“Bohemian Rhapsody” The Movie: Queen’s Greatest Moments
Written By Paiton Graham
Rock ‘n Roll. Once one of the most controversial types of music in American history due to the drug use and sexual overtone that always seemed to follow, the effects of the acceptance of this genre are still being felt all around the world today. Many famous rock and roll bands and artists -- The Beatles, Eagles, Led Zeppelin, even Elvis -- have permanently left their mark on the music industry and what it has come to today. None more so than Queen, perhaps one of the greatest “rock” bands of all time.
Being one of the most popular bands of the 70’s, 80’s and even today, almost all Americans have grown up listening to hit songs such as Another One Bites the Dust, We Will Rock You, Radio GaGa and more infamously, Bohemian Rhapsody. Queen’s greatest hits have been passed down through the generations, and will most likely continue to be passed on and enjoyed for years to come.
On November 2nd, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, a film dedicated to retelling the story of Queen and how they came to be up until their Live Aid performance in 1985, was released. Directed by Bryan Singer (X-Men) and starring Gwilym Lee as Brian May, Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor, Joseph Mazzello as John Deacon, and Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury, “Bohemian Rhapsody” is a much awaited film that has resulted in a tsunami of emotion from critics and fans alike. The film runs for a total of 2 hours and 13 minutes and can be found playing near you at a variety of locations including almost all Marcus Theaters and the Avalon Theater in Bay View.
I grew up listening to Queen, and as a result, they have come to be my favorite band of all time. Thus, as soon as the first trailer for “Bohemian Rhapsody” was released I knew that this was a film that I was NOT going to miss. For weeks, the anticipation of the looming release date killed me. On Sunday, November 2nd, I was finally able to watch “Bohemian Rhapsody” at the Avalon Theater. Let me tell you, it was everything I expected it to be.
I loved the entire movie, and was not disappointed with it. Filled with witty humor, drama, and a little bit of love, I was constantly left wiping a stray tear from my cheek or unable to stop smiling. Rami Malek did a phenomenal job of portraying Freddie Mercury’s character. It was almost like seeing the real life infamous Mr. Mercury on the screen himself. The one thing that left me ever so slightly disappointed was the absence of the caring aspect of Freddie Mercury’s personality. At times, the movie portrayed Mercury as being somewhat cool or self centered, which wasn’t always the case with the real life music legend. My favorite part of the film by far was the rendition of Queens performance at Live Aid in 1985. The cast’s ability to portray such raw emotion through the screen left my heart beating, as if I was really watching their performance back in ‘85.
Sitting in the movie theater, surrounded by Queen fans singing along to “Bohemian Rhapsody”’s soundtrack, much like myself, I realized that what I was experiencing and being a part of, was only a fraction of the impact that was made upon the public by Queen. If the effect Queen had on a sole part of the Milwaukee community was this large, imagine what it must be like on a much grander scale. How many young adults, teens, and even adults were able to finally discover the type of person they were through music?
“Bohemian Rhapsody” is a definite 10/10 and I would recommend it to anybody who would listen. Filled to the brim with emotion, it is a must see for fans and “newbies” to the fanclub alike, and was absolutely worth the mere $8 it took to watch this stunning piece of cinematic artwork.
While Queen may no longer be performing or producing music, they will most definitely never be forgotten. Here, you can find a link to enjoy Spotify’s “This Is Queen” playlist, featuring tons of all time favorites such as Killer Queen, Don’t Stop Me Now, and of course, Bohemian Rhapsody.
Being one of the most popular bands of the 70’s, 80’s and even today, almost all Americans have grown up listening to hit songs such as Another One Bites the Dust, We Will Rock You, Radio GaGa and more infamously, Bohemian Rhapsody. Queen’s greatest hits have been passed down through the generations, and will most likely continue to be passed on and enjoyed for years to come.
On November 2nd, “Bohemian Rhapsody”, a film dedicated to retelling the story of Queen and how they came to be up until their Live Aid performance in 1985, was released. Directed by Bryan Singer (X-Men) and starring Gwilym Lee as Brian May, Ben Hardy as Roger Taylor, Joseph Mazzello as John Deacon, and Rami Malek as Freddie Mercury, “Bohemian Rhapsody” is a much awaited film that has resulted in a tsunami of emotion from critics and fans alike. The film runs for a total of 2 hours and 13 minutes and can be found playing near you at a variety of locations including almost all Marcus Theaters and the Avalon Theater in Bay View.
