Cody Clemenson, A&E Writer
January 22, 2020
A short time ago in a galaxy not so far away George Lucas created a franchise that would deeply embed itself into pop culture. With nine mainline movies spanning over 40 years and more than a couple spinoffs, the franchise has grossed over 65 billion dollars.
In 1977, Lucas released his first movie in the movie franchise, A New Hope. The movie was praised for using special effects and miniature models to create life like action scenes in space.
“I think it has tran...
Lauren Ulveling, A&E Writer
January 22, 2020
As the weather gets colder and the days get shorter, it may seem as if there is nothing to do in Cedar Rapids. Sure, there is going to the movies or walking around Target for the 100th time. Or, there are a few community theaters in the area like Theatre Cedar Rapids, Giving Tree Theater and Rich Heritage of Cedar Rapids Theater. All three have shows playing year round.
The oldest community theater in Cedar Rapids is Theatre Cedar Rapids (TCR). Upcoming shows one can...
Christine Hilario, A&E Writer
January 22, 2020
Few pieces of media have elicited a true, visceral sense of dread in me. The movie adaptation of Cats is one of them.
Within the first five minutes of watching the film, I was treated to a lingering shot of grotesque CGI cat creatures crawling towards me with menace in their eyes. I felt like I was about to be attacked.
Horrifyingly enough, it was only downhill from there.
It is baffling to me that executives at Universal Studios thought it was a good idea to ...
Josh Slusarek, A&E Writer
January 22, 2020
Bowl games are a way for NCAA teams to compete postseason and with that comes the appearance of the marching bands. Many Midwestern college bands contain Xavier alumni such as the bands for Iowa State (Caleb Burken, Marissa Cosgrove, Anna Garbe and Anthony Karl), Notre Dame (Lauren Korbel) and The University of Iowa (Lizzie Leu and Kristen Leu).
“The biggest difference performing at Notre Dame, compared to Xavier, is that the goal of our performance is to entertain,...
Allie Andrews, A&E Writer
January 22, 2020
As the start of the season begins, Xavier’s show choirs joined together on stage at their debut. Xhibition is a preview of the show choirs’ shows. Xhibition took place on Saturday, January 4, 2020 in the Regis-LaSalle Theatre at Xavier High School. These dancing and singing Saints will travel near and far in the next few months to compete against other schools in the area.
“I am looking forward to traveling and competing with the rest of Xhilaration,” senior Connor...
Allie Andrews, A&E Writer
December 19, 2019
A warm beach in Mexico might be just what a person in Cedar Rapids, Iowa may need during the winter season. Xavier parent and retired lunch lady, Mary Scallon won a trip from ABC’s “Strahan, Sara, and Keke.”
The chance to win a luxury vacation required Mary to record herself on why she should be the final winner. In her recording, she talked about her husband having knee-replacement surgery and how it was stressful for them. She also mentioned that she was "...
Lauren Ulveling, A&E Writer
December 19, 2019
Six years ago, Disney gave us a story of love, family and the importance of warm hugs: Frozen. Taking a beloved movie and making a sequel is a big risk. Disney took that risk and it paid off.
To start, the best improvement is the animation. Animation technology has changed over the past six years so that does give Frozen II a leg up. The animation artists spent four years on it and their hard work shows. A new animation program was developed, which allows them to...
Christine Hilario, A&E Writer
December 19, 2019
For the first time in forever, everyone’s favorite Disney princesses are back on the big screen.
Frozen II opened November 22, 2019 as the highest grossing movie in theaters.
The original Frozen was the highest-grossing animated film of all time until The Lion King live action dethroned it.
This begs the question: Is Frozen II better than the original?
In my humble opinion: no.
To start, everything on the Frozen soundtrack is excellent. “Do You...
Christine Hilario, A&E Writer
December 6, 2019
Xavier’s jazz musicians are getting into the swing of things. Jazz Band One rehearsals started October 30 and Jazz Band Two rehearsals start December 5.
For the past three years, Jazz Band One (JBO) has placed in the top three at the Iowa Jazz Championships but behind these awards and recognition is time spent working hard in rehearsals.
“The goal of Jazz Band Two (JBT) is to make each student more knowledgeable on the idiom and prepare them for JBO,” Ba...
Lauren Ulveling, A&E Writer
December 6, 2019
The plastics are back, but this time on Broadway. The popular 2004 teen movie, Mean Girls, has been turned into a musical. Tina Fey who wrote the original screenplay, also wrote the Tony nominated book while her husband, Jeff Richmond, wrote the music. It follows the story of innocent Cady Heron, as she moves from Kenya to Chicago and how she tries to manage “girl world” as she would say.
Get in loser, I’m reviewing a musical. Once Cady begins school in ...
Josh Slusarek, A&E Writer
December 6, 2019
Anyone can enjoy art whether they are artistically gifted or not. Art club president, Elizabeth Swiderski believes this. She runs the art club at Xavier alongside her vice president, Lauren Ulveling.
Art club is one of the many different clubs available at Xavier for students to join. They meet on the first and third Thursday of each month.
“Art club is where everyone, regardless of skill, is able to create art. We have a different prompt or activity to do each meeting,”...
Cody Clemenson, A&E Writer
December 6, 2019
Since the making of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937, Disney hs produced widley known films. Over the years, Disney has also acquired many studios and franchises including the Star Wars franchise, Fox and Marvel.
The next logical step would be to create a platform to allow viewers to watch anything Disney in one place. Thus, Disney+ was created.
Disney+ is Disney’s response to the popularized streaming service model. The service provides a place for fans...
