The Viper Vibe - Volume 14 Issue 3

Cinderella Live

Drama Goes Blonde

Oscar Winners

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Felix Varela Sr. High School15255 S.W. 96 St., Miami, FL 33196

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Disney’s live action Cin-derella is surprisingly good. We’ll forgive them for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland.

Florida Department of Education blames soft-ware updates and cyber attacks for faulty testing. News headline...or lousy blockbuster pitch?

There are 12 weeks of school left till Summer Break!...

Drama does an amaz-ing production of Legally Blonde the Musical. Bravo!

I have been and always shall be your friend. Live long and prosper, Spock.

...unfortunately, it’s all testing.

t h e v i p e r v i b e @ g m a i l . c o m 3

the editor says: Love my staff

volume 14March ‘15

Editorial BoardEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Cj Salcedo

Jr. EDITORDavid Murray

StaffersJordan ClineAlec Di Lella

Danielle MalkinKrystal Valdes

Cover art byMeghan Espinosa

AdviserElizabeth Cardenas

Editorial PolicyThe Viper Vibe is the student newspaper of Felix Varela Senior High (15255 SW 96 St. Miami, FL, 33196). It is an open forum for student expression. The opinions expressed in the publication do not reflect the official opinions or policies of the school. The Viper Vibe welcomes letters to the editor, but requires that they be signed and reserves the right to reject, edit and condense letters. The staff and advisor can be contacted at 305-752-7900 or [email protected]

AdsThe Viper Vibe solicits advertising but reserves the right to reject any material deemed obscene as to minors, defamatory or materi-ally and substantially disruptive of school activities.Talk to us: [email protected]

Your thoughts may be featured in the next is-sue of the Viper Vibe!

I absolutely love movies. I can quote anything from Empire Strikes Back to The Big Lebowski, recognize almost any actor from some obscure past work, and I can name the winner of the Best Picture Acad-emy Award each year from the past 45 years (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest won in 1975, American Beauty won in 1999). So, with that said, I thought I’d take the time to tell our lovely readers that it’s cool to like different things. It’s even cooler to respect

the things that people like. Whether someone is into different kinds of music, movies or peo-ple, it shouldn’t matter. Now, let’s stop fighting, sit back, andwatch some M*A*S*H.

Thank you #WellThatsJustLikeYourOpinionMan

Cj Salcedo Editor-in-Chief

Test model is flawedWe Say:

Test. It’s the new four-letter word. Just when the state of Florida decided to move away from the FCAT and move more towards Common Core, it decided to strike out on its own and spend millions of taxpayer dol-lars developing, administering, and grading brand new standardized tests.

As if students weren’t tested enough before, now they have the Florida Standards Assessment (FSA…replacing the old FCAT) and End-of-Course Exams (EOCs) for every single class…including electives. How do you even test Stagecraft…Band…Drawing…Drama Improvisation…Yearbook?

In its great wisdom, the state has also required all these tests to be administered on the com-puter. No more paper tests. Hey, gotta save money some-where, right? This extends to elementary schools where teachers are scrambling to teach 5th graders how to type so that they can type their essays into the computer.

Then, the Florida Department of Educa-tion (FLDOE) requires that the computer be-ing used for testing run only on the operating system (OS) of Windows 7 or higher. Mind you, this editorial is being typed on a com-puter in The Viper Vibe room that runs on Windows XP.

As far as Varela is concerned, there are close to 500 computers that run on XP, and because of their age, cannot be upgraded to the higher OS.

While we at The Viper Vibe believe that testing is important, schools need something to gauge what the students have learned all year, we think that the number of tests, their execution, and their weight is impractical and unnecessary.

Besides the FSA and EOCs, students at Varela take a wide variety of other tests. The ESOL students take CELLA. The Reading stu-dents take FAIR. The juniors and seniors take the PERT and SAT and/or ACT. Sophomores take the PSAT. Freshmen and sophomores take the English Language Arts (ELA) writing test. Advanced Placement students take the end-of-the-year AP Exams. Then there are any number of interim and teacher created course quizzes and tests.

Sometimes, it feels like all we do is take tests…or learn how to take tests. The entire school year is spent on test preparation and no actual learning is taking place. The entire

fourth nine-weeks is pretty useless as it is full of stan-dardized testing.

Florida Governor Rick Scott made news in Feb-ruary when he issued an executive order stating that

juniors would not have to be tested in ELA. While this is good news for juniors, it may not last. This may just be a postponement. Juniors may be required to take the test next year, with seniors following in the 2016-2017 school year.

Scott’s one executive order doesn’t even begin to scratch the service of our state’s testing problems. More like testing our pa-tience. Our leaders are politicians that want numbers. But numbers should not be the only deciding factor to determine if a student (or teacher for that matter) is succeeding.

Parents, teachers and students should be contactingtheirlocalandstateofficialsandletting them know that our current testing modelisflawed.Ifthingsdon’tchangesoon,we as students will be nothing more than our numbers.