I grew up listening to Queen, and as a result, they have come to be my favorite band of all time. Thus, as soon as the first trailer for “Bohemian Rhapsody” was released I knew that this was a film that I was NOT going to miss. For weeks, the anticipation of the looming release date killed me. On Sunday, November 2nd, I was finally able to watch “Bohemian Rhapsody” at the Avalon Theater. Let me tell you, it was everything I expected it to be.
I loved the entire movie, and was not disappointed with it. Filled with witty humor, drama, and a little bit of love, I was constantly left wiping a stray tear from my cheek or unable to stop smiling. Rami Malek did a phenomenal job of portraying Freddie Mercury’s character. It was almost like seeing the real life infamous Mr. Mercury on the screen himself. The one thing that left me ever so slightly disappointed was the absence of the caring aspect of Freddie Mercury’s personality. At times, the movie portrayed Mercury as being somewhat cool or self centered, which wasn’t always the case with the real life music legend. My favorite part of the film by far was the rendition of Queens performance at Live Aid in 1985. The cast’s ability to portray such raw emotion through the screen left my heart beating, as if I was really watching their performance back in ‘85.
Sitting in the movie theater, surrounded by Queen fans singing along to “Bohemian Rhapsody”’s soundtrack, much like myself, I realized that what I was experiencing and being a part of, was only a fraction of the impact that was made upon the public by Queen. If the effect Queen had on a sole part of the Milwaukee community was this large, imagine what it must be like on a much grander scale. How many young adults, teens, and even adults were able to finally discover the type of person they were through music?
“Bohemian Rhapsody” is a definite 10/10 and I would recommend it to anybody who would listen. Filled to the brim with emotion, it is a must see for fans and “newbies” to the fanclub alike, and was absolutely worth the mere $8 it took to watch this stunning piece of cinematic artwork.
While Queen may no longer be performing or producing music, they will most definitely never be forgotten. Here, you can find a link to enjoy Spotify’s “This Is Queen” playlist, featuring tons of all time favorites such as Killer Queen, Don’t Stop Me Now, and of course, Bohemian Rhapsody.
‘VENOM’ Movie Review: Exciting To An Novice Eye
Written By Alexis Torres
CAUTION! SPOILERS PRESENTED!
Release Date: October 5, 2018
“It is an exciting and riotous production that is sure to attraction mass attention."
Release Date: October 5, 2018
“It is an exciting and riotous production that is sure to attraction mass attention."
Movie Plot Line: When journalist, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy), attempts to make a comeback following a scandal, but accidentally becomes a host for an alien symbiote that accords him with a violent super alter-ego: Venom. He then relies on his newfound powers to protect the world from the shady organization that is looking for a symbiote of their own.
Venom is a newer movie that features an exciting and fresh twist on the Marvel Comics, Venom. Although it doesn’t follow the traditional story line of the comics themselves, the movie is an exciting thrill to watch to the eye. A common conception is that a wide range of Marvel fans are against movies that don’t follow the comics exactly. The writers of Venom decided to give the anti hero his own story line, with an exciting twist. Though he has a violent nature, he is featured as a potential hero to the human race.
For those who aren’t wrapped up in what it should have been and instead focused on what it was, would have appreciated the exciting combination of action and sci-fi, along with its comedic nature of the cinematic delight. The movie is rated as PG-13 and is filled with 112 minutes of intense fights, heartbreak, comedy, and some mature word choices. While the fight scenes are intense, it is good to know that it is not along the lines of bloody, but is jam packed with hitting, punching, shooting, stabbing, car chases, and explosions. Venom also dables with a few jump scares featuring the beast itself — Venom; with his giant figure and keen fangs.
Comic Book Plot Line: Originally, Eddie Brock (the first and most infamous man to label himself as Venom) was bound to an alien symbiote after its rejection by Peter Parker. Venom’s all-consuming hatred ignited his sole desire to kill Spider-Man.
