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Dominick D/cc by-sa 2.0 Camila Mendes plays rich girl Shelby in Netflix’s new high school rom-com, The Perfect Date.

The Perfect Date is charming, but predictable

By BINYAMIN NOVETSKY | April 18, 2019

To some extent all romantic comedies are the same. You might think that that’s a bad thing, but I’d argue in the genre’s defense. Sometimes there’s nothing wrong with following a good formula. That being said, if you don’t like rom-coms, The Perfect Date isn’t for you. If you don’t like high school rom-coms, then you probably shouldn’t even bother reading this review. But if, like myself, you’re the type of person who’s seen To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before multiple times and would watch it again right now, then you also need to stop reading this review because you have to go watch The Perfect Date immediately.

COURTESY OF JAE CHOI Epik High performed at Filmore Silver Spring in Baltimore on April 12.

Hip hop group Epik High performs a mix of old and new hits

By JAE CHOI | April 18, 2019

Standing in the crowd of the Fillmore Silver Spring on Friday night, I was immediately taken back to my childhood, one of the hallmarks of which was listening to music in our family SUV. Whether we were going shopping for groceries or picking up new threads at the local Marshalls, my parents would always play music in the car. The selection was usually pretty eclectic — it included everything from Mendelssohn’s E minor violin concerto and random excerpts from Bach’s solo cello suites to Dream Theater’s Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory and excessive replays of The Pussycat Dolls’ “Don’t Cha.” 

Julio Enriquez/CC BY-SA 2.0 Vampire Weekend announced an upcoming album through the release of three double singles

Three new albums released just in time for warm weather

By CATE TURNER | April 18, 2019

The return of the spring season always seems to bring with it two things: better moods and better music. In this past week, Vampire Weekend, Khalid and Kevin Abstract have all released much anticipated albums (not to mention Anderson .Paak, but he gets his own article).

GAGE SKIDMORE/CC BY-SA 2.0 Zachary Levi plays Billy Batson, the kid-turned-adult-superhero in Shazam!

DC Comics’ new film Shazam! fails to make magic on screen

By BINYAMIN NOVETSKY | April 11, 2019

I went into Shazam! with pretty high hopes. It had been very well reviewed, and I’d heard some really good things. Zachary Levi is a great actor who looked perfect for the role of the main character, kid-turned-adult-superhero Billy Batson, and the trailers were exciting and hilarious. Things all looked positive, and I was genuinely eager to see it opening night. So, with all that being said, I want to be very clear — Shazam! was not a good movie. I enjoyed it, and I’m glad I saw it, but it was not a quality film.

ADAM BIELAWSKI/CC BY-SA 3.0 Nipsey Hussle was shot outside his own clothing store on March 31.

Remembering the legacy of rapper and artist Nipsey Hussle

By NIKITA SHTARKMAN | April 11, 2019

Nipsey Hussle was murdered a week ago. He was standing outside his clothing store, The Marathon Clothing, on Slauson Avenue, the street he grew up on in Los Angeles. He got into a confrontation with a man trying to enter the store. The man left, got a gun, came back and shot Nipsey.

KEVIN EDWARDS/CC BY-S.A 2.0 Jordan Peele directs and stars as the narrator in new The Twilight Zone.

The Twilight Zone reboot falls flat of original series

By CHRISTIAN HELGESON | April 11, 2019

A large part of The Twilight Zone’s cult appeal stems from its inherently strange qualities, not only in its plot, but also in its status as an emblem of a different time and a different intellectual atmosphere in American history. The show itself, with its stilted acting, filtered sound and dramatic score, often does feel like it came from another dimension, an aspect that only increases its lurid appeal. 

Visiting Ilya Kaminsky reads original poetry

By RUDY MALCOM | April 11, 2019

Humanities students at Hopkins are used to not getting the same opportunities as their STEM counterparts. Friendly fire proved just as fatal, however, when faculty members in the Writing Seminars started closing the door on students attempting to enter the overstuffed Tudor and Stuart Room in Gilman Hall on Tuesday, April 2. The Writing Sems department selected Gilman 388 (as opposed to the usual Mudd 26) for its intimacy, but it’s truly a shame that more students weren’t able to attend the reading of Margolies Visiting Writer Ilya Kaminsky.

COURTESY OF LAURA NUGENT The Barnstormers put on a production of Cabaret for their 100th Anniversary Spring Musical.

Berlin comes to Baltimore in Barnstormers' Cabaret

By CATE TURNER | April 11, 2019

The Barnstormers finished their opening weekend of their 100th anniversary spring musical, Cabaret, in Swirnow Theater. Directed by Max Hunter, the artistic director of The Bridge Production Group, and produced by senior Julia Zimmerman, the show centers around a Berlin cabaret called the Kit Kat Klub and the lives of those involved in it. 

Courtesy of Emily McDonald Red Emma's hosted authors from magazine World War 3 Illustrated.

