"A Million Ways To Die In The West"

"A Million Ways To Die In The West" is the second directorial outing for "Family Guy" creator, Seth MacFarlane. The film takes place in Old Stump, Arizona in 1882, and MacFarlane, who also co-wrote, plays Albert. Albert is a well to do sheep farmer, that really does not like life in the American west. In a hilarious monologue, Albert tells us all of the crazy, and random things that take your life. From disease to shootings, as well as the doctors could all lead to your demise. Albert lives a pretty mundane life, until a mysterious woman named Anna comes to town. Anna gives Albert confidence, while Albert shows Anna stability.

MacFarlane recruits an impressive supporting cast for the film. With actors known for their dramatic work, Charlize Theron and Liam Neeson, and comedic actors and comedians, Neil Patrick Harris, Sarah Silverman, and Giovanni Ribisi. All the actors blend together very well, and play off each other perfectly. There are also some well timed cameos, like Christopher Lloyd as his "Back to the Future" character Doc Brown.

Overall "A Million Ways To Die In The West" is a pretty good early summer comedy. Is it on par with MacFarlane's first feature "Ted"? Not quite, but it is hard to repeat a majorly successful film. So the big question is, is it worth the ticket price? Yes it is. The film is crude, crass, rude, and offensive, or basically everything you enjoy about Seth MacFarlane. So in the season of the big budgeted blockbuster with CGI robots and slow motion explosions, go see this comedy western at a theater near you.

At A Glance

"A Million Ways To Die In The West"

Three out of Four Stars

Starring: Seth MacFarlane, Charlize Theron, Liam Neeson, and Neil Patrick Harris

Directed by: Seth MacFarlane

Rated R

Running Time: 116 Minutes

Baseball coming back to LBCC

Baseball will be making a comeback to LBCC next spring. This has come as a result of months of work with members of the community. These discussions have planed out a program structure that focuses on high completion rates for the student athletes, and generate involvement of the community to support the program.

Dan Segel, a former Roadrunner baseball player and current president of the Corvallis Knights, was a part of the community group to bring back the program. Joining Segel was Steve Carothers, LBCC alum and owner of Relco Truss Manufactures, and Dick McCain, retired LBCC athletic director and former LBCC baseball head coach. Showing that the baseball program is valued by those who have been involved with it.

"The plan, which uses athletics as a vehicle to promote student success and involvement, makes us very optimistic about the future of baseball and other sports at our college," said LBCC president Greg Hamann.


The decision at the end of the 2013 school year to cut baseball, and women's basketball was not easy. "There were no programs we wanted to cut," said Hamann. "The size of the deficit forced us to make excruciating choices."

Last years baseball team made the decision even more difficult by having one of the programs more successful seasons. The 2013 team made it to the NWAACC playoffs, as well as having numerous players receive post season accolades.

Through the hard work that the group of community member have done, $40,000 has been raised to support the baseball program. "The proposed budget for the baseball program is $85,000. With $40,000 being donated by members of the community," said Dale Stowell

The major elements of the plan to reintroduce baseball to LBCC include:

   - A 50 percent college completion rate for athletes, LBCC's current student success rate is about 22 percent, which combines the percentage of students who earn a degree or certificate or who transfer to a four-year institution- above average for Oregon community colleges

   - Significant numbers of local players. At least 40 percent of baseball players will be from LBCC's service district or the district of a bordering community college. At least 80 percent will be from Oregon.

   - Better connections to the LBCC community. Athletes will better connect to the LBCC community to ensure it has noticeable positive experience for all student athletes, rather than just student athletes.


"The measurement chosen for baseball will guide other LBCC programs, both athletic and academic, as the college continues to strive for a 50 percent increase in its completion rate and increased community support ant involvement," Hamann said.

Through the support of the community, LBCC baseball will get to continue its long and rich history, as well as create significant opportunities for student athletes and the community. With the community support, a framework for adding other programs to promote student completion is feasible. Not just being limited to baseball, a yet to be determined women's sport will be added by the 2015-16 season to create gender equality with LBCC's athletic programs.

"I'm very proud of the direction we've set for ourselves with the help of the community," said Hamann. "We're excited and grateful for the opportunity this represents."

"The Wolf of Wall Street": A Cautionary Tale

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     Acclaimed director Martin Scorsese delivers an unconventional Christmas gift to movie audiences with "The Wolf of Wall Street." The film follows the true life story of Jordan Belfort, who is played by Leonardo DiCaprio. Along with an all star cast, Scorsese and DiCaprio deliver a truly entertaining film.