Parents, teachers and students should be contacting their local and state officials

F r o m t h e E d i t o r s V i e w p o i n t s

N e w s A r o u n d V a r e l a

Legally Blonde takes the stage in spring production

By valery morales andJoselyn Martinez

Staff Reporters@valery_yasmin

[email protected]

Clockwise from top: 1. Sophomore Victoria Saint-Louis plays Elle Woods. 2. Saint-Louis with senior Ryan Bauta who plays Emmett, Elle’s love interest. 3. Senior Olivia Mata plays Paulette, Elle’s faithful stylist. 4. Senior Melissa Barbieri plays Elle’s sorority sister Margot. photos with permission Patrice Saint-Louis Photography

Varela’s Dra-ma depart-ment took everyone to Harvard in their adapta-

tion of the Broadway musical Legally Blonde. The play, which was based off a movie which was based off a book, tells the story of Elle Woods, a sorority girl who enrolls at Harvard Law School to win back her ex-boyfriend Warner. She discovers how her knowledge of the law can help others, and successfully de-fends exercise queen Brooke Wyndham in a murder trial. Itwasamusicalfilledwithhumor,catchy numbers and excellent perfor-mances and a message about persever-anceandself-confidence. The performance that really shined on the stage was sophomore Victoria Saint-Louis, who played Woods. She took on a huge role, which she described as “amazing.” Yet, all that glamour came at a price. “I was the lead, I was in every part of the play meaning I had to be at rehearsal every day and missing a rehearsal would slow down the process of the produc-tion,” she said.

Thankfully, all that hard worked paid off. She sang excellently, delivered her lines with perfect timing and even looked the part of Woods. She couldn’t have been a more perfect representation of the character both physically and vo-cally. Not only were the performances great, but the handmade sets really felt like audiences were in a college setting. “Thesetdefinitelycameoutto-gether, it came out impressive,” senior Sabrina Ramirez said. It was a treat to the eyes, but it also was great to listen to thanks to the ad-dition of the live music being played by Varela’s own Band of Mystery. Overall, Varela’s production of Legally Blonde was a funny, touching and well-made musical that brought an iconic character to our auditorium.

2000s - Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy Instead of telling you why this movie is here, I’ll just leave some quotes here. “Boy that escalated quickly... I mean, that really got out of hand fast.”

“I’m in a glass case of emotion.” “Where’d you get your clothes... from the... toilet store?” “I immediately regret this decision.” Even if you have never seen this movie, you still know where these lines are from. It has become more than some ridiculous and incoherent comedy (which it is), it has become a cultural phenomenon that will never die. It’s kind of a big deal.

1990s - Wayne’s World Although The Big

Lebowski should rightfully be called thefunniestfilm

of the 90s (“That rug really tied the room together, did it not?”), strong opposition from my supe-riors requires me to surrender that claim. Thankfully, the movie that I am putting here is pretty great. Wayne’s World, based off the popular Saturday Night Live skit, is anexperiencefilledwithanon-existent fourth wall that demands to be broken, consistently funny cultural references, and an incred-ibly insane script written by star Mike Myers. It’s probably the most “excellent” comedy here and one of the most quotable ones of the decade. “Party on, Wayne!” “Party on, Garth!”

1980s - Ferris Bueller’s Day Off Even with great movies like Ghostbusters, Cad-dyshack, and one of my all-time favorites Airplane!, all coming out in the 80s, I am ultimately picking Ferris Bueller’s Day off simply because the words “Save Ferris” keep coming to mind. This whole idea that the entire city is rooting for a kid who is faking a sickness is probably one of the funniest things I have ever heard. Matthew Broderick’s character is a perfect representation of any teen-

ager bored by his mundane life, no matter when they grew up. It’s quite possibly the greatest teen comedy of the 80s, andJohnHughes’bestfilm.It’sarequiredmovieforanyhighschool student looking for an escape from reality.

1960s - Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Director and screenwriter Stanley Kubrick originally in-tended to adapt Pe-

ter George’s nuclear war novel, Red Alert as a serious and frightening filmonthedangersofnuclearwar.Instead, he turned it into one of the funniest and darkest comedies ever puttoscreen.ThefilmstarsGeorgeC. Scott, Sterling Hayden and Peter Sellers playing three roles. While not necessarily laugh out loud funny, the movie does deliver some great commentary, and has some great quotable lines.

1970s - Annie Hall Despite what you may think of Woody Allen or whether you felt that Star Wars should have won Best Picture instead, Annie Hall isdefinitelyoneofthefunniestmovies ever made. It’s the story of a man’s journey to discover why his relationship with the titular character (played by Diane Keaton) failed. The writing is witty, the tim-ing is perfect and the story is just great. The movie went on to win four Oscars, including Best Pic-ture, Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress in a Leading Role for Keaton.

By the Numbers...A r o u n d V a r e l a N e w s

Great Comedies5 from the past five decades

photos courtesy of Columbia Pictures Corporation, Rollins-Joffe Productions, Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks SKG

With 2014 being the 20th anniversary of the series Friends, and the comedies Ace Ventura Pet Detective and The Mask, and 2015 marking the 20th for other comedies like Tommy Boy (that whole brake pad sale scene is still hilarious today, I don’t care what anybody says), and Clueless, we at The Viper Vibe thought it would be cool to look at some great comedies from each decade since the 1960s.

#5#4

#3

#2

#1


Inside the Staff Lounge

6 t h e v i p e r v i b e @ g m a i l . c o m

What inspires you? What is yourfavorite word?

What is the hardestequation you ever had

to solve?

What profession other than yourswould you like to attempt?

What sound or noisedo you love?

What is your least favorite word?

What sound or noisedo you hate?

What profession other than yours would you not

like to participate in?

What is yourfavorite number?

Why do you think yoursubject is important for

students to learn?

If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at

the pearly gates?

N e w s A r o u n d V a r e l a

Extemporaneous

Supposedly

Kids learning

Both mydaughters laughing

Loudmotorcycles Electrical Engineer

Social Worker 7

My subject teaches students to think

and use their brains.

“You did good”

These questions are based on the French television series Bouillon de Culture hosted by Bernard Pivot.photo by Jordan Cline

∑n-1

1613( ) n-1

8

Mr. Felix Zayas

Mr. Zayas has been teaching at Felix Varela Sr. High

for 10 years. He teaches Geometry to both freshmen

and sophomores in room 138.

