This Week in Entertainment
Louis Lesser presents all the new entertainment you should be looking for this week.
Movies:
Kingsman: The Secret Service: From the director of X-Men: First Class comes this spy-themed action adventure based on the comic The Secret Service by Dave Gibbons and Mark Millar. In the film, a secret agent (Colin Firth, The King’s Speech) recruits a young miscreant (Taron Egerton, Testament of Youth) into an exclusive espionage agency in order to help him outsmart an evil genius attempting to control the world through the use of mobile devices. R. 129 minutes.
Hot Tub Time Machine 2: Five years after the original film, which followed a group of friends as they traveled back in time to the 1980s via hot tub, comes this sequel that takes the main characters in all directions of the time-space continuum. The film reunites three of the main cast members from the first film (Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry and Clark Dude) and replaces John Cusack with Adam Scott (Parks and Recreation). R. 93 minutes.
Music:
Smoke and Mirrors – Imagine Dragons: The alternative rock band’s double-platinum debut studio album Night Visions was one of the biggest surprises in music in recent years, and now the group has returned with their second compilation. The album contains a collection of 13 original songs with a more rock-influenced sound than in the band’s first effort, including lead single “I Bet My Life,” which charted to mild success last fall, as well as new single “Shots.”
Blu-Ray, Streaming & DVD:
Birdman: Nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Actor (Michael Keaton) and Best Picture, this film is one of last year’s most acclaimed and arrives for home viewing just days before the Oscars. The movie tells the story of a washed-up film star (Keaton) as he attempts to stage a theatrical production. Bonus features include a conversation with Keaton and Best Director nominee Alejandro G. Iñarritu, a behind-the-scenes documentary and a photo gallery.
More from The Rice Thresher

Founder’s Court goes alt-rock as bôa kicks off U.S. tour at Rice
Founder’s Court morphed into a festival ground Friday night as British alt-rock band bôa launched the U.S. leg of their “Whiplash” tour. The group headlined the third annual Moody X-Fest before what organizers estimate was “a little bit over 2,000 students” — the largest turnout in the event’s three-year history.
Rice launches alternative funding program amid federal research cuts
Rice is launching the Bridge Funding Program for faculty whose federal funding for research projects has been reduced or removed. The program was announced via the Provost’s newsletter April 24.
This moment may be unprecedented — Rice falling short is not
In many ways, the current landscape of American higher education is unprecedented. Sweeping cuts to federal research funding, overt government efforts to control academic departments and censor campus protests and arbitrary arrests and visa revocations have rightly been criticized as ushering in the latest iteration of fascism.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication by The Rice Thresher.