March 2021 Volume 21 Issue 4
A Day to Remember: Harvey’s Day of Giving Every year, The Harvey School celebrates its Founders Day on the second Thursday of February. On the 105th anniversary of the school’s founding, with unprecedented times still on our backs, the Harvey Development Team decided to merge the annual Founder’s Day with their first ever Day of Giving.
By Amanda Mohamad
On Thursday, Feb. 11, 2021, students, faculty, and staff arrived on campus following a two-hour delay due to the previous night’s snow that created icy roads in New York and Connecticut. Everyone, including parents who dropped their children off, was greeted with a customized Day of Giving mask and a bag of candy and chocolates.
Featured in this issue: l Reports l Sports News l Reviews
The “Day A” on Harvey’s four-day rotation schedule proceeded as normal through the advisory period. At 11:30 a.m., the on-campus Harvey community entered the Flex Space for the start of not only middle school and ninth and 10th grade lunch, but also Founders Day festivities. When entering, students were greeted with raffle tickets and celebratory bead necklaces. The fun began with a performance by The Harvey School band, directed by Ms. Michelle Davies. The talented director led six Harvey students through several songs, and she also showcased her own skills on vocals. Shelby McCaine, Class of 2024, played the bass and showed off her vocal abilities. As for sophomores, Loveleigh Viera played the saxophone, Spencer Elkind was on the piano, and Jonah Weinstock demonstrated his percussion skills on the drums. Junior Brent Schwartz was on bass and guitar, and Anthony Lubin, also a junior, played the keyboard. After the band started off the festivities strong, Head of School Mr. Knauer came to the front of the Flex Space for his annual debriefing on Founder’s Day history. The Harvey School was founded in Hawthorne, New York, by Dr. Herbert Carter and his wife, Mabel Carter, in 1916 as an all-boys school for secondary grades. The school was originally built at the Carter family’s farm and was intended to create an educational program that was easily accessible for the Carter’s son, Herbert Swift Carter, Jr.
The Harvey School 260 Jay Street Katonah, NY 10536
The Harvey School was named after Sir William Harvey (1578-1657), who is claimed to be the first to describe the workings of blood circulation. He was also the personal physician to King Charles I of England, and Dr. Harvey can be considered one of the founding fathers of modern medical science. When Mr. Knauer concluded his history lesson, he invited Harvey Head Chef Lee Robinson, to
Ms. Danziger (left) with Student Council co-presidents Tyler Wallach (middle) and Zachary Treseler (right), pulling raffle tickets. Photo courtesy of the Harvey Newsletter.
bring out the Founders Day cake. Mr. Knauer then invited the youngest boy and girl students in the Harvey community to be the first to slice the cake. This year, sixth grade students Aidan Garcia and Katya Stephens were given the honor to perform one of Harvey’s most notable traditions. Traditionally, the cake-cutting ceremony is done during Morning Meeting. With the elimination of Morning Meeting due to COVID-19 restrictions, two cakes were made by Chef Lee, one for each of the two lunch periods. While the first lunch followed the tradition of the two youngest students cutting the cake, Mr. Knauer invited senior Student Council Representatives Mia Cornell and Kyle Canevari to slice the cake during the second lunch slot. Both lunches consisted of a raffle for Harvey swag, such as Harvey monogrammed flannel pants and rugby shirts. Student Council co-presidents Zachary Treseler and Tyler Wallach drew 10 winners per lunch from the raffle tickets to receive the prizes. Winners were excited to receive their prizes, and school spirit filled the Flex Space as the winners’ friends cheered for them. Treseler and Wallach also led a Harvey-themed trivia contest in which correct answers were rewarded with more Harvey swag. The questions included: who is the head of the English department, what are the names of Mr. Wahlers’ dogs that he brings to campus, and what year did Mr. Knauer become the Head of the Upper School (hint: Mr. Knauer has never been the Head of the Upper School).
