Top ten movies:

10) Men in Black III
9) Argo
8) Skyfall
7) Marvel’s The Avengers
6) Django Unchained
5) Les Miserables
4) The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
3) The Hunger Games
2) The Dark Knight Rises
1) Ted

“Thunder buddies for life!” Once again, the cute huggable teddy bear beat out the masked vigilante and games to the death. Vista’s movie of the year was none other than Ted, the story of a 35 year-old man still attached to his teddy bear that came to life as the result of a childhood wish. But what was it about the magical plush toy that made the film so appealing? Well, “It was a teddy bear!” says Logan Ralph (11). “A very dirty teddy bear,” adds his friend Anthony Hufaker (11). Just like John Bennett (Mark Whalberg) in the film, Vista’s kids love their teddy bears. “I liked the movie because Mark Whalberg is one of my favorite actors,” says Gavan Stritchko (12), “and it’s cool to see him in something different.” Ted won this year’s People’s Choice Award for Best Comedy and has many other awards pending.

Top ten music artists:
10) P!nk
9) The Fray
8) Train
7) Coldplay
6) One Republic
5) Taylor Swift
4) One Direction
3) Justin Bieber
2) Eminem
1) Maroon 5

Maroon 5 made the top of the charts for Vista’s favorite artist. Their new album Overexposed has been praised by critics as “their strongest album.” Many students here at Vista enjoyed the album. But what do they like about the band? “I like Maroon 5 because they are always coming out with fresh new stuff that is very original,” says Chandler Zastrow (11). “It’s a party!” Not only has Maroon 5 won a grand total of 24 awards for their music, but their lead singer, Adam Levine, has been winning girls hearts. “Adam Levine is gorgeous!” exclaims Megan Rodgers (10), “And he has a very unique voice.” Vista thought that it wasn’t a surprise that Maroon 5 won the number one spot because the sound of their pop music has always been very different than other pop bands in the US. Maroon 5 was nominated for two Grammy Awards this year.