Romantic musical comedy La La Land has taken critics and audiences by storm since its widespread release in early January. Many have praised the film’s writer and director Damien Chazelle and applauded soulful performances from Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling and the award-winning original soundtrack.
Although there were plenty of strong films such as The Witch and Don’t Breathe, horror films released in 2016 were missing something, in my opinion. At a certain point I, as a horror fan, have a craving for something I know, just executed extremely well. Everyone wants to reinvent the wheel nowadays and sometimes all it takes to make a great film is to wear cliches and tropes on your sleeves and execute them in an amazing way. That’s what Train to Busan does and it excels because of it.
This past week, the arts section of The News-Letter convened to create our list of the Top Five albums in three different fields. These are our Top Five Rap albums of 2016.
Towards the end of Bleed For This, a 2016 biopic focusing on the car accident and recovery of ‘90s boxing champion Vinny Paz (played by Miles Teller), his cornerman and coach Kevin Rooney (played wonderfully by Aaron Eckhart) gives him a speech that is cut over a montage of Paz working to get back into the ring.
Equally as known for their wild antics and rocky relationships with one another as for their music, the band Oasis firmly established their place in rock history in the ‘90s with songs including “Champagne Supernova,” “Supersonic,” “Wonderwall” and “Don’t Look Back in Anger.” Directed by Mat Whitecross and produced by Asaf Kapadia of the critically-acclaimed documentary about Amy Winehouse, Amy, Oasis: Supersonic sheds light on the band’s origins, tracking their lightning fast rise without shying away from their less favorable attributes.
Of all that’s happened in 2016, it would probably be over-the-top to say that the most hard-hitting tragedy has been the death of beloved video sharing app Vine. However, because of the app’s pervasive influence on popular culture over the last few years, its departure marks a significant loss for the world of arts and entertainment.
The News-Letter’s Arts & Entertainment staff gathered last week to discuss the best albums of 2016. It was a long, contentious debate to say the least. Several albums’ omission in the finalized list reviled some of us, and thus we give you: The Honorable Mentions.
This past week, the arts section of The News-Letter convened to create our list of the Top Five albums in three different fields.These are our Top Five Pop albums of 2016.
This past week, the arts section of The News-Letter convened to create our list of the Top Five albums in three different fields. These are our Top Five Indie/Rock albums of 2016.
Hip-hop production is an art that has been long overlooked. In many cases, the most striking part of a song is the instrumental, and yet, for the most part, it is the rapper who gets all of the acclaim.
After nine years off the air, the pop-culture loving, coffee-drinking and fast-talking mother-daughter duo Lorelai and Rory Gilmore return in the highly anticipated Netflix mini-series, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.
I’ve watched a lot of television. And I’ve watched a lot of great television. Yes, The Wire is probably the best television show of all time. Yes, I shrieked out in rage when David Chase cruelly chose to fade to black on the finale of The Sopranos. And yes, I almost wrote a personal letter to my one true love Larry David after watching the trainwreck that was the series finale of Seinfeld.
While up to standards with previous Marvel films and certainly an enjoyable evening of movie watching, I found the newly released Doctor Strange to be the beginning of the end for me in terms of my interest in the Marvel universe.
The female-led Baltimore art scene is thriving. The most recent issue of Beast Grrl zine (#10) reflects this community-driven scene, with special thanks given to BALTI GURLS, Monument Quilt Project, La Liga zine, Youth as Resources (which funds the project) and Red Emma’s.
Over the break I certainly spent a lot of time eating, sleeping and generally trying to unwind while not thinking about my approaching finals. Although my time spent out of the house was sparse, I went to see a groundbreaking performance of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s birthplace, in Warwickshire, England.
If you’re like me, the first things that come to mind when you think of Queen Elizabeth might be her quirky hats, her beloved corgis or a dated, grandmotherly notion of tradition and formality. At first glance, the queen might not appear to be a particularly modern woman.
The JHU Film Society hosted The Royal Tenenbaums: A Live Reading, was hosted on Sunday night. As the Film Society’s second annual live reading, the event took place at Space 2460 and featured the participation of many local Baltimore artists.
An unassuming brick building, hardly distinguishable from those around it and tucked away in an unassuming corner of Baltimore is the Arena Players.
