Universal Halloween Horror Nights & The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

Damian Gordon
South Campus Bureau Chief

    There’s a place to find magic, monsters and more, all in one spot. It’s that time of year where Universal Orlando turns its park into another world with Halloween Horror Nights and the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

    Platform Nine & Three Quarters and Hogsmade look like the exact sets from the movie. The items and stores located around the area fit the theme and it’s not just “oh hey look, a ‘Men in Black’ shirt is being randomly sold in a wand shop.”

    Featuring many items and shops from the series, any one visitor can visit series shops like Ollivander’s Wand Shop or Leaky Cauldron, or try some Butterbeer or Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans.

    There is a dragon on top of the Gringotts Bank roaring and breathing fireballs, helping to promote the feeling that a visitor is in a world of fantasy.

    There is a new train system if you have both passes for parks on the same day. You can ride the Hogwarts Express to get to Islands of Adventure and back. Enjoy Harry Potter spectacles like Hagrid flying his motorbike outside window or Harry and company fighting Death Eaters on the train through silhouettes.

    The King’s Cross Station looks like its actual London counterpart. Appearing as if you went from Florida to the U.K in an instant after stepping foot onto the paved streets.

    Dining at the Hard Rock Café before entering Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) was great. The place was lively, and the service was fast and timely as the waiters were eccentric, only helping to enforce the larger than life experience.

    Just entering HHN, there was a creepy atmosphere about the park. A drastic change in appearance, compared to when we were there, earlier before.

    Ghoulish creatures and deviant masked figures now filled the streets, lunging at any incoming visitors that crossed their paths.

    I puffed up my chest and walked into the streets…ended up being the first one to jump like Scooby Doo into someone’s arms at the first ghoul to jump out.

    The horror houses featured this year are “Halloween,” “The Walking Dead,” “Alien vs Predator,” “Dracula Untold,” “Dusk Till Dawn” and more.

    It doesn’t matter if you saw something jump out the corner in one of the horror houses. When walking up to that same corner, a heart attack will come up just the same.

    Nobody is safe just because they left a horror house; there are zones throughout the park like the “Face Off” and “The Purge” sections.

    Entering “The Purge” is an effective scare tactic, because it feels like Universal just fell into complete chaos and everything is real.

    People walking around with chainsaws, machetes, and more are among some of the items these individuals carry around.

    A human auction takes place at certain times in the night and is entertaining to watch. Fans of the film will enjoy it that much more.

    “The Walking Dead” and “Dusk” are less scary and more so cool recreations of their respective settings. It’s surreal to walk through the prison or the bar in its respective series.

    Some advice would be to get an Express Pass to make the lines much shorter and the night will go much smoother.

    Entering the Halloween house went like this: “We’re all gonna to stick together.” Then it became “every man for themselves; throw the women for escape,” really quick.

    In an interview with the director of HHN on what’s the most effective type of scare, he said. “I think just when you boil everything down, pop out scare is the best scare… There’s a lot of tweaks and different ways you can do it,” said the director.

    “Rocky Horror Picture Show” was going on and it was a nice palate cleanser, as the cult classic engrossed and raised some eye brows in the audience. It’s weird, over-the-top and just the kind of entertainment needed after being scared half to death.

    Overall, it’s impressive that Universal is always changing up its park and adding new elements. HHN possibly has the scariest horror houses ever made, second only to living in an actual haunted mansion.

    If you can come out of a horror house with a smile (and pissed jeans) then something has to be going incredibly right. Right? Don’t judge. There is a reason why Universal and its Halloween Horror Nights are a staple of Orlando.

The "Alexander And the Terrible" is Not Terrible Review

Damian Gordon
South Campus Bureau Chief

    Disney must be putting something in the water, because it’s hard not to come out of their movies with a smile. “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” carries the mojo that makes people enjoy their projects.

    When Alexander Cooper (Ed Oxenbould) makes a wish on his birthday for his family to see what it’s like to have day like his, things start to get from terrible, to horrible and very bad for all of them.

    The film becomes increasingly entertaining when you see each members’ day get progressively worse. Ranging from catching on fire to getting attacked by a kangaroo, no one is spared from this unpleasant day.

    “Alexander” starts out following the same beats as any of these family movies. Kid is unpopular. His family members have better lives and don’t understand his struggles. Then, it takes that premise and shakes it up just enough to differ itself from the others in the genre.

    Adults, teens and children can all find something to enjoy and relate to here. Whether it be from relationship problems with a girlfriend, conflicts between work and family, or not being popular in school.

    It can’t be a Disney flick without a heartwarming moment; even Ebenezer Scrooge would have let out an “aww” while watching this.

    Steve Carrel’s character, Ben Cooper, is the most sympathetic as the positive dad, and even as his day gets worse, he tries to keep up the spirits of the family up. It’s hard not to adore Carrel in any character he portrays, as he brings that extra “something” to his role.

    Becky, played by Sidney Fullmer, is Alexander’s love interest and acts as if English is her second language: she nods back with an almost blank stare at Alexander’s comments. It’s unintentionally funny to watch this as the two share scenes together.

    It’s 2014 and Hollywood is still getting actors that barely look anything like the age they are supposed to be playing. It’s only second behind it’s obsession with remaking older films over and over again.

    The older brother, Anthony (Dylan Minnette) and his girlfriend Celia are a little jarring to watch as high school students at first because it’s almost like an old couple snuck into a random school and were role playing as students. He looks old enough to have been there to pick up his own kids.

    Paul (Mekai Curtis), who is Alexander’s best friend, was anything but that, as he was willing to abandon Alexander’s birthday for a more popular kid’s event on the same day. Which only hammers the fact that even his “best friend” is, at best, an acquaintance.

    I had a bad day coming into the theatre; then after leaving, the movie somehow made it better with the realization that my day was nowhere as bad as the characters in the movie.

    Nothing bad can really be said about this film as it does everything by the book, for the most part. It doesn’t excel and leave the viewer amazed, but instead leaves them having a feel good time.

