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When I saw that a new Kevin Hart movie had been released on Netflix on Jan. 21, I knew I had to watch it. Not because I expected anything new or original, or because I expected great acting and cinematography, but because I expected the usual Kevin Hart fare: a feel-good action movie heavily peppered with physical comedy and height jokes.
On Wednesdays, we go to the movie theater. I mean, at least I do. You should too. Regardless, the latest buzz is that the classic high school comedy Mean Girls is making its way back to the theater. No, no, not the original movie. It’s a remake. No, not just a remake of the original. It’s a movie adaptation of the Broadway musical that was a remake of the original movie that was based on a book. Got it? Yeah, me neither.
How do you encapsulate the entirety of an extraordinary life in 2 hours and 11 minutes of film? You do it in the way any person does when they are old and alone at the end of their lives. By sitting back and letting memories, both treasured and painful, flit before your eyes in a frenetic montage of important moments.
Two weeks ago, on Jan. 12, 2024, British-American rapper 21 Savage (commonly referred to as 21) came out with his third solo LP and sixth studio album overall (including collaborations). The title, American Dream, references his British nationality and early immigration to the U.S. when he was seven years old.
The creative process for any artist is sacred — this incredibly vulnerable and personal affair is unique to so many artists, and yet local legend Snail Mail (the moniker for solo indie artist Lindsey Jordan) has let fans into her own creative journey with the release of her new extended play (EP), Valentine (Demos). This cut into the raw takes from the development of her 2021 album Valentine, which was released on its second anniversary at the start of November.
As we start another year, it's also decidedly the time to reflect on the past year's worth of music releases and trending streaming habits. Initially marketed as a Year in Review in 2013, Spotify Wrapped has engaged its users with a unique presentation of their listening habits over the past year. It captures personal statistics that show your most streamed songs, artists and podcasts. This feature helped propel the application to its current status as one of the most used music streaming platforms in the world.
At the start of Amazon Prime’s animated show Invincible, Mark Grayson, a half-Korean-American and half-extraterrestrial-species guy, appears to be your typical 17-year-old superhero who’s unlocked a sudden myriad of powers and becomes too optimistic about his ability to make the world a better place. But by the end of season one, he’s endured more traumatic horrors than the average seventeen-year-old and his identity as the son of Omni-Man, Earth’s most powerful superhero, has burdened him with more guilt than he ever expected.
If there were ever a genre that screamed for a resolution at its every turn, it would be the whodunnit. Its age-old conventions hinge on moving from the unknown to the known, situating viewers on the edges of their seats right up until the fateful final reveal. In French director Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winner film, Anatomy of a Fall, the very genre finds itself harshly interrogated. When a mystery reaches its terminus, what do we truly know?
In the second to last week of the semester, there will be many arts performances left and right, as multiple groups vie for your limited attention. At Peabody Institute, there were too many department and individual recitals to list out — not only is the end of the semester approaching for Peabody students, meaning many end-of-semester performances, but the holiday season has encouraged performances from choirs and small ensembles alike. I encourage you to look through the Hub to find the perfect performance to calm you down before finals consume your mental state.
“Mom, wake up. A new Oscar contender just dropped.”
Baltimore’s beloved jazz singer, the late Ethel Ennis, would have turned 91 years old last week. She is known for her smooth vocals, her expressiveness and her ardent authenticity; never a fan of record labels, Ennis walked away from the superstar track so that she could do things her own way. Billie Holiday once said to her, “You have a great voice. You don’t fake it.” Frank Sinatra said she was “my kind of singer.” Keystone Korner Baltimore celebrated Ennis’ birthday on Wednesday, Nov. 29 with a gigantic vanilla cake and a series of performances to match her silken songs.
When I first heard that the film The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes was going to be released, I was less than enthusiastic. To me, it seemed like a product of Hollywood’s latest trend of releasing seemingly endless strings of reboots and spin-offs of already successful hits. Was my inner side-braid-wearing, archery-obsessed self from 2012 secretly thrilled at the prospect of a new Hunger Games movie? Admittedly, yes. But I also didn’t want The Hunger Games to become the latest franchise to be recycled, repackaged and presented as new.
Danny Brown’s sixth studio album, Quaranta (“40” in Italian and referring to his age), is a sequel to his critically acclaimed album XXX (also referring to his age at the time, meaning “30” in Roman numerals). Its release comes at the curtails of a particularly turbulent year for rap — from the overreactions at the lack of a number one Billboard rap album in the first half of the year, to the latter half’s big-name releases from Drake and Travis Scott, this year has been a whirlwind for rap in particular.
Does it feel like every new Netflix release somehow makes it to No. 1 in “Movies in the U.S.” on Netflix? Conveniently, yes. Does every single one of them even deserve to be there? Absolutely not. Will I continue to watch every single one of them? Yes, especially if they’re by David Fincher.
I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving. You’re looking forward to Thanksgiving. Even our professors are probably desperate for a break. With that in mind, if you want to get started on break early, we here in the Arts & Entertainment section have the best new releases and recommendations for you!
The JHU Theatre Department’s Fall 2023 production was the ancient Greek comedy The Clouds by Aristophanes, with performances held Nov. 9, 11 and 12 in the Merrick Barn. Originally a massive flop for the Grecian playwright (placing third in a festival with three submissions), The Clouds has stood the test of time for its references to Socrates and The School of Athens, as well as its commentary on the baseness of sophistry, an ancient method of argumentation that favors intellectual trickery over moral principle.
What is a superhero? I think, for most of us, what instantly comes to mind is a caped crusader in brightly colored spandex. This costumed person uses their superpowers, which vary from flight to invisibility to X-ray vision, to fight bad guys. They do what’s right. They’re moral. They protect their city or their world from the stuff the average person can’t.
Filthy Frank, Pink Guy, Joji — George Kusunoki Miller has had many names and has evolved throughout the years. Yet, his transformation through these different identities and phases has left him with a loyal and avid fanbase. His evolution from internet comedian to international superstar has made him a pop culture icon, now with over 22 million Spotify monthly listeners. His professional music career as Joji has since led to four albums and numerous tours, his most recent being the Pandemonium tour.
When my friend and I burst out laughing at an unintentionally funny jumpscare, I knew that the Five Nights at Freddy’s (FNAF) movie wasn’t going to succeed as a horror movie. Instead, it exists in the weird space where it doesn’t achieve real horror but rather uses subdued scare tactics to achieve a PG-13 rating (and ultimately, get a larger audience for the box office).
Halloween may have passed, but its eerie air still remains. The ominous spirit of the season is carried on by the Barnstormers’ newest production, Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie, an enthralling murder mystery. I was invited by the Barnstormers to watch a dress rehearsal for their upcoming show, and I went to the theater without any expectations.