Arts & Culture

“Atomic Heart”  — Unpolished, But Still A Gem

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When the first teaser of Atomic Heart was dropped back in July 2017, the first impressions of the game appeared to show great potential — a Bioshock-esque, charming role playing game of another apocalyptic world, filled with wacky but cool retro-futuristic technology and hostile killer robots (because who doesn’t love fighting killer robots?) With every trailer that the developer, Mundfish, released, the more the hype around the game grew. From a fairly barebone alternate universe RPG, the trailers began to show a game rich in lore and world building, teasing jaw-dropping sceneries of a futuristic-looking Soviet Union and fascinating, uniquely designed robots. When the game finally released on Feb. 21, the hype was at an all time high. But now, nearly a month later, what happened to Atomic Heart?

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

Are Hippo Campus’s Best Days Behind Them?

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On Feb. 21, Hippo Campus released their new single “Kick in the Teeth,” a quick bite of a song that is less than three minutes, yet feels too long. The single comes in anticipation of the indie rock band’s new EP Wasteland, which will be released on April 14. “Kick in the Teeth” feels lazier than the band’s usual summer sound; could it be Hippo Campus ready to try a new style, or a sign that they’ve run out of creative steam? “Kick in the Teeth” sounds like it was written in a class on how to write a song — I got sick of it after only getting through the first half of this article.

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

It’s Music for Chickens

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Some indie music is made in bedrooms, but Tall Travis’s new EP Chicken Music is made for a barn. On Jan. 5, the Vermont-based band released their third project, a quick 19-minute listen that is crunchy and energetic. The six-song project starts strong and finishes honestly, putting forth an effort that may not be groundbreaking but is astonishingly authentic. Tall Travis originated at the University of Vermont’s folk music club in January 2021.

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.