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(04/09/19 6:31pm)
On March 29, 2019, the world of cinema lost one of its greats. Agnès Varda, known as the grande dame of the French New Wave, passed away in Paris at 90 years old. Her long career began in the 1950s and amounted to a rich filmography of both narrative and documentary films. At age 89, Varda was nominated for an Academy award for Faces Places, a feature documentary she created alongside the photographer JR exploring the villages and characters of the French countryside. Varda’s filmmaking, like many of those working within the French New Wave cinematic movement, sought to achieve a documentary realism that melded fiction and nonfiction. Remarkably, Varda’s distinctive, experimental style emerged before many of the most renowned figures of the French New Wave.
(04/25/19 5:35pm)
You might know at least one of these musicians—Labrinth, the British singer–producer noted for collaborations such as “Pass Out” with Tinie Tempah; Sia, the Australian singer famous for “Elastic Heart” and her David Guetta mix “Titanium"; and Diplo, the American DJ celebrated for his contributions to “Paper Planes,” “Look At Me Now,” and “Where Are U Now.” The artists are talented in a variety of ways, but what if they were to come together and create a magical partnership? Well, it just happened.
(04/10/19 5:16am)
If you haven't heard of "Old Town Road", the hit single by Lil Nas X (real name Montero Hill) that came out in early December, it's been sparking headlines for the controversial treatment it's received as a country trap piece. After becoming a viral sensation through the video application TikTok, “Old Town Road” has spread everywhere, rising to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and being celebrated throughout social media.
(04/05/19 2:00pm)
Whether you love it or hate it, Spring Breakers has a kind of mythic presence in popular culture for the last decade. Its extreme raunchiness, high–profile cast, and distinctive style are all grounds to remember this gloriously distasteful piece of cinema. It's also a tremendously polarizing film, hailed as both an explosive commentary on morally bankrupt youth culture and a gross trainwreck with poorly written characters and empty–headed superficiality. While unnerving, Spring Breakers is, in fact, a good movie. It makes the conscious decision to subvert the ordinary markers of good storytelling in exchange for a dreamlike editing style full of hypnotic, auditory, and visual resonances. There may be a bounty of things to hate about Spring Breakers but none of them can fully undermine Harmony Korine’s ability to develop such a dark and twisted spring break fantasy.
(04/01/19 11:46pm)
Bildungsroman: a novel that focuses on a protagonist’s growth from youth to adulthood. Translated to film, the core of the bildungsroman is a coming–of–age story chronicling the life–long trials we face in identifying who we are.
(04/07/19 11:39pm)
Sitcoms are a dime a dozen—major entertainment networks such as NBC, CBS, and FOX cycle through them at a rapid pace, each with their own premise and title theme songs. Speaking of the latter, a number of shows last long enough that their signature song becomes instantly recognizable. However, a few of these themes become something more—a celebrated track forever enshrined in the minds of viewers across the world, symbolizing good memories of the times spent watching and laughing at the trials of their favorite comedic characters. Why not rank the best ones?
(04/03/19 5:24pm)
This April, like every month, an interesting variety of productions will be added to our Netflix options, while other options will be leaving us. To keep you up to date on what’s coming and going, the following is a brief compilation of trends and titles to watch out for.
(04/02/19 11:46pm)
With the days growing longer and spring in the air, there is no better time to start enjoying Philadelphia outside our academic hamlet here in University City than now. If you’re heading out to Old City for a little distance, any Penn film buff would tell you to drop in for a couple of hours at the Ritz Five, grab some tea and cookies, and enjoy a great movie. However, if nothing among the selection of independent films that are typically playing catches your eye, the Ritz has classic film showings every Tuesday at 7 p.m. When you’re in the mood for a little weekday getaway as the semester winds down, you can catch these showings throughout the month of April.
(04/01/19 6:16am)
On Monday, March 18, the Social Planning and Events Committee (SPEC) announced that R&B singer Miguel will headline the 2019 Spring Fling Concert on Saturday, April 13. The Afro–Mexican artist is well known for his Grammy Award–winning song "Adorn" and self–identifies as part of a new wave of R&B, falling in line with artists like Frank Ocean, the Weeknd and Elle Varner.
(04/10/19 11:12pm)
Watching First Man cemented my image of Ryan Gosling as perhaps the most versatile actor in his industry today. It made me realize that there is nothing he cannot do. Gosling morphs into roles as easily as he can look the part.
(03/29/19 1:23am)
For college students, high school is mostly out of sight and out of mind. Present day situations call for present day attention, and that usually means putting aside irrelevant memories and experiences from years past. But they’re still there—and On My Block captures both the good and the bad that comes from looking back on what we all experienced.