With smiles and school spirit,
lunches ended at 1:05 p.m., and students proceeded with the rest of the school day. During dismissal between 3:05 p.m. and 4 p.m., parents picking up their children who had donated to the Day of Giving fund received stickers. While the day had been over for the majority of students, faculty, and staff, the Development Team was still hard at work. Not only was the team busy calculating the amount of money that had been donated and the number of donors who had participated in the Day of Giving, but the second phone-athon of the 2020-2021 school year was underway. The student-run phone-a-thons are not only a way to raise money for the Annual Fund, but they also give students the opportunity to connect with Harvey alumni. From 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Development Team student interns made countless calls and texts to Harvey alumni asking if they were interested in contributing to the Annual Fund. Interns who helped with the Day of Giving phone-a-thon included juniors Ella Cohn, Giselle Groff, and Amanda Mohamad, as well as sophomore Nekia Bland. Two interns, junior Ryan Spiro and senior Densley Blake, were also able to participate from home. Between the donations of alumni and the families of current Harvey students, over $213,000 was raised with more than 100 new donors contributing. The Pulse thanks the Development Team, the student interns, and Student Council for making the merged Day of Giving and Founders Day a wonderful time for the entire Harvey community.
OP/ ED
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Dear Editor,
The Pulse Staff
As a child, I would spend my nights enthralled with a good comic book. As I grew older, I learned that I still do the same. Comic books have a certain magic about them. Whether it is Batman’s newest crime-fighting issue or a war between the Galactic Republic and the Separatist army from “Star Wars,” comic books provide adventure, storytelling, romance, action, and everything a good story needs. This is why certain comic books should be considered literature, and we should be reading them more in our Harvey classes.
Editor-in-Chief Max Edelman
While many Harvey freshmen have studied the graphic novel of “The Odyssey,” and some have worked with Marjane Satrapi’s “Persepolis” in history or Art Spiegelman’s “Maus” in English, there could (and should) be more studies of comics and graphic novels, as they are indeed literature.
Assistant Editor Lauren Grauer
Published in 1986, author Alan Moore wrote a graphic novel that would change the way people perceive comic books. “Watchmen” took superhero characters and put them into an alternate world that takes place in the 1980s. “Watchmen” makes the reader think differently about superheroes. The characters in the novel are not like the average Superman or Spiderman, as they are dark, deep, and mysterious.
Sam Alexander Emma Galgano Kevin Li
This is just one example why comic books should be considered literature. “Watchmen” is the type of book that could easily be studied, interpreted, and analyzed like other novels.
Amanda Mohamad Alexia Roisenvit Razi Tanksley
When studying books like “The Great Gatsby,” one may look at the morality of each character. The reader follows every word each character says. Analyzing literature is almost like piecing together a puzzle. “Watchmen” can be studied the same way, as the reader follows each character and tries to get a deeper understanding of the story. “Watchmen” is easily literature and is a prime example of how graphic novels should be studied in school.
Faculty Advisor Virgina Holmes
Comics as Literature
The artwork in “Watchmen” is also untraditional. It has its own style that makes the story more powerful.
The artwork in comics is another reason why graphic novels should be taught more in schools. The artwork is beautiful, and every single comic book tells a different story with the way it is drawn. Because “Watchmen” is not a traditional superhero story, are there other comics that can still be looked at as literature? Well, the answer to this question is definitely yes! Batman is a hero that has faced many trials and tribulations. In one run of comic books called “Batman: Death of the Family,” Batman faces his fiercest foe The Joker in one of the darkest comic books. In Scott Snyder’s epic story, Joker essentially kidnaps every member of the “bat family,” and Batman has to save them. The comic book is unlike any other Batman story, and it puts Batman into situations where the reader is forced to remember that he is only human. This reminder of humanity is huge for graphic novels, and it indicates that not all heroes are extremely overpowered. It also shows how superheroes can be further studied and provide a deep understanding of the trials a hero will face.
Winter 2021 Pulse Staff
Harvey community, comic books are literature. They provide fascinating and thrilling stories, and each panel is depicted with beautiful artwork. In our English classes, we have pulled apart pieces of literature and tried to find the hidden meaning in every single book. Why can’t we do the same with comics? I have learned so much from superheroes and their stories, and there is so much to talk about and discuss. Thus, so many people and students can learn from the valuable lessons of comics. Most graphic novels should definitely be considered literature because of their artwork, epic stories, and characters.
Sincerely, Sam Alexander
Missing from photo: Kevin Li
Reports
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How is COVID-19 Affecting the Next Generation? By Lauren Grauer
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many are struggling, including children. Last March when COVID-19 hit, learning became virtual, and students weren’t able to receive the same educational experience. The Pulse explored how young children have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to The Education Trust website, parents are concerned. In a study The Education Trust conducted, which included information from every state in the country, the results were as follows: “Nearly 9 in 10 parents are worried about their children falling behind academically due to coronavirus-related school closures, ranking higher than any other financial or socioemotional concern.” Mask wearing has also become an issue because young children have a harder time reading emotions. The question is, will this be a short-term or long-term effect of wearing a mask? The New York Times interviewed Dr. Kang Lee from University of Toronto. Dr. Lee focused on three issues of concern. First, he said, “Kids under the age of 12 may have difficulty recognizing people, because they often focus on individual features.”