    Going to see this is a nice pallet cleanse now that the summer blockbuster season has ended. “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day” is short, sweet and doesn’t overstay its welcome. With other films trying to be three hour epics these days, it’s nice to get out a film before grey hair stars growing.

Interview With An Underground Artist: Deniro Farrar

Tiffany Baez
Contributing Writer

(MIAMI)- Let’s face it; the music industry is competitive. There are hundreds, even thousands of artists who work hard to make it to the top. Some may say it’s a matter of luck, while others insist it’s all about talent and knowing the right people. Rising artist, Deniro Farrar on his Bow Down Tour with Denzel Curry, explains his journey on making it in the industry along with a few fun facts.

Where are you from?
-Charlotte, North Carolina

How long have you been in the Industry?
-Since 2010.

What advice do you give to aspiring artist?
-You get out what you put in. In order to see yourself succeed, you got to be able to but in 100 percent effort.

What made you want to start your career?
-God gave me the talent, and I’ve always loved music.

What’s the most difficult part of your career?
-Leaving my sons and family.

What is the most enjoyable part of going on tour?
-Getting to do what I love, performing.

Are you working on anything new?
-Yes actually, I’m working on a new EP with Ryan Hemsworth.

Who would be your dream artist to tour with?
-Kendrick Lamar and PartyNextDoor.

What are some artist that you listen to in your spare time?
-James Blake, Purity Ring, Little Dragon, Coldplay, PartyNextDoor.

What is your all time favorite food?
-Alfredo!!

Which artist would you say inspires your work?
-2Pac

What’s an interesting fact about you?
-I don’t smoke or drink and I have no piercings.

Do you have a quote that you live by?
-He who lives in fear lives not.

Any hobbies?
-I like exercising and running.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
-I live my life a moment at a time I never know what life will throw at me.

Deniro Farrar has a burning passion for his career as a performer, and he definitely couldn’t have made it alone. Throughout the interview he would reiterate how his kids are a huge impact on his career, being his biggest inspiration.

As we concluded the interview, he introduced me to his friends whom were all on tour with him and described how each one had a specific duty: cameraman, merchandiser, driver and promoter. Hence, there’s more than what meets the eyes.

“He’s Dead”

Damian Gordon

South Campus Bureau Chief

    When you come out of a horror movie laughing, something has gone terribly wrong…or maybe right in this case.

    “As Above, So Below” is about a team of explorers that search the catacombs of Paris, where they uncover the horrors beneath the streets they walk. Centering on Scarlett (Perdita Weeks), she uncovers a clue in Iran that leads her and others into madness.

    This one of the very few horror movies that gives legitimate reasons for why the characters can’t leave or have a reason to be there. It’s not hard to feel sympathy for these characters because they’re not dumb teens tripping into Jason’s machete.

    When everything starts to go wrong, everybody else but Scarlett is smart enough to want out. She has the power of being the lead actress, while everyone else with less screen time knows better— to fear for their lives. 

    Before it became somewhat of a joke, where the movie shines is in the character department. A sense of fear for many of these characters’ lives can be felt.

    Papillion (François Civil) was the standout actor as his charisma carried the movie; he played the team’s guide and it would be hard for anyone to not want to follow him. I look forward to seeing him in other projects in the future.

    A thing about these “found footage” movies is that when the interesting events start to happen, nothing can be seen because the camera is all over the place.

    There are points throughout the movie where it’s going “hey, there’s so much scary stuff going on,” while shaking the camera. That’s great Movie, except nobody can see any of it and it feels like you’re hiding the fact that nothing’s actually going on.

    “As Above, So Below” had some tension up to a certain point halfway through the movie, but then lost it due to the fact that nothing was happening and anything that did just received laughs from the audience.

    The acting all around was very solid; it was just the dialogue that dragged it down sometimes. Some of the moments would have been frightening if there wasn’t a horrible line before it making the crowd giggle.

    Scarlett enters a tomb to find a mummy lying on a table and says, “He’s dead.” Now, I may not know much about mummies, but one important fact about them is that they’re all dead.

    Near the end, everything gets crazy and it feels like an amusement park’s fun house gone wrong. This is where the handy cam truly works in pulling the viewer. 

    When the movie introduced Benji (Edwin Hodge), the token black guy, as soon as he came on screen, the first thought that came to mind was “R.I.P.” 

    In a claustrophobe’s worst nightmare, part of the movie features a trapped Benji, and I found myself squirming in the seat and even finding it harder to breathe.

    As an adventure movie with horror elements, “As Above, So Below” would succeed. It takes the audience on an entertaining quest, but it’s not so much on the level of being a horror film.

    This is a great date night movie. Its runtime is not long and whoever is scared of horror movies would definitely be able to watch this.

The Truth Behind Watch_Dog's Hype

Charles Fernandez
Social Media Editor

    After reading through countless reviews and comments all over the web, it’s become apparent to me that “Watch_Dogs” has become the next controversial game everyone is talking about. Unfortunately, “Watch_Dogs” is usually poorly judged for two specific reasons. It’s either because the reviewers’ criticism is based on the most successful open-world games like “Grand Theft Auto V”, or the game didn’t reach the expectations for the hype that it had. Regardless, the newcomer “Watch_Dogs” shouldn’t be compared to a game that won Game of the Year, when it hasn’t even fallen onto our laps yet. Due to all the hype it had pre-release, people have failed to put this game up on a regular scale and have immediately decided to compare it with the best of the best open world games—of course people are going to be disappointed. Why should anyone assume “Watch_Dogs” would be the start of the next generation of gaming, much less have a story that’s like no other? Because Ubisoft promised the best game to date and failed to deliver? That’s marketing, my friends! Even I had a different image of how this game was going to work, but it wasn’t at all disappointing, depending on how you come to view it. And although the story wasn’t the best, it was better than half of the campaigns I usually play. The fun isn’t found so much in the story, but in the action.

