This week’s installment of To Watch and Watch For comes conveniently before the inevitable onslaught of midterm season. Now is the ideal time to enjoy a packed lineup of film, books, music and live shows before the semester truly kicks in. One way to soften the unstoppable march of time is to slow down, immerse yourself in the arts and appreciate what the world has to offer at the moment. On that note, the Arts & Entertainment section has you covered.
The highly anticipated horror film HIM, directed by Justin Tipping and produced by Jordan Peele, finally hits theaters this Friday. It centers on a rising quarterback, Cameron Cade, who suffers a career-ending injury, only to meet the legendary Isaiah White, who offers to train him. As the training continues, Cam descends into a world of terror as he realizes he may have traded away his body, soul and sanity. While the marketing leans too heavily on the Jordan Peele name (despite him neither directing nor writing the film), this premise is tantalizing enough to draw in anybody interested in sports or horror.
Winner of the 2022 National Book Award for Translated Literature and three-time Booker Prize finalist Samanta Schweblin returns with her latest book, Good and Evil and Other Stories. Though the title might seem deceptively generic, early critics have noted the book’s mesmerizing exploration of domestic pressures and guilt, “imbued with the ambiguities and ironies of domestic life.”
Meanwhile, the unintentionally notorious rollout of Young Thug’s upcoming album UY Scuti — a myriad of jail calls leaked of Thug giving his unfiltered thoughts on his peers implicated in his RICO charge and the fakeness of the rap industry — has put a lot of pressure on this new release. His recent singles doubled down on disses toward former YSL Records labelmates while also apologizing to his closest friends and ex-girlfriend Mariah the Scientist, whom he cheated on. Any new Young Thug album is always exciting, and with the current controversy, this one carries even higher expectations.
The 27th annual High Zero Festival, described as one of the “world’s most unusual music festivals” begins this Thursday and will run through the weekend. Bringing together 22 improvisational and experimental musical artists from Baltimore, the East Coast and around the world, High Zero puts them on a stage together without any rehearsal and asks: What will happen? I encourage music fans of all kinds looking to expand their horizons to show up and support this one-of-a-kind event.
Other arts releases and events this week include:
To watch…
HIM, directed by Justin Tipping — Sept. 19
Gen V (Season 2 Premiere), created by Evan Goldberg, Eric Kripke, Seth Rogen and Craig Rosenberg — Sept. 17
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, directed by Kogonada — Sept. 19
Steve, directed by Tim Mielants — Sept. 19
Xeno, directed by Matthew Loren Oates — Sept. 19
To read…
Good and Evil and Other Stories, by Samanta Schweblin — Sept. 16
Good Things, by Samin Nosrat — Sept. 16
Poems & Prayers, by Matthew McConaughey — Sept. 16
The Waterbearers, by Sasha Bonét — Sept. 16
The Wilderness, by Angela Flournoy — Sept. 16
To listen…
UY Scuti, by Young Thug — Sept. 19
</3³, by Destroy Lonely — Sept. 19
AM I THE DRAMA?, by Cardi B — Sept. 19
Bleeds, by Wednesday — Sept. 19
ICON, by Brent Faiyaz — Sept. 19
I'm Only F**king Myself, by Lola Young — Sept. 19
Live events…
High Zero Festival — ongoing Sept. 18–21, 8:30 p.m. at Baltimore Theatre Project
- $75 festival pass, $25 ticket for one night and $15 ticket for one night for students, seniors and artists
After Hours at the Baltimore Museum of Art | College Night: Turn Again to the Earth — Sept. 18, 6–9 p.m. at Baltimore Museum of Art
- This event is free with registration.
In the Stacks: Maryland Opera — Sept. 18, 6:30–7:30 p.m. at the George Peabody Library
- This event is free with registration.
Tianquiztli — Sept. 21, 3–6 p.m. at Creative Alliance
- This event is free with registration.
Hop Talks Book Talk: "A Beautiful Ghetto" — Sept. 22, 6–8 p.m. at Great Hall, Levering Hall
- This event is free with registration.
