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Arts and Entertainment

A&E 4/16/24 10:37pm

Items for your Houston summer bucket list

By Chiara Moretti

Whether you’re from Houston, working an internship or staying in town to do research, Houston has a variety of activities to keep you entertained this summer. Keeping these options on your radar will help you have a fun, relaxing summer before classes start back up in August. 

A&E 4/16/24 10:36pm

Movies coming your way this summer

By Arman Saxena

With this being the Thresher’s last issue of the semester, our coverage of the biggest movies of the moment will be on hold for a few months. However, that doesn’t mean Hollywood will be on hiatus. This year’s summer blockbuster season promises to be a big one, with some of the most anticipated films of recent years like “Inside Out 2,” “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Despicable Me 4” hitting the big screen in the next few months. Here are some other films coming out this summer that you won’t want to miss.

A&E 4/9/24 11:49pm

Museum fellows talk art, academia and experiential learning

By Noah Berz

On Monday mornings at 8 a.m., Ella Langridge walks upstairs to her desk at the Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens and gets to work, sifting through photocopies of Americana and decorative arts with pasts unknown. Langridge’s job, as this year’s Jameson Fellow for American Painting & Decorative Arts, is to research these artifacts, uncover their histories and communicate their uniquely American stories to the collection’s thousands of annual visitors. 

A&E 4/9/24 11:48pm

Review: ‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’ is Peak Cinema

By Hamza Saeed

There is no easy way to quantify a film, much to the chagrin of lazy film critics and lazier audiences. We may try to force a movie to fit into a box labeled ⅗ or ⅘ , but occasionally, there appears a work of art that refuses such indignity. A breathtaking fabrication that rejects the premise of a “rating,” whatever that monstrous practice might entail. These magna opera simply are. Along this line of thought, it makes sense to characterize this film for what it is, rather than lambast it for what it is not. This movie is about giant monkeys and lizards fighting. 

A&E 4/9/24 11:47pm

Review: “Bryson Tiller re-envisions genre on self-titled album”

By Ashley Wang

Seasoned R&B singer Bryson Tiller has returned with his fourth studio album, a self-titled record that infuses cyberpunk aesthetics into both its visuals and its sound. On the eponymous album, Tiller, best known for hits like “Don’t” and “Exchange,” takes on the challenge of deconstructing his own artistic journey. “Bryson Tiller” is a multi-genre departure from Tiller’s comfort zone. It features pop, dancehall, neo-soul and drill elements next to his signature combination of hip hop and R&B. 

A&E 4/9/24 11:44pm

Senior Spotlight: Orion Miller spins his own tune

By Chiara Moretti

Orion Miller began playing classical instruments before most toddlers refine their motor skills. Now a bass performance major at the Shepherd School of Music, Miller’s passion for music began during his childhood in New York. Both of his parents are musicians and encouraged their children to play instruments — Miller began playing the cello at age three and bass at 11. 

A&E 4/9/24 11:43pm

Huberman and Hugetz observe American empire

By Arman Saxena

For around 30 years, filmmakers Brian Huberman and Ed Hugetz have been working on their seven-part series “Once I Moved Like the Wind: Geronimo’s Final Surrender to the American Empire.” The two present the fourth part of their film, titled “Carcosa” at Rice Cinema April 13 at 7 p.m.  

A&E 4/9/24 11:42pm

Wiess Tabletop to perform ‘Hello, Hamlet!’ this weekend

By Chiara Moretti

The Wiess Tabletop performance, “Hello, Hamlet!” is returning to Wiess College commons this weekend after four years. The show, according to members of the cast and crew, is a comedic parody of the original Shakespeare production. There will be three performances from April 12 to 14, each starting at 7:30 p.m. and free for all students and alumni. 

A&E 4/2/24 11:33pm

English majors open Pandora’s box for senior projects

By Sarah Motteler

While waiting for a train last summer, Gabby Franklin realized what her senior project would be: a modern play retelling the myth of Pandora’s Jar. Franklin, a Brown College senior, is required — like all seniors majoring in English — to participate in a yearlong seminar course, where students produce long-form writing projects.  

A&E 4/2/24 11:30pm

Fall humanities courses to restore your humanity

By Sarah Motteler

With spring semester rapidly approaching its end, students are beginning to look at fall course offerings. If looking at the general announcements is making you feel generally unhappy, consider adding one of these humanities courses for a little spot of joy in a sea of despair.

A&E 4/2/24 11:29pm

Review: “A Night of Knowing Nothing” is an intimate portrait of activism

By Arman Saxena

Rice Cinema presented three films as part of the Glorious Things series, a collaboration between Rice Cinema, Rice Humanities Research Center and FotoFest, on March 22 and 23. Organized by assistant professor of art Sindhu Thirumalaisamy, the films detail stories from the perspectives of marginalized groups that are connected by a common theme: the intensifying of authoritarianism at Indian universities. “Does Your House Have Lions?” focuses on university suppression of queer students, while “We Have Not Come Here to Die” and “A Night of Knowing Nothing” center on student protest movements that swept India after the death of Rohith Vemula, a student, activist and Dalit, the lowest ranking group in traditional Indian caste hierarchy. 

A&E 3/26/24 11:12pm

Review: Matt Champion navigates love and other intimacies in ‘Mika’s Laundry’

By Andrea Plascencia

The end of the “best boy band since One Direction” (i.e., BROCKHAMPTON) was especially sad for the insufferable people who spammed their songs in high school, but equally exciting as it inevitably presented the opportunity for solo projects. Among the prospective solo projects, perhaps the most exciting — for me, anyway — was that of the former-collective member, Matt Champion.  

A&E 3/26/24 11:09pm

Review: ‘TYLA’ is a refreshing, self-assured debut

By Ashley Wang

At 22 years old, singer Tyla has already seen a level of success most musicians can only dream of. In the past year, she’s had her viral, platinum-certified hit “Water” top the Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart, collaborated with Travis Scott and Summer Walker and won the first-ever Grammy for Best African Music Performance. 

A&E 3/26/24 11:08pm

Review: ‘Deeper Well’ is a melodic journey of self-reflection

By Sarah Motteler

Kacey Musgraves is one of the most innovative singer-songwriters within the country genre, a quality that’s been evident since she released her debut album, “Same Trailer, Different Park,” 11 years ago. Musgraves’s latest record, “Deeper Well,” melds the star’s signature country stylings with folk, resulting in a stellar collection of 14 tracks that are packed with thoughtfulness and nostalgia.

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