Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896
April 25, 2025 April 25, 2025 | Published by the Students of Johns Hopkins since 1896

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COURTESY OF VARSHNI VEERAVIGNESH The Buttered Niblets gather onstage during the improv comedy show.

The Buttered Niblets delight with a creative Halloweekend show

By VARSHNI VEERAVIGNESH | November 5, 2022

It was 8 p.m. on the Saturday of Halloweekend, and the Arellano Theatre was buzzing with a bright, relaxed energy as the audience waited for the show to start. I saw a few familiar faces in the crowd, and I wasn’t surprised. The beauty of improv is that you never know what to expect each time, and the comic chaos that the Buttered Niblets (Nibs for short) create on stage every show keeps you coming back for more. 

GAGE SKIDMORE / CC BY-SA 2.0 Sofia Wylie stars in Netflix’s new film The School for Good and Evil.

The School for Good and Evil: good and evil, with a twist

By ALICIA GUEVARA | November 3, 2022

To say I was excited for Netflix’s release of The School for Good and Evil on Oct. 19 is a huge understatement. It was beyond mere excitement. From a countdown starting months in advance to frantic replaying of the teaser trailer when it dropped, I was borderline obsessed.

WIKIMEDIA COMMONS / CC BY-SA 2.0 Alumbro delves into the resonance of Ocean Vuong’s work.

Reading Ocean Vuong: what you need to know

By JULIA ALUMBRO | November 2, 2022

What can we do when language fails to bridge our thoughts with each other? As the son of an immigrant mother who was illiterate, this is an ongoing question Vietnamese American writer Ocean Vuong returns to in his poems, essays and novels. His work centers around communication, as if with each poem, he reimagines ways to streamline his emotions.

SUSANLENOX / PUBLIC DOMAIN MARK 1.0 The Rocky Horror Picture Show performance this Halloween was the University’s rendition of a cult classic.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show performance makes for an unforgettable Halloween

By ALICIA GUEVARA | November 2, 2022

It turns out that I was wrong in thinking that the most exciting Mudd 26 could get was a Breaking Bad reference in the middle of an organic chemistry lecture. Behind those same squeaking doors, in front of that same projector and chalkboard, Hopkins Rocky Horror held a midnight performance of The Rocky Horror Picture Show on Oct. 29 that took the cake.

COURTESY OF MARY KATE MCCORMICK This week’s releases include Next Exit, Smithereens and Little America: The Official Podcast.

To watch and watch for: week of Oct. 30

By SOPHIA LIN | November 1, 2022

As the semester chugs along, don’t forget to take out some pockets of time to sit back, unwind and relax. Ushering us from October to November is a diverse assortment of releases, ranging from personal dramas to compelling horror.

FICG.MX / CC BY 2.0 Francis Ford Coppola directed the 1979 Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now.

In focus: Apocalypse Now (1979)

By VAREN TALWAR | October 26, 2022

Anyone who doesn’t believe in miracles has clearly never seen Apocalypse Now. Directed by the legendary Francis Ford Coppola (director of The Godfather trilogy), Apocalypse Now is epic in all proportions and stands out even among the greatest of war films. There is no aspect of the film — from its production to the very fact that it was actually completed — that isn’t wildly fascinating.

GABBOT / CC BY-SA 2.0 Kaitlyn Dever stars in Hulu’s inventive comedy Rosaline.

Rosaline: A comedic commentary on Romeo and Juliet

By ALICIA GUEVARA | October 25, 2022

I have never understood the hype surrounding Shakespeare’s infamous play, Romeo and Juliet. Personally, I’ve always found it to be a long-winded, pompous display of iambic pentameter spouted by two-dimensional and horrendously stupid protagonists.

EVA RINALDI / CC BY-SA 2.0 Swift’s latest album Midnights presents the singer-songwriter’s most personal and frank experiences.

Taylor Swift's musical risk-taking pays off in Midnights

By MOLLY GAHAGEN | October 25, 2022

In what may arguably be one of the biggest album releases of the year, Taylor Swift’s 10th studio album Midnights was released on Oct. 21. The 13 tracks depict “sleepless nights” from across Swift’s life, drawing on her strong storytelling skills and sharp lyricism. 

COURTESY OF JOHN D’CRUZ The Banshees of Inisherin, The Boys from Biloxi and Crybaby are a few of the picks to explore this fall break.

To watch and watch for: week of Oct. 16

By SOPHIA LIN | October 17, 2022

Believe it or not, fall break is upon us — though only after we’ve finished three more days of classes. But then we’ll all finally have a moment to breathe, sleep and really sleep. Thankfully it’s an exciting week for releases across the board, especially with a much-anticipated album from a certain singer-songwriter who needs no introduction.

