8 minute read
Six Reviews
3 P.S. I Still Love You
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After Jenny Han’s “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” was adapted by Netflix, the world was captivated by Lara Jean Covey and Peter Kavinsky’s romance. Now Lara Jean and Peter are back, and there’s more drama. Lara Jean soon learns how to cope with dating someone who was previously involved with her frenemy, Genevieve. BY MEGAN BORMANN
Jordan Fisher debuts as John Ambrose McClaren, one of the other recipients of Lara Jean’s five love letters. Fisher’s character is important because he helps Lara Jean discover the difference between love that is safe and comfortable and love that is risky and heartbreaking. The love triangle between Lara Jean, John Ambrose, and Peter is the most accurate portrayal of high schoolers suffering from romantic tension. In this version, the two boys have limited interactions with each other, and the story focuses on Lara Jean, who is trying to figure out her emotions towards the two of them.
The story also focuses on the destruction of female friendships that can come with competing for a boy’s attention. Lara Jean and Genieve learn how to reconcile their differences. In this new chapter, we learn more details about Peter and Lara Jean’s relationship, focus on the toxicity of jealousy within a relationship, and we get to continuously switch who we are rooting for Lara Jean to end up with. Team Peter or Team John?
Sonic the Hedgehog
The theater was packed, considering it was Valentine’s Day and that the movie playing was none other than “Sonic the Hedgehog.” BY KINGA MOZES
Although the animators recreated Sonic after some heated backlash on Twitter, the bluedog-mixed-with-Grinch end result was... disturbing. Voiced by Ben Schwartz, a.k.a. Jean-Ralphio from “Parks and Recreation,” it was impossible to tell Sonic’s age. According to the video game, he is supposed to be fifteen, which makes sense, since Schwartz is forty.
The movie was a never-ending chase scene to escape Dr. Robotnick, played by Jim Carrey. Carrey is a masterful comedian, but you could tell through his eyeliner that he was not having it. His performance fell flat and wasn’t enough to make up for the multiple scenes of Sonic flossing.
Despite my lack of amusement, the audience seemed mesmerized. At one point, someone behind me was wheezing, and it felt like the laughter was auto-generated. I overlooked the existence of a Sonic fandom; it felt like I was being left out of a 101-minute-long inside joke.
The movie’s saving grace was the sexual tension between Sonic and Tom, which shined brightest when they were throwing darts and square dancing together. Tom was played by James Marsden, the guy who got curved by Rachel in “The Notebook.” I guess it worked out since he and Sonic seemed happy together. Thankfully, Lil Yachty and Ty Dolla $ign made a song just for this movie that played during the credits, and there will definitely be a sequel.
Bojack Horseman
There are few shows more pleasantly surprising than the adult animated comedy “Bojack Horseman.” Its six-season arc came to an end as the final episodes streamed on Netflix in late January, and with it concluded the stories of Bojack, Diane, Todd, Princess Caroline, and Mr. Peanut Butter. BY KYLIE HEIDER Season 6
In those six seasons, “Bojack Horseman” has evolved from a silly comedy about show business, animals, and people into one of the most compassionate and emotional portrayals of humanity in recent television. Perhaps the show feels so refreshing because it doesn’t run from the failings, lies, broken promises, and immorality of its characters.
In fact, the morality game is at the heart of the show, the inhabitants of “Hollywoo” constantly trapped between their own vices and virtues. In this final season, Bojack is fresh out of rehab and off to a new job as an acting teacher at Wesleyan University, wondering how he will move on from the wrongdoings of his past. The season brings forth everything built up from the previous seasons, as Bojack tries to reconcile his mistakes and create his future.
From a technical perspective, the showrunners have demonstrated a mastery of the development of character and the relationships between characters. Despite the tremendous lows that Bojack has seen, a show about loneliness, addiction, and depression manages to offer the catharsis of optimism.
Frankly, I cannot recommend “Bojack Horseman” enough. There will be something in the show you will connect to, some epiphany to be gleaned. So if you haven’t started it, start it. And if you haven’t finished it, finish it.