     Scorsese moves from the mean streets gangsters to the white collar wall street gangsters. These gangsters don't use weapons to destroy your lives, they use phones and shrewd selling tactics to ruin what you have worked for. The genius of Scorsese has always been that his portraits of the people he makes films about have been honest, which is evident in "The Wolf of Wall Street." Scorsese puts the camera in the selling room so the audience gets a front row seat to how these stock brokers manipulate people into mortgaging their homes to invest into junk stocks. The audience also gets a front row seat into how these wall street workers enjoying ruining the lives of faceless people to get rich fast. These are not people you root for, these are soulless, empty people, where everything including money is an object.

     Leading actor Leonardo DiCaprio perfectly embodies the selfish, and sleazy lifestyle of Jordan Belfort. It is truly a daring performance by DiCaprio to show the lifestyle of excess that the real Belfort lead. It is a refreshing change of pace for DiCaprio to take on a more comedic role. The moments where DiCaprio really shines is when he addresses the brokers at his firm with greed fueled speeches that seduce the money hungry brokers. This lets the audience know that these guys have no remorse for what they are doing. This is also the most unhinged DiCaprio has ever been, he takes everything to the limit, and delivers a bold and daring performance. DiCaprio has earned a much deserved Golden Globe win and Oscar nomination for his work on "The Wolf of Wall Street."

     Jonah Hill is a scene stealer. Hill plays Donnie Azoff who becomes Belfort's right hand man. Hill perfectly shows how someone can become enamored by this lifestyle. Hill brings his comedic timing and great use of improv to create an unsympathetic, and almost tragic character.

     The supporting cast shines. From Australian actress Margot Robbie who plays Belfort's second wife Naomi, is tough as nails and stands toe to toe with DiCaprio. Matthew McConaughey who plays DiCaprio's mentor, is impressive and hilarious in his short screen time. And Kyle Chandler who plays an FBI agent who puts the heat on DiCaprio. This is a credit to casting director Ellen Lewis, as every actor hits their mark.

     The film has received it's share of criticism for it's depiction of drug use and sex, as well as not focusing on the victims. But that is Jordan Belfort's story, it's not a family story. "The Wolf of Wall Street" is a story of wonton debauchery that is not for everyone. As for not focusing on the victims, this is a conscious move on Scorsese's part. The victims are faceless, indicating that anyone, even you, can be a victim of these people. And to tone down the debauchery would not tell the real story. This is what Scorsese does best, he tells honest stories about people we don't know about. Like with "GoodFellas" and "Casino" Scorsese gives us an inside look of not so savory people. The characters behavior is not celebrated but shown how it actually was. Scorsese puts a mirror up to our we want it now society with this film, and it's not a pretty world.

     "The Wolf of Wall Street" is really a cautionary tale of greed and excess. One of the best films of the year, playing at a theater near you.

At A Glance

"The Wolf of Wall Street"

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, and Matthew McConaughey

Run Time: 180 minutes

Rated R

Official Website: Here 

Now nominated for five Academy Awards:
Best Picture
Best Director- Martin Scorsese
Best Actor- Leonardo DiCaprio
Best Supporting Actor- Jonah Hill
Best Adapted Screenplay- Terrence Winter

Oregon State football continues skid

Oregon State dropped their fourth straight game to the University of Washington on Saturday. With the 69-27 loss, the Beavers fall even deeper into turmoil heading into the annual Civil War game with Oregon. We all know that the season started on a sour note, with a loss to FCS Eastern Washington. But then it appeared that the Beavers woke up. They won their next six games, leaning on a potent and dangerous passing game. Quarterback Sean Mannion was growing play after play. Receiver Brandon Cooks turned into the most electrifying play maker in the country, high pointing passes in double coverage, making defenders miss in the open field. Then Stanford made a trip to Corvallis.

Both teams entered the game with one loss. Stanford had lost two weeks prior to a Utah team that the Beavs had beat earlier in the year. Confidence was high for the Beavers. But that was soon squashed. The 20-12 losing effort left many fans with a lot of questions. Where was that high octane offense? Why go for it on fourth down so many times in field goal position? What happened with the defensive collapse at the end of the first half? Can this team bounce back again? The answer was a simple no.

USC then made a trip to Corvallis, and came away with a 31-14 victory over the Beavs. The offense looked inept, the defense was lost giving up a huge touchdown pass on USC's first offensive play. USC asserted their dominance over the Beavers by having two rushers go over 100 rushing yards. There was no rhythm on either side of the ball for the Beavers. A trend that continued the next week at Arizona State. The Beavers dropped their third straight game by a score of 30-17. The score looks close but that is not indicative of what took place on the field.

The Beavs looked flat, while this could be a result of playing their fifth late night game in a row. But this is the game they signed up to play, so their should be no excuses. The defense forced some punts, but the offense was unable to take advantage. As a result the defense got tired and began giving up big plays. Arizona State running back Marion Grice put up 118 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. With the absence of a rushing game Mannion had to put the ball in the air 46 times. While he did go a respectable 31 for 46, he did throw four interceptions.