Next, Dr. Lee said, “A lot of our emotional information we display through movement of our facial musculature.” The last statement Dr. Lee shared said, “Children may have problems with speech recognition; even though we tend to think of speech communication as taking place through sound, he said, a great deal of information can be communicated visually.” The New York Times also interviewed Sarah Gaither from Duke University who is an associate professor of psychology. The New York Times quoted her as saying, “With mask wearing now being required in most school settings, children and adults should start practicing being more explicitly verbal by stating their emotions out loud.” When students are learning on Zoom, there are no issues regarding facial expressions, because students don’t need to wear a mask. The Pulse asked Harvey School psychology and English teacher Mr. Robert Cook how he feels students are being affected by learning on Zoom. “I don’t think we will quite understand the long-term effects of young children learning on Zoom. I wonder, how do you teach a child to write over a computer, and how will children have fun during
art class and recess while being on Zoom?” Some states are looking at other alternatives for their students to catch Children wearing masks during school. Photo courtesy of 13abc.com. up on school, such as summer school. According to The Before this I have never accounted Colorado Sun’s website, summer for the loss of learning before the may be the perfect time for students pandemic. One way they are being to play catch up. Erica Breulin, affected during remote learning, too writer for The Colorado Sun, said, much technology in the way. I think “Education leaders and advocates it is great how wifi centers are beare urging state and local officials to ing implemented so students in low begin thinking now about how sumincome neighborhoods can learn. I mer could be engineered to help kids look at my grandchildren who are regain lost academic footing while pre-k age and I wonder how they experiencing a sense of adventure would learn via the internet. How do and connection they’ve largely been you teach a kid via computer? How deprived of since last March.” do you let a kid have fun doing art via art? We don’t know yet what af The Pulse wishes there fect this will have on young children, were more answers regarding young although there certainly is one.” children falling behind academically due to COVID-19. We look forward Elementary-aged students to the future, when all children can learning on Zoom may not have the hopefully return to full force in-perissue of learning facial expressions, son academics. but may have trouble with things concerning their educational prog I look at my pre-k aged ress. grand-children and wonder how they would learn via Zoom. “I don’t think we know how young students are being affected.
The Person Who Never Needs Money By Kevin Li
According to NBC, Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) founder and CEO Jeff Bezos will step down as CEO in the third quarter of this year and will remain as executive chairperson, the company said Feb. 2 this year. According to CNBC, Bezos became the richest man in 2018 surpassing Bill Gates (Elon Musk surpassed Bezos in January 2021). How did Bezos get here, and where will he go? In an open letter to employees, Bezos said his dream began 27 years ago when Amazon was just a name, just an idea, and he, Bezos, has turned retail into a complete system. In an interview with fastcompany.com, Bezos said he once worked in a McDonald’s as a line cook for breakfast. Bezos graduated from Princeton University in 1986 and then went to Wall Street. His first job was working as a programmer, then as a vice president of a trust company for banks, and he soon moved to a fund company.
Bezos announced the Amazon company in his garage July 5, 1994. It started out selling books, but his idea was to sell everything people wanted, just like a department store. In Amazon’s first month, Bezos was already selling books in dozens of U.S. states and dozens of countries around the world. By the time Google went public in 2004, those shares were worth hundreds of millions of dollars. In August 2013, Bezos bought The Washington Post for another $250 million. In 1998, Bezos became an early investor in Google. He invested $250,000 in Google shares. But by 2000, Amazon had hit rock bottom, and fierce competition and the dot-com bubble brought him close to bankruptcy. However, according to The New York Times, in September 2018, Amazon’s Market value reached a
As the CEO of Amazon, the man at the top of the pyramid also has heavy responsibilities, consuming time and energy. After leaving this role, he’ll have more time to pursue his Blue Origin dream.
Jeff Bezos waves goodbye. Photo courtesy of Information Age.
trillion dollars. Despite setbacks, this was also the year he quietly founded the human spaceflight company Blue Origin. In 2015, Blue Origin conducted the first test flight into space. According to Forbeschina. com, Bezos’s Blue Origin dream was influenced by his grandfather, who was a former member of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. Young Bezos was inspired by his grandfather and dreamed of becoming an astronaut one day.