    “Hacking is your weapon.” This is what “Watch_Dogs” told us. People, including me, thought this game would have less guns and more hacks. This is one of the pitfalls we run into when we want to judge this game, and I almost fell into it, as well. Most people that I’ve seen play on Twitch or that have written harsh, negative reviews seem to rely too much on their guns and not enough on their hacking capabilities. A lot of players only use their hacking abilities to kill, rather than to SET UP for a kill. In a situation where you are told to kill off all of your enemies in a large room, people would resort to using guns, unless they find a grenade they can hack or a camera to look through. That kind of play-style feels like a dumbed-down version of “Splinter Cell Conviction.” But the game’s fighting potential comes when you effectively hack to set up kills rather than to just kill. Planning ahead is the key, and setting things up can get you far. You could go out guns blazing, or you could have fun with your tools. Here’s a scenario of what one hack can lead you to do.

    Start out with a Blackout to shut off all the lights in the room momentarily. Equip the silent pistol to take out a few enemies in the head with the time you have in the darkness. Before the lights come back on, leave a proximity mine next to the dead body closest to the group of guards that are still alive. Hide behind a wall, furniture, etc. As the lights turn on, the guards will notice all of the dead bodies that surround them. One or two will walk closer to examine the body that you booby-trapped, only to have it blow up in their faces. As the others are distracted by the explosion, take out an assault rifle, activate your slow-motion ability (Focus), and finish the few of them left. Easy to do, makes you feel like a boss, and you can rightfully say, “calculated.”

    All I’m trying to say is that if a player wants hacking to be a prominent tool in their game, experiment and find creative ways to deal with difficult situations rather than going in “Call of Duty” style. I’m not saying that the negatively scored reviews don’t know what they are talking about, but if the score is based on what you were expecting rather than the outcome, then you aren’t judging a game fairly at all.

    As for the driving in “Watch_Dogs,” it doesn’t feel too realistic and is a bit difficult to grasp in the beginning. It’s pretty difficult to make the turns on the road when reaching high speeds, but with some practice you get comfortable measuring how much you have to slow down to make a sharp turn. Luckily, almost every vehicle has amazing acceleration, which allows you to reach top speeds immediately after you slow down for a turn. The larger cars are faster than expected, which is pretty good when you want to deal with cops. The police are practically impossible to escape, at the hardest difficulty level, without using your hacking skills. But it’s in the challenge of finding creative routes to take in order to escape the police that make the cop chases one of the most enjoyable moments in “Watch_Dogs.”

    This is about as much as I can say about the single-player experience in “Watch_Dogs.” It’s not the best game I’ve ever played, but I believe it was definitely worth the $60, and I greatly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t set their expectations of the game to “unattainable.”

Cosplayers Host An Event During X-Men Days of Future Past

Ana Cedeno
North Bureau Chief

    During the premiere of “Days of Future Past,” fans flooded the theaters to watch the newest movie of the X-Men franchise. With all the hype that followed this release, fans were ecstatic, and they demonstrated it at the Sawgrass Mills theaters, where fans had a chance to take pictures alongside the X-men characters they loved—cosplayers of them, that is.

    Cosplaying, short for costume playing, is a hobby in which fans dress up as fictional characters from a myriad of series, cartoons, games and graphic novels. Starting out as a subculture, cosplaying has developed as an art form with fans often creating or designing their own costumes and showing their admiration for a particular character or franchise. Florida has a huge cosplaying community with several events in locations that vary from Miami to Tampa, overlapping each other every other week.

    One such event was set during the premiere of “Days of Future Past,” where local cosplayers dressed up as X-Men characters and surprised movie-goers and theater staff alike with their appearances.

    The event was set up by Mini Con, a small Florida convention founded by Damian Marchione, and consisted of a photo-shoot where movie goers were given the chance to take picture with cosplayers of their favorite X-Men. This was followed by video games as well as a midnight viewing of the movie.

    Mini Con is a small comic and art convention set in Plantation; although small, as its name might indicate, the convention has garnered attention due to its easy accessibility. The fact that it's small also gives it a more personal feel.

    “There's a real focus on community,” cosplayer Kerri Carter said. “They encourage the next generation. There's a real focus on family friendly programming and a lot of different things for kids to do.”

    This event was no exception, as fans of all ages were able to take part in the photo-shoot and the video game that later followed.

    The photo-shoot was set up at the entrance of the movie theater where kids and adults, cosplayers and non-cosplayers alike, got the chance to take a picture with the X-Men character of their choosing.

    “People don't expect us to be there, and get really excited when they turn the corner after buying their popcorn and there's a bunch of superheroes,” Kerri said when asked about the reception of the event. Kerri has been cosplaying for nearly nine years and was dressed as Shadowcat during the opening day.

    “It was great,” Kerri says. “I had personally really looked forward to the movie as I'm a huge X-Men fangirl, and it was awesome that I got to share the experience with others because of Mini Con.”

    Mini Con also did a similar photo-shoot for the premiere of “The Amazing Spiderman.” Future events of this nature have been announced and include the movie premieres of “How To Train Your Dragon 2” and “Transformers Age of Extinction.” 

    The pictures of the movie-goers who participated in the photo shoot are accessible at the Mini Con Facebook page. For more information on Mini Con and future events, visit  its Facebook page or Mini Con webpage at flminicons.com.

"In Harm's Way": The Road Traveled So Far

Charles Fernandez
Social Media Editor

    This brief analysis of “The Walking Dead: Season Two” will cover episode three, “In Harm’s Way,” while keeping spoilers to a minimum (which will be incredibly difficult). Oddly enough, to do this I’ll be speaking specifically about Clementine and Carver, the main protagonist and antagonist respectively; although this episode seemed to dwell more on the entire group than just those two characters.

    Players are finally given the chance to understand Carver’s way of thinking when he calls up Clementine to have a chat in his office. Carver believes that those who cannot contribute to a group are better off dead in this world that’s gone to hell. He values true leadership above all, and although Carver is aware that his actions are pretty messed up, he genuinely believes that they are the right decisions a leader should make in order to ultimately protect everyone in a group.

    While speaking to Clementine, Carver says, “Killing one in order to save many is part of survival. It’s one of the tough decisions that a weaker person couldn’t make. It’s why it falls to people like us to lead them to safety.”

