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Arts and Entertainment

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.

A&E 3/26/24 11:07pm

Review: On ‘Bright Future,’ Big Thief’s Adrianne Lenker remains powerfully optimistic

By Arman Saxena

While indie folk-indie rock group Big Thief has consistently dropped passionately bittersweet and critically acclaimed work since their 2016 debut “Masterpiece,” the band reached their career high in 2022 with “Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You,” which stands as one of the most celebrated albums of the decade so far. Adrianne Lenker, Big Thief’s lead vocalist, has had no shortage of success herself, with her previous album “Songs” appearing in the year-end top 10 albums list of many major publications. While Big Thief tracks like “Not” and “Little Things” can be noisy and dense, Lenker’s solo work is reliably soothing yet simultaneously heartbreaking. 

A&E 3/26/24 11:06pm

Female-directed films to look out for in 2024

By Arman Saxena

Female filmmakers have been innovating since the era of silent film in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. However, the 1934 establishment of the Hays Code — a set of guidelines for Hollywood films from the 1930s to 1960s that censored content deemed offensive — played a major role in stifling women’s creative say in the film industry. With Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” becoming the highest-grossing film in the states and worldwide, 2023 was a landmark year for female directors in Hollywood and signifies an ever-changing landscape of female film direction. In honor of Women’s History Month, here are some new or upcoming female-directed films that represent the variety, innovation and artistic verve that women have imbued into the film canon.

A&E 3/19/24 10:27pm

Review: RuPaul’s memoir proves he should stick to drag, queen

By Hugo Gerbich-Pais

RuPaul is a celebrated singer, entertainer and undeniably the most famous drag queen of all time. However, with his recently released memoir “The House of Hidden Meanings,” he demonstrates that he is an author in name only. The work is painful to read, and its content is full of glaring contradictions and hypocrisy. 

A&E 3/19/24 10:26pm

Review: ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ misses the punchline

By Kristal Hanson

“Kung Fu Panda 4” brings us back into the vibrant world of Po and his kung fu adventures. The movie kicks off with a playful nod to the franchise’s own commercial success as Mr. Ping unveils his new noodle shop: Dragon Warrior Noodles and Tofu. However, the absence of the Furious Five, beloved warriors of the franchise, disappoints both characters in the film and the audience. 

A&E 3/19/24 10:26pm

Review: ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ misses the punchline

By Kristal Hanson

“Kung Fu Panda 4” brings us back into the vibrant world of Po and his kung fu adventures. The movie kicks off with a playful nod to the franchise’s own commercial success as Mr. Ping unveils his new noodle shop: Dragon Warrior Noodles and Tofu. However, the absence of the Furious Five, beloved warriors of the franchise, disappoints both characters in the film and the audience. 

A&E 3/5/24 10:23pm

A&E predicts the 2024 Academy Awards

By Basma Bedawi , Jay Collura and Arman Saxena

It’s March already, meaning it is time to examine the Academy Awards, an event sure to be full of awkward moments, baffling losses and confounding decisions, once again hosted by Jimmy Kimmel for some reason. However, the 96th Academy Awards Ceremony has something special going for it — this past year was an excellent one for film. It will be difficult in many categories for the Academy to make a bad choice, though there certainly are some categories the Thresher A&E section feels strongly about. Here are our picks for who will win at the 96th Annual Oscars and who actually deserves it.

A&E 3/5/24 10:16pm

Review: ‘Dune: Part Two’ is a visual and narrative spectacle

By Jacob Pellegrino

There have been a number of attempts to do justice to Frank Herbert’s massively influential novel, “Dune,” over the years. The most famous of these attempts include a David Lynch adaptation, notably edited in post to the point where the director himself allegedly asked for his name to be removed from the final product, and an attempt by director Alejandro Jodorowsky to make an over 10-hour version in the ’70s. Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” and “Dune: Part Two” finally succeed in conveying the vastness and wonder of Arrakis by giving one of cinema’s modern auteurs control over a property that he had already designed storyboards for as a teenager.

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