How has testingtaken over our lives?

8 t h e v i p e r v i b e @ g m a i l . c o m

N e w s A r o u n d V a r e l a PERT

ACT

FSA

FAIR

Wading through the testing season With the FCAT kicked to the curb, which test –or tests- will take its place? The answer is the Florida Stan-dardized Assessment (FSA). Similar to Common Core, FSA has two main parts, writing and reading comprehension. The writing portion took place in March. The reading component will take place in April. How different is this new test from the old FCAT Writes? Some students and teachers have been appre-hensive about the new test and what it may entail. With teachers needing to base their curriculum on a new test and students anxious about the change, it’s clear why staff and students would feel this way. “I felt it was too easy for all the preparations teachers put into it,” said sophomore Devoun Cetoute. “It honestly feels like the FCAT but typed on the computer and has some passages to read.” Essentially, with the new format, rather than just a standard prompt to which students had to respond, they are now given a prompt along with three sources arguing for and against the prompt. Then, students must type, edit and revisetheirfinishedessay. After much speculation on how different it would be typed (previous essays were hand-written), most students were relaxed and comfortable with the software. Freshman Fatima Saenz said she “didn’t mind doing the writing test through the computer.” There have also been technical problems with the computer-based exams. According to NBC 6, “The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is inves-tigating cyber-attacks on a server used to administer the Florida Standards Assessment

that led to statewide testing delays.” A pencil and paper back up was used in most cases, yet the FDLE is still con-cerned. “While most Florida students are continuing to test successfully, we now know that some of the delays in testing were due to cyber-attacks on our testing sys-tem operated by American Institutes for Research (AIR),” Education Commissioner Pam Stewart said in a statement. (NBC6) Here at Varela, testing officiallystartedonMondayMarch 2, but was cancelled half-way through the day due to the state’s technical prob-lems. Testing did not resume until Thursday, March 5. In April, freshmen and sophomores will be taking the new FSA Reading test. While a new standardized test doesn’t usually cause panic, in this case, the new test has not been seen by teachers. In effect, teachers are preparing students for a test that no one has seen yet. Not only is the FSA a major hot topic for schools in Florida, but the state has made end-of-course exams

photos by Jordan Cline and Danielle Malkin

“The FSA was a relatively easy test. I had no complications, but my only complaint was that we did not have enough time to prepare.”

- Andres Leon (10)

“Getting [the test] started was a little bit of an issue, not the actual test. Pen and paper is obviously much easier by nature, it just is. But this [computer testing] was fine, there were no is-sues.”

- Mr. Chris Migueles (English teacher)

“I thought it [FSA Writing] was a little difficult, but I feel it will help me with college.”

- Aliyah Linares (10)


A r o u n d V a r e l a N e w s

How are Teachers Evaluated?EOC

SATInterim

CE

LLA According to the Florida Department of Education’s (FLDOE) website, half of a teacher’s evaluation is based on the Value Added Model (VAM). A student’s VAM score is not just based on test scores. There are several variables involved, which include:

• The number of subject-relevant courses in which the student is enrolled

• Two prior years of achievement scores • Students with Disabilities (SWD) status• English language learner (ELL) status• Gifted status• Attendance• Mobility (number of transitions)• Difference from modal age in grade (as an indicator of

retention)• Class size• Homogeneity of entering test scores in the class

A teacher’s value-added score comes from two compo-nents,“onethatreflectshowmuchtheschool’sstudentsonaverage gained above or below similar students in the state andanotherthatreflectshowmuchtheteacher’sstudentonaverage gained above or below similar students within the school” (FLDOE). The FLDOE describes this model with a particular equa-tion.

Wading through the testing season

AP

(EOC) required for every class, including electives. Research on both Miami-Dade County Public School’s web-site and the Florida Depart-ment of Education’s website has proved fruitless, since there is no information on the tests. This has elective teach-ers, like yearbook adviser Zoila Garcia, worried. “How do I test design ele-ments on a student who is a writer, or writing on a student who is a better designer?” she said. All of this testing is not only a problem that stu-dents face, teachers fear the preparation process and how difficultitwouldbetoputouta product and successfully teach students the testing material. Electives such as drama, art, band, TV production, dance, and yearbook create products. Rarely do these teachers stand in the front of a classroom lecturing. If the teacher must spend their time preparing students for a multiple-choice test, when do they have the time to put on a play, paint, play their instru-ments, produce the morning news show, learn a new dance step, or create a 300-page

yearbook publication? “How do I prepare the students for this?” Garcia said. The situation has since escalated to protests from parents, teachers and stu-dents, as well as a petition on Change.org asking to ban all EOCs from every grade level. High-school students are not the only ones worrying about taking these exams. All over the state, both middle and elementary schools have these required tests. The FSA is also hitting these lower grade levels. Eighth graders Nicholas and Andres Salcedo, who attend Archimedean Middle Conservatory, were nervous about having to take it on the computerforthefirsttime. “We don’t type a lot and we don’t really feel good about taking this test,” they said. Parents have complained about how much pressure these tests are putting on stu-dents who have not even been properly taught how to type. The State of Florida itself recognizes that the amount of testing is overwhelming. In February, Governor Rick Scott’spressofficereleaseda statement in which he admitted, “I have heard from parents and teachers that there are too many tests and I agree.” Florida’s Education Commissioner Pam Stewart “recommended a reduction in the number of tests Florida students in public schools are required to take.” One week before the FSA Writing was to begin, Scott issued Executive Order 15-31 which sus-pended testing for 11th grade students.

