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The Lorian
Features
March 7, 2013
Features
Andy and Paul’s Big Screen Top Ten
In the aftermath of this year’s Grammy’s, movie lovers everywhere are in hot debate about what should and shouldn’t have won an award. Ben Afflec’s “Argo” took home the most coveted prize on Oscar Sunday winning Best Picture, but where does it stack up on Andy Miller and Paul Deeter’s Best of 2012 list? By ANDY MILLER and PAUL DEETER special to the lorian
Andy’s Top 10 1. Silver Linings Playbook 2. Beasts of the Southern Wild 3. Argo 4. Django Unchained 5. Moonrise Kingdom 6. Flight 7. Safety Not Guaranteed 8. Looper 9. Dark Knight Rises 10. Wreck-it Ralph 2012 was a great year for movies, so it was hard to come up with this list. For me, Silver Linings Playbook was the most well-rounded movie; the plot was fantastic, Jennifer Lawrence’s performance was nothing short of superb, and in any other year, Robert DeNiro would be walking away with an Oscar for his supporting role, and Jackie Weaver would have a solid shot as well. Beasts of the Southern Wild takes second because it made me feel all the feels for an hour and a half. Nine-year-old actress Quvenzhané Wallis absolutely earned her Oscar nom, and no one will be surprised when she gets her Oscar—in the next 16 years before she gets to be “too old for Clooney” as Oscar host Seth McFarlene put it. I know Paul’s going to have Django coming in at his top spot—and I can understand why. Tarantino has followed his recipe for success once again. He wrote a very interesting plot and dialogue that rivals any other movie from this list. Christoph Waltz once again blew me away with how he delivered that Tarantinian dialogue cementing a solid marriage between actor/ director. The fact that
Leonardo DiCaprio didn’t get nominated for his incredible performance was flat out wrong. Here’s why it doesn’t make my number one spot—it wasn’t original. This is a Tarantino film; fantastic dialogue that precedes an uncomfortable amount of gore, humor under un-humorous circumstances, and a killing spree that takes up a quarter of the movie. If this was Tarantino’s first movie, it would have been a groundbreaking film that would have won the Oscar, and would have taken my number one spot as well. But it wasn’t. It was Kill Bill meets Inglorious Basterds set in the South during the pre-Civil War era. Good movie, but not the best. Worth Noting: Safety Not Guaranteed was an overlooked movie by most. It was a small budget, independent movie. However, Aubrey Plaza’s (known for her portrayal of April Ludgate on NBC’s Parks and Recreation) first leading role in a film shows us that she can step out of her typical role and can be a lead actress. The screenplay is nothing short of innovative and is why it nabbed the Indie Spirit award for Best First Screenplay for the writing of Derek Connolly. The Dark Knight Rises and Wreck-It Ralph break my top ten—for the time being. I’m very confident that after seeing Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty that these two would fall off the top ten. However, Dark Knight Rises makes my top ten because it was a fitting conclusion to the best superhero franchise of all time, while Wreck-It Ralph breaks in because it was my favorite animated movie of 2012, and it was nice to see someone other than Pixar produce a heartfelt, well-produced animated film (albeit, this was still made by a division of Disney).
Paul’s Top 10 1. Django Unchained 2. Lincoln 3. Argo 4. Silver Linings Playbook 5. Killer Joe 6. Life of Pi 7. Moonrise Kingdom 8. Skyfall 9. Zero Dark Thirty 10. Cabin in the Woods Andy is right about one thing, Django Unchained was my favorite movie of 2012. While I agree with some of what he said, I also love to disagree with Andy. Django is a self-indulgent bloodbath of a movie with an exploitative twist, but when isn’t a Tarantino movie? Quentin Tarantino is easily one of the best filmmakers currently working and arguably one of the best screenwriters too, and he’s never been afraid to make a movie that will test audiences everywhere. Luckily for him, Django proved to be both a critically successful film and also a moneymaker, which has earned Christoph Waltz an Oscar for Supporting Actor and Tarantino best original screenplay. Which is funny, because Andy doesn’t consider it original. The originality of the movie does not sink in through the style, but instead the humorous and insane characters, the exciting western action mixed with a modernized soundtrack, and the feel-good nature of the core joy of the film: revenge. 2012 offered plenty of other films to digest too, Lincoln comfortably fits in as my second favorite film of the year for the fantastic ensemble cast and the historical story which manages to stay gripping until the conclusion everyone already knows.