(04/03/19 10:49pm)
As we continue to see the mass production and commercial success of true crime television, it's becoming safe to say that true crime has dethroned the romantic comedy genre as audiences' favorite form of guilty pleasure television. Although it's not entirely clear why so many of us enjoy delving deep into the horrifying worlds of real–life killers, convicts, and victims, entertainment companies like FOX, HBO, and Netflix have certainly taken notice. They continue to satisfy our thirsts for blood, gore, and drama in the form of quick, binge–worthy miniseries like Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story and Making a Murderer. The latest addition to the true crime TV dynasty, Hulu's The Act tells the absurd life story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard and the murder of her mother, Clauddine 'Dee Dee' Blanchard. The unique circumstances surrounding the crimes of the Blanchard household make The Act an equally horrifying and heartbreaking experience that is sure to make your stomach turn.
(03/25/19 5:40am)
How exactly do you turn a convoluted, high–frequency trading fiber–optic cable development scheme into a compelling, fast–paced thriller? If The Hummingbird Project is any indication, chances are you can’t. Not to say that the jargon–laden drama with buddy–movie tendencies is an all–out failure, for it hits a handful of high notes and occasionally edges on effective dark humor. However, while some risks do pay off in the end, and I mean the very end, The Hummingbird Project has a difficult time getting off the ground as the true thriller it seems to want to be.
(03/23/19 6:06pm)
Even before its release on March 15, Five Feet Apart was embroiled in controversy. From a misguided influencer campaign to worries about the romanticization of in–patient life, the film has had a rough go of it. These criticisms were amplified by the sheer star power this film held for its teen audience: Haley Lu Richardson of The Edge of Seventeen starred opposite of Cole Sprouse of Riverdale, both under the direction of Justin Baldoni of Jane the Virgin. The movie seems tailor–made for lovestruck young girls and boys, the kind who swoon over teeny–bopper Instagram stars and wield social media as their greatest weapon.
(03/24/19 11:51pm)
From the moment PennSori, Penn's pop/K–pop a capella group, began its Spring concert with a medley of songs from internationally renowned Korean band BTS, an immediate infectious energy filled the Houston Hall Class of ’49 Auditorium. People didn’t need to understand all of the words to enjoy the sheer passion in the performance.
(03/19/19 12:11am)
On Monday, March 18, at 8 p.m., the Social Planning and Events Committee (SPEC) released the lineup for the 2019 Spring Fling Concert: Miguel and J.I.D.
(03/24/19 10:25pm)
Cable television has always been seen as somehow less prestigious than movies: a step down, even. This is due, at least in part, to the astronomical pay–grade difference between the two mediums. Apart from a handful of powerhouse series like the Big Bang Theory or Modern Family, television provides actors with far less "big bang" for their buck than movies typically do. Resultantly, we don't see movie stars do television (save for the rare miniseries) unless it’s a desperate attempt to revamp their careers.
(03/18/19 10:32pm)
Netflix has officially released the highly anticipated third season of the Emmy award–winning reboot, Queer Eye.This season we're following the Fab Five—Tan France (the fashion guru), Antoni Porowski (the food and wine connoisseur), Jonathan Van Ness (the grooming specialist), Bobby Berk (the design whiz), and Karamo Brown (the culture expert)—as they travel through the Midwestern city of Kansas City, Missouri to offer advice and make people over from the inside–out. This is the reality TV series' best installment yet—and this is why.
(03/21/19 8:46pm)
When it comes to making audiences uncomfortable, sometimes movies go beyond the canon of horror film antagonists and confront people with the very worst of their own humanity. In the case of Gasper Noé’s Climax, uses a mind–bending cinematic style that replicates the chaotic, nightmarish experiences of his tormented characters. Climax delivers on a premise that could have easily produced a hollow, superficial film capturing what might happen if a group of people accidentally drinks LSD–laced sangria at a company party. However, the film’s fluid, observational cinematography captures the narrative layers of a world of illuminated passageways, echoing with screams and thumping music, while the film’s ensemble cast act out a terrifying drug–induced fantasy. Climax should have been a terrible film, and though it may be a disturbing one, it is mostly just a gloriously uncomfortable imagining of our most unsavory impulses.
(03/25/19 4:20am)
It’s International Women’s Month this March, an incredibly important time to advocate and support the fight for gender equality. To celebrate this monumental and difficult time period in current events and history, here are a few films that you can watch to celebrate the strength and resilience of women everywhere.