Contributing WritersJordan ClineAlec DiLella

CJ Salcedo

“where denotes the test score for student i, is the coef-ficientassociatedwithgth prior test score, is the coef-ficientassociatedwithcovariatej, is the common school component of school k assumed , is the effect of teacher m in school k assumed and is the random error term assumed . The school and teacher effects were treated as random effects, and the teacher-andschool-specificvaluesareempiricalBayesestimates” (FLDOE).

1 0 t h e v i p e r v i b e @ g m a i l . c o m

L i f e s t y l e M o v i e s

Best PictureBest Director

Best Original ScreenplayBirdman

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) is something more of a strange ego trip than afilm.It’sthekindofexperiencethatseemsweird,yetinvitingatthesametime.It’salsoan experience that no sensible person would want to leave. The story of Riggan Thomson (played by the award-deserving Michael Keaton) is the story of humanity. It is a story of rel-evance, fame and celebrity. That is why Birdman is not only worthy of its win, it is worthy of the title “Film of the Decade” or even “Film of the Century.” It manages to hit all the marks and firesonallcylinders.Fromagreatscriptwrittenbydirector/writerAlejandroG.Iñárritu,tostellar performances by Keaton, Edward Norton, and Emma Stone, there is no element of the movie that can be removed to improve. There is no improving upon perfection, which is what Birdman is.

Best Adapted ScreenplayThe Imitation GameGraham Moore’s screenplay may have given Alan Turning some attention he deserved, but I can’t help but feel that Paul Thomas Anderson deserved it for his adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice. It was funny, well-acted, well-shot and most importantly, very well-written. Plus, I think An-derson’s Oscar is long overdue (The Master should have been up for Best Picture, Director at least.)

Best Supporting ActorJ.K. Simmons, WhiplashAlthough Edward Norton did an excellent job in Birdman (I would quote the character, but there’s just too much profanity), JK Simmons’ role as abusive drum instructor Terrence Fletcher is something special, and deserving of the gold.

Best Supporting ActressPatricia Arquette, BoyhoodIn her acceptance speech, Patricia Arquette talks about being a mother and how it had helpedherwiththefilm.InBoyhood, she along with the cast grows and matures over the years. She did a great job playing the role she loves playing so much in real life.

t h e v i p e r v i b e @ g m a i l . c o m 1 1

M o v i e s L i f e s t y l e

Best ActressJulianne Moore, Still AliceDespite my complaint with Eddie Redmayne, at times, playing a disabled character can be tasteful and subtle. Take Julianne Moore in Still Alice. She playsthepartofadoctorafflictedwithAlzheimer’sdisease. Most reviews cite it as an accurate portray-al of the disease and have praised Julianne Moore’s performance.

Best ActorEddie Redmayne,

The Theory of EverythingAlthough Eddie Redmayne did truly trans-form himself to play the part of Stephen Hawking, I can’t help but hear the words Oscar bait escape my mouth. (King’s Speech or Forrest Gump came to mind as well, but those are two movies that people will defend to their graves.) So, I was deeply disappointed by this one. I felt that Michael Keaton deserved to win the big prize. If not him, then Steve Carell. He’s an actor who trans-formed himself in a way where it’s impossible to see him the same way again.

Oscar Awards By Cj SalcedoEditor-in-Chief@cj_fett_salcedo

By Danielle MalkinStaff Reporter

IG: @_candidani



Disney expands its live-action world with Cinderella

Kenneth Branagh dons his latest directorial credit in the new Cinderella, Disney’s Live-Action spin on the age old story of a girl turned servant, a fairy godmother, some magical shoes, a night to remember, and the quick-est shot at happily ever after. If only it were that easy. Thefilmstickstothetraditional tale of young Ella (Lily James), whose beauti-ful life is swept away like the cinders that soon embody her, as her stepmother Lady Tremaine (Cate Blanchett) and stepsisters take the reins on what was once every little girl’s dream: a beautiful mother, a loving father, and a “magical” life. ItisthefinalwordsofEl-la’smotherthatwilldefinitelystick with the young protago-nist and female movie goers for longer than the screening: “Have courage and be kind.” There is a prince, a pumpkin and the glass slipper that will all fade to grey at the stroke of midnight, but Disney is beginning to play its

part in the lives of young girls. As the next generation of Disney girls grows up with Princesses such as Merida, of Brave and sisters Anna and Elsa in mega blockbuster Fro-zen, the company is branding its female protagonists as clever, independent and beau-tiful (inside and out), rather than waiting up in the tower for Prince Charming. Ariel may have traded her voice for legs, but in Branagh’s Cinderella, James will mount her own horse and ride to her own emotional catharsis away from her evil family. There is an evident strength in this new Cinder-ella, who meets our Prince Kit (Richard Madden) all alone in the woods. She does not swoon or fawn over the stranger, but remains in calm demeanor and her true self. Neither pry for too much information about the other, and the scene keeps its Dis-ney naivety intact. Cinderella approaches the ball in a gown that ap-

pears to be alive (thank you Helena Bonham Carter as Fairy Godmother), and crystal shoes that could only be the work of top notch animation only to, as we suspect, shock the world of nobility, and the young Prince Kit. We all know it from here: she leaves her shoe, there is a kingdom-wide quest and the two will reunite. But the smallest details and lacings of strength and individualism, are every-whereinthefilm,slowlypav-ing the way for the indepen-dent princess. We, as an audience, see Cinderella utilize her strength and kindness to move her way along a life that seems ordinary to her, but torturous to us. Cinderella can be found throughoutthefilmread-ing, writing, throwing verbal shade at Lady Tremaine and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb (oh, excuse me, the stepsisters)andfightingforwhat she believes in. When offered help with

laborious tasks, she denied help. When Lady Tremaine offers her a life with the prince in exchange for her step-mother’s lifelong control, Cinderella says no. And when given the chance to curse Lady Tremaine over forever, there are only three words that escape the lips of Lily James: “I forgive you.” It’s a bit much to say Disney is becoming a guiding hand in the next generation of feminism ideals work-ing in cahoots with Disney princesses; in all honesty, I can’t see Snow White march-ing on Washington without a bra or Princess Aurora taking the microphone at a congres-sional hearing on women’s healthcare, but it is a strong start. Branagh’s take captures the essence of Cinderella’s traditional story, while allow-ing its leading lady to shed light on female independence and individualism, and re-minding all of us at home, to have courage and always be kind.