Argo was given the gold rightfully so, because it’s easily the underdog achiever of the year. After the Academy’s initial snub from nominating Ben Affleck as Best Director, Affleck won about every other show’s awards for Picture and Director, and ended up with a shout-out from his producer and a chance to speak when accepting Best Picture. Ben Affleck rose from his acting career to that of a seasoned director within only a few years, and his Oscar is coming, I can feel it. Worth Noting: Andy already did the honor of covering the two best Independent films of the year: Safety not Guaranteed and Moonrise Kingdom, so I’d like to mention a dark little film called Killer Joe. Killer Joe stars Matthew McCounaghey as the title role, a hitman hired to kill a redneck’s mother to earn her inheritance. The kid who hires Joe is played by Emile Hirsch, who’s joined by his father, mother-in-law, and sister in the scheme, and the innocent teenage sister is put on collateral to Joe, who falls sinisterly in love with her. This movie is hard to recommend because of its dark storyline and some extremely intense scenes, some of which earned it an initial NC-17 rating on release. Now that it’s out on DVD and Blu-Ray it’s easier to appreciate, (with squinted eyes). The movie is very darkly funny in places, and also gripping with a great lead performance, and it’s my overlooked recommendation of 2012.
The Lorian
March 7, 2013
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T he
Prophecy of the
Popes A prophecy four centuries in the making is about to be addressed By COLIN HALBMAIER features editor
In 1595, a Benedictine monk by the name of Arnold de Wyon allegedly published a document known only as the “Prophetia Dancte Malachiae Archiepiscopi,” known today as the “Prophecy of the Popes.” The document, attributed to Saint Malachy of the 12th-century, is made up of a series of 112 short phrases written in Latin and claim to list the line of succession of the Popes. On Thursday, February 28th, Pope Benedict XVI officially stepped down as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church. If the listing of the prophesied popes is matched on a one-to-one basis, his reign as Pope is the second-to-last. The final successor to the throne, according to Saint Malachy, is known only as “Peter the Roman, who will pasture his sheep in many tribulations, and when these things are finished, the city of seven hills (Rome) will be destroyed, and the dreadful judge will judge his people.” Whether you believe in “Peter the Roman” or not, there is no denying that the world has seen its fair share of apocalypse prophecies as of late. Last year’s rapture and 12/21 rumors were a topic of debate between people of all religions and backgrounds. Some were not so easily convinced while others were certain that the end was nigh. Still others silently wondered if such an ending was possible. Indeed, many of the stories told about the end of the world sound like something from a dark fairy tale, but some are more grounded than others. In the case of the Prophecy of the
Pope, there have been attempts to make connections between the popes listed by Saint Malachy and the historical facts. For example, the prophecy for Pope John Paul II translated reads “From the labour of the sun / Of the eclipse of the sun.” In parts of the world, both on the day of his birth and death, an eclipse occurred. Others have less chilling connections, typically connecting their prophecy to a symbol on their coat of arms or similar attribute. The obvious parallels tend to make a strong argument for the prophecy in people’s minds, but it’s important to remember the inconsistencies as well. The Roman Catholic Church itself dismisses the document as a forgery, and the Bible is often quoted as saying that no man knows the day of judgement. If the document is to be believed, as it is by some, then there is a great deal of pressure as we approach the appointment of a new Pope. Will we see Peter the Roman, or is this another one for the list of misguided prophecies? As of yet, the answer is uncertain. It may be worth noting that the current frontrunner for the position is Peter Turkson of Ghana. Could this have any significance in the events to come? Only time will tell, but there’s no doubt that all eyes will be on Rome in the days to come.