According to CNN, Andy Jassy, who joined the company relatively early in 1997, is the next CEO of Amazon. Jassy graduated from Harvard, and his first job at Amazon was a marketing role. In 2016, Andy Jassy became head of AWS, which stands for Amazon Web Services. Bezos’s accomplishments will be difficult to surpass. The wheel of history will continue to roll, and the new CEO will carry hope and responsibility to expand Amazon’s global business domain.
Sports News
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College Football is Back! By Max Edelman
On Feb. 2, 2021, Electronic Arts (EA) Sports made an announcement fans thought they would never hear. For the first time since 2014, EA announced that it would be producing a College Football video game. Sports fans all over the country can’t wait to play as their favorite colleges again on either the Xbox Series X or the PS5. The most recent installment of a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football video game came out in the summer of 2013 on the PS3 and Xbox One. The final installment of the NCAA football series was a commercial success, selling over one million copies combined across both systems. However, due to debate whether college athletes should receive payment, the series was discontinued… until now! EA Sports did not ignore the call from sports fans all over the world for the EA College Football series to return. EA Sports Vice President Daryl Holt sat down for an interview with ESPN. Holt stated, “As we look for the momentum that we’re building on in sports, it all
pening in sports,” Holt told ESPN. It will be interesting to see what changes come to the new College Football series. But EA Sports has already created a partnership that will allow for over 100 NCAA Division I teams into the first installment of the EA Sports College Football franchise. Which, for fans, is just what we were asking for! The logo of the new EA Sports College Football Franchise. Photo courtesy of ESPN.
starts with the passion of our fans and the opportunities of what they are interested in.” Interestingly enough, the new College Football series will no longer have the NCAA nickname. Instead, the new College Football games will simply have the name “EA Sports College Football,” which means, instead of being a revival of the old NCAA series, this will be a new series. “It all starts really with where we see College Football as going. There’s a lot of things happening, and there’s a lot of things hap-
While we know that college football video games are making their return, we do not have a set release date just yet, and the game will not be coming out until at least 2022. While many fans of the series have been waiting patiently for many years, and the wait is nearly at its conclusion, fans will still need to wait just a little longer. Jacob Sklar, the former sports editor of The Pulse, now a student of Miami University of Ohio, is an avid fan of the EA Sports College Football franchise. The Pulse sat down with Sklar to get his opinion on the return of the series. Sklar sees it not only as a chance for college sports video games to take a step forward, but also for college sports as a whole.
Sklar stated, “Purely from a sports fan perspective and someone that believes that what the NCAA does in terms of lack of athlete compensation is criminal, I hope that the game coming back is a sign in a positive direction on that front.” Payment of college athletes and the controversy surrounding that issue has been at the forefront of the return of college sports video games for years. However, even in the latter stages of the NCAA series, the game didn’t even feature real college players. Instead, it was just a player with a number on their back. Whether or not the new edition will feature players with actual names is currently unknown, and that will be an important thing to watch in the new game. Sports and gaming fans all across the country reacted with joy and excitement when news of the announcement began to spread. As EA stated in its official announcement, “For those who stopped believing.” EA Sports College Football is on the clock.
Reviews
Is Shein Worth It? By Emma Galgano
Shein is an online clothing store that is notorious for its low prices. Shein prides itself on the motto, “Everyone can enjoy the beauty of fashion.” However, how does Shein sell their clothes at such a low price? Also, is it ethical to support a company that was entrenched in controversy? Shein, founded in October 2008, states that it mainly focuses on womenswear but also offers men’s apparel, children’s clothes, accessories, shoes, bags and other fashion items. E-commerce said that Shein is worth over $750 million. The real question is, how are Shein prices so low? Euronews states that, more than likely, Shein will keep its costs extremely low by paying its workers less than fair wages. Shein clothes are made in China with its parent company E-commerce Co. Study Breaks states that 17.5% of Shein workers are between the ages of 7 to 14. UNICEF reports that with COVID-19 that percentage will increase because more children join the Shein due to economic strains. Shein states that it issues about 500 items a day, all at low prices. One product that Shein was
selling was a swastika necklace for $2.50. Shein tweeted a message, stating: “We listed a Buddhist swastika necklace for sale. There’s simply no excuse for our lack of sensitivity in doing so. The item was removed as soon as we discovered this mistake.”