Above: Lily James is Cinderella and Cate Blanchett is the Stepmother in Disney’s live-action feature “Cinder-ella.” Right: James is Cinderella in the feature inspired by the classic fairy tale, “Cinderella.” photos with permission Disney/TNS/MCT

By Alec DiLellaStaff Reporter@AlecDilella

Jonny Weston is David Raskin, Sam Lerner is Quinn Goldberg and Allen Evangelista is Adam Le in “Project Alma-nac,” from Insurge Pictures, in association with Michael Bay. photo with permission Paramount Pictures/ MCT

It’s clear that the subject of time travel has captivated audiences since itsfirstdepictioninmotionfilms.Mostprominently, the Back to the Future tril-ogy and The Butterfly Effect portray the effects of altering the space time contin-uum in the world around us. A complex subject no doubt, with continuity errors rampantanddifficultymaintainingcontrol. Being able to piece together a plotthatremainsfluiddespitemultiplechanging variables and aspects is an art. Project Almanac seems to achieve thisfluiditydespiteanoticeablymorecomplex story-line than, say, Back to the Future. It delves deeper into the details of how seemingly small decisions and

insignificantactionscanaffectthebig-ger picture, and send the world spiral-ing down. Instead of going from cause straight to effect, it goes from cause to effect and then takes a step back to ex-plain the many alterations that led to the end effect. In terms of cast, as was expected witharelativelysmallbudgetfilmwitha relatively unknown group, the acting was sub-par; not one actor or actress was terrible, but only one stood out as being exceptionally impressive. Jonny Weston, who played David, proved to be a valuable part of the mov-ie. He knew and understood the charac-ter he needed to play and the emotions

that needed to be conveyed during the progression of the plot, which brings me to the main point of my interest towards the movie: emotion. Project Almanac evokes emotion intheaudience,whichisdifficulttodo.Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s nowhere near as effective at expressing emotion as, say, Schindler’s List, or Shawshank Redemption, but it sets itself apart from the norm of the 21st century in its own right. Project Almanac is the product of an interesting idea and excellent organization (and perhaps an excellent continuity department).

Michael Bay delivers time after time


Time Out with Jonny Weston

How do you think the general audience is going to react to the movie and the message the movie has?IthinkwhenIfirstpickedupthescript,that’swhatitwas,that’swhatIsawin the page, that it’s fun. It’s great fun. It’s found footage so you could be in the car with this, you could be in the basement with this. Really you could be the one holding the camera. It was really important to me and I think that’s why I got the role as opposed to other people. It’s because I really wanted to explore the dark part of the concept of time travel and the idea that it’s an addiction.What’s the difference to you between working on Indie films and ma-jor motion pictures?Well this one is surprisingly Indie, especially for Michael Bay. He’s a big explosion type of guy and this movie is not $150 million. I’ve always done theseIndiefilms...anditkindofgivesyouthisfreedomtobecreativeandgo off the page to say what you want. So with this one, we were able to do really Indie stuff and make up our own lines and have this slower pace and this off-beat type of behavior, knowing that Michael Bay was going to take that and make it into a perfect meshing of Indie and Studio.

The Viper Vibe met up with Project Almanac star Jonny Westonat a recent press junket.



Hero’s storystirs, inspires

Kyle Gallner, left, as Goat-Winston and Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Village Roadshow Pictures’ drama American Sniper. photo with permis-sion Warner Bros. Pictures/MCT

Cooper portrays real life Seal marksman

Released on Christmas day, directed by Academy-Award winner Angelina Jolie, and written by Joel and Ethan

Coen, Unbrokenisafilmbasedonthebestsellingbook of the same name, written by Laura Hillen-brand. It tells the amazing tale of Louis Zamperini (Jack O’Connell), an Olympic runner who served as a bombardier in World War II. When his plane crashesintothePacificOcean,heandafellowcrew member survive in a raft for 47 days only to be captured by Japanese soldiers and sent to P.O.W. camps. Unbroken was well put together. It was not just some hastily-made biopic thrown out to the world. Countless other directors were considered for the project, but it ultimately went to Jolie after she actively sought the job. Jolie met with Zam-perinisomuchinpreparationforthefilmthatthey became dear friends. (Today) Jolie stayed as true to his story as time would permit and her efforts paid off making the viewer really feel for Zamperini. Unfortunately, Zamperini died July 2, 2014, but he was able to see a part of the movie and his life relived for a moment. The movie portrays Zamperini as a remark-able hero with a determined spirit. Too bad this sensationalfilmwouldreceivenolovefromtheAcademy. With only three nominations from the Oscars (Cinematography, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing),Ifeltthe5-starfilmdeservedmorethanthese three. Jolie would get snubbed for the Best Director category and star O’Connell being nominated for nothing. I felt the Academy made a big mistake in shovingthistotheside.Unbrokenisafilmthatwill both inspire and entertain generations to come.

