Movie Review: First Man
By Alex Gehrlein ’19
Damien Chazelle is one of the great new filmmakers working in Hollywood today. His love of both film and music has colored his films with an undeniable passion that seeps off the screen. With his second film Whiplash, Chazelle proved himself a commanding force, and attracted the attention of major studios, leading to his next film La La Land. While La La Land is not as good as Whiplash, it holds a certain charm to it as a throwback to the bygone era of vibrant Hollywood musicals in the 40’s and 50’s. The common thread through his first three films was music, specifically jazz, which Chazelle seems to be just as obsessed with as the characters he brought to the screen. And that’s a large part of what made his movies so great: his passions. Though First Man is a very good film, it doesn’t seem to come from that same place. If anything, it seems to be a film that’s trying to prove he doesn’t need to focus on jazz to make a great movie, and while he has certainly succeeded on all technical levels, the depth is lost in translating another person’s script.
This might make it seem like I disliked the film, and I want to make it clear from the beginning that that could not be further from the truth. This is a very good film, a little reminiscent of films like The Right Stuff and Apollo 13, but that’s really unavoidable when making a film about the space program.
The most impressive thing in this entire film is the way in which the actual space travel is portrayed. These men were not going into space in smooth, polished machines, but in rickety tin cans blasting out of the atmosphere at thousands of miles an hour, running on a computer less powerful than the ones we carry in our pockets these days. Even in a film like Apollo 13, where everything that can go wrong does, the space travel still seems somewhat appealing. Being an astronaut on these flights looks more like a suicide mission than a sure thing, and this presentation makes you appreciate the astronauts’ hard work even more.
Like most films, this one has its flaws. I would place most of the blame on the dissonance between writing and directing. Chazelle seems to be working out how to best portray someone else’s material, and while it isn’t bad, it’s certainly not great. This isn’t to say it’s a bad script, it’s just that the more epic moments feel very out of place with the more quiet moments at home. Maybe this is purposeful to show the disconnect between Neil’s life as an astronaut and his life as a father? I don’t know. I’d probably have to watch it again to come up with a more solid opinion on this.
The performances were great all around, almost as great as the visuals, but Ryan Reynolds and Claire Foy shine out above the rest as Neil and Janet Armstrong. They felt like a realistic couple, and compellingly showed the stress these events must have had on their real life counterparts. Though they weren’t on the same level as this year’s other, great movie couple, Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper in A Star Is Born, their performances certainly deserve recognition, and both should have a good chance of seeing nominations in the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress Oscar categories respectively.
If you want to see Chazelle at his best, see Whiplash or La La Land. If you’re interested in American history, space travel, or just good filmmaking, see First Man. It’s not on the same level as his past work, but I could not say I regret seeing it.
8/10
Playlist of The Week #5
It’s week 5, and I have yet another themeless playlist.
(Okay, I tried to think of a theme… but I’m saving it for next week)
- Baby Gots Venom by Toussaint Morrison
- Blinded By The Light – From “Super Troopers 2” Soundtrack by Eagles of Death Metal
- Brazil by Declan McKenna
- Tow by The Devil Makes Three
- The Rover by Interpol
- 13 by Allan Rayman
- Gypsy Queen by Brothers + Company
- The Hound and the Fox by I The Mighty
- French Girls by Swimming With Bears
- who by Wetter
- I’ve been Drinking by Prelow
- All American Blues by Pomplamoose
- Art School by Remo Drive
- Matter Of Time by Fitness
- Rollin’ Around by Nat & Alex Wolff
- Passenger Side by Smallpools
- Lost on You by LP
- Kids These Days by Shakey Graves
- Finding Something To Do by Hellogoodbye
- Particles by Nothing But Thieves
From Zeppelin to jazz, the Wildcat Marching Band plays on
By John Knudson ‘19
Here at Saint Ignatius, we are deeply rooted in the arts. Since as far back as July, our school’s artistic prowess has been exhibited by one group in particular: the band.
Led by directors Mr. Hamlin and Mr. Mullen, the group goes to every varsity football game. The devoted audience at Byers Field knows them for their unique halftime show performances. This year, the band has marched to the iconic rock anthems of Led Zeppelin and the jazzy tunes of The Blues Brothers. The Led Zeppelin show was especially popular among the student section, who enjoyed the beloved hit, Stairway to Heaven.
