Arts & Culture

“Immaculate”: Not Your Average Scream Queen Story

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I thought I was done with horror movies, but Immaculate had me hooked from the first scene. The viewer is lifted over the rolling pastures of the Italian countryside and plopped within the iron fences of a Roman Catholic convent. Right from the beginning, I felt a sense of entrapment and dread. After Sister Mary’s (Simona Tabasco) attempted escape rife with emotional agony, the viewer is literally pulled right back into the convent. The scene cuts to black, and we meet Sister Cecilia (Sydney Sweeney), a wide-eyed American nun invited to join the convent.  From there, I elected to watch the rest of the movie through my fingers.

Arts & Culture

Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts Tour Comes to New York

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It’s hard to find big-time concerts in Upstate New York, so when I noticed that pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo’s arrival to New York City was perfectly timed to line up with Cornell’s spring break, I jumped at the chance to get tickets. I have been a fan of Rodrigo since her Disney Channel days, and attended her first tour in 2022, so I was ecstatic to have the opportunity to see her again.  

Rodrigo’s Guts World Tour celebrates the release of her second studio album, Guts. The album, which was released in September 2023, contains 12 eclectic tracks.  Some are slow heartbreak tunes like much of her first album, Sour, while others are more upbeat with a punk-rock like sound to them.  Rodrigo’s fan base has definitely expanded since her first tour, with most audience members dressing in her signature look of a short skirt, leather jacket and knee-high boots. Before Rodrigo came on, the show was opened by The Breeders, a 1990s alternative rock group fronted by Kim Deal. To me, the band seemed like an interesting choice, as most of the concert attendees were teenagers or young adults born long after the band’s peak.

Arts & Culture

Filming Loneliness, Watching Alone

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I’ve always liked watching movies alone; I haven’t had trouble going to the theaters alone since before I turned 18. But for a time earlier this year, I’d never done it quite so much, or in quite such a specific way.

Arts & Culture

‘Guts Spilled’: It’s Not For You (It’s For Me)

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Way back last October, Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS released, captivating me to the point that it led to a brief foray into amateur music criticism and to the eventual position of Rodrigo at the top of my Spotify Wrapped. I didn’t really precisely understand what I found so undeniable about the album: It’s odd to be a person so skeptical of popular cinema only to have the milquetoast music taste of an AI-generated character from a Netflix high school sitcom. But besides the obvious earworm-y quality of the songs and palpable angst of the vocals, Rodrigo managed to so perfectly and bluntly hit a specific familiar stream of consciousness that resonated with me and society more broadly. She’s popular — I’m just describing pop music. 

Anyway, GUTS (spilled) — the album’s deluxe edition — released last Friday, featuring five new songs and a slight cover variant with very tiny text. As an avid fan nevertheless trying to avoid a Spotify Wrapped repeat, I did eagerly listen to the new tracks, but only after being reminded of the album’s existence by a friend texting me with (probably) a bit of derision.

Arts & Culture

SOLAR FLARE | Songs for Grinding Out an Essay

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I know what you’re thinking: “A playlist to write an essay to? Did they run out of ideas already?” Fear not. I just happen to be a part of a niche group of people who enjoy listening to words while typing other words. Something about having a beat makes me more productive, and I know that there are others out there who feel the same way. I dedicate this playlist to you all.

Arts & Culture

Priscilla Speaks!

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Until now, Priscilla Presley’s story has mainly been told as a part of Elvis’. With Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla, we now have a special opportunity for an intimate look at her experience, separate from the eye-catching distractions of her husband’s stardom. The movie is unwaveringly tied to Priscilla’s perspective — unsurprising, since Presley served as an executive producer. We follow her as a 14-year-old girl who gets invited to 21-year-old Elvis’ house for a party. We feel the excitement of the pop star’s interest and find ourselves skeptical about what business a grown man has with a child.

Arts & Culture

On ‘Poor Things’: Her Own Means of Production

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“Everything in the world is about sex except sex. Sex is about power.” While the attribution of this quote to Oscar Wilde remains debatable, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things embodies its essence flawlessly. A masterpiece of fiction, Poor Things continues to stir a maelstrom of contrasting reactions: Some adore it, others find it disconcerting; it exudes opulence yet leaves an unsettling impression. The bizarre brilliance of Bella Baxter (portrayed by Emma Stone) has prompted some to exit the theater within the first 30 minutes, while others, myself included, found themselves ravenous for seconds.

Arts & Culture

‘Dune: Part Two’: Lacks Plot Lines as Arresting as its Visuals

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I walked into Dune: Part Two with extremely high hopes. I envisioned a sequel with masterful cinematography, bubbling with conflicts and tensions and romance. Instead, I left feeling like Dune: Part Two hardly pushed the plot forward or dove deeper into characters. This film, like the first movie, is very aesthetically appealing. Everything from the chalky coloration of Giedi Prime to the glowing blue eyes of the Fremen is artfully done.

Arts & Culture

‘Fear and Loathing’ in Ithaca: Sober and (Less) Sober Reflections on Gonzo Journalism and Turning 21

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I picked up a copy of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas on Friday, 12 hours away from an essay deadline I desperately wanted to avoid and thinking about the book’s long-standing place on my must-read list because of the Criterion Collection’s announcement of the 4k release of the — allegedly — inferior adaptation. I convinced myself, in a further effort to stave off the inevitable essay writing and editing, that it’d help me as a journalist and an editor. I still cringe at my attribution as a journalist — put a gun to my head and maybe I’d invoke Marat as a hero — but I must admit it fits the job description. I now spend enough of my time laying out pages, emailing potential interviews or sources, and copy editing for Oxford commas to make the position undeniable. It’ll help with my journalism, I told myself; I’ve accidentally found myself as a student journalist, and I now need help with my journalism. 

On Sunday I turned 21: that last fun birthday before they begin to blur together and race unfortunately and unexpectedly to the grisly end.