photo courtesy of 3 Arts Entertainment

By David MurrayJunior Editor@heyydavid

By Jahhel ThernelanStaff Reporter@_jt13

American Sniper is the true story of the United Sates’ most lethal sniper, Chris Kyle. It was directedbybothfilmandwarveteran Clint Eastwood and stars Bradley Cooper as Kyle. It was also based off of Kyle’s biography of the same name. While it began as a fairly low budgetfilm(itcostabout$58million to make this movie), it has gone on to make over $430 mil-lion world-wide, and is one of the highest grossing war movies of all time,beatingoutfilmslikePlatoon and Saving Private Ryan. American Sniper opened to limited release on Christmas Day in order to qualify for the 2014-2015 awards season. It gained positive reviews from critics and was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor for star Cooper. The movie is based on Kyle’s military career as a sniper for the Navy Seals. He served four tours of duty in Iraq and became what many called “The Legend,” due to the number of kills he’d gotten on thebattlefield. Cooper did an amazing job of portraying Kyle. It wasn’t just his physique, (according to IMDB.com, he packed on 40 pounds to bulk up) or shooting ability, but he was able to demonstrate Kyle’s

psychological trauma and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). In spite of his horrificactions,Cooperallowedaudiences to sympathize with his situation. While the acting was wonder-ful and the cinematography was superb (some of the best since Saving Private Ryan), the pacing of the movie was a little slow. The war scenes were fast and typical of this kind of movie. However, the scenes about Kyle’s personal life tended to drag. The movie clocked in at 132 minutes, which may not seem like much with today’s movies, but I was checking my phone to see how much time I had left. My legs literally felt like noodles when I got up at the end of the movie. Cooper wanted very much to get Kyle’s story right, espe-cially since Kyle was killed at a gun range by a fellow veteran in 2013 duringproductionofthefilm. Overall, American Sniper was agood,thoughlongfilm.Ithadsome superb acting from Cooper (quite possibly the best from his careersofar)andflawlessdirec-tion from Eastwood. It is a great way to remember a skilled marks-man’s career serving our nation.

Top 5 Domestic Grossing Post-9/11 War Films1. American Sniper - $341 million

2. Lone Survivor - $125 million3. Zero Dark Thirty - $95 million

4. Act of Valor - $70 million5. Jarhead - $62 million


M u s i c L i f e s t y l e

By Krystal ValdesStaff ReporterIG: @i’mal00ser

photo courtesy of Republic Records

by Krystal Valdes

U.K. delivers new boy band

photos courtesy of Inter-scope Records

The Australian family founded band, Sheppard, has released its new single “Geronimo” which is rapidly ascending the U.S. charts. This catchy tune is upbeat and exciting—making you want to sing along. Not only is “Geronimo” a lyrical de-stressor but it offers your ears the pleasure of euphoric melodies. This song favors the idea of jump-ing into the unknown, and according to singer George Sheppard, “taking leaps of faith and doing something everybody

else totally thinks is going to fail but you have the courage to see it through and get through it.” Sheppard is made up of siblings George, Amy, and Emma, guitarists Jay Bovino and Dean Gordon and drummer Michael Butler. Sheppard has done a more than excellent job in capturing the essence of “Geronimo.” Itisthefirstsingleofftheirdebutal-bum Bombs Away which became available on March 10.

At the beginning of 2013, Rixton was a not-so-popular boy band strug-glingtofindattentionfromthemedia.But after being discovered by Scooter Bruan, a popular talent manager, from a cover that the group had posted on YouTube, their careers were set. The boy band’s emergence from online singers to becoming a supporting act for stars like Justin Bieber, paved their way to star-dom. After releasing their debut, it seems that the British boy band has attracted more and more attention from their fan base,resultingintwoconfirmedopen-ings for Ariana Grande and Ed Sheeran’s North American tours. Consisting of four members, Jake Roche (lead vocalist and rhythm guitar-ist), Charley Bagnall (lead guitarist and vocalist), Danny Wilkin (bassist, key-boardist, and vocalist), and Lewi Morgan (drummer and vocalist), Rixton’s music ranges from a soulful brand of R&B to pop, which can be compared to Maroon

5 and Bruno Mars. Rixton starts off their debut album Let the Road with an ear-enhancing a ca-pella of the same name, which includes beautiful harmonies and an inspirational message of not being discouraged by the difficultiesinlife. The album also offers popular singles “Me and My Broken Heart” and “Wait on Me” which were both on Bill-board’s Hot 100 Chart. Although the album offers catchy, upbeat songs that make you want to belt out in the shower, there’s also “Hotel Ceiling.” Written by Ed Sheeran, this song depicts the story of an unhealthy relationship between a couple, result-inginthedeathofthesignificantother.Truthfully, every time I hear the song I want to bawl and possibly sue Sheeran for making me go through an emotional crisis for three minutes and eleven sec-onds. But ignoring the waterfall of tears, this song is lyrical genius. Another personal favorite of mine,

“Appreciated,” is a perfect acoustic-driv-en pop piece that allows one’s self-es-teem to rise as they sway to the beautiful guitar riffs in the background. This song is a perfect representation of the talent Rixton has, portraying the vocals that meld together like a symphony of Tum-blr boys. Don’t get me wrong, this debut album has its faults—not having more tracks. Every single song in this album has such wonderful lyric choices and harmonies that I’m starting to question any other band I listen too. Individual songs on the album are selling for $1.29 on both iTunes and Amazon. However, you’ll love so many of their songs, that at the album price of $7.99, you’ll actu-ally save money just buying the whole album. Not only is the price a rarity in today’s music industry, but the amount of talent these four boys have is extraor-dinary. Rixton is not a typical British boy band. I look forward to seeing what the future brings them.