Venom is a newer movie that features an exciting and fresh twist on the Marvel Comics, Venom. Although it doesn’t follow the traditional story line of the comics themselves, the movie is an exciting thrill to watch to the eye. A common conception is that a wide range of Marvel fans are against movies that don’t follow the comics exactly. The writers of Venom decided to give the anti hero his own story line, with an exciting twist. Though he has a violent nature, he is featured as a potential hero to the human race.
For those who aren’t wrapped up in what it should have been and instead focused on what it was, would have appreciated the exciting combination of action and sci-fi, along with its comedic nature of the cinematic delight. The movie is rated as PG-13 and is filled with 112 minutes of intense fights, heartbreak, comedy, and some mature word choices. While the fight scenes are intense, it is good to know that it is not along the lines of bloody, but is jam packed with hitting, punching, shooting, stabbing, car chases, and explosions. Venom also dables with a few jump scares featuring the beast itself — Venom; with his giant figure and keen fangs.
Comic Book Plot Line: Originally, Eddie Brock (the first and most infamous man to label himself as Venom) was bound to an alien symbiote after its rejection by Peter Parker. Venom’s all-consuming hatred ignited his sole desire to kill Spider-Man.
As of late, Brock has aligned himself with being a hero. Having sought to atone for the violent rage of his parasite.
Movie Plot Justification: The movie is supposed to be an adaptation of the Marvel Comics Series featuring Venom, the villain. The movie’s main focus is on the repercussions of character, Carlton Drake’s nonsensical ideas on how to save the human race by coupling humans with symbiotes and sending them to space.
After watching the film, Venom, my overall opinion was that it is an exciting and riotous production that is sure to attract mass attention. It was an interesting twist to give character, Venom, his own plot-line that was nontraditional to one of the Marvel realms. The CGI graphics could be considered more R-rated since those used are those similar to the graphic features in the movie, Deadpool. Yet, it is still rated as a PG-13 movie.
The character, Venom, first made its first big-screen appearance in 2007’s Spider-Man 3 (featuring Topher Grace as Eddie), and plans have been in the making for this anti-heroic monster to have a solo movie ever since. The director’s possible intent was to stay true to the character when telling his story. His goal was to perceive Venom as scary, intense, and menacing, while also having a sense of humor in both his personality and appearance. The movie could be considered a professional success because he was able to capture all the elements of Venom’s personality.
After researching, the movie seemed to be a huge group collaboration. The director revealed that without the skills of the visual effects supervisor, Paul Franklin, the movie would not have been what it ended up to be. “I’d never done a fully CG character, I’d never done fight scenes with a character that wasn’t there, the amount of wire work and everything else, tossing people across rooms, or things like that, I’d never really done before. So for me, yeah, just shooting scenes with the character not there was all new to me,” says director, Ruben Fleischer.
The movie deserves 4 out of 5 stars for its originality and exciting plotline and features. Even though it does not stick to the traditional comic book plotline, who is to say it is wrong? The Marvel Universe is enormous. Three of the main worlds that are within this universe are the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Earth 19999) and Marvel’s Ultimate Universe (Earth 1610 and Earth 616). The world Venom takes place in is just a part of one. This cinematic creation should be highly considered for those who don’t mind fierce fights, anguish, humor, and some mature word choices. Together the elements of the movie create an exciting viewing experience that anyone can enjoy.
Sources
“Venom Director Ruben Fleischer Wanted to Honor the Comics.” Den of Geek, 3 Oct. 2018, www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/venom/276724/venom-director-ruben-fleischer-wanted-to-honor-the-comics.
staff!, Chosen by RT, et al. “Venom.” (2018) - Rotten Tomatoes, www.rottentomatoes.com/m/venom_2018/.
Travers, Peter. “'Venom' Review: This Mess of a Marvel Supervillain Movie Bites.” Rolling Stone, 4 Oct. 2018,
www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/venom-movie-review-tom-hardy-729583/.
Anderson, Jeffrey M. “Venom - Movie Review.” Common Sense Media: Ratings, Reviews, and Advice, Common Sense Media, 4 Oct. 2018, www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/venom.
“Venom.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 2 Oct. 2018, www.imdb.com/title/tt1270797/.
Watercutter, Angela. “'Venom' Is a Bad Movie With Great Cult-Movie Potential.” Wired, Conde Nast, 5 Oct. 2018, www.wired.com/story/venom-movie-review/.
