Rambuzz Volume 2 Issue 2

RAMAZ HIGH SCHOOL VOLUME 2 ISSUE 2 MARCH 2015

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Rambuzz"“What’s the 411?”"

NEW YORK FASHION WEEK 2015 REBECCA FEDER ‘16"!

New York Fashion Week (NYFW) always promises to be a huge spectacle! It is held twice every year in New York City, during the months of August and February. The most recent NYFW was held from February13- February 20 and as usual took place at Lincoln center on the Upper West Side. Many of the most prestigious designers such as Alexander Wang, Diane von Fürstenberg, and Narcisco Rodriguez took to the runway to showcase their upcoming spring collections. Celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Beyonce, and Rihanna attended the shows. Many new trends were introduced for the upcoming spring. The most popular colors were tangerine, corals, reds, black, and pastels such as lavender and peach. Many designers used checkered and plaid patterns in their collections, while others used fringe and chromatic furs. Another popular theme amongst designers was the military look. They clothed their models in army green structured jackets and dresses. Designers also drew inspiration from the 70’s, dressing their models in wide-leg trousers, flowing maxi-dresses, and wild prints. Sportswear was a common theme, modeled by designers such as Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste, and Prabal Gurung.

Alexander Wang’s collection was one of the most surprising. His collection consisted of only black, excluding the occasional stud, chain,

or pop of red. Following Wang’s lead, Thom Browne’s collection was also entirely black. His show was encased in a funeral setting, and his models donned extravagant, elegant headpieces designed by Stephen Jones. One of the most popular collections was Marc Jacob’s. He accessorized his looks with vibrant prints and colors. His models wore extreme gothic makeup and vinyl patents boots. Diane von Fürstenberg opted for a classier look; she sent elegant dresses, skirts, and tweed ensembles down the runway.

In addition to the clothing, some fantastic makeup trends were seen throughout the runways. One of the most popular was the berry lip, seen in an array of pinkish colors. It was also used on lips as either a gloss, matte, or stain. There was also an array of eclectic eye shadow shades, ranging from bright orange to electric blue. Along with the colorful eye shadow, cat eyes were also a prominent feature on the runways. Thin black lines were drawn outward from the models eyelids to form a cat like shape. Many designers also chose to go with a more natural look, using pastels and whites on models’ faces. This look enabled the models to appear fresh faced and clean, almost as if they were wearing minimal to no makeup. For glowing skin, models used moisturizers and shimmery blush. Overall, it’s safe to say New York Fashion Week was a success. From the fashionable pieces spotted on the runway to the fresh new makeup looks, the runway had everyone talking.

RAMAZ HIGH SCHOOL VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1 NOVEMBER 2014

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Neil Patrick Harris hosted this year’s Oscar Awards. He’s an already established host, having hosted the Tonys five times and the Emmys twice. However, even Harris couldn’t save the show. Jokes were bland and uncomfortable, and the show dragged on for close to four hours. Even the anticipation of which nominees would leave as winners was gone. For the most part, this year’s winners were pretty predictable, excluding the tight race between Birdman and Boyhood for best motion picture. The musical performances did bring some life the show. Lady Gaga’s rendition of “The Sound of Music” was unexpected, yet beautiful and mesmerizing. The performance of “Everything Is Awesome” from the Lego Movie was a highlight; it truly was colorful, exciting, and yes, awesome. One of the most moving events of the night was Common and Legend’s performance of the song “Glory” from Selma, which brought many members of the audience to tears. As for the winners, Best Documentary went to Citizenfour, Best Foreign Language Film to Ida, and Best Animated Feature Film to Big Hero 6. The Lego Movie was a notable snub for the Best Animated Feature Film, and it was only nominated for Best Original Song (which it lost to “Glory” from Selma). The Imitation Game won Best Adapted Screenplay, and Birdman won Best Original Screenplay. Best Supporting Actress and Actor went to the favorites Patricia Arquette for Boyhood and J.K Simmons for Whiplash. No surprises there, but Arquette’s passionate yet eloquent acceptance speech about equal pay for women brought stars

