Released last Friday, Snowden, Oliver Stone’s thrilling biopic of the controversial man who leaked thousands of classified government documents to global journalists, is a well-made film with a globally poignant message that is well worth the price of admission.
This year during Young Alumni Weekend, the Hopkins Organization for Programming (HOP) announced JAM, better known as the Johns Hopkins Annual Music Festival.
1. Owl City
The Lumineers seemed to be genuinely shocked as they took in the sight of the 17,000 people crowded into the seats and lawn of the Merriweather Post Pavilion, reminiscing mid-set over the fact that just two years ago, while promoting their first album, they played at Baltimore’s very own Ottobar. Of course, that was prior to the massive success of their singles “Ho Hey” and “Stubborn Love” as well as their two Grammy nominations.
Donald Glover, better known as rapper Childish Gambino, has a line in his song “Bonfire”: “Why does every black actor gotta rap some? / I don’t know, all I know is I’m the best one.” His new comedy, Atlanta on FX, which premiered on Sept. 6, just might be actual proof of this claim. The show’s amazing writing and production combined with its unique vision puts Glover back on the map as one of today’s most valuable creative minds. Atlanta could change the face of television.
After a nearly silent eleven years, broken only by several strong feature appearances and a couple of recent mixtapes, the legendary hip-hop group De La Soul released their Kickstarter-funded album and the Anonymous Nobody on Aug. 26. Liberated from the oppressive forces of a record label, the quirky, creative collective planned to create an experimental comeback album.
Imagine Homewood Campus one hundred years ago, as Europe was torn asunder by the First World War and American students and medical staff sailed to Europe to treat the wounded.
1. A$AP Ferg – “New Level” feat. Future
Summer sensation Stranger Things is the sci-fi show you never knew you needed. Set in 1983 in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana, the Netflix original drama is truly for audiences of all ages. Those who lived through the eighties will enjoy certain throwbacks like Dungeons & Dragons and Eggo waffles while younger audience members will be compelled by the eclectic cast of characters.
The Buttered Niblets delivered a hysterical and high-energy performance to a packed crowd on Friday Sept. 9 in the Arellano Theatre. The Buttered Niblets are Hopkins’ only improv troupe, so they took on the full responsibility of keeping the audience engaged throughout the night. The Arellano Theatre provides a small yet intimate theatre experience and the Buttered Niblets took advantage of this in order to play off of the audience’s energy.
Rosary beads turned sex toy. Consumption of human entrails. Sexual assault perpetrated by a lobster. A bloodied murderer terrorizing Baltimore in a mink coat.
Finally coming out of his exile and straightening his life out, Isaiah Rashad released his first studio album, The Sun’s Tirade, to the delight of many loyal Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE) fans. This album is more than a statement of Isaiah’s return; It is the journey that he took during his hiatus from music, a journey that started with his addictions to Xanax and alcohol almost getting him kicked out of TDE. A journey that culminated with him becoming a rising star in his own right. The songs on this album can be broken down into two main categories: Isaiah’s drug addiction and his growth from overcoming the addiction.
“Your student body is so white.”
Italian dramatic-comedy Mia Madre finds very little humor in the serious topic of caring for the elderly, and maybe that’s a good thing.
Finding a summer internship isn’t easy, especially for those students majoring in things like creative writing and philosophy. But it is possible to find an internship within the arts, and a good internship at that. The News-Letter reached out to two upperclassmen who were able to make it happen.
Perhaps a quick preface: drugs aren’t cool–mostly– and it would be difficult to argue that cocaine, the esteemed schedule I narcotic, has offered anything positive to the human race. However, its nefarious trade makes for great cinematic context, as the creators of the Netflix original series Narcos have shown their many avid viewers. The show’s first season was met with largely positive reviews and drew a following amongst Netlfix users. Riding that wave of success, creators Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard and Doug Miro released the second season of the show Sept. 2.