At the end of every football season, the band pulls off the famous Script Cats tradition, going strong for its 31st year. The long lasting custom has members playing the song Le Regiment and lining up in 4 familiar letters that represent our school pride–no, not AMDG–but CATS. This is reminiscent of the Ohio State Marching Band Script Ohio show, yet it brings a distinctive Ignatian spin. Script Cats is undoubtedly a classic that every Ignatius student should see before graduating.
Script Cats marks a triumphant end for the marching band season, but it is not the end for instrumental music. After the football season, the concert band will prepare a new set of Christmas music. Additionally, there is huge news for the Ignatius Jazz Ensemble. Dominick Farinacci, a Cleveland-born jazz performer, is coming to work with the ensemble. Farinacci is currently an artist in residence at Cuyahoga Community College and has toured with famed jazz musician Wynton Marsalis. The next time you have a musical itch, come and listen to any one of our talented instrumental groups.
Fantasy Football
By Norman Slemenda ‘21
We are currently in the midst of fantasy football season at Saint Ignatius High School. Many students have different opinions on the ideal team. One example of this is Mark Ruddy’s (‘21) three main players. Mark would have his quarterback as Patrick Mahomes for the sole purpose of multiple 30+ point weeks. For wide receiver, Adam Thielen was the pick since Thielen already has 800+ total yards. At the running back position, Ruddy selected Kareem Hunt be- cause of the “cheer for the local guy” aspect and Hunt’s average 4.6 yards per carry.
Every league varies in rules, some being PPR (points per reception) and others standard. This affects where players get drafted as well as how players perform each week. JP Tijanich ‘21 plays in a standard league and drops players one week and picks them up the next when they are hot again. Mcrey Socha ‘21 plays in a PPR league and makes sure to draft a quarterback and wide receiver duo to put up big points on his opponents. As the season heads into week eleven, records are becoming very important in whether or not participants make the playoffs.
To all fantasy players, good luck!
Saint Ignatius High School: No Place for Hate
By Matthew Kelly ‘22
On Wednesday, October 24, the freshmen class gathered in the Sullivan Gymnasium to meet with a representative from the Anti-Defamation League. The Anti-Defamation League, or ADL, is a 105-year-old American organization whose purpose is to secure justice and fair treatment for all citizens, and to put an end to unjust and unfair discrimination against any sect or body of citizens.
The focus of the assembly was to teach the Class of 2022 about microaggressions, which are indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group. Microaggressions cover a wide spectrum that includes, but are not limited to, gender, race, and sexual orientation. The freshmen saw a video of a few examples of common microaggressions, and concluded the meeting by each writing a way to actively fight against microaggressions on post-it notes which were to be displayed.
For the past three years, St. Ignatius has been active in an organization known as “No Place for Hate,” which is run by the ADL. Mr. Jason Reed ‘95, former leader the director of diversity inclusion at Saint Ignatius, said, “The purpose of this program is to provide our school community with a framework for combating bias, bigotry, racism and hatred; leading to long-term solutions for creating and maintaining a safe and positive climate where acceptance and respect is the primary goal for all students, faculty and staff.”
From October 23 to 25, students had the opportunity to sign the resolution of respect in the senior lounge. All students who were involved received a “No Place for Hate” sticker and button to show of f their participation. All these efforts, combined with many more, will contribute to St Ignatius continuing to be a welcoming and accepting place for all students.
One student’s SIEntA magic
By Terry McCafferty ‘22
For the last few months SIEntA member and potential Wall Street banker, Charlie Cindric ‘20, has been trading stocks day in and day out in the school’s online stock competition. By trading volatility and risky stocks, Cindric took a lot of big risks, particularly by snatching newer companies shortly after their initial public offering (IPO). However, through his impressive decision-making skills and relentless trading, Cindric managed to increase the amount in his portfolio more than 1,000,000%. To put it simply, he bought the stocks low and sold high just hours or even minutes after buying them. Cindric shared these following pieces of insight on his success, investing, his future, and advice for new investors:
What trading tactics and strategies made you so successful in this competition?
The trading strategy that really helped me get an edge in this competition was a short-term investing mindset. I had to take bigger risks investing, but I had to be mindful of the money I was putting into these companies so my gains would not tank if the company did not perform how I would have liked.
In real life, do you invest in companies that are as volatile and unpredictable as the ones you picked for the competition? And if not, what do you invest in?
In real life, I would invest in more stable companies but still take some risks. Long-term investing strategies is a smart way to invest your money to have a better guarantee of profits, but the excess money I get, I would use as play money to take more risks.
What type of career-path do you envision for yourself in the future?
