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Arts and Culture Film

On Violent Imagery and Civil War

I saw Alex Garland’s Civil War with my friends because the movie seemed like an entertaining, if self-serious warning about how America could descend into a civil war. The trailer featured cool shots of the White House getting blown up, and as Vulture film critic Bilge Ebiri said in his review “Americans sure do love […]

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Arts and Culture Film

Cocaine Bear: Absurdly Underwhelming

Spoiler Warning! Cocaine Bear is a movie that demands not to be taken seriously. The idea of a drug fueled bear berserking its way through Georgia while doing line after line of cocaine clearly has no basis on reality… right? Well, yes and no. The 175 pound bear this movie is based on did ingest […]

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Arts and Culture

The Menu: Delicious Social Satire

When I first saw the trailer for The Menu, I felt a rush of adrenaline. I tell you this because I haven’t felt such excitement to see a movie for months now, tired of the cheesy love-triangle rom coms and meaningless “carpe diem” nonsense. The trailer had everything I wanted: suspense, drama, and thrill without […]

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Arts and Culture Homepage Spotlight

Larisa Shepitko: Ukrainian anti-war filmmaker who dug deep into human psyche

As war rages on in Ukraine, the distinct cultural identity of the nation has come under increased interest. One of Ukraine’s major cultural impacts that is often overlooked is in the realm of cinema. From early pioneers like Alexander Dovzhenko, Dziga Vertov, and Maya Deren to more contemporary directors such as Kira Muratova, Ukraine has […]

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Arts and Culture

Chella Man and “The Beauty of Being Deaf”

In only three minutes Chella Man delivers the versatility and the beauty of being deaf. He invites you to immerse yourself into his perspective, where he discerns his obligation to advocate for himself and his fellow queer and disabled people through his short film “The Beauty of Being Deaf.” It was completely filmed underwater where […]

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Arts and Culture

Shang-Chi: Legend of the Ten Rings Review

“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” is the first Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to have an Asian superhero inspired by Chinese folklore and martial arts. It is directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, a Japanese American filmmaker and Chinese-American screenwriter, Dave Callahna. Shang-Chi is played by Simu Liu, known for his role as Jung […]

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Arts and Culture

An evening in the Worker’s City: Metropolis Review

Last week, I was in the Cole Memorial Chapel for the first time since my freshman year. It’s funny to think about how time has elapsed and folded in on itself during my college career as a function of the pandemic. This is a rote idea, but one that I contemplated as I sat in […]

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Arts and Culture

Titane: a surrealist automobile fever dream about… love?

Authors note: Spoilers ahead! After over a year of theater closure, I wanted nothing but to be blown away by a movie. I longed to leave a theater speechless, tranced, sick and changed forever. Titane fulfilled this wish in the best way possible. In short, Titane is about a killer who is impregnated by a […]

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Arts and Culture

In the Mood for Love: Frames within Frames

Everyone lives within their own reality, their own frame. Sometimes that frame becomes a fantasy. Wong Kar-Wai’s In the Mood for Love is an exploration of what happens when that frame, that fantasy is perverse. The film takes place in an overcrowded 1960’s Hong Kong. It tells the story of Mr. Chau and Mrs. Chan […]

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Arts and Culture

The Velvet Underground: How we Remember the Dead

Memoir-turned-film Prozac Nation shows the story of Elizabeth Wurtzel during her college days, a girl clinically depressed, and perpetually obsessed with Lou Reed. The book is based on Wurtzel’s real experiences, and as I write my review on the Velvet Underground documentary, I can’t help but think of an article Wurtzel wrote as a freshman […]