Review by: Aditya Thiyag Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga Rating: 4.5/5 No Time To Die is a drama first and an action spectacle second. That’s what makes it a perfect conclusion to Daniel Craig’s run as James Bond. If there was one word I’d use to describe this film, it would be consequence. Every action Bond takes in this film and […]
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Review by: Aditya Thiyag Creator: Hwang Dong-hyuk Rating: 4/5 “The Blue Danube” is a German waltz composed in 1866 that’s pervaded pop culture for years on end, to the point where even Spongebob Squarepants featured an interpolation of it in a jellyfishing scene. But you’d be hard-pressed to find someone in 2021 who doesn’t associate the tune with the signaling […]
Read moreReview by: Sean Spiedel Artist: Kanye West Rating: 4/5 Easily the most anticipated album of the year, Kanye West’s Donda did not disappoint. West was first rumored to release Donda, named after West’s late mother, following a live listening party in Atlanta on June 22; however, West left his fans disappointed and delayed the album release. West then hosted another […]
Read moreReview by: Aditya Thiyag Director: Destin Cretton Rating: 3.5/5 With the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer smashing the record for the most views on a movie trailer in 24 hours and Avengers: Endgame being the highest grossing film of all time, it’s easy to feel like Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is nothing more than filler in […]
Read moreArtist: 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 […]
Read moreBy 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 […]
Read moreDirected 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 […]
Read moreDirected 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: 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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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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