such as Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lopez to their feet. Julianne Moore rightfully won Best Actress for her portrayal of a doctor diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease in Still Alice. Despite being a critically acclaimed actress of years, this was Moore’s first nomination and win at the Oscars. Eddie Redmayne won Best Actor for his realistic, emotional, and dedicated portrayal of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. Although there were five nominees for Best Directing and nine for Best Picture, the only real contenders were Boyhood, directed with love over a period of twelve years by Richard Linklater, and Birdman, an exciting movie seemingly shot in one single take by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Mr. Iñárritu and Birdman took home both awards, which was upsetting to some considering how much time and effort Mr. Linklater put into Boyhood. The awards highlighted that good movies still do still exist, but made us unsure if the same can be said of award shows.

OSCARS 2015 MEIRA GILBERT ‘16


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Better Call Saul, the highly anticipated prequel to AMC's super mega-hit Breaking Bad, kicked off on Sunday night, February 8. The brand new show is built around a minor turned major character from Breaking Bad, Saul Goodman. Saul is introduced in Season two of Breaking Bad as a fast-talking criminal lawyer. His strip mall office and comically kitsch advertisements are immediately recognizable. The premier episode of the new show, created by Emmy Award winner Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, opens up in an eerie, black and white Cinnabon in rural Nebraska, set after the finale of Breaking Bad. Although out of context for any new viewers, anyone can appreciate Gilligan and Gould’s mastery of cinematography, with every camera frame being beautiful and artistic in its own right. We see a lonely, run down Saul living a secluded life, far from any action. A particularly intense and emotional moment in the intro occurs when Saul closes the shades on all his windows and pops in an old VHS. After a brief silence, we hear the familiar Better Call Saul catchphrase, and we see the episode's first flash of color through the reflection in Saul's glasses.

Eventually we are given the setting: Albuquerque, 2001. Our main character is reintroduced to us as district attorney, Jimmy McGill. Other characters include a mysterious woman with whom he shares a cigarette, Jimmy's hermit-esque brother who is scared of electromagnetic radiation, and finally, Jimmy's arch nemesis, Howard Hamlin esq. and the "Hamlin, Hamlin, McGill" law firm. We "Breaking Bad" fans are given a treat when Jimmy gets into a petty argument with a man in a parking lot ticket booth. This man is Mike Ehrmentrout, who fans of Braking Bad know is Saul's future enforcer. At the end of the episode, we are given another quick teaser/cliff hanger involving Breaking Bad's Season one villain "Tuco." Five episodes into the show and it's already looking great. If anyone is thinking about watching it, I highly suggest catching up as soon as you can. The new series offers everything one could ask for from a show: a great storyline, great jokes (Bob Odenkirk, who plays Saul, was a writer on SNL for many years), great camera shots and cinematography, and last but not least, Saul Goodman (or I guess at this point, Jimmy McGill).

BETTER CALL SAUL JONAH SOBEL ‘17


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! This January, FOX introduced a new TV show, Empire, that has greatly exceeded expectations. The drama, focused on a family and their many issues and conflicts, has been a huge success because it appeals to a wide range of viewers. For example, the show integrates pop and rap music into each episode thereby attracting music lovers. The show follows a family led by patriarch Lucious Lyon, a highly regarded and successful music producer who owns a hip-hop music and entertainment company. He and his ex-wife have three sons, one who deals with the business side of the music industry, while the other two are involved with music as well. When Lucious is diagnosed with ALS and told that he has around three years left to live, he pits his sons against each other to decide who will be his successor. The return of Lucious' ex-wife, Cookie, further complicates matters. Cookie has been in jail for the past seventeen years because she gave herself up to the police to make sure that her husband could still succeed. Thus, she feels that she helped

build up the family company as well, and she should have a stake in it. This drama is exciting because it explores a family dynamic filled with competition. It finds a way to convey the real and true emotions of the family members as they fight for control of the company while still maintaining a realistic aspect. This new show was already picked up for a second season after only airing two episodes because of its outstanding ratings. In an extremely rare occurrence, the shows ratings continue to grow every week. Empire features a strong cast of well-known actors, including Terrence Howard and Taraji P. Henson playing Lucious and Cookie. Empire also introduced some new faces for the roles of the three sons, actors Trai Byers, Jussie Smollett, and Bryshere Y. Gray. These unknowns are quickly making names for themselves As it continues to gain viewership, the story of this family and the other people in their lives continues to get more and more exciting.