    It sounds like a very utilitarian kind of standpoint. Carver’s words hold a certain level of truth, but his actions lack empathy. However, maybe empathy isn’t the best quality to have in a world of the undead. But if there is anything that Clementine’s group can agree on, it’s that the group would rather take their chances outside with the walkers than inside with their leader, Carver. That itself is a sign of a terrible leader.

    One interesting element about this episode is how Carver views Clementine. He sees incredible potential in the 11-year-old and believes she can become a great leader—whatever Carver considers to be a leader, anyways. He even compliments her by saying that he believes she was raised correctly and admits that she’s grown to be tough. Despite Clementine’s obvious feelings of hatred towards Carver, Carver constantly shows signs of interest in the kind of woman Clementine will grow up to be, especially in his last scene of the episode.

    Now let’s take a short trip down memory lane and recall the first season of Telltale’s “The Walking Dead.” Lee taught Clementine to become more independent and it’s in this episode that Clementine’s character development truly shines brighter than any other episode, by far. Regardless of the choices you make in this episode, there are many changes to take note of that the old Clementine would have never shown. Our more matured Clementine now has a say in just about every group decision. She independently takes action during the most extreme situations, and kills walkers all by herself, despite the difficulty for her. She also has developed a more realistic view of the world she lives in, all while maintaining her humanity. Although children are often looked down upon during the zombie apocalypse (because in a sense they are a nuisance), Clementine has continuously proven to be a valuable asset to the group, in spite of being a child.

    And the ending… my god, the ending to this episode gave me goose bumps. The statistics showed that most players “took drastic action” during the episode’s final decision. For Clementine to be solely making the final decision, at the spur of the moment, highlights just how far Clementine has come. From the scared little girl hiding in a treehouse, to someone willing to do what very few men in the world would have the heart to do, Clementine proves she can take drastic action to save someone’s life.

    “In Harm’s Way” emphasizes the differences between the group members’ distinct personalities (more than just Clementine and Carver). The writers accomplish this by demonstrating how unique personality traits can directly influence the situations characters experience. For example, Sarah’s oblivious personality causes her to speak and interrupt Carver while he is giving a speech. Carver then becomes angry and commands Carlos, Sarah’s father, to discipline his daughter by smacking her across the face. Carver’s oppression accentuates his followers’ characteristics. No matter how you cut it, Carver makes sure that your group is disciplined as he sees fit. As a by-product, the episode highlights the unification of a once-uncooperative group because of the trials they must endure.

    I personally believe “In Harm’s Way” was the most intense episode of the series, despite sacrificing player action for more dialogue. Telltale played with their strength, storytelling, and really did an amazing job delivering this dark episode. I cannot wait to see what the next episode has in store for us.

Iggy Azalea's "New Classic" Album Review

Bella Riccitelli
Sports Editor

    While being a female rap artist is considered taboo by many, rapper Iggy Azalea changes the game with her most recent album titled “The New Classic.”

    Varying in sounds and featured artists, Azalea surely outdid herself with her debut album. The CD includes songs with a wide array of themes as well. While some songs provoke wild dance moves, others provoke tears. However, every song on “The New Classic” seems to have at least a small part in it that plays as a reminder of all of the success Azalea has achieved.

    Something that everybody can agree on about Azalea, is that she doesn't present herself as a young, naive girl like most women do in the social media world. She's tough, authoritative, and she won't stop until she gets to the very top. When listening to “The New Classic,” that is something that she demands to be heard about herself.

    The first track on the album, titled "Walk The Line," really sets the mood for most of the remainder of the album. Azalea raps about her new found fame, and lets all of her listeners and haters know that she isn't going anywhere. She intends on remaining where she is in the music industry, even if it is alone.

    "Fancy," the third single released from her debut album, is a huge success, as it was her first song ever to chart on Billboard Top 100 in America. With a song as catchy as "Fancy," Azalea's music video for the song, a remake of the 1995 comedy “Clueless,” will never be forgotten.

    As the first and lead single of the album, "Work" is in my opinion, one of the best songs Azalea has ever written. "Work" focuses on the fact that Azalea spent a long period of time as a young teenager working hard to save money to move to the states. Then, at 16 she moved to the city of Miami without her family and made a living on her own as a rap artist—which is what got her to where she is now.

    Throughout almost every song, she appears to be demanding respect from whoever might be listening. However, every good album must include a couple of heart-felt songs, which “The New Classic” does.

    "Rolex," second to last on the album, really details Azalea's rough split from fellow rap artist A$AP Rocky. Azalea raps about the fall of their relationship, how she tried to make it work while he preferred to let it go, and most of all how she misses the times that they shared. I believe that one of the saddest lines from "Rolex" is, "I got you tatted and you took off before the ink dried off my hands." For obvious reasons, any break up song is sad to hear. Considering that, hearing it from a tough-girl rapper like Azalea only makes it sadder. By the time this song is over, I always feel crestfallen, as if I'm the one who just got out of a relationship with A$AP Rocky.

    Following right after "Rolex" is "Just Askin'." In "Just Askin'," Azalea raps as if she is having a catch-up conversation with her former boyfriend, and she displays just a hint of jealousy. A line from the song to illustrate this is, "What's up in your world? And are you still coolin' with that lame girl?" Also, "You wanted something more than what we had. What's up with her? She ain't all that." Towards the end of the track, what seems to be voicemails left from a female to a male's phone is played. In these voicemails, listeners hear a girl angry and then crying because her former boyfriend has moved on.

    I am so glad that the most emotional songs of the album are placed as the final two. While listening to “The New Classic” from start to finish, listeners hear that Azalea is just trying to live out her dreams. She wants the world to know how she feels about her place in this world, and she plans on never giving up. However, listeners also are given a glimpse into not only her mind, but her heart as well.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica Review

Ana Cedeno
North Bureau Chief

     If someone offered you a wish, anything in the world would you do it? What would you be willing to give up for it?

     This is a theme explored in the anime “Puella Magi Madoka Magica,” a short series that takes the magical girl genre in a whole new direction.

