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It is a truth universally acknowledged: A look at adaptation in Pride & Prejudice

Cheem’s pop rock genre is not ‘Clueless’: An interview with the New England band

“Everyone in our band is so talented [...] we all deserve a solo” —Cheem

A paw-sitivley purrfect film: ‘Puss in Boots: The Last Wish’

With DreamWorks’ latest romp into the highly successful Shrek franchise came a movie that surely almost no one was expecting. “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” is a sequel that seemingly came out of nowhere, coming more than 11 years after the original “Puss in Boots,” which in and of itself is a rather unremarkable movie. So I, as well as many others, were under the assumption that this movie would be nothing more than a mediocre cash grab, or an attempt to garner interest in the potentially soon to be released “Shrek 5.” So when reviews for “The Last Wish” started coming back overwhelmingly positive, my interest was piqued. Now having seen the film I can say with confidence that this film is easily my favorite animated movie of 2022. 

Marvel misses the mark with Kang the Conqueror: A review of ‘Ant-man and the Wasp: Quatumania’

Throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe, villains make or break their movies; Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin, Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger, and Josh Brolin’s Thanos all were carefully developed antagonists who facilitated massive character development for the protagonists. During February break, I decided to treat myself to the movies by way of “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantamania” and thought I would enjoy it because Kang was the main villain. However, I was disappointed. Jonathan Major’s Kang the Conqueror in “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantamania” is phenomenal as a singularity. We’re introduced to this variant of Kang at the beginning of the film during one of Janet’s (Michelle Pfeiffer) first flashbacks to her initial arrival in the Quantum Realm. Kang appears as a meek exile with a broken multiverse transportation machine. He tells Janet of his exile from his home, masquerading as an innocent charmer who wants to stop countless realities from being destroyed. Janet believes him until she touches the Time Crystal in the temporal gateway core she repaired and she’s flooded with visions of Kang’s countless genocides. Upon finding this out, Janet sabotages the machine, causing Kang to be stuck in the Quantum Realm with a maniacal desperation to escape.

Gazing ‘Beyond the Light’: A review on the MET’s Danish exhibition

From the powerful Viking empire to the liberal democracy known for Legos and social welfare, the critical transition of Denmark into a modern state is often considered to have happened at the turn of the 19th Century. Allying with Napoleon Bonaparte, the Danish state was devastated by defeat in the Napoleonic Wars from the early 1800s. The loss of Norway as a partnering state and its status as a grand international trading center contributed to the financial turmoil. Denmark in the 19th century lingered on its last leg. 

2023 Oscars predictions

Best Picture: “Everything Everywhere All at Once”

Comprehending your Humanities professors: Gatekeep like a pro

Five weeks into the semester, and your humanities professor still does not remember your name. If you have been constantly missing LATE deadlines, here are some more terms you should know to earn yourself some brownie points in discussions. The following list cannot fully explain these words your professor throws at you constantly, but it should be sufficient for you to blankly engage in the conversation.  

'Little Queer Library’ Waltham's gay initiative vandalized

 Editor’s note—Reporting for this story was originally completed in the  fall 2022 semester for a JOUR 89A class project called “Smells Like Zine Spirit.” The article has been edited to include recent updates to this developing story.

The Importance of Black joy

 "Always Been is a celebration of Black humanity and joy and lies in contrary to the American historical record and its in relationship to Blackness” —Parker Thompson 

‘Knock at the Cabin’

Shyamalan’s back! Returning from a four-year hiatus, auteur M. Night Shyamalan’s “Knock at the Cabin” is his best work in years. Through the film, based on the bestselling novel “The Cabin at the End of the World” by Paul Tremblay, Shyamalan transforms the source material into a story that is distinctly his. He attacks many of the themes that have defined his career. As Shyamalan’s films unfold, the audience is forced to grapple with belief in the supernatural. Each story, from “Unbreakable” to “Split,” has in some way valorized belief and faith. He consistently requires his characters to go through a renewal of faith to survive their stories. For example, in “Unbreakable,” security guard David Dunn needed to believe in his own powers to figure out his place, and in “Split,” our antagonist Kevin — who suffers from multiple-split personality disorder experiences — transformation into the Beat was only possible through belief in his own abilities. This recent addition to Shyamalan’s collection of films is no different; it is the natural continuation of his career. 

‘Maybe An Artist’:

With a slower start to the semester, I decided to celebrate Black History Month by educating myself on Black artists, creators, and change-makers. I grew up around various mediums of art, but one I never outgrew was graphic novels. I loved all of Raina Telemeger’s novels growing up, and one of my favorites to this day is “Smile.” However, finding media that represents me had been difficult until this past fall when I found a new favorite: “Maybe An Artist” written and illustrated by Liz Montague.