EMPIRE ELIE PRESENT ‘16


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The newest Nicholas Spark bestseller turned into a movie, The Best of Me, is intriguing, heartbreaking and beautiful. It tells the tale of a married woman, Amanda, and a single man, Dawson. Dawson has just survived a near-death experience, and he and Amanda are coming back together for the first time in twenty years after the death of Dawson’s guardian. The

flashbacks to Amanda and Dawson in high school throughout the movie give insight into the beginning of their relationship and the incident that caused its end. Although the cliché of the wealthy girl falling for the underprivileged boy is overdone, the film barely focuses on that aspect, thereby not diminishing the quality of the story. (cont. page 5)

Boyhood, directed by Richard Linklater,

is famous for being the movie that was filmed over the duration of twelve years. An incredible feat, though the cast and crew was very sad for it to be over as they considered it a constant throughout their lives and filmographies. The movie depicts a boy’s life from ages six through eighteen. The movie was made so well, and thus the transitions between years are smooth, leaving you little time to register how many years have gone by. Patricia Arquette, winner of the Academy Award for best supporting actress, plays the mother of Mason (Ellar Coltrane). She was the empathetic character in the movie, representing a true portrayal of what it means to be a single mother of two. She took care of both her children, disciplining and understanding them through all their poor choices. Their father, played by Ethan Hawke, was a sort of comic relief, but also a very compassionate man. The protagonist, Mason, on the other hand, was not nearly as empathetic. I found myself getting irritated by his behavior as he got older. Perhaps the reason I was so irritated was because I actually identified with him and his choices as a

teenager. The soundtrack of the movie was enjoyable and added to the theme of familiarity. The movie itself was extensive; it lasted almost three hours. But in the long run it made me think. All in all, it was a terrific movie, and portrayed the uncertainty of youth in a beautiful and realistic way.

BEST OF ME NICOLE ABOODI ‘17

BOYHOOD MALKA CHU ‘16

The 2015 all-star weekend took place in both Madison Square Garden and Barclays Center. It kicked off with the hilarious celebrity game in Barclays Center that turned into a rivalry between Little League pitcher Mo’ne Davis and actor/comedian Kevin Hart. They both tried their hardest to win, and eventually Davis came out as out the winner, but Hart won his fourth MVP. The West won 57-51. The Rising Stars Challenge followed the celebrity game. The NBA changed the rules of this game and made it the first and second year players from the USA against the first and second year players from all around the world. There seemed to be little defense in the game, but there was a lot of scoring; the World beat the USA 121-112. The first overall pick of last years draft, Andrew Wiggins won the MVP title, scoring 22 points. Victor Oladipo and Zach LeVine scored 22 points each, but it wasn’t enough to beat Andrew Wiggins and the World team. The next night was the Shooting Stars skill challenge, three-point contest, and dunk contest. The Shooting Stars finalists were Team Westbrook and Team Bosh. Team Bosh won their third championship in a row. They scored in 56 seconds, that is 40 seconds more than Team Westbrook. The Skills

Challenge finalists were Patrick Beverly and Brandon Knight. Knight looked like he had a controlled lead over Beverly, but he couldn’t hit his last shot. Eventually Beverly caught up to him, and hit the game-winning three pointer. Next was the dunk contest. According to most, Zach LeVine was the only interesting part of the dunk contest.The championship was between Zach LeVine, who had just done many insane dunks and Victor Oladipo. Oladipo couldn’t do his original idea; therefore he had to do an “easy” dunk to at least get some points. Zach LeVine ended the competition by performing an amazing dunk and winning the dunk contest. The next day was the All-Star Game. The West have had some major injuries, including Anthony Davis and starting power forward Blake Griffin. The West and East teams set the record for most points in a half with Russell Westbrook’s 27 points. At the end of the game the West beat the East 163-158, with Westbrook scoring a game-high of 41 points and winning the MVP title. LeBron James scored a team-high of 30 points. This year’s game was great and very competitive. Hopefully next year’s will be even better.