Lament for My Heels, Blistered By Ankle Socks By ANDREA BERNS
I bought myself a package of golden-toed socks from the magical land of golden-toothed men and women with rolls of skin cascading down their bellies. The socks were soft and thick. I was walking on warm, cozy clouds with every step in them. Like a gentle cushion, reaching just above the cleft of my ankle. But I slipped on my boots to trudge across the
staff writer
frost-coated campus, and my beloved foot-pads slide off my heels, bunching disloyally at the balls of my feet. My heels were rubbed and scuffed by the time I reached my destination. And by the end of the day, they pinched and bled and peeled and tore, raw as a cantaloupe. I was overcome with devastation. Betrayed by the very socks which caused me so much bliss and comfort in the footwear aisle in the middle of Walmart.
Fieldhouse Legacy hystERICal
Good Ol’ Ben Affleck at the Grammy’s
By ERIC OSBORN Editor’s note: hystERICal is our weekly like Hollywood!” Did I say underhanded, I meant staff writer satirical column written by Eric Osborn. The backhanded. Unfortunately, bad mouth Ben wasn’t information presented here is written for comedic effect and done. “Better luck next year! Peace out. Haha! Do you remember should not be taken as fact. when you said that on live TV? You’re one of the good ones TarantBen Affleck has been having great success with his a-can’t beat me at the Oscars!” Quentin didn’t respond back to Ben’s film “Argo.” Out of the kindness of his heart he decided, texting, but I’ve been told that Quentin has already written Ben into during the Oscar’s after parties, that he’d send a few text his next script, as the first fatality. messages to fellow winners. Several celebrities pretended Ben decided that his “conversation” with Quentin went well, so he to be getting important texts from Ben so they could avoid started texting “Life of Pi” director, Ang Lee. “Lee filled with glee, the very real, boring conversations with their spouses. congrats! How did it feel directing Castaway 2?! I’m kidding, but “Sorry hunny, Ben wants to talk about his next movie. Yes, I seriously are you worried that Tom Hanks might come after you? If know I told you that time off would be good for us and the kids, he does, I got your back. I mean, from far away. It’ll be more of a but let’s be honest with ourselves, my awesomeness deserves to motivational thing really. On second thought, don’t mention me. You be seen!” don’t know me. Our conversation will be like the first rule of fight Man, Daniel Day-Lewis sure is a down to earth, modest guy. club.” The case of “Hanks vs. Lee” is currently working its way to What was I talking about? Oh yeah, Benny Boy. Ben decided the Supreme Court. Lee gets to keep his Oscar though, so yay! to send out a few texts to fellow Oscar nominees. Floating on a cloud of insight, Ben sent Anne Hathaway a Texting unfortunately doesn’t convey humility message. “Hey there, Annie Frannie and not the least bit tan-ie! very well, or emotion, damn robots. Nice work, not on the Oscar but more importantly how you got Ol’ Benny with beards a plenty an award for being on screen for like, 20 minutes! How did you sent Quentin Tarantino a nice, work that one out? Seriously, you could’ve made a TV show cameo well written, underhanded instead. I would’ve, and you could’ve skipped out on the world’s compliment. “Good script most traumatizing haircut. That’s just me though.” In all honesty, he Tarantula! You might’ve makes a valid point, she could use a tan. even received best picture Regardless of his misjudgments, Affleck has done one thing right. if you had a true hero in He has an awesome beard. That thing probably has a mind of its your movie, you know, own; it could probably use a smartphone.