“Venom Director Ruben Fleischer Wanted to Honor the Comics.” Den of Geek, 3 Oct. 2018, www.denofgeek.com/us/movies/venom/276724/venom-director-ruben-fleischer-wanted-to-honor-the-comics.
staff!, Chosen by RT, et al. “Venom.” (2018) - Rotten Tomatoes, www.rottentomatoes.com/m/venom_2018/.
Travers, Peter. “'Venom' Review: This Mess of a Marvel Supervillain Movie Bites.” Rolling Stone, 4 Oct. 2018,
www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/venom-movie-review-tom-hardy-729583/.
Anderson, Jeffrey M. “Venom - Movie Review.” Common Sense Media: Ratings, Reviews, and Advice, Common Sense Media, 4 Oct. 2018, www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/venom.
“Venom.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 2 Oct. 2018, www.imdb.com/title/tt1270797/.
Watercutter, Angela. “'Venom' Is a Bad Movie With Great Cult-Movie Potential.” Wired, Conde Nast, 5 Oct. 2018, www.wired.com/story/venom-movie-review/.
Beloved Chicken Patty Tunes
Written By Lisa Kvien
Reagan’s Chicken Patty Lunch songs have been a tradition since 2016. Many students don’t like school lunch, but they love the Chicken Patty songs. Mr. Onorato loves them both!
Morgan Canseco is a student who has some different feelings towards chicken patties. She really does not like the lunch, and gets cold lunch everytime chicken patty is served. She doesn’t really like or dislike the songs. Canseco says, “The songs are fine, but I guess they just aren’t for me.” She personally does not believe that chicken patties deserve their praise.
Daisy Kiekhofer also doesn’t like chicken patty lunch. She brings her own lunch everyday. However, she does enjoy Onorato’s songs. She says, “Not only are they catchy, but the music videos are also extremely enjoyable and funny.” Her favorite song is “Chickey, Are you Hungry.” Her parents even liked the song when it was played. A suggestion from Kiekhofer was to be louder when singing. She states, “there are times where the lyrics are hard to hear and the words blend together.” Besides that, she loves the songs. She does not feel chicken patties deserve as much praise as they receive, but she does believe that “if Mr. O’s passion is that great for the chicken patty, then I certainly respect him.”
Many students wonder why Onorato loves chicken patty day so much. His love for them is because he is a MPS kid. He grew up in MPS schools himself. His obsession with the chicken patty has been existing for over 30 years. Onorato loves all the school lunches. He can always count on the lunch staff. He usually brings his own lunch, but on patty day, he of course has to buy his favorite meal. Mr. O worships chicken patty lunch because of its longevity. He says, “Chicken patties and mock chicken are lunches that have been around since before I was in school. There are generations of people who have loved these lunches.” He feels, “People have their favorites, mine just happens to be the chicken patty, and those who disagree with me are wrong.”
The songs started off as a joke. The 3rd Friday lunch was changed in 2016 to make more kids come to school. Onorato was asked to make it a big deal. As he listened to the Hamilton soundtrack, his brilliant idea came up. He wanted to write a fun song. He was then challenged to put together songs based on the time of year. One of his favorite songs is “Little Chicken Boy,” a parody of “The little Drummer Boy.” The way he chooses the songs, is he has his wife and daughter pick; they find out what is popular. A trick he uses is seeing if songs have lines that end with an “ee” sound. Once the special song is selected, Mr. O thinks of hilarious lyrics over the weekend. By Monday night, the song is recorded in the Radio Reagan Studio so it's ready for Tuesday announcements.
The videos take more planning than the songs. If the goal is to have the video out on Chicken Patty day, then the song must be recorded before they start filming. For his “Thriller Patty,” he used the Stage Crew production and had students dancing. Onorato has liked making short films since childhood. He’s proud when he can make the videos in only a couple of days. He always has fun making the songs. He knows that he looks weird, crazy, and is embarrassing his daughter. He says, “But if I can make coming to school just a little more enjoyable for kids, then I'm going to keep doing it.”