Now we have a quarterback who is struggling and losing confidence. This is around the time that the offensive coaches would start simplifying the passing game, to restore confidence in a quarterback going into the latter part of the season. But not Mike Riley and Co., nope the passing philosophy continues to be long developing routes deep down field. This puts not only tremendous pressure on Mannion, but also on a struggling and shuffled around offensive line.

This brings us to Saturday against the University of Washington. This was a gut-check game. A game that was going to tell us what team are we going to see close out the season. The team that battled back through adversity to win six in a row? Or the team that has faltered three weeks in a row? Four quarters later we got our answer in a 69-27 defeat. Fans of this program have to be left speechless after a performance like that. The schemes on both sides of the ball were head scratching, starting with the defense. Washington was starting true Freshman Cyler Miles at quarterback, in place of injured veteran Keith Price. This game marked Miles first start at quarterback in college, this should have been an absolute gift for the reeling Beavers. The defense failed to put pressure on the young Miles, by only rushing four defensive lineman. This allowed Miles to scan the field and take what was given to him. This also showed that the Beavers defensive staff must have failed to know that Washington has one of the nations best running backs in Bishop Sankey. The defense was not in position to make any play against the all-everything Sankey, who had two touchdowns and 158 rushing yards at halftime! Thats right at halftime! Once again no halftime adjustments were made, as three Washington running backs went over 100 yards rushing. The offensive play calling continued to put Mannion and Co. into horrendous positions. With long developing pass routes and still no running game, the Beavers failed to put up any points in the first half. Mannion's confidence continued to be chipped away at all night. The only relief came when the clock hit zero in the fourth quarter, signaling the game was finally over.

There were two devastating blows as a result of the Washington lose. One, it marked the teams fourth straight lose. Two, we witnessed the University of Washington's program ascend, while the Oregon State program fell further into their descent. Washington did what Oregon State had to do, over come adversity and right the ship. Drastic moves may need to be made, because what recruits are going to want to be a part of mediocrity? Who is going to want to play in a stadium that is half new, half relic? Who is going to want to play for the "little brother" of the state? Questions need answers. The program is on life support, and needs to be resuscitated fast.

"Gravity" A Modern Sci-Fi Masterpiece

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Director Alfonso Cuaron delivers the science fiction masterpiece of the 21st Century with "Gravity." The film is a stunning visual achievement. George Clooney and Sandra Bullock deliver with aplomb.

"Gravity" brings to us the horrors of the unknown of space, juxtaposed with the beautiful scenery it provides. The film opens up with a breathtaking scene that last for minutes without any cuts. It is visually arresting. The cinematography makes the film. Usual Cuaron cinematographer Emmanual Lubezki crafts a magnificent film with his camera work. Lubezki captures the beauty of space with overall shots, as well as creating claustrophobia with point of view shots. The camera never stops moving, giving the audience the uneasy feeling of space.

The actors of the film deserve special mention. George Clooney as the veteran mission commander Matt Kowalski gives the film it's rock. Clooney plays Kowalski as a cool customer. Even when things seem bleak Clooney gives us reassurance that things will be okay. The star of the film Sandra Bullock gives a performance for the ages. Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone, a mission specialist on her first space exploration. Bullock allows us to connect with her character by wearing her emotions. Bullock takes us on an emotional roller coaster, as we learn about her emotional past, and with the chaos that ensues around her. What makes the performances even more impressive is that it's a two person show. Clooney and Bullock are the only characters we see on screen, and they keep our attention through the whole run time.

The credit of "Gravity" goes to director Cuaron. Cuaron, who also co-wrote and produced, created a sci-fi classic with layered themes. The heavy theme that is played on is the feeling of shipwrecked and abandoned, as well as the resilience to survive. Also with the spiritual theme, as Bullock grapples with the chaos around her, battling the inner demons of her past, and the will to survive. "Gravity" an instant classic that will be talked about for a long time.

At A Glance

 "Gravity"

Directed by: Alfonso Cuaron

Starring: Sandra Bullock and George Clooney

Rated: PG-13

Run Time: 90 minutes

Blog Post #2 "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia"

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Describe: "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" is an American show that started out on the station FX for it's first eight seasons. Season nine has been moved to the new sister network of FXX, with the show being renewed for a tenth season. The show airs on Wednesday nights at 8:30 pm. "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" falls under the sitcom genre. On Wednesday November 13, 2013 saw the season finale of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" with the episode titled "The Gang Squashes Their Beefs." This episode has the five main characters trying to make up for the wrong they have caused others during Thanksgiving. The primary characters of the show are Dennis (played by Glenn Howerton), Mac (played by Rob McElhenney), Charlie (played by Charlie Day), and Dee(played by Kaitlin Olson). The fifth main character of the show is Frank (played by Danny DeVito), who was introduced in the second season as Dennis and Dee's father. The show was created by stars Howerton, McElhenney, and Day. Ads that were shown during the episode were the new Call of Duty:Ghost, Payday candy bars, and Christmas Best Buy ads. 

