This Week in Entertainment
Grand Theft Auto V
The largest and most ambitious installment in one of the most critically acclaimed, best-selling video game series of all time marks the first new entry in nearly five years after being long delayed. The latest edition takes place in Los Santos, a sun-soaked city of chaos where users can play as three different protagonists on the road to survival and success.
World War Z
After several delays, Brad Pitt's apocalyptic epic was finally released in theaters to financial success and strong critical reception this summer. In the film, a former United Nations investigator is tasked with finding a cure to a zombie outbreak, traveling around the world in order to save the lives of his family and humanity. Bonus features include exclusive behind-the-scenes documentaries. Also in 3-D.
Insidious: Chapter 2
The follow-up to the surprise 2011 runaway horror hit reunites cast members Patrick Wilson (The Conjuring) and Rose Byrne (Bridesmaids), who reprise their roles as a husband and wife investigating the secret that has haunted them from the spirit world. Fighting off paranormal activity and mysterious surprises, the couple find themselves picking up right where they left off: in a thrilling, suspenseful battle versus the unknown. PG-13. 105 minutes.
Prisoners
Fresh off its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, the work of director Denis Villeneuve is already earning acclaim for its star-studded cast, including Jake Gyllenhaal and Hugh Jackman, and dramatic plot about the sudden disappearance of two young girls in a small town. When the police release the only suspect in the case due to a lack of evidence, one father (Hugh Jackman, The Wolverine) tries to take matters into his own hands and becoming a vigilante. R. 146 minutes.
Feels Like Home
Sheryl Crow
While she has had a successful career in adult contemporary rock, Sheryl Crow has decided to diversify her musical tastes and now presents her first country album, preceded by hit single "Easy." Each song on the CD was co-written by another songwriter, including country star Brad Paisley, giving the album an added sense of novelty. While Crow fans should expect a new sound, they can still anticipate the same powerful lyricism they have grown to love.
From Here to Now to You
Jack Johnson
The sixth album from the folk-rock singer-songwriter marks a return to his acoustic, "surfer-vibe" genre after the darker, electric guitar-driven work of recent years. This album is composed in his traditional style of self-penned, self-produced tracks. This time around, though, he adds a layer of instrumentation to his traditional sound that should set him up for the mainstream success he has lacked in recent years.
More from The Rice Thresher
Jeremy Zucker is no longer a ‘sad-boy troubadour’
Jeremy Zucker’s arms, like most of his body, host a scrapbook of tattoos — a faded clementine peel, his childhood pets (Rusty and Susie), a Pinterest doodle of Sonic the Hedgehog with a bouquet of flowers. His middle finger is etched with a single tooth, hanging off a thin branch wrapping around the rest of his hand.
Jeremy Zucker headlines second-ever Moody X-Fest
Jeremy Zucker headlined Rice’s second annual Moody X-Fest in Founder’s Court on April 19. In advance of Zucker’s set, student groups like Basmati Beats, Rice Philharmonic and BASYK performed. The festival also offered complimentary merchandise and food from Dripped Birra, Cane’s and Oh my Gogi.
Jones wins men’s and women’s Beer Bike races, GSA snags alumni
Jones College won both the women’s and men’s Beer Bike 2024 races, while the Graduate Student Association claimed the alumni team win. Hanszen College bike teams were the runner-up in the alumni and men’s races, while Brown College was the runner-up in the women’s race. Martel and McMurtry Colleges did not bike in the alumni race, according to the Rice Program Council’s final report, and the GSA was disqualified from the men’s race for accidentally sending out two bikers simultaneously.
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