Mr. Onorato’s Chicken Patty Songs are a part of Reagan. The students appreciate his work and many get a good laugh early in the morning when they are already upset about having to be at school. The songs improve the mood of the kids. Chicken patty may not be the best in some people’s opinions, but we have to appreciate all the effort put into the songs and videos. Chicken Patty songs will continue to make Reagan iconic.
Morgan Canseco is a student who has some different feelings towards chicken patties. She really does not like the lunch, and gets cold lunch everytime chicken patty is served. She doesn’t really like or dislike the songs. Canseco says, “The songs are fine, but I guess they just aren’t for me.” She personally does not believe that chicken patties deserve their praise.
Daisy Kiekhofer also doesn’t like chicken patty lunch. She brings her own lunch everyday. However, she does enjoy Onorato’s songs. She says, “Not only are they catchy, but the music videos are also extremely enjoyable and funny.” Her favorite song is “Chickey, Are you Hungry.” Her parents even liked the song when it was played. A suggestion from Kiekhofer was to be louder when singing. She states, “there are times where the lyrics are hard to hear and the words blend together.” Besides that, she loves the songs. She does not feel chicken patties deserve as much praise as they receive, but she does believe that “if Mr. O’s passion is that great for the chicken patty, then I certainly respect him.”
Many students wonder why Onorato loves chicken patty day so much. His love for them is because he is a MPS kid. He grew up in MPS schools himself. His obsession with the chicken patty has been existing for over 30 years. Onorato loves all the school lunches. He can always count on the lunch staff. He usually brings his own lunch, but on patty day, he of course has to buy his favorite meal. Mr. O worships chicken patty lunch because of its longevity. He says, “Chicken patties and mock chicken are lunches that have been around since before I was in school. There are generations of people who have loved these lunches.” He feels, “People have their favorites, mine just happens to be the chicken patty, and those who disagree with me are wrong.”
The songs started off as a joke. The 3rd Friday lunch was changed in 2016 to make more kids come to school. Onorato was asked to make it a big deal. As he listened to the Hamilton soundtrack, his brilliant idea came up. He wanted to write a fun song. He was then challenged to put together songs based on the time of year. One of his favorite songs is “Little Chicken Boy,” a parody of “The little Drummer Boy.” The way he chooses the songs, is he has his wife and daughter pick; they find out what is popular. A trick he uses is seeing if songs have lines that end with an “ee” sound. Once the special song is selected, Mr. O thinks of hilarious lyrics over the weekend. By Monday night, the song is recorded in the Radio Reagan Studio so it's ready for Tuesday announcements.
The videos take more planning than the songs. If the goal is to have the video out on Chicken Patty day, then the song must be recorded before they start filming. For his “Thriller Patty,” he used the Stage Crew production and had students dancing. Onorato has liked making short films since childhood. He’s proud when he can make the videos in only a couple of days. He always has fun making the songs. He knows that he looks weird, crazy, and is embarrassing his daughter. He says, “But if I can make coming to school just a little more enjoyable for kids, then I'm going to keep doing it.”
Mr. Onorato’s Chicken Patty Songs are a part of Reagan. The students appreciate his work and many get a good laugh early in the morning when they are already upset about having to be at school. The songs improve the mood of the kids. Chicken patty may not be the best in some people’s opinions, but we have to appreciate all the effort put into the songs and videos. Chicken Patty songs will continue to make Reagan iconic.
Lights...Camera...Action! The Educational Aspects About The Milwaukee Film Festival
Written By Abdullah Al-Bassam
The annual event of the Milwaukee Film Festival has provided the city of Milwaukee with inspiring, enjoyable films for all ages for 9 whole years. Its main venues are all around the city of Milwaukee, and an additional one in Whitefish Bay. People are able to attend this event at the Avalon Theater, Oriental Theater, The Times Cinema, Fox Bay Cinema Grill, and the Jan Serr Studio Cinema. This entertaining event started October 18th and ended November 1st.
Each year, the amount of films have been more abundant than the last. This last year, they had more than 300 films that were playing. The art of storytelling and filmmaking have connected to various types of culture, people and events in history. It continues to provide voices to the people who lack or just have no say in the world. This event is more than a regular theater that is playing the hottest new action movies or the sweetest romantic comedies.