Analyze: All the characters of the show are narcissist, so no matter what subject the show covers the characters only talk about how everything will affect them. The show is a comedy that deals with current subjects in a humorous matter. The characters almost always talk in a crude manner, and dress like normal people would dress. This gives us the audience the feel that these are everyday people. The show is shot with a hand held camera, giving us the feeling that we are there with the characters. The show isn't really like any other show on TV today, but it is reminiscent of "Seinfeld" with how the characters only care about themselves. What makes the show unique is the dialogue. How the characters talk and what they talk about is hilarious. They cover topical subjects but the way in which they talk about them with ignorance, is almost like a mirror of society today. We all have an opinion on events happening today and we like to voice our opinion, but not all of us do our research. This is how the characters talk, they have no idea what is going on, but they like to hear their own voices. 

Interpret: All the male characters disregard Dee as a dumb girl, even though she does have some pretty good insight. They make fun of her appearance and constantly tell her to shut up while the men talk. This often causes the gang to break up into teams against one another. Beside that I do not really see any stereotypes in the show. I do believe the commercials shown during the show do reflect the target audience. With the commercials of new video games and savings on consumer items come holiday season, and the show catering to the teen ages to adults, these commercials do fit the demographic. If I were a visitor to this country I feel this show would give an accurate depiction of US culture. The show is about people who are all about themselves and at the end of the day do not accomplish anything. 

Evaluate: The strengths of the show are the acting and the writing. Also what really helps the show is that the three leads created the show and have a hand in writing episodes. You can tell in their performances that they are comfortable with what they are acting out and the subject matter they are covering. One weakness of the show is the low prediction cost. You can tell while watching that the show is made on the cheap. This does not hinder the show, because it is focused on characters, but the horizons could be broadened with more funding. Critic reviews on metacritic.com have given the series positive reviews, that have continued to rise as the series goes on. Critics agree the the series is very similar to "Seinfeld." Noting that the comparisons are drawn from the characters. 

Engage: I became a regular viewer my freshman year in college, and have continued up to today. All of my roommates are regular viewers as well as my father. I am a fan of the show on Facebook, and enjoy the updates and insights they provide. Something that everyone might not know about the show is the actors Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney are married and have two kids together. The aspect makes the show even more funny because they usually clash on the show. 

Conclusion: While researching the show I learned that the show was Danny DeVito was brought on the show to boost ratings, as he was a huge fan of the show. What surprised me is how the show came to fruition. Series creator Howerton and McElhenney came up with the idea of of a guy telling his friends he may have cancer while he only wants some sugar for his large quantity of coffee. I guess it shows that we all start small. For more information visit the "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" website.

"12 Years A Slave" A Review

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                Wow is the only way to describe what you have just seen when you walk out of the theater after watching "12 Years A Slave." Director Steve McQueen, with his third full feature film, constructs one of the best films of the year. The film follows Solomon Northup, a born free African American who is abducted from his family and sold into slavery. Northup witnesses and endures the harsh truth of slavery in the 19th century antebellum south. 

             The performances of the film are astonishing. Starting with Chiwetel Ejiofor as Northup. Ejiofor's performance is something to behold. The portrayl of a man who has had his life ripped apart, and wants nothing more than to return to his family is harrowing. Ejiofor most profound moments do not come with dialogue, but with his facial expressions. As the film progresses and the horrors of slavery begin to take their toll, we are able to see the pain and suffering on Ejiofor's face. On the other side we get a portrait of ultimate evil by Michael Fassbender. Fassbender plays slave owner Edwin Epps. Epps is a deplorable human being, who has complete disregard of his slaves. Fassbender is terrifying in his performance, as he holds nothing back to give us a realistic image of that point in time. Famous faces show up throughout the film. Actors such as Paul Giamatti as a ruthless slaver. Benedict Cumberbatch as a God fearing plantation owner. As well as Brad Pitt as a Canadian laborer who befriends Northup. 

           The film is shot beautifully and honestly by cinematographer Sean Bobbitt. The film is shot with no bars held. We are forced to look at the brutality that was slavery in America. This is what makes the film work, it makes us look at the sins of the past to make sure we do not allow it to happen again. Famed composer Hans Zimmer provides an exceptional score for the film. Zimmer's score is completely heartfelt and is timed perfectly.

           McQueen, who directs is third film, creates an instant classic. "12 Years A Slave" is not for the faint of heart, but it is the most important film of the year. Surely to be nominated in numerous categories come award season, as well as front runner for best picture. A truly poignant film that will leave a lasting impression on you. 

At A Gance

" 12 Years A Slave"

Director: Steve McQueen

Cast: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Michael K. Williams, and Brad Pitt

Rated: R