     It starts off like a usual shojo anime and has a bit of a slice of life touch to it, as it introduces the main character, eighth grader Madoka Kaname, and her friends. They go through their daily routines and deal with school, boys, and the usual things that girls experience at that age. The anime continues on this vein for most of the first episode, during which we are introduced to the character of Homura Akemi, an aloof transfer student who leaves Madoka vague threats about remaining the same and keeping her life as it is.

     The fantasy element comes in later in the show when Madoka finds a creature called Kyubey, who offers her and her friend Sayaka a contract. The contract grants any wish, but in exchange the girls obtain powers and must become Puella Magica (Magical Girls) and defeat witches, evil creatures who create mayhem and chaos.

     Kyubey explains that “If magical girls are born from wishes, witches are born from curses,” and further explains that it is a magical girl’s job to protect innocent people from the evil of witches.

     Joining the cast are also Mami Tomoe and Kyoko Sakura, both veteran magical girls who react to Madoka and Sayaka making a contract in different ways.

     This leaves the anime set up with the usual formula for a magic girl series—an ensemble of different girls who must use their magic powers for the good of all and defend their city from the evil witches. Seems simple enough. Sounds like a good time, a feel-good happy anime that you might watch with your younger siblings or friends on a lazy summer afternoon.

     It’s exactly in that deception that lies the brilliance of Madoka.

     Although it presents itself for the first few episodes as a feel-good series, it isn’t long before the death and horror hiding behind the pink bows and happy school days tone starts showing through. The first death of the series leaves you staring at the screen with a dreadful realization of what you’re in store for.

     The setting of the death, as well as the buildup, work masterfully to fill the viewer with that well-known, warm fuzzy feeling that comes from a feel-good series before ripping it all away with a swift decapitation scene. That’s just the beginning.

     The characters are put through even more trials and traumas as they learn the hidden horror of what Kyubey’s contract entails and what being a magical girl is really about. As the story progresses, Madoka finds out that Kyubey has been using her and all of the magical girls for his own means. He has also been keeping secret from them the fact that after being used by him, all magical girls become the very witches that they fight. In exchange for their wishes Madoka and the other magical girls have handed over their souls and doomed themselves to die and be reborn as monsters.

     While this anime may sound depressing, it is actually quite brilliant. Madoka Magica does exactly what it sets out to do—to completely deconstruct the Magic Girl genre. It brilliantly succeeds by putting in twists and making it the exact opposite of what you would expect from an anime like it.

     As a shojo, this anime looks and feels like something reminiscent of Card Captor Sakura, while the transformation sequences makes you think of childhood days watching Sailor Moon. It also has a very girly ambience, with one of the characters agonizing over a high school crush.The cutesy art style not only serves to accentuate the innocent, but also the horrific elements of the anime.

     While on the subject of the art style, the fighting scenes deserve special mention. The animation for the scenes has touches of surrealism that appear whenever a witch’s labyrinth is present.

     Although it might not make the witches that scary, at least not to the older audiences, the animation sequences are really incredible and give the scenes with the witches an eerie feel that helps the episodes stand out.

     Although only 12 episodes long, the anime manages to deliver its story at a good pace and wraps it up with a final battle and bittersweet conclusion that keeps to both the fantasy and tragic tones of the series.

     In its 12 episodes, we also get to know the characters fairly well as their backstories are revealed and they are fleshed out through the episodes. Such an example is Homura, who starts off as the antagonist. Throughout the series, Homura goes from being the most distant character to being one of the most empathic characters in the anime. The big reveal of her past and the reason behind her actions is one of the most heartbreaking moments in the series.

     The anime was directed by Akiyuki Shinbo and written by Gen Urobuchi, with original character designs by Ume Aoki.

     Overall, “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” is a good watch. It follows the usual paths of a shojo with some plot-twists incorporated into it, that help make it into an anime that truly sticks with you.

Farewell To Cristina Yang

Ashley Lokken

Central Bureau Chief

    As all of us Grey’s fanatics are aware, season 10 is coming to a close and Cristina Yang’s departure is approaching. Cristina Yang has been an extremely important asset to “Grey’s Anatomy” numerous years of success. Her brilliance, dry sense of humor, and overly confident cocky demeanor has graced audiences for a fantastic 10 years. But the exact reason for Sandra Oh’s departure is unknown.

    “It’s been a great privilege to play the character of Cristina Yang on GA and I am both sad and excited to see where this, her final season will take her,” Oh said in a statement to Entertainment Magazine. “It was an emotional and deeply creative decision for me and I feel fully supported by Shonda and the writers. It’s so rare in an actor’s life to be able to explore and grow a character so fully, so completely. I am profoundly grateful to everyone at GA for the opportunity.”

    Lucidly, the decision didn’t come easily for Oh. “Creatively, I really feel like I gave it my all, and I feel ready to let her go,” Oh told The Hollywood Reporter.

    In the most recent episode of “Grey’s Anatomy,” Cristina makes the crucial decision of determining which sister will receive a new heart, eventually leading to the death of the other sister. The unbearable guilt and grief then takes over Cristina, causing her to state the words: “What’s the point? What’s the point of anything?”

    Taking this into account, one can determine Cristina’s departure from the show will most likely be similar to her real life reasoning for exiting the show. Possibly coming to the conclusion she has done her part in “Grey’s Anatomy,” her duty is done, and she is rightfully ready to retire.

    It may seem as if Oh is not affected personally by this decision, but in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter she shows otherwise.

    “I’ve gone through a lot of therapy over this,” she said with tears in her eyes. “I started thinking about it because I had to prepare myself. I gave myself two years to emotionally let go. At the end of last season, Shonda took me aside and said, ‘What are your thoughts?’ I said, ‘I’m ready.’”

    Oh shared with her co-stars about her upcoming exit at the table read for the show’s 200th episode and stated the decision “doesn’t feel real yet.” She claims Shonda Rhimes has supported her every step of the way. “For the first time, at least for my character, you actually have an endpoint, which in series television you never or very rarely have” Oh proclaims.