Red Emma's hosts presentation of World War 3 Illustrated

By EMILY MCDONALD | April 4, 2019

Red Emma’s hosted a multimedia presentation of the latest issue of World War 3 Illustrated, a left-wing political comic magazine, on Friday, March 29. This issue, “Now is the Time of Monsters,” focuses on the rise of capitalism and fascism. And though the theme may be broad, each featured artist hones in on one specific evil in the world, from Mark Zuckerberg to forced evictions in Detroit. 

A conversation with Baltimore musician Cris Jacobs

By ARIELLA SHUA | April 4, 2019

Ask Baltimore musician Cris Jacobs if he has a favorite song from his most recent album, Color Where You Are, and he’s unable to give a direct answer.  “I can’t really say that I do,” he said. “Different songs have different emotional levels and different purposes.”

Courtesy of Throat Culture Members of Throat Culture perform in the 24-hour show on Saturday.

Throat Culture puts on whirlwind 24-hour show

By RUDY MALCOM | April 4, 2019

Throat Culture, the only sketch comedy troupe on campus, performed their 24-hour glow show in Arellano Theater on Saturday night, offering audience members not only humor and talent, but also free candy and glow sticks.

Three Hopkins alumnae return for reading series

By CHRISTIAN HELGESON | April 4, 2019

It’s sometimes hard to feel successful at Hopkins, or for that matter, to feel that you will ever be successful. Assignments come and go, and you complete them with varying degrees of competency and effort invested in each. You’re supposed to be learning, but often you feel like you’re treading water. Even if you do learn something, and can recognize and feel fulfilled by that fact, where does that leave you? 

Public Domain Peabody Wind Ensemble showed off their musical flexibility on Saturday.

Peabody Wind Ensemble impresses audiences at latest concert

By JAE CHOI | April 4, 2019

Compared to ensembles like the full symphony orchestra and string quartet, the wind ensemble seems to be a less written-for group. Exceptions may include instances in which programs present notable pieces like Holst’s “First Suite” and “Second Suite” or Samuel Barber’s much-loved “Commando March,” but for all their merits, performances of these works remain infrequent. 

Gage Skidmore/CC BY-SA 3.0 Michael Keaton plays the villainous businessman in Disney’s Dumbo.

Dumbo fails to live up to its high expectations

By COLE DOUGLASS | April 4, 2019

For the life of me, I cannot figure out why Disney decided to add Dumbo to its list of live-action adaptations. It’s easy to understand why they remade Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast; the films are so deeply ingrained in our cultural childhood that it is difficult to imagine a world in which the remakes weren’t successful. Dumbo, on the other hand, is nowhere near as popular a character, and his story seems like it wouldn’t translate very well to a more realistic film.

Frank Morales/CC BY-SA 4.0 Earl Sweatshirt performs for a high-energy crowd with his old hits and newer releases.

Earl Sweatshirt performs a lively set at the Baltimore Soundstage

By KANAK GUPTA | April 4, 2019

Concerts where the artist has to ask the audience to calm down are rare, to say the least. For me, Earl Sweatshirt’s concert on his tour Thebe Kgositsile presents: Fire it Up! A Tour Starring Earl Sweatshirt & Friends at Baltimore Soundstage on Thursday, March 28 was the first of its kind. Even though the mosh trampled me in one of its earliest waves and probably scarred me for life (no, I’m definitely not mad at all), the rhythmic energy that night was nothing short of primal — a wonder to witness.

Why opera isn’t as exclusive as you might think

By SOPHIA LIPKIN | March 28, 2019

The Metropolitan Opera is New York elites’ best kept secret. With its still lingering 19th century grandeur and 60-foot high ceilings, it can almost feel like a farce. But within the performance itself, there are quiet moments of intimacy too. 

Netflix airs 18 animated short films in a NSFW series

By KATHARINE LEE | March 28, 2019

For all the Black Mirror fans out there, Netflix has finally released its animated equivalent: Love, Death + Robots. This not-safe-for-work (NSFW) series of 18 short films is the stunning collaborative effort of filmmaking teams from across the world. These five to 15 minute long short films are shocking but beautifully animated commentaries on, you guessed it, love, death and occasionally robots. 

Gage Skidmore/cc by-sa 3.0 Cole Sprouse stars in the new romantic drama film Five Feet Apart.

Five Feet Apart is sincere despite slight plot holes

By CHRISTIAN HELGESON | March 28, 2019

Sometimes you watch a movie that makes you feel like you’ve entered a different dimension. Not in the sense that you’ve been transported to a fantastical location, but rather everything in the movie operates differently from how you would expect events to normally operate. I often feel that way when watching romance movies. Whenever I watch them, I feel caught between feeling everything in the movie is ridiculous and that, if someone were to truly attempt to portray love, then it would look somewhat ridiculous. After all, one person’s love will never be the same as another’s. 

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