The Milwaukee Film Festival is one way for people to gain some knowledge and insight on world culture, important people, and real-life events. Some of the movies will teach life lessons and moral standards. At the same time, it has been an efficient way to bring the city’s population together as a whole.
A variety of students from Reagan were able to direct some of the films that have been playing at the Milwaukee Film Festival. One of them was Jay Chontal who directed Cops and Robbers, which is a silent movie about a robber trying to escape a cop. Another student was Clayton Allen, a sophomore, who directed the film Incarnate and Malcolm Ramirez who directed Crescendo.
Additionally, some students from Reagan were on the teen film council as well. Daisy Kiekhofer, a freshman at Reagan, has been a member of the film council for 3 years so far. What she loves about the Milwaukee Film Festival is how the diversity is so strong at the time and place of the event. She enjoys the fact that there are an abundant amount of programs for diverse communities, such as the Black Lens Organization. She thinks that students will be able to gain knowledge if they are able to see at least one film on a field trip. The interaction of the filmmakers and the actors provides a productive, learning environment.
Mr. Duellman, an English teacher at Reagan, feels that students will also gain some insight when they participate in the event. What he admires most about the Milwaukee Film Festival is the fact that students will be able to look at life in different viewpoints. One thing he admires most about the film festival is, “The fact that the effort that is put in celebrating the film-makers of various ethnicities, genders, and sexual orientations also.”
Jay Chontal, a Reagan senior, enjoys directing at the Milwaukee Film Festival. He enjoys the nice atmosphere he gets each time he works by working with some of the other filmmakers who work at the same event. He additionally thinks that students will be able to grasp important lessons from participating in this film festival, and that they will be able to learn about different technological and educational aspects of the film, such as learning about identity. One of his favorite films is A Boy, A Girl, A Dream. He is amazed at the movie based on how the two main characters start off at a strong start and how they get to know each other by discovering personal, important traits about each other in such a small moment in time.
To learn more about the Milwaukee Film Festival, check out: https://mkefilm.org/
Each year, the amount of films have been more abundant than the last. This last year, they had more than 300 films that were playing. The art of storytelling and filmmaking have connected to various types of culture, people and events in history. It continues to provide voices to the people who lack or just have no say in the world. This event is more than a regular theater that is playing the hottest new action movies or the sweetest romantic comedies.
The Milwaukee Film Festival is one way for people to gain some knowledge and insight on world culture, important people, and real-life events. Some of the movies will teach life lessons and moral standards. At the same time, it has been an efficient way to bring the city’s population together as a whole.
A variety of students from Reagan were able to direct some of the films that have been playing at the Milwaukee Film Festival. One of them was Jay Chontal who directed Cops and Robbers, which is a silent movie about a robber trying to escape a cop. Another student was Clayton Allen, a sophomore, who directed the film Incarnate and Malcolm Ramirez who directed Crescendo.
Additionally, some students from Reagan were on the teen film council as well. Daisy Kiekhofer, a freshman at Reagan, has been a member of the film council for 3 years so far. What she loves about the Milwaukee Film Festival is how the diversity is so strong at the time and place of the event. She enjoys the fact that there are an abundant amount of programs for diverse communities, such as the Black Lens Organization. She thinks that students will be able to gain knowledge if they are able to see at least one film on a field trip. The interaction of the filmmakers and the actors provides a productive, learning environment.
Mr. Duellman, an English teacher at Reagan, feels that students will also gain some insight when they participate in the event. What he admires most about the Milwaukee Film Festival is the fact that students will be able to look at life in different viewpoints. One thing he admires most about the film festival is, “The fact that the effort that is put in celebrating the film-makers of various ethnicities, genders, and sexual orientations also.”
Jay Chontal, a Reagan senior, enjoys directing at the Milwaukee Film Festival. He enjoys the nice atmosphere he gets each time he works by working with some of the other filmmakers who work at the same event. He additionally thinks that students will be able to grasp important lessons from participating in this film festival, and that they will be able to learn about different technological and educational aspects of the film, such as learning about identity. One of his favorite films is A Boy, A Girl, A Dream. He is amazed at the movie based on how the two main characters start off at a strong start and how they get to know each other by discovering personal, important traits about each other in such a small moment in time.
To learn more about the Milwaukee Film Festival, check out: https://mkefilm.org/