Arts & Culture

“The Super Mario Bros. Movie ” – Lets-a-Go

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Nintendo’s beloved character Mario is one of the most iconic gaming icons since his first appearance in the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong; the red hat, white gloves, overalls and mustache are universally recognizable, and the 200+ games that he has been featured in for the last 50 years have undeniably made an impact on our lives in one way or another. So when The Super Mario Bros. Movie was first announced back in 2018, fans were bubbling with excitement — only to be hit with a slight letdown from the first teaser trailer in October 2022. The original voice of Mario, Charles Martinet, had been replaced by Chris Pratt, who revealed an uninspiring Mario voice with a subtle Brooklyn accent, reminiscent of the one by Lou Albano in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, an animated series that aired on television in 1989.

Arts & Culture

CHARI | On “Coraline”, Self-Reflection and Our Favorite Childhood Media 

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I got my first tattoo last year. It is a small button, only slightly larger than a quarter. When consulting with the artist, I specified that I wanted a button with four holes in it, like in Coraline. “Oh, you also want one of that movie?” He gestured over to a heavily tattooed man sitting in the front of the shop. “Jake, show her your leg.” Jake (I think his name was Jake, I honestly don’t remember) pulled up his left pant leg to reveal a full color portrait of Coraline’s titular protagonist, complete with blue hair and the top of her yellow raincoat.

Arts & Culture

The 2023 Academy Awards Return to the Mellow Ceremony We Know Them As

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The 2023 Academy Awards marked the 95th anniversary of the annual award ceremony, and unlike last year, the night was calm and drama-free. The previous year’s ceremony gained attention for the “slap heard around the world” when Will Smith, who won “Best Actor” later that night, slapped actor and comedian Chris Rock on stage while he was presenting an award. This year’s Oscars were much more mellow, with celebrities on their best behavior and no real surprises as far as who took home awards and who left empty-handed. Of course, host Jimmy Kimmel made a few references to last year’s drama in his opening monologue, but luckily, nothing like that incident was seen this year. Instead of being overshadowed by scandal, this year’s ceremony celebrated some deserving and historic wins across all categories.

Arts & Culture

Oscars 2023: The Best of (most of) the Rest

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In my quest to review all of the Best Picture nominees at a rate of one film per week starting with the beginning of the semester and leading to the Academy Awards, I neglected one fact: The date of the Oscars. Unfortunately, as I recently realized, I am now out of time to write and publish the remaining few reviews in such a time span. As such, this article will cover three of the remaining nominees, excluding one which is the presumptive winner and another which is an optimistic hedge (you may guess which is which). Those articles should be coming next week, and if neither film ends up as the actual best picture winner, I apologize. 

Triangle of Sadness

There was a period of time (somewhere between the 1950s and 1970s or so) when European anti-capitalist satires were some of the best in film. I refer mostly to the brilliant exploits of Luis Buñuel, but also to a more general satirical inventiveness, even including such terrifying classics as Salò.

Arts & Culture

The Whale: Fraser Gives A Larger than Life Performance

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Darren Aronofsky is a director who is no stranger to outside-of-the-box films. Whether it be the stark portrayal of drug addiction in Requiem for a Dream, or the depiction of an obsessed performer in Black Swan, he is known for capturing a grandiose and ominous feeling in his genre of choice: Psychological thrillers. In Dec. 2022, he released The Whale, which is a large step away from his typical style in the A24-produced film. 

This is Aronofsky’s first movie in five years, and he brings back Brendan Fraser, a familiar face to the big screen who has also been away from the limelight as of late. Fraser plays the main character Charlie, a 600-pound man whose main goal is to reconnect with his estranged daughter Ellie, played by Stranger Things star Sadie Sink. Other characters around him include his caregiver and friend Jane, his ex-wife and a Christian missionary who goes door-to-door trying to convert Charlie.

Arts & Culture

Top Gun: Maverick is Great Because Nothing Else Can Be

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It’s been observed that the American populace of the Great Depression loved to watch films about millionaires. Ironic though it may seem, the dire straits of the average citizen manifested itself in a deep desire for escapism. Nevermind the reality that the depicted wealth would be partially to blame for the suffering, nor the wide gap of relatability between such rich characters and the economically insecure viewers. The need to imagine a world where money isn’t a concern superseded them all. It’s unfair to say that we live in a Depression-like era nowadays (for one thing the government response to contemporary malaise is hardly so radical), but to look at the modern condition and not understand a need for escapism is delusional.

Awards

All Quiet on the Western Front is a Photocopy of a Photocopy

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The last time a filmed adaptation of All Quiet on the Western Front was nominated for Best Picture, Variety suggested distribution by the League of Nations, its premiere was sabotaged by Hitler’s Brownshirts, and the film was banned in Australia for fear that it would undermine faith in the military. Its then-radical pacifistic message proved to be a prescient omen between two World Wars and the filmmaking language it’s credited with inventing became a blueprint for the entire war genre subsequent to its release. 

The 2022 remake, a German-language Netflix production from relatively unknown director Edward Berger, attempts to argue for existence on the same grounds. A war in Ukraine and apparent proximity to nuclear catastrophe would suggest the need for a reminder of the horrors of war. In reality, the new All Quiet on the Western Front represents a lateral step in the history of the war film; it ironically retreads the same path of the genres’ previous decades while undercutting its own premise through distanced filmmaking and attempts at distinction. 

The 2022 All Quiet on the Western Front opens cleverly, depicting a horrifying battle through the eyes of non-characters, all rapidly dying. Very quickly, we realize that the continuity between the opening and the main plot is the uniforms, taken off the dead men before being washed and recycled for the next stage of recruits.

Arts & Culture

The Best Rom-Coms for Valentine’s Day

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As much as Valentine’s Day might be about going out with a loved one, dressing up and buying a fancy dinner, for many others, it’s also the international holiday for rom-coms. A rom-com — short for romantic comedy — is “a movie or play that deals with love in a light, humorous way,” and I can easily attest that they’re my favorite genre of movie. There’s nothing better than setting in after a long, hard day and putting on my favorite rom-com.