$10 to $15. Although the Shein T-shirts are on average cheaper, the shirts are fragile and easily destroyed in the washing machine.
On July 19, 2020, on the social media platform Instagram, Shein posted, “Sorry we let you down :(.” Shein then went on to say, “We made a gigantic mistake by selling a product that’s hurtful and offensive to many of you, and we’re so, so sorry.”
Shein prides itself on allowing Shein’s logo with shopping accessories. customers to try on Photo courtesy of Fashion Network. trendy clothing for cheap. Many jeans, jackets, et cetera that are high on Some of the most famous the market will be low price. For celebrities model Shein’s clothing, example, an average pair of ripped including influencers like Halsey, jeans from Shein will be $15 to $20. Gabi DeMartino, Camila Cabello, At stores like Garage and Hollister, Katy Perry, and Addison Rae. jeans cost from $30 to $70. SheinOffical stated that they choose models based on “providing our cus Shein also offers beauty tomers with a variety of the hottest supplies such as foundation, eyeliner, looks at the hottest prices.” lip gloss, eyeshadow, and much more. Shein does not provide a lot Shein has partnered with of makeup that would appropriately some of the most influential icons work for darker skin tones. Plus, of America. They allow women and many makeup products’ reviews men of all ages to express their style seem to have commented that people at low prices. have problematic reactions to the cosmetics. Some people said that it However, again, Shein caused rashes and breakouts. clothing can be easily ripped or thin material. Shein has also participated About a month ago, I orin anti-Semitic actions. Overall, dered a pair of earrings, a necklace, Shein’s price may be attractive, but and a bracelet from Shein. Each Shein has too much of a scandalous piece of jewelry was about $2. I wear history for The Pulse to support and these pieces of jewelry every day, endorse. and they are in perfect condition.
Aside from this controversy, the clothing itself can be hit or miss. Since some of the clothing costs less than $5, a lot of the clothing is made with low material, or sometimes customers can receive items that look nothing like the photo on the website. The average price of a sweater on Shein is about $11 to $20. That sweater would take about two weeks to ship to my house. An almost replica of the shirt from Target varies from $20 to $25. The Target sweater would take four to six days to ship to my house. However, a lot of clothing can be a dramatic price difference. An average T-shirt from Shein can vary between $5 to $10. At Target, the price for a T-shirt can average to
Reviews
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Where to Go When It’s Over By Alexia Roisenvit
Traveling is an important part of life. COVID-19 has affected all of us, and it has impacted many traditions that families have. Once the pandemic is over, many will begin to travel again. The Pulse recommends three wonderful destinations for your post-COVID trip. The Pulse’s top three choices for travel destinations are Montalcino, Italy, St. Petersburg, Russia, and Huaraz, Peru. For those who love nature and adore small and special towns, Montalcino in Italy should be your first choice. Montalcino is a hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany in central Italy. It has a great amount of history and has wonderful people around all the town. If you are more of a city person, don’t worry, Siena, Florence, and Pisa are close to it.
They had a huge variation of savory pancakes, and I ended up choosing a pancake with cream cheese and caviar. As soon as I took that first bite, I fell in love with the combination. It had a crunchy feeling, because they sealed them into a roll, and they fried it. Another really good plate is bortsch. The main ingredient of this soup is beetroot, and it comes with sour cream at the top. And to finish, we have the Pelmeni. Pelmeni is the national dish of Russia. They are dumplings that are filled with meat, and they can be served alone, with melted butter or sour cream. Last but not least, Huaraz, Peru. In all of South America, I would say Huaraz is one of the best places to go hiking due to the number of trails it has and all the amazing views. Huaraz is a town that lets you have unforgettable
moments, and most travelers ignore it because they prefer to go to places with a lot of malls and things in general. What is special about Huaraz is the people, the atmosphere, and the natural life that surrounds it. The best time to visit Huaraz would be May to October. If you are not used to high altitudes, I recommend you to stay calm and explore the city for your body to acclimatize to the high altitude. Huaraz is 3000 meters above sea, and when you go to higher altitudes, the pressure drops, and there is less oxygen. So, for the first few days, try not to do a lot of exercise. When you are in the city, visit Plaza de Armas Huaraz Square and the
Montalcino, Italy. Photo courtesy of Alexia Roisenvit.