Brent Faiyaz Fuck the World BY NINA RAEMONT
Memorable music requires two things: a message and a sound that fits that message. But what happens when an artist forges his way with only one half of that formula accounted for? Mediocrity ensues. That is how I would describe Brent Faiyaz’s recent EP, “Fuck the World.” Faiyaz, a 24-year-old R&B artist known for his song “Poison,” which has 45 million listens on Spotify, has the voice for R&B, but must work to develop his own unique sound and lyrics.
With a title like “Fuck The World,” you would expect the music to hold an ounce of a shock factor, but with his banal beats and repetitive verses, he does anything but. Unfortunately, the only thing that shocked me was the terrible lyricism of the song “Fuck the World (Summer in London),” when he unironically says, “I’m a walking erection.” His lyrics scrape the surface of his messages and the repetitivity of his songs allows for little originality. The repetition of his lyrics seemed meaningless and not a result of artistic intention, but rather derivative of a lack of originality.
Faiyaz, with his smooth as butter voice, has made memorable songs in the past; he has the capacity to do so again. However, the work on his EP feels like Faiyaz has relinquished his motivation to improve. In “Fuck the World,” the listener hears him tap into vulnerable messages, like that of race, drugs, self-love, and isolation, but these ideas are only an inch deep. Your art must have a refined depth of meaning to be deemed memorable. Ultimately, his EP poses as a testament to the idea that a beautiful voice doesn’t equate to beautiful music.
The Slow Rush
Tame Impala BY JAMES SCHAAK
The pressure on Tame Impala after mainstream success (Kevin Parker’s A-list collaborations, Max Martin aspirations, and a Rihanna cover), combined with a series of lackluster singles leading up to “The Slow Rush,” suggested that this could be Tame Impala’s first mediocre album. Songs like “Borderline” and “It Might Be Time” sounded reminiscent of Parker’s masterpieces but lacked the unpredictability that fans crave from him. These singles threatened to subjugate this album to Spotify playlists titled “chill vibes” rather than to realms of creativity and substance that earned Tame Impala its fame.
However, “The Slow Rush” is not a mediocre album. It’s quite good. The album’s opener, “One More Year,” instantly entices with its house beat, and by the time the listener revisits “Borderline,” the third song on the record, they’ll realize that Parker has tightened up the song since it was released ten months ago. Although “Borderline” is the only one of the four singles on the album that has been edited since their release, they don’t bog down the album. When supplanted with the deep cuts, the singles make more sense as they play into the overarching theme of time.
Throughout the rest of the album, Parker continues to amalgamate rock, hip-hop, and R&B, perhaps a result of his recent collaborations. Other highlights include the groovy, Pharell Williams-inspired “Breathe Deeper” and the maximalist, seven-minute closer “One More Hour.” Once again, Parker has provided a noteworthy piece of psychedelia that delivers on his signature chill vibes without sacrificing his ingenuity.
5 King Princess, Kilo Kish, and Puffy BY EMMA MORRIS
The show was held at the Palace Theatre, a dope venue, although I couldn’t fully enjoy the general admission experience of seeing one of my favorite performers live. The concert included King Princess and her two openers, Kilo Kish and Puffy.
The first opener was Kilo Kish, a rap artist. Personally, I thought that she was an interesting choice. Her set featured a psychedelic-techno sound. She also had a nice lighting setup, with colorful UV lights that accented her costume. At first, Kish did not engage with the crowd, but later in her set, she interacted with the audience more, with sassy comments that excited and engaged the crowd.
Puffy, who is a drag artist, was next to perform. They were fun and hyped up the crowd with well-known TikTok songs, such as “Say So” by Doja Cat and “ROXANNE” by Arizona Zervas, along with the matching dances. Their performance was short, but it was revitalizing and prepared the crowd for what was to come.
Now onto King Princess. She was everything and more. Dripping in sex appeal, she strutted her stuff on the stage. She moved from guitar to piano effortlessly and seemed to float across the stage. She told stories through song, performing many of her hits, including “1950,” “Talia,” and her newest, “Hit the Back,” which is from her most recent album, “Cheap Queen.” She left me speechless and feeling reborn.