Most heartfelt & underrated animated films of 2022

I think last year — more than ever — we saw different styles of animation and a fair amount of praise going to more mainstream films like Pixar’s “Turning Red” and “Lightyear,” and other studio productions like “Minions: Rise of Gru” and “Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio.” However, we need to give praise to some underrated but equally heartfelt films released in 2022. If you have not seen any of these films, please watch them. Like, right now.

Best indie albums of 2022

In a year that saw everything from the return of Beyoncé to the release of yet another Taylor Swift album — which brought with it a deluge of Ticketmaster drama — the indie music scene has also gifted its fans with an explosion of new music. With such musical excess, it seems almost criminal to limit the best of 2022 to 10 albums, but here we are anyway: the 10 best (indie) albums of the year. 

Comprehending your humanities professors 101

After years of humanities studies and sampled a variety of humanities courses, I have safely concluded that the following appear frequently in the discourses of professors across the humanities department preluded by the phrase, “Does anyone know.” If you don’t nod passionately in agreement, you are excluded from the knowledgeable, cultured gatekeeping clique. Don’t let that discourage you from continuing to take humanities courses! I have created for you here a cheatsheet of terms the professors allude to frequently — selected from a variety of mediums like novels, movies, philosophies, and more  — because, honestly, who even has the time to read a whole Sparknotes page?

‘We are Revolting’: A review of ‘Matilda: the Musical’

When I grew up, pun intended if you know the musical, I only knew the Matilda from the 1996 film, a smart six-year-old who loved books. While I never read the novel by Roald Dahl, I loved the story. The inspiration behind the story is said to be based on Dahl’s harsh experience with a boarding school in Britain. His sense of youthful justice lives on in Netflix’s “Matilda: the Musical.” The newest adaptation of “Matilda,” more closely based on the West End’s popular stage musical, was created by the same writer, Dennis Kelly, and directed by Matthew Warchus. When the trailer initially came out, I knew I was going to love it. However, I couldn’t foresee how great the music would be. 

‘Home Before Dark’: A review

I am the kind of kid who is late to the party. In a literal sense because I don’t actually go to parties — my point is when “Hamilton” was all the theater buzz in 2015, I was not listening to it. I was a little middle schooler who wasn’t interested in musicals; yet, when I started high school, I became obsessed with the historical hip-hop piece. 

Reimagining ‘Wednesday’

I think “The Addams Family” might be one of the first shows I remember watching. My dad used to put on the old 1960s TV show when I was little. I don’t remember many details from any of the episodes, but I do remember snapping along to the show’s catchy and iconic theme song. Reboots can be seen as unnecessary and uncreative, especially for characters like  The Addams Family, who have starred in beloved adaptations, such as 1991’s “The Addams Family” film and the aforementioned 1960’s TV show, across half a century. I’m inclined to agree. For instance, I had no interest in watching the recent 2019 animated Addams family movie. However, Netflix’s “Wednesday’’ is a welcome exception to the trend of unoriginal reboots. 

‘Banshees of Inisherin’

“I just don’t like ya no more.” Imagine your lifelong best friend wakes up one day and decides they no longer want to be friends with you. This is how the fantastic Irish period piece “Banshees of Inisherin” begins. Directed by Martin McDonagh, the creative mind behind the critically acclaimed films “In Bruges” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” this tragi-comedy unexpectedly became one of my favorite movies of 2022. “Banshees” takes place on an isolated Irish island called Inisherin during the Irish Civil War. There is a pub, a church, a small collection of houses, a post office, and a single policeman.

Greece: Under Theo Angelopoulos’ Lens

Midnight: In a dimly lit bus, the poet Alexandros and the boy witness three nameless figures riding their bicycles through the rainy night, their bright yellow raincoats forming a strong contrast with the darkness behind. It is very hard to forget remarkable scenes like these from the cinema of Greek director Theo Angelopoulos, who shot the aforementioned scene in Palme d’Or-winning “Eternity and a Day” (1998). His films illustrate sheer visual beauty woven into myth-like stories. And what does this profound cinematic gaze capture in the 13 films he created? The silhouettes of his home country Greece.

‘I Am These Truths’: This is the journey of Sunny Hostin

  Sunny Hostin published her first memoir in Sept. 2020. Although I did not get a chance to read it until this fall, I am so happy I eventually did. There is a lack of representation in the book industry, especially in novels and memoirs.