You can always take a train to any of those destinations and spend the day and come back to Montalcino to finish the night in a calm and peaceful atmosphere. Montalcino is known for its incredible wines and also for its history. Brunello di Montalcino is located on top of a hill, and all those sunsets that you can see are breathtaking.
Laguna 69, Huaraz, Peru. Photo courtesy of Alexia Roisenvit.
main market. You will meet a lot of tourists, and you will end up seeing them along your trip.
The best months to go are from August to December due to the perfect weather. When going to Montalcino, be sure to rent an Airbnb so you can get a full experience of how awesome it is to be living in a rustic house with a view from the town.
Some of the top places I would suggest to go are Laguna 69, Pastoruri Glacier, and Nevado Mateo ice climbing trip. In general, the landscapes throughout the trails are outstanding, and this makes the hike a spectacular experience.
Second, St. Petersburg in Russia is a city that has world famous museums, galleries, palaces, architectural monuments, and a lot of well-known cathedrals. The Hermitage, St. Isaac’s Cathedral, Peterhof Palace, Palace Square, Catherine Palace, and Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood are some of the many places you can visit.
Every place in the world has its own unique aspect, and traveling is important to learn about different cultures. The Pulse encourages you to travel to the destinations stated above when COVID is over.
Being able to walk around the palaces and see what life was like before is something that you have to experience by yourself. No YouTube video will transmit that feeling. The way they were built is unbelievable, and the size of the monuments are impressive. I also remember going to this small restaurant in Russia where they cooked savory pancakes. At first that concept sounded disgusting to me, because pancakes are usually sweet.
Church of the Savior on the Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg, Russia. Photo courtesy of Alexia Roisenvit
Reviews
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It’s “The Little Things” That Matter A Review by Razi Tanksley
Denzel Washington and Jared Leto in a scene from “The Little Things.” Photo courtesy of Brian Tallerico.
Denzel Washington takes the role of Joe “Deke” Deacon in the new crime thriller movie “The Little Things,” which was released Jan. 29 on HBO MAX. This film was directed by John Lee Hancock and produced by Mark Johnson. This movie is available to the public in theaters and on HBO MAX. An HBO MAX subscription costs $14.99, but it may not be the best decision to subscribe for a month just to see this film. Besides Washington, other main actors in this film include Oscar winners Rami Malek and Jared Leto, who also played the Joker in the 2016 movie “Suicide Squad.” While this movie’s trailers had promise, many viewers and critics had opinions on both sides. According to the review website Rotten Tomatoes, this film’s storyline takes place when “Deputy Sheriff Joe ‘Deke’ Deacon joins forces with Sgt. Jim Baxter to search for a serial killer who’s terrorizing Los Angeles. As they track the culprit, Baxter is unaware that the investigation is dredging up echoes of Deke’s past, uncovering disturbing secrets that could threaten more than his case.” This overview provides great detail for viewers to have solid background information without giving away so much that it ruins the movie. As for what the audience thought, their praise and complaints were practically split even. Some viewers like Jennifer W. watched the movie because she was a Denzel Washington fan, and she wrote on Rotten Tomatoes, “The movie has a really slow start with no direction. Too long and a bad ending.” Even viewers who left positive grades and comments on popular review sites left only an average grade of 54/100. With such a mediocre score, I don’t believe viewers can expect this movie to win any Oscars. It seems that the moviegoers and those who watched at home would describe the movie as “meh,” in a word. The Pulse finds the movie to be only three out of five stars. The performances are great overall, especially from
Washington, Leto, and Malek. However, the script and the ending were too rushed. The ending could’ve been so much better than how the movie left it. It undermines the overall climax that the film was building toward. If the movie had made more of an effort into developing the plot, the overall pace of the movie would have made it significantly better. As previously stated, the main piece of the film that separated it from being a great piece of cinema is the ending and the mediocre script. The movie has several instances that could’ve been written to provide more heart-wrenching moments that would’ve added to the drama, and I believe there could’ve been more action scenes to make the movie more intense. The Pulse found that the best part of the movie is the acting. The way the actors portray their roles make the movie so believable that viewers could see this situation happening in real life. It’s no surprise that the three main actors are all Oscar winners! For example, the way Jay Leno portrays the suspected serial killer is phenomenal. Throughout the entire film, I was on the edge of my seat wondering whether he was guilty or not. However, this isn’t the movie that will make audiences at home hooked to HBO MAX and await a sequel. If you don’t have an HBO MAX account, this movie shouldn’t be the reason you purchase a subscription. Before watching, you should consider other reasons to subscribe so you’re not wasting money, only to be let down and figure out what to watch with the remainder of the month’s subscription. From The Pulse’s experience with this film, this one will not be a well-known success for the casts’ careers. Instead, this is one of those movies that people will look back at and say, “That one could’ve been better.”
