a lot more now. The article goes on talking about her early career and sheds light on how she was treated. It was mostly good things. It also talked about her mother and how she was "bathed in love". There several things that I didn't know about Shirley Temple that were told in the article. I think this obituary was very well researched and they definitely got their facts straight through other members of the family. The article, for the most part, follows a typical feature-style obituary. I think this obituary is in good taste and really shows the life of Shirley Temple that many people didn't really know about before.

Hard News - Arizona Congressional Delegation Speaks Out Against Anti-Gay SB 1062

This article that I'm reviewing is about a legislation that if passed, will allow business owners to refuse services to same-sex couples based on religious freedom. Two prominent senators, Jeff Flake and John McCain urge the governor, Jan Brewer to veto the bill. There are also a lot of people around the world that are contesting the bill and beg the governor to veto it without a doubt.

            The article is well written and really follows the set up of a hard news story. I really liked how the reporter used quotes from different people from different aspects of the political spectrum. She interviewed people from both political parties, the Republicans and Democrats.

            She should have gathered more information about the people in support of the bill. This view would have been more insightful because I don’t really understand why people would be in support of the bill. I mean it passed both the House and the Senate.

            She also used the Internet and social media in her article. Right when you start reading the article, you see two screenshot tweets from both senators, Jeff Flake and John McCain.

            The reporter also mentioned the fact that Arizona is currently in slot to host the Super Bowl in 2015, which brings up a good point in the economic standpoint if this bill were to pass. Consider the number of people that would boycott the Super Bowl if this bill were to pass. I certainly wouldn’t attend.

            I don’t really think this bill should be passed because I feel we would be taking steps back from the civil rights movement. This is the same discrimination that African Americans were facing back when the civil rights movement was in full swing. I do not understand why we are still facing discrimination like this nowadays.

            There are others that argue with the “religious freedom”. I think it’s utter bullshit. Whatever happened to the Golden Rule? “Treat others as you would like to be treated”. It’s a great rule of thumb. Seriously, if we just ran the world with that quote, we wouldn’t have problems like this.  

            It’s just really sad that we live in a world where this is acceptable. Governor Jan Brewer should be ashamed of herself if she signs this bill into law.

CVS No Longer Selling Tobacco Products

The article that I have read covers the news on a major corporation, CVS, will no longer sell tobacco products in their stores, nationwide. I believe this article is set up in an inverted pyramid. The lead describes perfectly what the article is about. It tells the reader the gist of the article without having to read the entire page. The second paragraph goes on and talks about CVS and the reason why they want to make the change. These two paragraphs depict the 5 W’s. There isn’t really a chronological order to the story, which an inverted pyramid usually isn’t. The style is very effective because it gets the information quickly to the reader. The story continues on by saying how the company plans to lose $2 billion but it would only be “a mere dent in its overall sales of $123 billion”. As you read more and more into the article, it provides more details that wouldn’t necessarily be extremely important. The article ends with a quote from the chief executive of CVS, Larry J. Merlo, “We came to the decision that cigarettes and providing health care just don’t go together in the same setting”. Leaving the end as a quote is very effective in my opinion, especially having a quote from the chief executive of the company. It shows the company is serious in being more of a health care provider than just another retail store. I really think that CVS did a good job by deciding to remove tobacco products from their stores. I admire them as a company that is willing to turn down a $2 billion profit just for the well-being of their customers. We can’t really say that for a lot of companies these days. It really disgusts me that products like tobacco are even legal. I don’t understand how our government allows such a thing. The fact that they refuse to legalize marijuana baffles me, especially since marijuana is not responsible for a single death. If anything is a gateway drug, it’s definitely cigarettes and anything tobacco related. They are literally the number one cause of death in the US. Marijuana has a 0% death rate. What does that say about our government? I really commend CVS for taking the step that our government neglects to take. I think they are brave in what they are doing, and I would hope more companies’ follow in their footsteps.