Arts & Culture

Wait For Me: Hadestown, A Show You Should Not Wait to See 

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These days, being a proud theater kid is not for the weak-egoed. I’ve learned that there is a certain kind of pride you must set aside to embrace the wonderful world of musical theater. Over winter break, my friend and I purchased two orchestra seats to Hadestown on a whim in order to take advantage of Broadway’s two for one deal which promptly rolled out after the holiday tourist rush. Though I had most certainly heard of the show, I went into Hadestown mostly blind. The one thing I was not blind to was the fact that To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before actor, “Elsa please I know you’re in there” singer and all-around icon Jordan Fisher is in it, and just for him, I was excited enough.

Arts & Culture

Hater Friday: Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life

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Like many young women my age, I love rewatching Gilmore Girls each fall. With the classic small town vibes and quirky cast of characters, I have always found it to be the perfect cozy show to watch when in need of comfort. However, the reunion show called Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life from 2016 falls short and is frankly embarrassing. While I went into the show excited to see the familiar characters and setting that I have so enjoyed, I was sorely disappointed. First of all, the depiction of modern-day Stars Hollow is all wrong.

Arts & Culture

‘Drive-Away D**es,’ Sibling Rivalries and Having Fun 

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“The greatest films of all time were never made… the greatest loves of all time are over now.” 

Taylor Swift’s discourse on romance tracks surprisingly well onto the recent history of the great Gen X directing duos: The last couple of years have brought about the divorces of the Safdie brothers, Wachowski sisters and — most tragically — the Coen brothers. Creative partnerships tend to be tenuous, and most historic examples (Martin and Lewis, Nichols and May, Powell and Pressburger, to name a few) end with one or both attempting to stake their own claim — or perhaps needing to after the death of one half. Still, this recent crop of breakups, and particularly the first individual projects from Joel and Ethan Coen, represent at once a great tragedy and fascinating subject for interrogation. A duo best marked for their juxtaposition of brilliant wit with bleak subject matter have split up and demonstrated that they each brought something incredibly different to their collaboration. Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth brought the filmmaker’s trademark visual excellence but stripped the exercise of any humor, and the new film from Ethan Coen, Drive-Away Dolls (or D**es, as the final title card and filmmakers call it), cares about little more than getting a laugh out of its audience.

Arts & Culture

The Oscar Nominees: The Ones I Liked Less

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Well, it can’t all be great. As good as this year’s Oscars slate is in comparison to say, 2021, it still isn’t quite able to escape the inadequacies or odd choices befitting any body of wealthy West Coast liberals and reactionary octogenarians. There isn’t a Green Book this year, or any other film whose victory might call into question the value of the exercise itself, but (unless you suffer from the same brand of brain rot as me) watching all the nominees is never a necessity to cover the best of this year in movies. Here are the ones you can skip: 

The Holdovers 

I hate to be the curmudgeon unable to find much of the joy in this film about a curmudgeonly old man finding joy, but — alas — The Holdovers was not for me. I’m incredibly sympathetic to its warm nostalgia for ’70s aesthetics, even if the specific genre its cribbing from has never particularly appealed to me.

Arts & Culture

The Oscar Nominees: The Ones I Liked*

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I may have aged another year, but I remain in the same state of arrested development that holds dear a decade-long obsession with the Academy Awards. This year, at least, has been an uncharacteristically good year for the kind of prestige awards fodder that ends up nominated, and though (as always) I didn’t like everything, I found a lot of really enjoyable bits in almost all the best picture nominees, even the bad ones. I’ve already reviewed Killers of the Flower Moon, The Zone of Interest and Barbie/Oppenheimer for The Sun (not to mention the excellent reviews of the last two from other Staff Writers), but there are six more Best Picture nominees that are worth talking about. Although the distinction is arbitrary, I’ve split them into two articles, one covering the ones I liked (or reservedly recommend) and another the ones I liked less (or think might merit a skip). Without further ado, here are the ones I liked: 

American Fiction 

Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction, adapted from the 2001 novel Erasure, attempts to simultaneously satire the current state of Black literature and backdoor a compelling family drama in the space of two hours.

Arts & Culture

Overflowing with Untapped Potential: A Critical Review of Percy Jackson and the Olympians First Season

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“Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood.”

Such was the line that began The Lightning Thief, the first book of many that were to embody the famous, multi-series saga of half-bloods, monsters and gods. Welcome to the realm of Percy Jackson. 

If there’s anything we can all agree on, it’s that the Percy Jackson and the Olympians book series is a childhood classic. From witty humor to action-packed fight scenes, with thrilling characters and a beautiful blend of modern magic, many fans consider the series one of the best stories of our time. 

Last December, the much-anticipated live-action adaptation finally aired on Disney+. This season covers the first book and serves as the introduction to what is to become a much larger series. It concluded on Jan.

Arts & Culture

A New Genre for 2024: Trying Out Thrillers

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So far in 2024, I have been pushing myself outside of my reading comfort zone. This meant exploring new genres and reading books I might not normally pick up. In the past month, I was really into thriller and mystery books. Although not all of them were winners, I found a few new favorites. 

I started with The Housemaid and The Housemaid’s Secret by Freida McFadden. The Housemaid is rated 4.34 on Goodreads and a nominee for the Goodreads Choice Award for 2022 Best Mystery and Thriller.

Arts & Culture

TV Shows Returning in 2024

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Now that the SAG-AFTRA strike has finally ended, 2024 is shaping up to be an absolutely amazing year for television fans who have been long awaiting the return of their favorite shows. Though this list spans only a tiny fraction of all the shows returning this year, the ones covered below include many of the biggest names in current television, as well as personal and highly recommended favorites. On this list, there is something for everyone: historical dramas, comedies, action adventures, reality, international stories, romances and so much more. It is time to pull up your Google Calendar and start adding in these dates for a binge-watching session — there is a lot to look forward to in the months ahead. 

Winter

All Creatures Great and Small: January

One of the first shows to return this year, and the only one on this list already released, is the third season of All Creatures Great and Small. All Creatures is a PBS Masterpiece show that returned to American screens on Jan.

Arts & Culture

The 2024 Grammy Awards: A Night of Ups and Downs

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The 2024 Grammy Awards was a night of celebrations and record breaking, as well as some snubs and surprises. The ceremony took place Sunday night at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Comedian Trevor Noah hosted the show for the fourth consecutive year, providing light-hearted commentary throughout the night. The big winners included Miley Cyrus and Billie Eilish. Cyrus won her first two Grammys, after only receiving two nominations in years prior.