february 2013
entertainment
the stentorian I ncssm
Upcoming Oscars celebrate
year’s best films
By Carl Yin
With the Oscars coming
up on Feb. 24, Hollywood
and the world is abuzz as the
best movies of the past year
hurdle toward undying praise.
Here are some thoughts and
predictions for the upcoming
ceremonies;
Best Picture
From the release of the
Oscar nominees in December,
Spielberg’s Lincoln has been
considered the consensus
frontrunner for the award.
However, Argo has emerged as
a favorite for the award, after
surprising many by winning
Best Picture at the Golden
Globes on Jan. 10. It has only
further supported its cause by
winning another prestigious
award for outstanding motion
picture from the Producers
Guild.
Argo depicts the happenings
of the “Canadian Caper”
mission during the Iranian
Hostage Crisis, where U.S. and
Canadian Intelligence created
a fake film Argo to try and
rescue six escaped Americans
trapped in Tehran.
Zero Dark Thirty, which
timelines the search for Osama
Bin Laden, is another movie
with a chance at the award, as
its director Kathryn Bigelow
won multiple Oscars in her last
film The Hurt Locker.
Best Director
At the Golden Globes, Ben
Affleck won Best Director for
his movie Argo, but did not
receive even a nomination
for the Oscar. Former Oscar-
winning director Kathryn
Bigelow and Quentin
Tarantino also didn’t receive
nominations for their well-
acclaimed films Zero Dark
Thirty and Django Unchained,
respectively. In the opinions
of many, all three directors
were snubbed by the often
controversial Academy. Out of
those who were nominated, it
seems that Steven Spielberg is
the frontrunner with Lincoln,
while many see Austrian
Michael Haneke as a potential
dark horse for the award for
his critically acclaimed French
language film Amour. Amour
depicts an elderly couple,
Georges and Anne, whose
love is tested after Aime has a
stroke.
Best Actor
After his supposed
“retirement” from acting and
short stint as a rapper, Joaquin
Phoenix returns to the spotlight
after being nominated for an
oirtstanding performance as a
PTSD-afflicted WWII veteran
in The Master. However, his
chances seem to be slim after
he denounced the Academy
Awards as “bull...”. The
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DANIEL DAY-LEWIS
LINCOLN
Lincoln, starring Daniel Day Lewis, is the nomineefavorite for several Academy
Courtesy of the University of Alabama
consensus favorite for this
award again goes to Lincoln, as
many think Daniel Day-Lewis
will go home with the award
for his role as Honest Abe.
Lincoln and its actors have
received twelve nominations
in all categories this Oscar
season.
Best Actress
Within the group of
nominees for this award, we
see the youngest and oldest
ever nominees. The youngest
nominee, Quvenzhane Wallis
for Beasts of the Southern
Wild, is only nine, while the
oldest nominee, Emmanuelle
Riva for Amour, is a ripe
eighty-five. It’s incredible how
well both performed at their
ages (Wallis makes me wonder
what I’m doing with my life).
Jennifer Lawrence is another
contender for the award for her
performance in the romantic
comedy Silver Linings
Playbook. Jessica Chastain is
seen as the slight favorite for
the award after starring and
shining in Zero Dark Thirty.
Best Foreign Film
Not only is Amour
nominated for Best Foreign
Film, it is also a contender for
“Best Picture”, “Best Director”
under Michael Haneke,
and “Best Actress” under
Emmanuelle Riva. Amour has
won over the praise of many
critics and is the clear favorite
for this Oscar.
Best Original Screenplay
Opinions are divided in this
race, as Amour, Zero Dark
Thirty, and Django Unchained
all have good chances at
winning the award. The slight
favorite for the award has to be
Tarantino’s Django Unchained,
which is his highest rated
movie (via iMDB) since his
1994 classic Pulp Fiction.
Moonrise Kingdom and Flight
were also nominated for the
award, and have slim chances
of winning the Oscar.
Latin America Fest: El Carnival
bolsters cultural pride and awareness
By Mia Madduri
Latin America Fest: El
Carnival, hosted by the Latin
America Fest Committee and
the NCSSM Hispanic Cultures
Club, performed several acts
for the school’s community on
Jan. 12.
The performance, student-
organized and produced, both
appreciated and celebrated
Latin American cultures.
El Carnival is a festive
tradition that occurs in
countries across the globe as a
celebratory finale right before
the rigorous observances of
Lent. Latin America Fest’s
theme this year involved a
group of friends adventuring
in Brazil, learning about the
culture, and partaking in the
festivities.
The MCs acted out different
scenarios, which included
a pair of friends aboard the
wrong flight, two brothers
looking for love, a married
couple, and a tourist entangled
with a Brazilian.
The show was composed of
dance acts such as March of
the Flags, Salsa, Mambo and
Merengue, Samba, Reggaeton,
Madden Brewster and Corey Su
Traditional Mexican Dance,
Tango, and Bachata.
Senior Caila Holley,
choreographer of Merengue
vs. Mambo and Reggaeton,
explained the significance of
her song choice. “Reggaeton
in March of the Flags
originates in Puerto Rico and
was originally a degrading
type of music, especially to
females, until some pioneers
cleaned it up and made it less
of an underground genre and
enabled it to go mainstream.
Courtesy of Ryan McCord
I also explained the origins
of Mambo and how it came
from Merengue and how the
songs we used came from the
Dominican Republic.”
Jive Samba, Girl from
Ipanema Cumbia, “Dia
de Enero” and “Put your
Records On, were the musical
acts in addition to a video,
Latin American Struggles in
America.
Senior Christie Jiang, one
of the leaders of Unichords,
said, “We always have lots of
fun with these cultural fests
since we get to explore other
languages and musical styles.”
Rosemary Munroe, a
Spanish instructor at NCSSM,
was the sponsor for this Fest,
and seniors Anabel Medrano
and Phoebe Castelblanco were
the two main coordinators.
Medrano said, “1 am
choreographing Bachata,
Salsa, and Traditional Mexican
dance. I think the music
selection is very authentic
this year, as well as being
modem and catchy. Traditional
Mexican dance is one of my
favorites because it has never
been performed at LAF, and
is an extremely popular dance
in Mexico. The song we are
performing, called el Jarabe
Tapatio, is one of the most
recognizable Traditional
Mexican songs.”