By Danielle MalkinStaff Reporter

IG: @_candidani

S p o r t s A r o u n d V a r e l a

Senior Miguel Coira dribbles the ball down the field. Coira scored the tie-breaking goal in the regional semi-final game against Reagan-Doral Sr. High. photo by Fox-Mar

Growing up in South Florida, it seems as if soccer has a larger presence here than anywhere else in the continental United States. If one were to travel to Connecticut or Texas or California and utter the word “football,” images of homecoming kings and 6’5” lineman stocked in pads and helmets pops into the heads of these non-natives. But in the “Mi-ami Dictionary,” there might as well be two definitionsofthewordfootball. At Felix Varela, it’s no different. Five soccer banners proudly hang in the gymnasi-um,allowingforreflec-tion on Vipers of the past and inspiration for the future. Among its various

Boys Soccer breaks dry spellsports, Varela holds overfivedistricttitles,four regional titles, one Greater Miami Athletic Conference Champi-onship, back to back state titles (2006-07 and 2007-08) and one national crown (2007-08). Without a doubt, soccer is serious at Felix Varela, but the Vipers would soon hit a dry spell. According to Assistant Coach Giancarlo Orichio, as other schools became “strong” and “formi-dable,” the Vipers went unnoticed. This year, however, struck a new chord with the Varela Viper Boys Soccer team.“A banner hasn’t been put up since 2008, so it was important to us,” senior Mauricio Torres said. A strong start in conference play would eventually lead to the chance at another

district title, and for Varela, a chance at leading once again in District 5A-16. “It was very satis-fying because our boys are very disciplined and hardworking,” Orichio said. The Vipers would face the Coral Reef Barracudas in the dis-trictfinal,lookingforredemption not only in the name of soccer, but for Varela, and another proud banner; the game held a district crown and continuation into regional and state titles. With the ball in play, it was all up to the boys in green. Junior Haitam Chanti would makethefirstViper goal, leaving the game tied. It was All-Dade ranked senior Matthew Franco who would score

thefinalgoal,solidify-ing another district title in the name of Varela. “The fact that I helped the team to vic-tory made me feel even better,” Franco said about securing the win. “It was a great season and it’s a great feeling having all my team-mates and making it as far as we got. I’m just grateful to have a moti-vating and supporting

coach whose always pushing us to get better and better.” And just like that, another banner was ordered. We should expect it high in the Varela gym within the next year. The team went on to face the Ronald Regan-Doral Bison in regional play winning thesemi-finalmatch2-1. They would eventually duke it out with Broward County’s Cypress Bay Senior Highforafifthregionaltitle; unfortunately, the Lightening would walk away with the win 5-1. But the district titlewouldstillfinditself in Viper halls and the Boys Soccer team would end their season on a high note. “Winning the title was amazing… this sea-son was just phenom-enal,” Torres said. Theteamfinishedthe 2014-15 season 9-2-3, and a sixth district title, with only one more point scored (all season) than Coral Reef: 30. As for next season? No promises have been made for a back to back title, a state playoff berth or the promise of

another national crown, but as Coach Orichio said, there will be more worth in the moments uncalculated and unplanned. “I made great relationships with these kids. We had a lot of fun together. Above it all, we had some unforgettable mo-ments,” he said.After several unfruitful years, Boys Soc-

cer wins the District Championsip. The boys defeated Ronald Reagan-Doral 2-1. photo by G. Orichio

BaseballThe Viper Baseball team is back in action and bringing success back to the diamond: The boys currently hold a record of 10-2-1, and are contending for a top seed in the district. “It’s been a great opportunity to see such individual growth,” Assistant Head Coach Eryk Dees said about his experiences in the dugout. Big news came for the team when Varela Baseball Alumna Johnny Barbato was traded to the New York Yankees, bringing a little “pinstripe pride” to Viper Territory. Mixed TennisOn the court are the Varela Boys and Girls Tennis teams, led by head coach Judy Kubit. Facing a district composed of the current state champions (as well as second and third place), the Vipers are showing well with a record of 2-3. In April, the team will compete in district tournament. “They know it’s tough, but they’re trying their best,” Coach Kubit said.Boys VolleyballUndefeated at Varela is the Boys Volleyball team; towering over their competition (and most of the student population), the boys findthemselvesindistrictcontentionforanotherseason.Statisticleaders include senior Alejandro Gonzalez, who averages a whop-ping near 30 kills per game. “The team has humble ambitions to perfect our ability to play the game,” said junior and Captain Ran-dallElkind.“Theunityweshareishardtocopy,filledwithrespon-sibility as well as passion.”Girls’ SoftballFor the ladies on the diamond, it’s been a little tougher, as the Lady Viper Softball team currently holds a record of 2-8. “This is a rebuilding year,” said sophomore Carla Rodriguez, “It’s been hard work, but we’re trying our best. Rodriguez hit three triples and one single in the ladies standout victory over the Killian Cougars. Seniors Kayla Leon and Samantha Saywack, sophomore Janelle Dominguez, and junior Cassandra Iglesias have also proved to be assets to this year’s squad. Mixed Track and FieldScientifically,Vipersdon’thavelegs,buttheVarelaTrackandFieldteam has had quite the season. Senior Neysa Parham led the Viper ladies at the Greater Miami Athletic Conference (GMAC) competi-tion, where she says the team, as well as individual, performance has seen quite a boost. Parham was the only female runner to continueontofinalsforcrosscountryaswell.JuniorIleniaGarciaproves to be an asset to the ladies team, too, with spectacular per-formances in the 100 and 200 yard dash. The Boys Track and Field team is seeing similar success this year. Junior Jeremiah Stringer placed 7th at GMAC competition, having a great performance in double long jump. Senior, and tri-sport athlete,AdrianElkindalsoadvancedforthediscussfieldeventinthe hopes to compete in the decathlon at the collegiate level. Fi-nally, the boys 4x100 team (Anthony Guevara (12), Jovanny Valdez (10), Delano Morgan (10), and Stringer) had a strong showing at GMAC’s this year. Mixed Badminton Vipers are seeing positive action on the court, with the Boys and Girls Badminton teams led by Coach Ryan Schneider. Holding a record of 4-4-1, the team, and certain individuals, are in conten-tion for top spots within the district. “It’s been a real fun group to work with,” Coach Schneider said. “They were all new to the sport and now it’s really competitive and very serious.” Standing out on the ladies side are 2nd Place Youth Fair champions seniors Valeria Ruiz and Valeria Matallana. Meanwhile, seniors Robert Armand and Miguel Coira, and junior Randall Elkind (yes, the volleyball team captain) are leading the boys.

