Artist: girl in red Rating: 5/10 Review by: Della Johnson On her new record, if i could make it go quiet, Marie Ulven — better known as girl in red — is inexplicably much more aggressive than we’ve ever seen her. Having risen to fame on a platform molded with the serenation of young, queer romance, her newest songs draw […]
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By Raghav Raj In 2021, a musical year that hasn’t really had the sort of star-studded, critically adored releases that the year before it did (not yet, at least), the underground and independent music scenes have never been more important. We’re only five months into this year, but luckily, there’s been no shortage of great music from the fringes of […]
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Directed by: Kari Skogland Rating: 8/10 Review by: Scott Reckers As opposed to a surface-level Marvel series where Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes just march around, beating up bad guys, the show faces its characters with tough decisions. Taking a refreshing look at systemic issues like racism and police brutality in America, the show sees Marvel taking a sharp left […]
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Directed by: Florian Zeller Rating: 8/10 Review by: Raghav Raj The first thing that practically leaps off the screen in the opening moments of The Father is the sheer disarray of it all. As Olivia Colman’s character walks to her apartment, striding intently, the camera seems caught off balance by her, almost struggling to stay with her as she walks […]
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Raghav Raj | Staff Writer With Zack Snyder’s absolutely massive, 4-hour long director’s cut of the 2017 DC film Justice League in the spotlight, there’s a renewed interest in the “long movie,” a remarkably volatile cinematic experience that serves as a double edged sword for any viewers up to the task. If a filmmaker gets it wrong, you’re stuck sitting […]
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Review by: Della Johnson Artist: Lana Del Ray Rating: 8.5/10 Following what might be her most problematic year yet in the eyes of the internet, Lana Del Rey has released a quiet, gentle record, perhaps more vintage than any of her other works. Experimenting with folk (and even teetering on country with a feature from Nikki Lane), her lyrics embody […]
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Review by: Scott Reckers Director: Adam Wingard Rating 7/10 Godzilla may be the “King of the Monsters,” but Kong bows to no one. The two stars of the ‘Monsterverse’ have finally clashed together, and the promise of a visual spectacle is fulfilled. The current state of visual effects is the future we dreamed of years ago, and the fight scenes […]
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Raghav Raj | Staff Writer In an awards season flipped on its head now that COVID-19 has left most movie theaters shuttered for a year, rendering the box office almost all but irrelevant, few films have received the amount of plaudits that Chloe Zhao’s Nomadland has. And, many might argue, for good reason. Zhao’s third feature film is a visually […]
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Raghav Raj | Staff Writer The Parisian electronic music duo Daft Punk, who called it quits after nearly 30 years on February 22, looked about as larger than life as bands in this musical era usually get. Obviously, this was visible at first glance: both Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de-Homem-Christo donned metallic helmets, which were gleamingly futuristic and effortlessly iconic […]
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Review by: Della Johnson Directed by: Don Hall, Carlos Lopez Estrada Rating: 7/10 Disney’s newest princess film felt very familiar. As a strong female warrior with a sarcastic dragon sidekick, Raya certainly mirrored Mulan, the other princess to hail from an Asian country, and her consistent travel by boat lent itself a bit to Moana. Still, the movie itself fostered […]
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Review by: Raghav Raj Directed by: Lee Isaac Chung Rating: 9/10 Right from the very beginning, Minari feels utterly, unmistakably entrancing. It is shot in warm, gentle hues by cinematographer Lachlan Milne, who fills the screen with these muted oranges, lush greens, and rich, earthy browns. These colors are met with woozy, contemplative scoring from Emile Mosseri, whose strings and […]
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Review by: Rachel Cai Artist: Julien Baker Rating: 8.5/10 Julien Baker’s Little Oblivions, is a heart-wrenching chronicle of substance abuse, her struggle with faith, and her path to recovery. Her third solo album — and her first project since 2018’s collaborative Boygenius EP — is a self-produced, multi-instrumental affair, one where most of the performances are by Baker herself. Most […]
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Review by: Scott Reckers Director: Matt Shakman Rating: 8/10 WandaVision, directed by Matt Shakman, is the first Marvel Cinematic Universe show on Disney+, and six episodes through, it’s a perplexing watch to say the least. Wanda Maximoff, AKA Scarlet Witch (played by Elizabeth Olsen), and Vision (Paul Bettany) are a couple of newlyweds and have just moved to a new […]
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Review by: Raghav Raj Director: Sam Levinson Rating: 2/10 The first thing you notice about Malcolm & Marie, the latest project from Sam Levinson (creator of the hit HBO show Euphoria), is how sumptuous it looks. The 35-mm black-and-white film it’s shot on offers a certain grain to the visual imagery of its spacious beach house setting, playing up the […]
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Raghav Raj | Staff Writer SOPHIE, who tragically passed away at the age of 34 on January 30 while climbing a rooftop in Athens, Greece to get a better look at the moon, was not just simply one of the greatest musical innovators of the 21st century, terraforming the landscape of pop music into something new. No, SOPHIE — who […]
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Della Johnson | Staff Writer As the world becomes more cognisant of the severe importance of mental health, it’s probably best that everyone issues a formal apology to Britney Spears. Sprouting into massive fame at only age 17, Spears seemed to have all media attention set upon her. She became a symbol of pop culture and current trends–and, as a […]
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Review by: Della Johnson Artist: Haley Williams Rating: 8.5/10 Hayley Williams, of the alternative rock band Paramore, purveys a vulnerable and gentle side to heartbreak in her album FLOWERS for VASES / descansos, surprise-released on February 5. She longs for past lovers, opening up about her insecurity with the question, “I wonder how you view me?” in the vocalization-riddled “HYD”, […]
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By Raghav Raj (Staff Writer), Scott Reckers (Staff Writer), and Ann Vettikkal (News Editor) On the last day of 2020, it was announced that Daniel Dumile, better known as rapper MF DOOM, had passed away two months prior on Halloween. As mercurial in death as he was in life, DOOM was one of rap’s greatest enigmas, hiding his brilliant gift […]
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