Nearly five years after it was first announced, Amazon Prime’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power debuted its first two episodes on Friday, Sept. 2. Drawing in more than 25 million views and costing over $715 million dollars for the first season — both record-breaking numbers — The Rings of Power was bound to enter the TV universe with a splash.
Some of the greatest films ever made owe their brilliance to an opening scene that immediately situates the audience in its world. The exploding forests of Apocalypse Now are iconic representations of the Vietnam War, while the proleptic monologue and murder in No Country For Old Men prepare the audience for the evil and violence in the film.
Few actors have entertained, confused and bewildered audiences over the years more than Nicholas Cage has, and his unique ability is aptly celebrated in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. His character may not be the most accurate reflection of the actor’s real personality, but Cage gives the audience what it wants by playing the role with the hilarious intrigue of his cult status.
Starting the weekend of April 22, the Barnstormers opened their 2022 Spring Mainstage production: Into the Woods. Directed by Brandon Bieber and produced by Courtney Carreira, Into the Woods is the club’s first live musical in three years.
Students took to the runway on April 23 for the Inter-Asian Council’s (IAC) “Diaspora” Fashion Show. The showcase illuminated the diversity of Asian cultures represented at Hopkins, granting Asian Pacific Islander Desi American students the opportunity to flaunt their culture’s clothing. Models sported both traditional and modern clothing from across the Asian continent, featuring styles from the Philippines, Vietnam, India, Korea, Hong Kong, Pakistan, Myanmar, Mauritius and Malaysia.
One of the most anticipated albums of the year, Swedish House Mafia released their debut album Paradise Again on April 15. This would be the group’s first album since the announcement of their reunion in 2021.
The Lan Yun Blue Orchids presented their Spring Showcase on April 16. Though the on-campus dance group is devoted to learning and performing traditional Chinese dance, they add a twist of modernity by dancing to songs that are popular in China today. This was the group’s first time hosting its own showcase, which also featured performances from the Yong Hang Lion Dance Troupe, Music Dynasty and the Hopkins Oriental Music Ensemble (HOME).
Everything Everywhere All at Once, directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, (collectively known as Daniels), is an indisputable triumph that combines a heart-wrenching story with some of the most bizarrely brilliant action I have ever seen.
It was a cool Sunday night when two other dames and I walked into the darkened theater. Our sneakers padding along the carpeted floor made no sound, but heads turned to watch our entrance. They knew we were looking for trouble. What kind, you ask?
The Hopkins Film Society presented Whodunnit, a screening of six famous feature-length murder mysteries and selected shorts, for the 2022 Hopkins Film Festival during the weekend of April 8 to 10. The Film Society chose the weekend’s theme as a group, deciding between other interesting theme suggestions, including “red flag” movies.
The Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) hosted poet Chen Chen as part of its Heritage 365 Cultural Experience on April 8. The event was sponsored by Asian, Pacific Islander and Desi American (APIDA) Heritage Celebration and consisted of a reading followed by a Q&A session.
Visitors to Shaffer Hall’s basement might find themselves pausing at the odd sight of floor space dedicated to a shallow gravel pit. Some might have moved on without a second glance. Senior Evan Morris, however, stopped to take a picture of the pit, which he generously described in an interview with The News-Letter as a rock garden.
Released March 25 on Disney+, Olivia Rodrigo’s driving home 2 u (a SOUR film) tries to depict a sentimental homecoming for the celebrity but falls flat with its contrived authenticity. The film follows Rodrigo as she drives from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles, a trip she took many times while writing her debut album SOUR. The star stops at various locations along the route to perform the songs that appear on SOUR.
After two desensitizing years of “unprecedented times,” who knew it would be the Academy Awards, of all things, that would remind me what it felt like to be shocked?
Filled with friendship bracelets, chokers, stickers, pads, the Electric Slide and tween magazines, Turning Red is one of the most #relatable portrayals of adolescence that has ever awkwardly gyrated its way onto screens.
It is a tendency of manic cinephiles like myself to believe that we know exactly how a movie is going to be before even watching it. While others jump with excitement when they see their favorite actor dressed in a cape on a poster crowded with superheroes, most of us see another movie with an overused plot and a steadily stalling formula.
After Yang is a science-fiction movie that follows the efforts of a family to repair Yang, an unconscious android who it treats as a son. The movie was written, directed and edited by Kogonada and stars Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith and Justin H. Min. It is based on the short story “Saying Goodbye to Yang” by Alexander Weinstein.
Released on March 4, Hulu’s new thriller Fresh, directed by Mimi Cave, follows the story of a young woman disillusioned by the modern dating scene. The film comments on the serial consumption of bodies from a romantic, sexual and even literal standpoint.
Feel-good and retrospective, Léon’s third album Circles was released this past week on March 4. The Swedish singer’s junior album leaves us with a hint of nostalgia and a desire for transformative change. Léon, whose real name is Lotta Lindgren, utilized the sounds of contemporary synth for her album, in some cases going as far as sampling ‘80s synth for her dance tracks.
Movies can be great or they can be terrible, but in my experience, most are just adequate. These adequate ones might not affect us as deeply as the great one, or grant as much material for jokes as the terrible ones, but sometimes they can be precisely what we need: an escapist, fun ride. Keeping that in mind, I can’t think of a more appropriate adjective for Death on the Nile than just perfectly adequate.
