Kyra Kitchen

The new Xbox sold one million systems on its release date alone. It came out on November 23, 2013 in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Microsoft is coming out with several new exclusive games. Eight of the most wanted games are Titanfall, Dead Rising 3, Forza Motorsport 5, Project Spark, Ryse: Son of Rome, Quantum Break, a new Halo, and Fable Legends. The graphics are 1080p and the system supports 4k display. 

The new Xbox allows you to do two things at once. You can play a game while watching TV or other videos. You can customize the home screen layout however you want, using color and organization. The Xbox lets you watch music videos, the NFL, TV shows, and movies.

The Kinect comes with the system, unlike the Xbox 360. When you wave at it, the Kinect will log you in automatically; it recognizes your face! You can turn the system on just by telling it to. At any point while the Xbox is on, you can command it to do whatever you want; go to home, play a song, play a movie, etc. etc.

The Xbox One costs $499.99 at most stores. It comes with the Xbox One, the new Kinect, and one new controller.

                                
Marie Ficaj

Watching a newly released DVD is a great way to spend a night in. If you missed one of these films in the theater, now is a great opportunity to check them out. So, just take a trip downtown to Family Video and rent one of these hot new releases.

I conducted a survey to find which movies students would most likely rent. Out of Despicable Me 2, Hangover 3, Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Jobs, and We’re the Millers, the results were overwhelmingly in favor of renting We’re the Millers. Many say that this movie will be sure to have you laughing! This movie features Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis, Will Poulter, and Emma Roberts. We’re the Millers is about four strangers coming together pretending to be a family to accomplish a mission. IMDb gave this film a 3.5/5 stars. Whitmore’s own Bobo exclaims, “That movie was hilarious!” But even though this movie was voted the best from our fellow classmates, it may not be kid friendly since it’s rated R.

The least favorite movie voted was Jobs. Our friend Brittany boldly explains, “It’s the stupidest movie I have seen in my entire life!” This movie takes you on a journey through Steve Jobs’ rise to fame. It features the teenage heartthrob, Ashton Kutcher. But I have to say, Ashton, not your finest JOB.

So, if you’re in the mood to laugh until you cry, rent the hilariously inappropriate We’re the Millers. All of the movies we mentioned are now available on DVD. You can find them in your local video store. If the weather outside is frightful, these movies are oh so delightful!

                                   Amelia Schroeder

                                              
Miley Cyrus just released a new album called Bangerz. It’s very different from her Hannah Montana and Can’t be Tamed days. Due to its content, I would recommend this album to young adults, not young children.

The album was released on October 4, 2013. Miley has 3 hit singles from this album, We Can’t Stop, Wrecking Ball, and 23. All of these songs are very popular on the Music Billboard and are top singles on ITunes. The music videos of these songs are very popular as well and display Miley’s personality.  Many people describe young Cyrus as a southern hip hop artist, and  this album is very much a hip hop album.

As you listen to the lyrics, you can tell that she was trying to tell a story. This story is about her personal life and her struggles as an artist and actor in the L.A world. I believe that Wrecking Ball tells the best story. It is about how she let someone in, and they he ended up hurting her, leaving her devastated and mad even though she still loves him. The song is most likely to be about her ex-fiancée, Liam Hemsworth.

Even though many people miss Miley’s Hannah Montana music days, I believe this is her best album yet. Cyrus has started to embrace herself and let the world know as to how she feels about life.

           

By Kaitlyn Kelley

  The movie Gravity, directed by Alfonso Cuaron, is about a woman, Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock), and a man, Matt Kowalski (George Clooney), who are survivors of a destroyed space shuttle. They must overcome many obstacles in space as a result. Debris is an issue, and when it hit, Ryan and Matt must separate, leaving it up to Ryan to save herself and get back home to earth. Throughout the film, Ryan goes through many internal conflicts and hallucinations, and finds herself desperate in the silence of space.

                Gravity is a great movie to see if you are interested in astronaut’s unfortunate experiences in outer space. It is not necessarily the best family, childrens, or teenage movie, at least in my case. Although Gravity is rated PG-13, I found it to be rather terrifying and tedious. However, the film does show the realization of how greatly someone can miss and appreciate the little things on earth. Gravity also sends a valuable message on how to never give up, even in a moment of panic. Overall, the film does not have a very action-filled plot; it  mainly focuses on Ryan drifting in space in a panic. Simply put, this movie exhibits a space mission gone wrong. I would rate Gravity a 3/10 and would only recommend it to an individual who is truly interested in the conflicting  wonders and dangers of outer space.

By Amelia Schroeder

Miley Ray Cyrus was a young Disney Channel star; her show was called Hannah Montana. It was and still is wildly popular with kids and young teenagers. Since the show ended in 2011, Miley’s life changed in many ways. Many people like the way she acts and portrays herself, but many also don’t appreciate her new behavior.

Her transformation from the Disney Channel star to grown-up star began in 2010 when she did the movie The Last Song. She met her ex- fiancé Liam Hemsworth. Since then, she was in the movies LOL and So Undercover.  When her album, “Can’t be Tamed” came out, it was another sign of her growing up.  “We Can’t Stop” was the first song she released from her 2013 album “Bangerz”, which was the first song that sparked her movement. She’s changed her look too; last year she decided to cut off her long brown hair for a blonde pixie hair cut.

Many people and parents don’t like the way she has started to act recently.  Specifically, when she performed “We Can’t Stop” at the VMA’s she got a lot of negative feedback. She had a foam finger and was doing very provocative dance moves with it.  Also, when the music video for the song “Wrecking Ball” came out, she was nude on a wrecking ball and was kissing a sledge hammer. This did not go over well with the people already struggling with her new image.

Cyrus’s fans understand that eventually everyone has to grow up, and that now is her time.  The fans enjoy that she is being herself and don’t care what anybody thinks.  Miley’s dedicated fans are making renditions of her music video for “Wrecking Ball” on vine and other social network sites. Her MTV documentary “Miley: The Movement”,  focused mainly on her fans and her being herself. She talked mostly about the fact that this was just the beginning and that she appreciates her fans being right there with her. Miley called them her “soldiers” in The Movement.

Her change has certainly been a topic of conversation lately. Where do you stand?