ALL STAR WEEKEND JACOB HOROWITZ ‘17

(from page 4) Amanda’s character is fascinating. Young Amanda, played by Liana Liberato, is displayed as fearless, sassy and free-spirited. She is depicted as hungry for adventure, because up until the end of her relationship with Dawson, she has never experienced any real pain. However, adult Amanda, played by Michelle Monaghan, is more reserved, because she experienced unimaginable pains in the past twenty years. Her marriage is a disaster because of a tragedy within the family; this leads her straight into Dawson’s welcoming arms. Even though Amanda’s character is exciting, the real subplot that grabs the viewers’ attention is Dawson’s. Running away from a home where his father beats him, and his brothers and extended family push him into all kinds of trouble, Dawson is taken in by an old man who later becomes his honorary father and guardian. Even after running away, Dawson never escapes his past. After being pushed too far, Dawson goes after his father, which is revealed in a flashback and is the climax of the movie.


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“One of the best Super bowls of all time!”, “What an iconic game, this is one for this history books”, are what sport announcers, sports lovers, the entire USA, and even the world have been saying about the Superbowl. The uncertainty and suspense that filled every second of the game made everyone’s heart race. All football fans were at the edges of their seats, cringing and bitting their nails through the last plays of the game. Two of the best teams in the league, the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks, went face to face in Glendale, Arizona. Like fans, the players themselves felt tension and pressure. Both teams wanted to win. The game started slowly, scoreless in fact, with both defenses and offenses working at their hardest to outdo each other. Tom Brady, the Patriots quarterback, threw the first touchdown of the game. And so, the Patriots were in the lead until the middle of the second quarter. Right before halftime, Russell Wilson, the Seahawks quarterback, scored two amazing touchdowns, thus putting the Seahawks in the lead. This lead lasted through the third quarter. As a Patriots fan, my heart was sinking slowly and my frustration began to surface, but I had faith that Brady and our offense would be able to get back on their feet and execute. And they did. At the

end of the fourth quarter the Patriots not only caught up, but also got ahead of the Seahawks. The score now 28-24, there were only two minutes left of the game, and the Seahawk’s offense was up. They were perfectly positioned for a touchdown and were on the verge of taking the lead and winning the game. I put my head down because I did not want to see the Patriot’s inevitable defeat. All of the sudden everyone around me began to scream, and my friend pulled my head up and yelled that a Patriot’s player, Malcolm Butler, intercepted the ball. We cheered, screamed and laughed; we were ecstatic that the Patriots had won. This game will always be remembered as one of the most monumental games in the history of the NFL.

SUPERBOWL XLIX ANNAELLE ELHADAD ‘17


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Award Season Fashion 2015Meira Gilbert ’16 !

This year, many stars dressed to match the carpets they were walking on! Here are some of my favorite bold red styles. !

From Left to Right: Benedict Cumberbatch and Sophie Hunter, Taylor Schilling, Lena Dunham, Viola Davis, John Stamos, Dakota Johnson, Rosamund Pike, Solange Knowles, David

Oyelowo, Hellen Mirren, Allison Williams, Julianna Margulies, and Jane Fonda


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EDITORS"Natalie Dicker ’16"Adie Present ’16"

LAYOUT"Meira Gilbert ’16"

FACULTY ADVISOR"Ms. Mandle"

We want writers! If you would like to contribute,

please email [email protected] or speak with one of our

editors!

WRITERS"Nicole Aboodi ’17"Malka Chu ’16"Annaelle Elhadad ‘17"Rebecca Feder ’16"Meira Gilbert ‘16"Jacob Horowitz ’17"Eliana Present ’16"Jonah Sobel ’17"


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Rambuzz Volume 2 Issue 2