NASA HQ PHOTO / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Michael Giacchino, a famed American composer, makes his directorial debut with Werewolf by Night.

Marvel’s Werewolf by Night is a frightfully fun old-school monster tale

By HELENA GIFFORD | October 16, 2022

Marvel Studios’ Werewolf by Night is a television special that was released on Disney+ on Oct. 7, and is a single-episode story about what happens when a group of monster hunters are gathered together to compete for the ownership of the magical “Bloodstone” after its previous owner passes away. However, one of the monster hunters is not who they say they are.

RED CARPET REPORT ON MINGLE MEDIA TV / CC BY-SA 2.0 Along with Bette Midler and Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy reprises her role as one of the Sanderson Sisters in Hocus Pocus 2.

Hocus Pocus 2: A nostalgic mess

By ALICIA GUEVARA | October 15, 2022

With Halloween just a few weeks away, if you’re like me, you’re likely on the lookout for a festive, spooky film to snuggle up and watch over a bowl of candy corn. Luckily, this October has been filled with new horror films, from Halloween Ends, the last in the Halloween trilogy, to Prey for the Devil coming out on Oct. 28. However, as someone who enjoys a milder scare, I was beyond ecstatic when I heard Disney+ was releasing a sequel to the 1993 cult classic Hocus Pocus on Sept. 30.

COURTESY OF JINGYAN ZHANG This year's Hoptoberfest concert was headlined by Desiigner, a rapper.

Rapper Desiigner electrifies crowd at Hoptoberfest

By JINGYAN ZHANG | October 12, 2022

The week-long festivities of Hoptoberfest 2022 concluded on Oct. 8, with an exhilarating performance from Brooklyn-born rapper Desiigner at Shriver Hall. Known by his stage name Desiigner, Sidney Royel Selby III is perhaps best known amongst the Gen Z undergraduate student body for his hit debut single “Panda,” which premiered in December 2015.

COURTESY OF MARY KATE MCCORMICK This week’s picks include Heat, Blue Rev and As the Moon Rests.

To watch and watch for: week of Oct. 9

By VAREN TALWAR | October 10, 2022

As the semester gets crazier and crazier with each passing day, the need for some escapism gets more intense. Taking note of that, the world of arts has once again stepped up to the occasion to help us Blue Jays out! 

LENKE SZILÁGYI / CC BY-SA 3.0 Hungarian novelist and screenwriter László Krasznahorkai penned Spadework for a Palace.

“Reality is no obstacle”: a review of László Krasznahorkai’s Spadework for a Palace

By JULIAN LASHER | October 10, 2022

It’s hard to know what to make of the newest effort by László Krasznahorkai, Spadework for a Palace. The novella concerns an aging librarian at the New York Public Library named herman melvill. He is overtaken by an obsessive interest in three artists who also lived and worked in Manhattan: the writers Herman Melville and Malcolm Lowry and the architect Lebbeus Woods.

COURTESY OF MARY KATE MCCORMICK Amsterdam, Our Missing Hearts and Charlie are a few of the most anticipated picks this week.

To watch and watch for: week of Oct. 2

By SOPHIA LIN | October 4, 2022

With the first round of midterms seemingly sneaking up already, it’s certainly around the time when we’re all pressed for time. But, in a little twist of counterintuition, this week might actually be perfect to squeeze in a trip to the theater, read the first chapter of a book or switch up your playlist.

WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION / CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0 Maggie Cheung is the lead actress of Wong Kar Wai’s 2000 romance drama In the Mood for Love.

In focus: In the Mood for Love (2000)

By VAREN TALWAR | October 3, 2022

I distinctly remember the suffocating depression I fell into the weekend I went to see Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love at the Charles Theater last semester. There, in the company of an auditorium full of strangers, I watched a profound tragedy that haunts me to this day. 

GAGE SKIDMORE / CC BY-SA 2.0 Florence Pugh is one of the stars of Olivia Wilde's new film Don't Worry Darling.

Don’t Worry Darling is actually not that bad?

By ALICIA GUEVARA | October 1, 2022

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few months, odds are you’ve heard at least something about Olivia Wilde’s latest film Don’t Worry Darling, starring Florence Pugh and Harry Styles. Most likely, you’ve read headlines about casting feuds, on-set affairs or spitting accusations and concluded, unlike Styles in his viral interview, that this movie feels anything but like an actual movie. 

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