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(10/29/12 4:55am)
Bruce Springsteen might just be the most quintessentially American rock musician of our time. From the explosion of working-class angst in “Born to Run” to the sleek and sophisticated synth-beats of “Tunnel of Love,” the Boss has made a career out of capturing both the glamour and the grit of our national landscape.
(09/27/12 5:06am)
Apart from a few instant classics such as 21 Jump Street and The Dark Knight Rises, most of 2012’s movie crop has been about as successful as Rick Perry’s presidential campaign. If such clunkers as The Avengers, Rock of Ages and The Lorax are any indication of what’s to come in blockbuster filmmaking, we may as well learn to embrace nonsensical plots, nonexistent character development and soulless special effects as the new norm. That being said, this fall’s selection of big-budget powerhouses may be able to turn this terrible tide.
(08/30/12 5:56am)
When MTV opted to reboot the critically skewered ‘80s film franchise Teen Wolf as a television series, few could have predicted the program would go on to become one of the most gripping dramas to hit the TV airwaves this decade. Although the show hasn’t yet garnered the massive mainstream attention awarded to lesser supernatural series like HBO’s True Blood and the CW’s The Vampire Diaries, MTV’s Teen Wolf offers a hipper script, stronger storyline and more compelling cast of characters than any of the program’s counterparts in the supernatural creature subgenre.
(08/30/12 5:37am)
Where did tableau go?
(03/15/12 9:14pm)
“That’s what the present is. It’s a little unsatisfying, because life’s a little unsatisfying,” Owen Wilson’s Gil explains to his 1920s-era love interest near the end of Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris. After longing to live in the “golden age” of early twentieth-century Paris for most of the film, Gil comes to realize his nostalgic escapism is more a threat than a source of salvation, as it hinders his potential for personal progress and genuine contentment.
(02/10/12 12:11am)
David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method may be the most boring sex dramedy ever made. Apparently intended as a provocative portrait of the rocky relationships between early psychoanalysts Carl Jung, Sigmund Freud and Sabina Spielrein, the film emerges instead as a strange blend of biopic conventions and bawdy humor.
(02/02/12 6:01pm)
As the 2012 U.S. presidential primary season progresses, the eyes of the U.S. voting public are turning toward the usual array of political pundits, from Rachel Maddow to Sean Hannity. Among television's talking heads, though, no news icon has taken on a more active role than Stephen Colbert. His satirical show, The Colbert Report, allowed him to publicly create a Super PAC with his colleague, Jon Stewart, and to craft an exploratory committee, all for the purpose of pursuing the parodic post of "President of the United States of South Carolina." By subsequently urging South Carolina primary voters to cast their ballots for Herman Cain, Colbert sought to amass attention for his own potential mock presidential run.
(01/19/12 7:31am)
Following last Friday's nomination announcements, moviegoers across America anxiously await the 84th Academy Awards, which take place at Hollywood's majestic Kodak Theatre Feb. 26. For the past few years, the Academy has handed its coveted statues to a series of predictable winners - was anyone shocked by The King's Speech's or The Hurt Locker's victories? - and weak filmic fields and obvious frontrunners snuffed out the upsets and controversies which once lit Oscar ceremonies aflame. Fortunately, however, the 2012 Oscars have the potential to shake things up.
(01/19/12 7:20am)
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(12/01/11 5:20am)
"I guess it really is just me, myself and all my millions," Canadian rapper/singer Drake confesses at the climax of "Headlines," the lead single from his latest album, Take Care. Like the rest of the album, the line expresses themes of alienation, abandonment and loneliness which set Drake apart from the rest of the hip/hop and R&B community. Whereas Drake's peers rap and sing of sitting at the top of the world, Drake exposes the anguish of the shallow pursuit of "money over everything." Unlike most recent rap and hip/hop albums, Take Care has a soul.
(11/17/11 5:52am)
??The University drama department's upcoming production of "Troy is Burning" promises to entertain and enlighten audiences of all shapes and sizes. Unlike most drama department shows, which tend to take on either theatrical classics or edgy contemporary dramas, "Troy is Burning" emerged from the mind of a University student: fourth-year College student Matthew Minnicino.
(11/17/11 5:30am)
Who's in:
(11/10/11 6:22am)
Lars von Trier, the self-proclaimed "best film director in the world," proves he deserves the title with Melancholia, a sweeping cinematic tale of depression, despair and planetary destruction. Featuring some of the year's subtlest performances and strongest cinematography, von Trier's latest work succeeds on every front. Although the film will surely leave some viewers feeling perplexed and disturbed, it should also spark up conversations about everything from mental illness to the implications of the apocalypse. Melancholia may not provoke the belly laughs or uncontrollable sobbing of an audience favorite, but it will certainly provoke thought and dialogue.
(11/03/11 4:07am)
You may know her as Melissa, Ed Helms' vicious girlfriend from The Hangover, but Ohio-born actress Rachael Harris boasts a lengthy resume, ranging from a recurring gig on The Daily Show to guest appearances on television's Modern Family, The West Wing and Friends, among a number of other high-profile projects. Harris' journey in acting began long before the conception of these professional programs and films, however; in fact, she said, it all started with her first grade talent show.
(10/27/11 4:24am)
Who's in:
(10/24/11 5:33am)
"We are living in a material world, and I am a material girl," Madonna sang in the refrain of her 1985 hit single, "Material Girl." With this catchy tune, the Queen of Pop placed the so-called "modern woman" at the forefront of American consumer culture. In doing so, the musical icon tapped into a rich legacy of artistic explorations of the American female and her role in the sphere of shopping and small talk. Another part of this legacy is on display in "Figure Study: The Fourteenth Street School and the Woman in Public," one of the fall exhibitions at the University Art Museum, which casts its gaze on a group of six artists who crafted scores of images of material girls who walked the streets of New York City 50 years before Madonna released her first album.
(10/20/11 4:55am)
Who's in:\nJustin Bieber
(10/13/11 4:44am)
The Indigo Girls' latest album, Beauty Queen Sister, will hopefully be their last. After creating 13 studio albums with consistently poignant lyrics and pitch-perfect musical arrangements, the female music duo appears to have hit a roadblock. Beauty Queen Sister fails to show any of the musical creativity or lyrical courage present in the group's past endeavors. Jerkily shifting between folksy narratives like "John," soft rock ditties like its titular track and wannabe power ballads like "Gone," this latest release has no flow or over-arching tone. It feels less like an original album and more like the greatest hits compilation of a bad band.
(10/06/11 5:25am)
The lineup for the 2011 Virginia Film Festival has been released. From the wide array of indie flicks and cultural classics offered, we've selected our five most anticipated films of the festival.
(10/06/11 5:21am)
50/50, director Jonathan Levine's latest cinematic effort, suffers from an identity crisis. The film tries to have its cake and eat it too, as it juxtaposes silly scenes of vulgar comedy with gloomy moments of emotional intensity. Unfortunately, this method of mixing genres and creating constant tonal shifts results in a joyless mess of a film. 50/50 proves that comedy and cancer do not blend well, and that even admirable acting cannot save a movie from the morass of mediocrity. Despite its commendable cast and competent crew, Levine's film never overcomes its drab atmosphere or its scatterbrained script.