The Shriver Hall Concert Series routinely brings virtuosic professional musicians to give concerts at Hopkins. On Feb. 26, the Dover Quartet was joined by double bassist Joseph Conyers to play pieces by Joseph Haydn, George Walker and Antonín Dvořák.
It’s an exciting week for the arts, especially for film nerds who will be delighted with the opportunity to watch Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back on the big screen at the Charles Theatre! A similar wave of nostalgia is likely to pervade you if you go for the revival screening of John Hughes’ Ferris Bueller’s Day Off at the Senator Theatre. Elizabeth Banks’ new movie Cocaine Bear seems to have all the trappings of a cult classic and is sure to be a lot of fun as well.
After a series of contentious years, many wonder whether the Academy’s new leadership, namely President Janet Yang and CEO Bill Kramer, can draw viewers and positive reviews for the upcoming 95th Academy Awards. Due to uncertainty surrounding the value of awards shows, my predictions on who will take home this year’s Oscars will weigh both public opinion and the merit of the nominees themselves to select the most favored winner.
With South Korean cinema gradually becoming more mainstream over the past few years, works of directors like Park Chan-wook are becoming more scrutinized. I urge everyone to jump on the bandwagon to be exposed to the wealth of this industry and its many uplifting and entertaining stories. For now, I recommend the dark and twisted rabbit hole of romantic perversion that is Decision to Leave.
Is there any movie franchise bigger than the Marvel franchise? After a quick Google search, I received my answer: a resounding no. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has, according to CNBC , grossed over 22 billion dollars at the global box office. For reference, the second highest grossing franchise, Star Wars, only grossed 10.2 billion, and it started roughly 30 years before Iron Man was released in 2008.
The Peabody Opera Theatre put on a production of John Blow’s opera Venus and Adonis in conjunction with the Peabody Historical Performance Department on Feb. 17. The performance took place at Theatre Project, a small performing arts center located a 15-minute walk north of the Peabody Institute.
It’s a quieter week here in the arts world. Big-budget releases and superstar artists have taken the week off — but all the better for it perhaps. It makes for a fantastic chance to dive into the indies, the debut artists and the up-and-comers.
What makes a great romantic comedy? Is it option A, the absurdly attractive romantic leads masquerading as average Joes and Janes? Is it option B, the juicy, far-fetched and highly preventable misunderstandings that bring them together? Or maybe it’s option C, the moment when their eyes meet or their shoulders brush and you think, “Yup, they’re endgame.”
As we leave January behind, releases are picking up in the art world. Beginning with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Marvel Studios’ latest entry marks the first blockbuster of the year. For fans of crime, neo-noir Marlowe and Chinese espionage thriller Hidden Blade are both out this week too. If those dark and twisted alleys aren’t up your alley, take a look at the indie biopic Emily.
On the evening of Feb. 5, the Peabody Symphony Orchestra (PSO) gave a concert in Friedberg Hall in Mt. Vernon. The orchestra is the largest of all the Peabody Institute ensembles, and the concert was free to attend.
I love a good dystopia. Maybe it’s a callback from the early 2010s when The Hunger Games and the Divergent series were at their peak. Maybe it’s a reminder that life and the world could always be worse. In any case, whenever I see a dystopian series getting good reviews, I have to watch it. With a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and as one of the highest-watched shows on Netflix this past week, Lockwood & Co. was a no-brainer. Given the popularity of shows like Wednesday and Stranger Things, this show felt like a natural progression of supernatural teen shows.
As the semester takes off into the usual chaos, it is important to take care of yourself and unwind with some movies, books and music — a lot of new entries in these genres are waiting to be explored!
It’s always a bold move to sit in the front row of any group of people. Whether it be a huge lecture hall, a small classroom or an interactive magic show (a mistake I will not make again), back corners have become my safe space. I routinely linger at the edges of rooms, but, at Witness Theatre’s I-Show 2023 in Arellano Theater on Feb. 4, I sat front and center.
If you appreciate sharp political commentary and bold visual design, I urge you to check out Political Animals at the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA), on display through April 2. The exhibition showcases the eye-catching work of Senegalese artist Omar Ba, featured for the first time in a U.S. museum.
When the GRAMMYs revealed their list of nominations for the 2023 awards, I immediately scrolled to the category “Best Rap Album of the Year.” Not because I hold the award in great regard but quite the opposite — the GRAMMYs have a vile history of botching the awards for rap/hip-hop artists, showing a partial disregard and ignorance for their culture.
The Pale Blue Eye is a gothic mystery movie that was released on Netflix on Jan. 6. It stars Christian Bale as Augustus Landor, the gruff old detective, and Harry Melling as a young Edgar Allan Poe. The movie is based on a novel by Louis Bayard of the same name.
A long-standing debate in film has been whether cinema is entertainment or art. While I find this idea of a zero-sum game quite sad and unfair, every once in a while there comes a movie that decimates this misconception by being an incredibly entertaining and artistic masterpiece simultaneously. There were a couple of films like these in 2022 but, in my opinion, none more viscerally representative of my point than S. S. Rajamouli’s RRR (Rise, Roar, Revolt).
Welcome back! As we settle into the semester, I always enjoy finding some time to hit the theaters and check out a new title on the shelves. It’s one of the few sweet spots before classes turn busy, and you won’t regret making the most of it while you still can.
For the most part, I’ve learned to avoid movies about dogs. It’s not that I don’t love dogs or don’t love to see them as canine protagonists. Honestly, if I could watch a full-length movie of a dog running around, playing and just generally being its happy self, I would enjoy it.
Since the Hopkins Symphony Orchestra’s (HSO) return from pandemic restrictions in fall 2021, I’ve had the pleasure of attending almost every one of its concerts. Although the reason for this has more to do with my friends’ participation in the orchestra rather than any particular affinity for classical music, the viewing and listening experience has been extremely enjoyable.