Clash of Titans: “Godzilla vs. Kong” A Review by Sam Alexander
On March 31, 2021, two fearsome foes will have a battle of a lifetime in the movie “Godzilla vs. Kong.” The monstrous monkey known as King Kong is taking on the gigantic Godzilla. Fans of the two titans have waited a long seven years for this battle. It all started with the 2014 remake “Godzilla.” The movie begins in 1999, Japan. There is a nuclear power plant that experiences a mysterious accident. The head engineer, Joe Brody, loses his wife in the accident and never accepts the “official explanation for the accident” (IMDb). 15 years later, Joe’s son Ford travels to Japan. There, Joe and Ford learn the truth about the accident and how it was caused by a “Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism” (IMDb) also known as MUTO. Godzilla is awakened by MUTO, and in a typical monster movie showdown, Godzilla fights and beats the MUTO. “Godzilla” 2014 revealed some of Godzilla’s essential powers that he may use in “Godzilla vs. Kong.” One ability is his atomic breath. Godzilla is able to shoot a beam of atomic blue radiation out of his mouth. Godzilla is also able to breathe underwater and has a killer amount of strength. “Godzilla” is a fun movie to watch and provides intense action and good acting from superstar performers like Brian Cranston and Elizabeth Olsen. The CGI is also incredible (especially for a 2014 movie), and these effects make for awesome fight scenes as Godzilla rampages around cities across the world. King Kong, on the other hand, showed off his strengths in the 2017 action packed film “Kong: Skull Island.” Scientists and adventurers explore an off-the-grid island full of mystery. These scientists learn interesting secrets, as the island is inhabited by all sorts of creatures, one including the mighty King Kong. King Kong has immense power and is proven to be able to take down a various assortment of monsters, including the mighty Skull Crawlers which “are large reptilian creatures with only two long forelimbs and no hindlimbs, as well as long, prehensile, serpentine tails” (kingkong.fandom. com). So, King Kong is able to use his upper body strength to take down his opponents. This does give him a slight advantage toward the mighty Godzilla, who lacks more upper body strength. King Kong also has the ability to physically grab items and use them to his advantage, while Godzilla can’t necessarily use his hands to grab weapons. “Kong: Skull Island” is most definitely worth the watch. With iconic performances by Samuel Jackson, Tom Hiddleston, John Goodman and Brie Larson, the film tells a great story and the writing is terrific. Out of all three movies, “Kong: Skull Island” is the best. It draws the audience in with compelling story and intense cinematography.
Godzilla vs. Kong” movie poster. Poster courtesy of IMBd. The last movie that leads up to “Godzilla vs. Kong” is “Godzilla: King of the Monsters.” This movie has Godzilla showing down with various enemies, including the flying Rodan and the three headed Ghidorah. With the help of a giant moth goddess Mothra, Godzilla was able to take down Ghidorah while Mothra battled Rodan. In a sad conclusion (Spoiler Alert!), Mothra protects Godzilla and unfortunately dies. But this death allows for Godzilla to rise up and defeat the three headed foe. “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” really proved how strong Godzilla is. On movie critic Roger Ebert’s website, film reviewer Matt Zoller Seitz, wrote, “It deploys state-of-theart moviemaking tools to try to return audiences to a stage of childlike terror and delight...This movie is magic.” Seitz gives the movie high praise by calling it “magic.” The Pulse has to agree, because watching “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” is like watching magic come to life. But with all of this information, the question comes down to, Godzilla or Kong? Who would win? Most theories predict that the two titans will team up against a bigger foe, and this is most likely the case, but if the two were to genuinely battle one another, The Pulse would have to bet on Godzilla. Godzilla has atomic bre ath while King Kong has strength. Godzilla also has faced a lot more opponents. They call him King of the Monsters for a reason. If you are interested in watching “Godzilla vs. Kong,” it will be on HBO Max and in theaters March 31. “Kong Skull Island” and “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” are also on HBO Max, while the 2014 “Godzilla” is available for rent for $3.99. The long-awaited duel is almost here. Harvey community, in a few short weeks, we will witness the clash of titans and see how this battle will play out.