I would like to major in Finance and Accounting, and I can see myself working in an investment bank on Wall Street in the future.
What advice do you have for investors new to the stock market?
The advice I would tell new investors is to do research on a company you might invest. Look at how the company performed on the market in the past, take fewer risks until you understand how the market works, and come to the Investment Sub Committee meetings on Wednesdays.
Next semester SIEnTA will have another competition, and according to Mr. Hess, the moderator, they will be altering the rules slightly in order to give the competitors more time away from the trading pit.
Preseason CYO Power Rankings
By Will Shepard ‘19
It’s that time of year again, where all of the average basketball players come out of hibernation in hopes of helping their team win the ultimate prize, a CYO championship. Let’s look at the top teams who will compete for the title. If your team didn’t make this list, send me an email telling me about your team and why you deserve a spot.
7Saint Angela Merici
This team is full of juniors and also filled with potential. They will try to play an uptempo game with focuses on shooting the ball. They have pretty good size for a Junior team with bigs such as Gabe Fini, 6’1”, and Bryce Seward, 6’. They hope to run their offense around Elliot Rodstrom, who has a great 3 point shooting stroke. Their defense is going to be a problem for them all year as it was last year. Their main focus right now is getting that first win of the year, and after that they hope everything will fall into place. This team could surprise a few people but for right now they rank at the bottom of the power rankings.
6Saint Joseph and John
This Joe’s and John’s basketball team is looking to play a nice up tempo offense with great ball movement to really open up the 3 point shot. They definitely can accomplish this goal with Eddie Keck running the offense. He will be able to find the open shooters such as Tim Zvoncheck and Graeme Agronin. With a nice mixture of homegrown Strongsville talent, they hope their chemistry works great together.
Graeme, who was their most improved player last season, has been very critical of the so called “super teams of CYO.” When I asked him about this he responded by saying “Our goal this year is to represent the old CYO days when superteams didn’t run rampant with players pulled from all over Northeast Ohio.” It will be fun to see if this team can back up what they are saying and make a run for the title.
5Saint Ignatius (Ranallo)
The top junior team in CYO comes in at number 5. This team can score, play defense, and has the talent to stay with the tough opponents. Varun Ravichandran will look to carry the team as his shooting has been compared to the likes of Steph Curry by scouts. He has a big man down low who can space the floor and hit 3’s in Jacob Shuckerow, who is 6’3”. Another big man they have is rebounder Liam Reilly. He and Dan Kimnach will do anything to get a board over the defenders, often called gritty by their coach.
This team may lack in size outside of Shuckerow, but they say they make it
up with heart, and that’s what you really need. They will play that fast pace, smash- mouth basketball that is so successful for CYO teams. Be on the lookout for this team.
4Saint Bridget
Fast breaks and 3 pointers. That is the Saint Bridget Chargers style of play that works so well for them since they have the best shooting strokes in the league. Led by MVP candidates in Vinnie Riley and Nick “The Panda” Marsick, the Chargers hope to continue their success after a City Championship season last year. This team does not have too much size, but their center, Anthony “Big Body” Labate, is as strong as anyone on the court. A combination of instant scorers in Billy Arroyo and Luke Ols and defensive minded players in Dominic Stavole and Will Shepard fits perfectly in their system.
This team’s weakness is that teams could score on them in the paint almost at will. It will be interesting to see the defensive schemes they come up with to try and stop more physical teams. Labate isn’t worried about this problem saying “We finna yam on some yams.” The team is worried about Labate not showing up because he will most likely be in the weightroom all day. The Chargers will have a successful season with a chance to be the top team.
3Gesu
Arguably the most despised team through- out CYO, Gesu is still the powerhouse they always are, coming off of 2 straight City Championships. Lead by MVP candidate Lucas Tai, this team looks like they are set to win their 3rd straight champion- ship. With Lucas’s dribble moves, he has the ability to create shots for himself and other players on the team such as Claudio Calzado and Dennis Kless, who can hit 3’s at a consistent basis. They have one of the more dominant big men in all of CYO in John Carey, who scores at will in the paint.
Dennis is not afraid of other teams that could be in their way this season saying, “Bernie’s is worthless, we are not scared of either Ignatius team, and I guarantee a 3 peat of the City Championship.” Pay close attention to Gesu and hope that they are not on your schedule.