Spring Sports

photos by Fox-Mar

By danielle malkinstaff reporter

IG: @_candidani

The word “football” takes on a whole new mean-ing as soon as you cross the pond. (To

quote Legally Blonde: The Musical “Shiny shirts and Tiny Shorts”) However, the National Football League (NFL), is hop-ing to make the American staple com-monplace on the international scene. Helmets and offensive lineman standing shoulder to shoulder with the Queen? The tradition itself goes back to 2007, when the New York Giants took our very own Miami Dolphins to the fieldatWembleyStadium(Yes,wherethey play the Wimbledon Open). Fast forward, the NFL has scheduled games and pre-game performances all the way through 2016. So who’s buying into more airtime underneath the Union

Jack? The Jacksonville Jaguars will play a home game in the International Series until 2016; if the games prove to be successful,bothsocially,financiallyandculturally, the league will look to expand into Europe. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodall andfellowofficialshavebeenlookingforexpansion for quite some time and “view the International Series as a way to build fan interest in a London-based team.” Accordingtoofficials,itwas“lessif,and more when.” So in 50 or 100 years, when we teach Advanced Placement United States History, and get to the fun topic of impe-rialism, will we teach of Teddy Roosevelt and the Jacksonville Jaguars? Roger Goodall and his policy to “throw nicely and carry a nice wallet.” The expansion looks to be posi-

tive for the American sports market, introducing world travel to its homely football fans. And who knows? Maybe you can enjoy your pret-zel and beverage adjacent to tea and crumpets in the middle of an American Football game, give or take a few years.

NFL goes across the pond

2015 International SeriesWembley Stadium, London

NY Jets vs. Miami DolphinsSunday, October 4

CBS

Buffalo Bills vs. Jacksonville JaguarsSunday, October 25

CBS

Detroit Lions vs. Kansas City ChiefsSunday, November 1

Fox

1 8 t h e v i p e r v i b e @ g m a i l . c o m photos courtesy of nfl.com

S p o r t s O u t s i d e V a r e l a

Column By cj salcedoEditor-in-chief

@cj_fett_salcedo

Miami Heat cools down

Clockwise from top: 1. Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James hugs Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade just before the game on March 16, at American Airlines Arena in Miami. 2. Miami Heat’s Hassan Whiteside shoots over the defense of Boston Celtics’ Tyler Zeller during the first quarter on March 9, at American Airlines Arena in Miami. 3. The Miami Heat’s Goran Dragic drives to the basket in the third quarter against Brooklyn Nets at the Ameri-can Airlines Arena in Miami on March 11. The Heat won, 104-98. 4. Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra give instructions in the second quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at the American Airlines Arena in Miami on March 11. photos with permission El Nuevo Herald/MCT

The Miami Heat is not only one of basketball’s biggest teams, but it’s also one of the most controversial. For years, fan reception, even though they have won two championships (they lost to the San Antonio Spurs at last year’s Championships, yet won two in a row in

the preceding years), has been mixed. Ever since small forward Lebron James came from Cleveland and went back, the Heat has been the source for all the love and criticism that Miami fans are known for. Now,withthe2014-2015NBAseasonapproachingitsfinalmonths,MiamihasbeenstrugglingtofindanyhopeforaspotinthePlayoffs.TheMiamiHeraldstatedthat“afewdays ago, Dwyane Wade cautioned that three consecutive losses could be devastating for his team’s playoff chances.” Wadealsosaid,“Wehavetofigureoutatsometimeduringtheselastgamestoputastreak together at some point. And we’ve got a challenging schedule coming up with tough games, so we’re going to have to do more than win one and lose one, and try to put a streak together.” (Miami Herald) In other words, it has been a rough season for our city’s team. They have not been able to maintain a winning-streak and have been losing too many games. With a 31-36 record, a star player (James) leaving back in June, and Chris Bosh hav-ing health problems, could we really expect them to make it? In no way am I criticizing this team. There is still a chance considering the slew of new players that they drafted and received in trades, players like University of Connecticut’s point guard Shabazz Napier or Phoenix Suns Guard Goran Dragic. I don’t know for sure. They have all the right components, they just need more drive. They still need to try hard to make it to late April. I think that they have worked too hard to just give up easily. There are a few weeks left until the playoffs; if they really push themselves, their team name willbeamongthosefightingforFinalsgold. It’s a long journey, but the heat is still on for Miami.

Playoffs loom large for a team plagued by problems

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Documents

The Viper Vibe - Volume 14 Issue 3