Arts and Entertainment

Review: Teezo Touchdown jumps around genres in ‘How Do You Sleep At Night’

After years of high-profile features with artists like Tyler, the Creator and Travis Scott, along with a co-sign from Drake, listeners can finally hear Beaumont artist Teezo Touchdown’s full-length debut album, “How Do You Sleep At Night.” Teezo Touchdown’s music defies categorization, creating a unique listen with a wide variety of songs. 

Review: On ‘GUTS’ Olivia Rodrigo knows what she does best

After real-life love triangle drama, a supposed feud with Taylor Swift and the pressure to live up to her smash-hit debut album, Olivia Rodrigo has released her long-awaited second album titled “GUTS.” Its predecessor’s slightly more vulgar sister, “GUTS” manages to evade the dreaded sophomore slump and is a delightful continuation of Rodrigo’s pop-punk signature. 

Check out your professors in print

From a memoir to fiction set in Rice’s own backyard, an impressive array of books have been released by Rice faculty over the last few months. While some of these works are academic in nature, many aren’t. Check out these books to get to know the creative and personal side of Rice professors 

After 50 years, Rice Cinema remains relevant

Though once well-known, Rice Cinema can now feel like it only exists in whispers among the campus’ film buffs. Plastered in bold letters above the PSYC 101 classroom in Sewall Hall, Rice Cinema’s history stretches back to the establishment of the now-demolished Rice Media Center. Rice Cinema has not just seen the likes of introductory psychology students but also some of the biggest names in film history like Spike Lee, Andy Warhol and Roberto Rosselini. 

Environment, feminism, whimsy at the Moody

Laure Prouvost’s first solo exhibition in Texas, “Above Front Tears Nest in South,” which explores themes of feminism and environmentalism, opens this month at the Moody Center for the Arts. 

09-06-2023 WEEKLY SCENES AND SCREENS

Review: ‘Bottoms’ is a welcome addition to the high-school comedy canon

It’s uncomfortable how rarely straightforward comedies are released in theaters these days. This is not to say that the cinema is devoid of comedy, as quipping has become an inescapable part of just about every blockbuster of the last decade. Rather, it feels that jokes are either buried within CGI battles or relegated to scripts likely created or, at the very least greenlit, by AI. But “Bottoms,” Emma Seligman’s new raunchy teen satire, is bringing real comedy back to theaters. 

Review: ‘Zach Bryan’ makes the deeply personal universal on eponymous album

Zach Bryan straddles the lines between country, rock and folk on his eponymous album. A follow up to his two-hour long 2022 major-label debut, “American Heartbreak,” and his “Summertime Blues” EP from the same year, “Zach Bryan” proves that Bryan is nowhere close to running out of ideas.

A celebration of diversity launches on the edge of campus

Contrasting the modern brick and tile of the Moody Center for the Arts and directly opposite the bland facade of the Rice police department lies a bright and organic structure — the first traditional mudhif ever constructed outside modern-day Iraq. Opening Sept. 9 with an event from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the mudhif is a product of the Senan Shaibani Marsh Arabs project.

WEEKLY SCENES AND SCREENS: August 30th, 2023

WEEKLY SCREENS AND SCREENS

Review: ‘Unreal Unearth’ takes us through hell and back again

Four years after “Wasteland, Baby!” Hozier has returned to the studio to release his third full-length album titled “Unreal Unearth.” Topping charts in Ireland and the United Kingdom, “Unreal Unearth” has become the Irish artist’s first number one album. Though sometimes meandering and honestly a little long, Hozier’s “Unreal Unearth” is a cathartic journey through the nine circles of hell and back again. 

Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist drop one of the best rap albums of 2023

It wouldn’t be surprising to see someone shocked that Earl Sweatshirt dropped a new project. He didn’t post it on his Instagram. It isn’t on Spotify or Apple Music, and the famously reclusive former Odd Future star hasn’t promoted it. You can only find the surprise drop, “Voir Dire,” on Gala Music, a free NFT-backed music streaming service. 

Review: ‘Gran Turismo’ misses the podium

If there’s one thing the movie “Gran Turismo” wants you to know, it’s that the plot is based on real-life events. In fact, when I purchased the ticket for the review, it wasn’t for “Gran Turismo,” but rather “Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story,” just in case general audiences somehow missed this point. This overbearing marketing, unsurprisingly, is wholly accurate — the film is obsessed with depicting the events as they occurred in reality. When it works, the film captures the very real exhilaration of motorsport, but at its worst, it’s the cinematic equivalent of reading a skimpy Wikipedia article. 

Review: Trill is the real deal... mostly

Backing up traffic on Shepherd Drive since it opened its first brick-and-mortar shop in early June, rapper Bun B’s Trill Burgers has recently taken Houston by storm. 

WEEKLY SCENES AND SCREENS

WEEKLY SCENES AND SCREENS

A&E’s guide to Houston

Whether you’re new to Houston or have been here for years, you most likely haven’t explored all that the Houston arts and entertainment scene has to offer. From lively performance venues to some of the tastiest food you’ve ever encountered, the Bayou City has a swathe of fun locales to check out and enjoy.

Review: ‘Red, White and Royal Blue’ is best forgotten

“Red, White and Royal Blue” is just like a summer fling. It’s hot, rife with plenty of moments you wouldn’t want someone to walk in on and ultimately something you’re too embarrassed to tell your friends about. 

Albums of the summer

The music landscape is always changing and shifting, with new artists bursting onto the scene, niche styles getting a wider following and high profile releases scheduled. This year was no exception with exciting runs from Taylor Swift, NewJeans and Travis Scott in particular, so the Thresher has rounded up three of this summer’s biggest releases in case you missed them.

Don’t miss these summer flicks

This past summer was packed with new movie releases. We at the Thresher know that it can be hard to keep up with so many different films vying for your attention, especially during the height of summer. Here are a few of the highlights to catch you up on anything you may have missed — we promise they’re worth the watch.

Review: ‘Suzume’ is a thrilling, endearing, and at times dark ode to Japan

Makoto Shinkai clearly has a specialty — the “Your Name” and “Weathering With You” director is often said to make the same movie over and over again. It’s true that the three most recent entries in his filmography have all been fantastical, coming-of-age melodramas centered around some sort of ecological disaster, but  there’s nothing wrong with that. Audiences know what they’re getting with a Shinkai film: gorgeously-rendered anime vistas, strong female leads and an emotionally-charged storyline guaranteed to make viewers feel something. While it doesn’t reach the poignancy of “Your Name,” Shinkai’s newest film “Suzume” is one of the highlights in his œuvre.