A campus mainstay for almost a century, the Loras Fieldhouse has been home to many sports teams throughout the years, and in its time, was one of the most intimidating athletic venues in the state. Built in 1924, it is the only field house in the state of Iowa, still standing, being used for sports. The previous two were demolished in 2007 and were not on college campuses. The Fieldhouse has Romanesque style architecture, with an “Armony style” design, because before and during WWII, Loras (Columbia College at the time) offered military training, and the Fieldhouse looked similar to other military training facilities of the time. To this day, these architectural features are still intact. Upon the construction of the AWC in 2008, the teams that called the Fieldhouse home since its opening moved across campus into the new, state-of-the-art facility in which they now play. The AWC holds more spectators and had more amenities, but the Fieldhouse has something the AWC will take decades to acquire: charm. “It had all the amenities of a storage shed,” remembers Telegraph Herald sports writer Clete Campbell (‘97). “But it had the charm and ambiance of larger field houses, like Phog Allen at the (University of) Kansas.” Going to games, Campbell said, was unparalleled in the Iowa Conference, and many teams feared the location. The Fieldhouse was cramped, and many players say that it felt like the crowd was on top of them throughout the game. There’s a reason it was nicknamed “The Pit.” The Fieldhouse offered a combination of variables that no other venue on the IIAC schedule supplied: low-hanging rafters; spotty lights that would struggle to light the Beckman Hall lobby; a balcony positioned just above the court, aligned with the out-of-bounds line around the circumference of the building; and the old, rickety windows that seemed to magnify the sun. Understandably, teams dreaded the days Loras was on the schedule. “When the Duhawks were really good, there wasn’t a
By NICK JOOS
executive editor
tougher, louder place to play in the (Iowa Conference),” Campbell said. The Fieldhouse was built to hold 1,600 fans, but when they piled in onto the balcony, that number sniffed 2,500. Throughout its stories history, The Fieldhouse’s basement
photo by KYLE SCHAFFER
has home to parking areas for cars; the second floor has been dressing rooms, showers, lockers, a handball court and a bowling alle; the third floor has always been the gym; the fourth floor a balcony, running track, boxing and wrestling rooms and offices. It was a multi-faceted building, but clearly, “The Pit” was where the magic happened. The Duhawk basketball tradition culminated in the Fieldhouse in 2007, in a game on Feb. 24 of that year. Loras needed a win to achieve its first-ever Iowa Conference championship in men’s basketball, and welcomed Buena Vista to town. Of course, the Beavers wished they’d never gotten off the bus, as Loras smoked them 77-62, earning the
school’s first conference chsmpionship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III national tournament. And so it was, the Fieldhouse was put to sleep with a Duhawk victory, and a bright future of more basketball memories lay ahead in the new gym. Iowa representative and Loras graduate Chuck Isenhart (’81), attended many games as a child at St. Joseph the Worker, a high school student at Dubuque Wahlert and a college student at Loras. In a column on Offenburger.com, Isenhart wrote about his fondest Fieldhouse memories. “(The Fieldhouse) was where you could find me, with a lot of other students and kids, directly over the visiting team bench, trying to intimidate the opponents with our taunting and perhaps the ‘accidentally’-dropped kernels of popcorn. Not much of a welcoming or inviting environment, I must say. Between the stands and the floor, there was very little elbow room. Coaches could have become rich collecting tolls from fans passing in front of them with their concessions. And when the stands behind the east basket were packed with purple and gold face-painted students, cacophony raged. You may wonder why, to this day, there are always two sheriff’s deputies on hand at every game. I never remember them being needed, but they are a remnant of the day when the school’s identity was more closely wrapped up with the fortunes of its sports teams.” Even though the Fieldhouse no longer hosts major athletic events, the school has devoted money to upkeep and general preservation. And, to Isenhart’s happiness, the Fieldhouse is still open to the public. “I understand that the college’s facilities are for the students first. (Try) to find ways to remain open to the local community, especially to young people like the greasy-haired junior high kid I once was. If you build it, they might come. If they feel like they already belong there, they will come.” Buena Vista came. Simpson Came. Wartburg Came. And more often than not, they did not, under any circumstances, conquer the Fieldhouse.