    “One of the best days of my life as a writer happened the day Sandra Oh walked in my door to audition and forever changed the course of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ with her brilliant, nuanced portrayal of Cristina Yang,” Rhimes says.

    In retrospect, Cristina Yang has touched the lives of innumerable amounts of Grey’s fanatics, including my own. Yes, her departure from the show is saddening, but we should have the utmost respect for Sandra’s decision and have faith that Shonda Rhimes will continue the success of the show like she has done for an extraordinary 10 years of airing. We will never forget the sensational Cristina Yang.

Concert Tickets Over Everything

Damian Gordon
South Bureau Chief

    Drake came into town and all the girls are losing their minds over it. I went online to see how much his tickets were because I like his music. When the page opened up I saw three zeroes and a one. I had to back up from the computer and clean my glasses. Surely it had to be a mistake or the page just glitched or something. Nope, when I refreshed the website the price was still 1,000 dollars.

    That’s way too much for an hour at most of playing songs currently on someone’s iPod. That’s a roundtrip plane ticket to Japan. That’s 500 dollars times two (for those who are bad at math out there).

    Hey, anyone can spend their money anyway they want, but I am pretty confident that the majority of the audience is having their parents or boyfriend buy the tickets. Some poor guy out there is paying 1,000 dollars for his girl to see another man; that's just a slap in the face right there.

    Pay that buddy you still owe money to or take your lover somewhere more expensive than Burger King. Pay two bums to fight; anything would be a better use of 1,000 dollars than concert tickets.

    If I'm paying that kind of money for tickets, Drake better pay for my dinner, take me to meet Lil Wayne, and his mom. Those kinds of prices are made for screwing people, not entertainment. Drake’s not a politician...yet at least.

    Now, there were cheaper seats in the nose bleeds for around 100 dollars, but even that is still ridiculous, considering that is the price of front seat tickets for most concerts. There are better ways to spend money. And if someone went to this concert, that’s great; I hope they had a fun time, at least.

    With his shows only a quarter filled at some arenas, Kanye West recently found out the hard way that no one was willing to pay that kind of money for his concerts—especially with an album that many fans did not warm up to that well.

    Just take caution with what you buy, because there are probably people who paid 100s for a Ja Rule & Chingy concert 10 years ago and regret that every day now. Remember them? Yeah, neither does anybody else.

The Other Woman

Bella Riccitelli
Sports Editor

    There is nothing funny about finding out that your husband is cheating on you. There is especially nothing funny when his mistress knocks on your front door in a stripper outfit. However, Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann and Kate Upton, stars of “The Other Woman,” made that situation into one of the funniest movies I have ever seen.

    With previous projects such as “The Notebook” and “My Sister’s Keeper,” it is no surprise that the director of “The Other Woman,” Nick Cassavetes, directed yet another box-office topping film.

     The movie starts with the trendy, firm, and stylish Carly, played by Cameron Diaz, in love with Mark (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), a charming financer. Scenes show the two happily and passionately in love, until suddenly it’s time to meet Carly’s father and Mark spits out an unbelievable excuse about the pipes in his home. When Carly doesn’t believe her boyfriend’s excuse, she takes it upon herself to drive to his home in a skimpy plumber’s outfit only to have the front door answered by Mark’s wife, Kate (Leslie Mann).

    After Carly and Kate meet and talk to each other a couple of times, they become friends and decide that it is their job to take Mark down, rather than just leaving him to suffer alone in life.

    Once the women become comfortable enough with each other, the good parts begin to flow. These two furious women spend most of their time plotting schemes and following Mark around. During one specific outing, they find out there is yet another woman.

    Mark’s young girlfriend, Amber, played by swimsuit model Kate Upton, they are spotted at the beach. When given the chance, the two women approach Amber and inform her about themselves and their situations. After hearing what a sleaze her boyfriend is, Amber joins their team to take Mark down once and for all and teach him a valuable lesson.

    While this was Upton’s first film, she did an incredible job at acting, and it was unnoticeable that she lacks any experience in the industry. In contrast to that, Mann and Diaz’s characters were tear-jerking funny as always. I’ve never seen a movie with Mann in it that I didn’t enjoy, and I’ve never seen a movie with Diaz that did not make me want to be her.

    Types of revenge that the women come up with include estrogen hormones blended into Mark’s morning smoothie and laxatives poured into alcoholic beverages of his while out in public. Then, of course, the big bang: ruining not only his career, but his life as well.

    This movie is hilarious. I haven’t stopped thinking about it and laughing about random scenes since I saw it. Although bits of the movie were quite predictable and other scenes were just too played out or too obvious to be an attempt at comedy, “The Other Woman” ended up being one of the best romantic comedies I have seen.

    These women almost feel like your heroes by the end of the film. Their roles are so strong, funny and sneaky that you even feel as if you want to be their friend, to ride around town with them and crack their good-for-nothing man.

    “The Other Woman” is definitely female friendly. If I were to have a girl’s night out, this movie is the movie I would bring my girlfriends to, in order to guarantee laughs and to bring out strong friendship vibes.

    I strongly suggest “The Other Woman” to anyone who has yet to see it. Go watch it immediately with your best friend, and if you have seen it already, go watch it again.

Two Albums To Keep Your Two Feet Moving

Damian Gordon

Staff Writer

Pharrell Williams: Girl

    Pharrell is on top of the world right now with multiple chart topping songs under his belt. So what better time than now to release his new album Girl to the masses.

    The album is filled with influences from funk and neo soul to even touches of orchestral music. Its diverse selection makes every tune sound distinct from the next one.

    The catchy lead single from the album, “Happy” has been playing on any object that sound comes out in. Someone could go into a cave in the middle of a forest and the birds would probably be chirping that song all day there too.

    Pharrell is the kind of artist where more of him isn’t necessarily better, with over 40 minutes of his singing becoming grating with the opening song” Marilyn Monroe”. The first half is plagued with mediocre songs that make the skip button a very familiar action.

    The bright spot of the first half is the duet with Justin Timberlake called “Brand New”, where Pharrell’s voice actually works. It’s a very rhythmic song that makes you want to dance with Timberlake’s angelic like voice.