2Saint Ignatius (Hartman)
Bruise or be bruised. That’s the number two team on this list’s motto because of their perfect mix of beef and speed. This team is one of the most physical teams that you could play, with Seamus Cooney, Grant Abbott, and Mike Mangan’s strength down low in the post. The duo of Jett “The 6 God” Elad and Nigel Drummond is going to be a nightmare for opposing teams as they will have a tough time trying to stop both on fast breaks. Jack “Crazy Egg Roll” Allington will be the point guard and he hopes to take opposing teams ankles. Small Forward Conor “Sosa” Hartman will look to continue his success of clipping nearly every corner 3 pointer.
The only thing slowing this team down is their ability to control their emotions on the court, as technical fouls could be an issue each game. Seamus Cooney was quoted saying “My goal this year is to have a technical foul in every game.” If they can keep their emotions in check, this team could be hosting the trophy up at the end of the year.
1Saint Ignatius (McMahan)
The top team on the list is the Saint Ignatius team led by Aidan Wells and Tommy Eichenberg. This team has the size in bigs such as Eichenberg, Zach McMahan, and Wells. They will be a tough team to try and score inside against as they have the ability to block ever y shot. This team has a shooter in Mike Sarko and Chris Velota will be handling the post in the office. Additionally, with the recent addition of Nathan Hubbard, this team’s front court will be unstoppable.
This team has it all, and if they play their type of basketball, they have the best chance to make it to the state championship. Defensively minded player Jahadge “Bo” Floyd told me “After the tough loss in the championship game, we are hungrier than last year, we will win it all.” Lots of confidence in this team, and they have the talent to back it up.
The MVP Race
- Patrick Russell
- Vinnie Riley
- Nathan Hubbard
- Lucas Tai
-
Nick Marsick
Christmas Music: Before or After Thanksgiving?
By Daniel Vrablic ‘20
At this time, we are already beginning to see a variety of different Christmas decorations and accessories in stores. We start seeing a lot of Chevy and Ford car commercials that have that magic “christmas jingle” that is played in the background. This jingle presumably is from the sound of shaking shiny, small jingle bells. Lastly, we begin to hear the Christmas music start to be played on 102.1 radio. All of this we see and hear before Thanksgiving is over. Some people embrace this Christmas culture before Thanksgiving and others simply stiff arm the Christmas culture until after. So with this being said, should Christmas music be played before or after Thanksgiving?
First, it is incredibly important to understand the meaning and celebration of Christmas: to celebrate the birth of our savior Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was sent from God to set us free from the bondage of original sin and save us from death. With this in mind, the Christmas songs that we hear played on 102.1 FM embody the spirit to celebrate the very birth of Christ such as Away in a Manger, Mar y Did you Know, the First Noel, and many others. These very songs prepare our hearts for the coming of our Christ, for it says in Luke Chapter 12 to be “dressed servants” waiting for the time of the Lord.
As the various Christmas songs played prepare us for the coming of the time of the Lord, why would anyone want to deny being ready for the coming of the Lord and spread the good news of his birth to others? By enabling others to listen to Christmas music before Thanksgiving, a strong foundation of Christmas spirit is already sparked in early to mid November. This allows for the spreading of Christmas spirit and preparing from the birth of the Lord in which allows us to embrace the light of Christ in which is mirrored from the very shiny jingle bells that encapsulate the various Christmas songs we listen to. For our friend Buddy from Elf says it best: “The best way to spread Christmas Cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” Hopefully we can embrace the wisdom of Buddy and vivaciously spread Christmas spirit around campus at Saint Ignatius High School.
Playlist of The Week: Themeless
Welcome back to the fourth edition of Playlist of the Week.
This week’s playlist doesn’t really have a theme. It’s just a collection of 20 songs I’ve been vibing with recently, and feel that some of you may enjoy as well.
Without further ado, here is Playlist of The Week #4
- Everybody’s Falling In Love by *repeat repeat
- Cemetery by COIN
- Instead of My Room by Charlie Burg
- Dying Alone by American Pets
- Victoria by Jukebox The Ghost
- Preying Mantra by Secondhand Sound
- Touch by Dead Poet Society
- Freakin’ Out on the Interstate by Briston Maroney
- Marceline The Vampire by Steppes
- I Only Say I’m Sorry When I’m Wrong Now by Cheekface
- Astronaut by Sir Sly
- You Fine by Saint Motel
- Hella by Cayucas
- Can’t Knock The Hustle by Weezer
- Money Problems by Max Frost
- Ragged Child by Chrome Pony
- Pregame by Active Bird Community
- Oh, Susquehanna! by Defiance, Ohio
- Fast Talk by Houses
- Going Down by Coast Modern