    One track that really highlights what’s so bad with the first half is called “Hunter”, making me want even more to put a muzzle on Pharrell with his  irritating falsetto. The song has cringe worthy lyrics like” Duck Dynasty's cool and all, but they got nothin' on a female's call, I’m a hunter, is that a tree is that camouflage? Come get eaten by the damn mirage”.

    Girl is concept album that could have been better executed in certain parts, but has enough saving graces that make it worth a listen.

Foster The People : Supermodel

    Played in Fridays restaurants, Gap commercials and any place that wanted the youth to think they were hip too. Foster The People took the nation by storm with hits like “Pumped Up Kicks”, from their 2011 album Torches.

    One of the best albums of that year with every song automatically catching you the second it played, it’s Supermodel, a deserving successor to their last effort.
an understatement to say they are a unique group. Now here we are in 2014 and the indie pop-rock band has returned with

    The electronically focused sound featured on Foster’s previous outing has taken a backseat for more guitars and a variety of other instruments from different parts of the world. The content has also taken a more aggressive turn at some points, talking about societal problems, personal demons, etc.

    Gone are the tunes that were stuck in your head all day, instead to be replaced with songs barely to be remembered.  At least that’s what I would have said on my first listen, but then something happened…I couldn’t stop listening.

    Supermodel has its own version of “Pumped Up Kicks” with lyrics just as dark, covered up by joyful singing by leader singer Mark Foster. “Best Friend” will have you dancing in a matter seconds, not even realizing that the songs talking about drugged out friends.

    There aren’t really any gripes to be found. That only helps to speak volumes on how much deeper and content filled it is.

    All the elements found in Supermodel succeed in many aspects that come together to make a well-rounded experience. It’s no surprise that Foster The People started a trend many other bands try to emulate, but can’t because originality can’t be copied and manufactured (well expect for the copies of this album flying off shelves).

How I Cried During the Finale

Charles Fernandez
Social Media Editor

    I want to start off by saying that reading this review will probably last longer than the finale of How I Met
Your Mother and I am notifying all readers of major spoilers ahead! You have ben warned! I have so much to say about this finale that I didn’t like and the mother’s death was the least of the problems, so I’ll leave her off for later.

    First of all, Barney’s (Neil Patrick Harris) ending was horrible. The fact that Barney started crying happily about having a baby made me very disappointed with its ending. The problem with this scene was that it made Barney completely fall out of character in a very unrealistic fashion. It isn’t even character development since the change occurs in an instant. Let’s recap on what Barney said related to having a daughter: “I’m about to tell a sad story," he began. "Glad someone can be happy on a day of a tragedy ... My life is over. Happy Notafather’s Day!”  When the doctor asked if Barney would like to see his daughter, he responded with, “Nah, I’m good”. THIS is Barney. Barney only asks for 3 things throughout his life: Number one is to sleep with as many women as he can, number two is to always have a suit near him and number three is to have a legendary life. Robin (Cobie Smulders) was the only case that managed to change Barney’s craving for a woman in bed every night, but even that took nearly 7 seasons to do. However, if anything were to stop Barney from achieving any of these three things, he would be 100% against it.
Barney would look at a baby and only consider it a thumb-sucking nuisance and a roadblock to getting women in bed with him. A baby, in Barney’s eyes, SHOULD be the epitome of bad luck. But instead, the show passes the touching scene over as if he has matured and really grown up. Of course most people would like to believe that, but in all honesty, as soon as he went back to sleeping with women, Barney reverted to his previous self. If you recall the Halloween party Barney was a part of in the finale, Barney said, “Marshall (Jason Segel), guess who’s digits I just scored? The slutty police officer-“and then he notices Robin, “ -er‘s tax attorney! Haha, saved it…”

    Maybe the new “I’m- in-love-with-Robin” Barney would have been crying and happy to have a baby (which is still a bit questionable), but the development from committed to player occurred to quickly to be believable.  Barney, as a player, is the last person who would be crying tears of joy and telling his arch-nemesis, “You are the love of my life”. It was touching, sure, but it should’ve never happened. When Lily (Alyson Hannigan) questioned Barney for the man he was, Barney replied with my favorite quote of the episode, “That’s me. Can I please just be me?” It saddened me that Barney’s ending didn’t even allow him to be himself. I can see that without the addition of the baby, Barney would have remained a very static character and not have changed from the beginning of the plot to the end. Yet, the whole baby scenario was a very unrealistic and bad way to go about making him more dynamic.

    Number 31 was a total excuse for Barney’s better ending! As heartless as it may sound, Number 31 was literally just a “baby carrier” misled by Barney, as all other women are, who didn’t get any screenplay, much less even given a name. This may very well be, the cruelest and most forced way of using a character I have ever seen in my life. And Barney thought HE had a sad story to share, but the heartless manner of using Number 31 for Barney’s personal story makes it funny and this is a comedy show. So, I’ll give kudos to that, I suppose.

    The scene I hated the most in the finale was when Marshall turned around to speak to the weird kids behind their booth. Nothing was more irritating than watching Marshall say, “Hey, you kids! Do you have any idea what happened right here in this very bar?” The kid asks him what happened and Marshall replies with, “Just… all kinds of stuff.”… What? I know some people took this scene as really cute to say, but this just felt like we hit a whole new level of corny, that it even became uncomfortable to me. Just all kinds of stuff? Care to elaborate on that, Marshall? All kinds of stuff happen around the world every day. All kinds of stuff are going on in Russia. All kinds of stuff are happening inside our bodies. All kinds of stuff happen inside a bathroom. I was left confused about the whole scene when the kid just turned back around to talk to his friends, as if telling Marshall, “Cool story, bro”. A much better replacement for that scene could have been with Marshall telling the gang, “I’m really gonna miss spending time with you guys here. ‘All kinds of stuff’ has happened in this bar.” Sure it’s a cliché scene, but then again, so is the majority of the show, which isn’t necessarily bad.

    Robin was never able to stay in one place once she became very successful and that was the overall reason why Barney and Robin got divorced. So if Robin’s traveling is what separated them both, how will this even help Ted (Josh Radnor) when he wants to date Robin? Is Robin at her house at the end of the story because she finished working? Can she now stay in one place? If so, then why doesn’t Barney go back to Robin? Barney did tell Robin, after all, that he loved her and vowed he would always speak the truth. I don’t think the baby would stop Barney from being with Robin because Robin likes the idea of having a child, which was why she cried a lot when she found out she wouldn’t be able to have kids. And something really makes me doubt that Barney and Number 31 are in a loving relationship. So I still have no idea why it ended the way it did.

    Even the kids at the end of the story had their problems. In some mysterious way, the daughter deduces that the whole story was about how Ted loved Aunt Robin. This is apparent when the daughter says “This is a story about how you are totally in love with Aunt Robin.” I don’t think anyone can say that this 9 season long comedy show that followed the lives of a whole gang with many interesting adventures and troubling relationships was just about “how much Ted loves Robin”. She continues on saying, “And you’re thinking about asking her out and you wanna know if we’re ok with it.” I must be missing something here because the daughter has now become the detective Ted has always wanted to be. The son agrees with the daughter, so he seems to be a genius too. This whole scene just forces Ted to go and ask Robin out for the “happy ending”. This scene was  way too rushed, didn’t make sense, and was the lowest point for me in the finale. Also, what a huge insult on the mother this has been! Instead of this whole story being about her, Ted spoke about another chick he liked and barely spoke anything about Tracy. Nice going, Ted.

    All of my other criticisms are a bit smaller. I’m sure many of us viewers noticed that the Mother’s death seemed like a really forced scene, as well. We weren’t even given an explanation for Tracy’s death, only that she got “sick”. Hope none of the readers die during Flu Season. This came off as if Tracy was only an obstacle standing in the way of Ted and Robin’s happy ending. And gosh darn it; Tracy must be eliminated to see that happy ending!

    I didn’t like the fact that Ted had way too much in common with Tracy (Cristin Milioti). I was happy to know that Ted could relate to Tracy, but I wasn’t hoping for so many similarities. If there was ever anything good that came out of the mother’s death, it would probably be that Ted doesn’t have to live with someone exactly like him and it makes things seem a bit more realistic. The similarities were dragged on way too far to the point that it just got plain creepy. Not only do they share the same interests but they shared the same initials, too (T.M: Ted Moesby and Tracy McConnel). I may have forgotten this, but can anyone recall a moment when Ted asked out Tracy? I was not only hoping for them to meet, but I was also hoping to see how Ted would ask Tracy out on a date. But the only thing I witnessed was Ted and Tracy already going out with one another rather than how they got to that point. All in favor of the sequel “How I Asked Out Your Mother”? Maybe this time around, we can tell Robin the story and end it with both of them getting a divorce, too. Now that we got all of the negative aspects of the finale, let’s go to what I really enjoyed about the finale!

    The only scenes I loved were from the time Barney wanted to play one last game of “Have you met Ted” through to the farewell of Ted. I felt that by having Barney play one last game of “Have you met Ted” with the mother, it could have started off as a great closing to the show. Unfortunately, this was never really implemented into the story but the E.T. farewell had me cracking up as well as the most legendary high-five. That’s about all of the positive things I can say about the finale and this ends my rant- I mean review.

Country Woodstock

Carissa Perry-Smith
Staff Writer

    It was a day full of drinking, music, and sunshine on Sunday Jan. 26. That morning, at C.B. Smith Park, Kiss Country radio station hosted their 29th annual Chili Cookoff. Chili Cookoff is a country-music festival where people from all over South Florida come to attend. According to www.southflorida.com, Wkis midday host, Darlene Evans said, Chili Cookoff is the largest country-music festival in the Southeastern part of the United States.

    With everyone dressed in their best country attire, people arrived at 1 a.m. to socialize, barbeque, eat chili, and drink beer. Being my first year at the Cookoff I wanted to experience the whole ordeal. I arrived at the park around 3 a.m. to tailgate and hang out with friends. The atmosphere was not at all what I anticipated. American and Confederate flags were plastered everywhere, beer cans were thrown all over the place, and country music was blaring from trucks. These are only a few words in my attempts to describe what the parking lot really looked like that morning. My friends, who are “veterans” to Chili Cookoff became very clever this year. For the aftermath of the 6 hours of tailgating we endured; they set up a tent with blowup beds to nap before the concert.

    After the drinking and the puking died down a bit, 8:30 a.m. came around and the real fun began. Once the concert gates opened, people raced to set out their chairs and towels to get the best spot in front of the stage.

    The line-up at this year’s Cookoff consisted of Cassadee Pope, Thomas Rhett, Joe Nichols, Brantley Gilbert, and headliner Rascal Flatts. Some songs played were Wasting all these tears (Pope), Get me some of that (Rhett), and What hurts the most (Rascal Flatts).

    “I was definitely pleased with the line-up this year. I would have wanted more popular artists to attend but it was still everything I hoped it would be”, BC student Dominique Brito said.

    It was a different kind of experience for me. I enjoyed the music to say the least; my favorite act was Brantley Gilbert. His performance really got everyone moving and on their feet. However, with the hot sun beating down, it was really the energetic atmosphere that kept me going. Everyone was cramped together on the lawn sitting on their towels and chairs. There was no moving room, people had to push their way in and out. However, once settled, people danced, sang, and made new friends.

    Although there were thousands of people in attendance, most which had been heavily drinking throughout the day, not once did I feel unsafe. I felt completely safe in the environment that surrounded me. Everyone there was extremely friendly. Where my friends and I sat we immediately made friends with the people around us. People were there to enjoy the concert not start trouble.

    Second time Chili Cookoff attender, Macy Jarvis said, “Even though this year wasn’t as entertaining , music-wise, for me, being in the lively atmosphere I still had a great time.”

    Being my first time at Chili Cookoff I really enjoyed myself. I definitely plan to attend every year. For people who have never attend, I think everyone should at least experience it once. It’s something that you do not want to miss.