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Saturday, December 02, 2023 — Houston, TX

Arts and Entertainment

A&E 11/29/22 11:41pm

Review: ‘The Nutcracker’ loses its footing this season

By Gina Matos

Upon entering the Wortham Center for the annual holiday show, there is an unmistakable anticipatory energy in the air, accompanying their signature Christmas tree and bubbly mingling between well-dressed patrons. “The Nutcracker” is undeniably a holiday favorite for audience members, but their excitement for the show may be misguided. Despite the show’s remarkable popularity, the Houston Ballet’s production falls short of the original’s charm.

A&E 11/29/22 11:41pm

Review: ‘Glass Onion’ sharpens and heightens the original’s subversive whodunnit formula

By Jay Collura

The original “Knives Out” is one of the few mid-budget movies in recent years to become a household name, and for good reason. It’s an engaging whodunnit with a cast of intriguing characters, smart subversions of the mystery formula, and sharp political commentary. “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” does all of this again, opting to use the success of the original to go big. The quaint house from the first film has been exchanged for an island, the mystery on display is much more audacious and striking and writer/director Rian Johnson’s commentary on wealth’s role in our society has been amplified and brought to center stage. However, the decision to heighten and expand the scope of the film in no way lessened my experience — “Glass Onion” is consistently hilarious and captivating, trading out some of the quaint mannerisms of the first film in favor of more bombastic moments.

A&E 11/29/22 11:37pm

Review: ‘The Family’ is an exciting and messy exploration of the dissolution of BROCKHAMPTON

By Jacob Pellegrino

Most bands do their farewells together, with all of the members contributing to a final goodbye. BROCKHAMPTON is not like most bands. Instead, they opted for a Kevin Abstract solo project that reflects on the band’s history and how they broke up. Dirty laundry is aired and personal encounters are recounted for listeners from the perspective of Kevin Abstract, the member who started the group. While this singular topic can seem cumbersome at times, the album succeeds in creating intriguing sounds and styles to shove the listener into Abstract’s mindset at the end of his journey with BROCKHAMPTON.

A&E 11/29/22 11:35pm

Review: ‘TM’ fails to hold interest despite some good tracks

By Jacob Pellegrino

BROCKHAMPTON’s final album, “The Family,” came out the morning of Nov. 17. While this was technically their last recorded album, in a move reminiscent of the flip-flopping of The Beatles’ “Abbey Road” and “Let It Be,” a surprise album, “TM,” came out later that night. Unlike “The Family,” which is essentially a Kevin Abstract solo album, “TM” features the full group and was recorded in early 2021 before being completed by band member Matt Champion as executive producer.

A&E 11/29/22 11:33pm

Review: ‘Disenchanted’ fails to rekindle the original’s magic

By Claudia Lin

What happens after happily ever after? Fifteen years after Giselle’s fairytale ending, the princess returns to Andalasia to finally answer this question with the long-awaited sequel “Disenchanted,” released Nov. 16 on Disney+. But, even with the return of fan-favorite stars like Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey, it was still not enough to conjure up another satisfying ending for the franchise. 

A&E 11/29/22 11:31pm

Three Films to Look Out for from the Houston Cinema Arts Festival

By Jay Collura

The Houston Cinema Arts Festival wrapped up two weeks ago on Nov. 16, and I was fortunate enough to see a great set of films throughout the week. The festival highlighted both local and global cinema, featured films of nearly every genre and placed the spotlight on diverse perspectives and underrepresented filmmakers. Here are three of my favorite movies I saw during the festival and that you should look out for when they release in theaters or elsewhere.

A&E 11/29/22 11:28pm

Holiday concerts that sleigh

By Morgan Gage

While campus studies for finals, a capella groups on campus are studying their sheet music in addition to hitting the books, rehearsing and preparing for end of the year performances during the last week of classes and into finals.

A&E 11/29/22 11:27pm

Rice Riyaaz reflects on team bond, prepares for Dhamaka show

By Shreya Challa

Each week, the members of Rice Riyaaz spend hours rehearsing and perfecting their every dance move. Riyaaz is Rice’s premier co-ed Bollywood fusion dance team that competes in national circuits. Their hard work will culminate in their performance at Dhamaka, a showcase organized by the Rice South Asian Society, at the Grand Hall on Dec. 4 from 5 to 8 p.m.

A&E 11/29/22 11:26pm

Writer Anna Meriano talks youth literature, community

By Hadley Medlock

Since facing her first bout of writer’s block when scribbling down a story in kindergarten, Anna Meriano said she knew she wanted to be a writer. A Martel College (‘13) alumna, Meriano has watched those childhood dreams come to life as a middle-grade and young adult author published by HarperCollins and Penguin Random House. After writing fantasy stories about a family of brujas running a fictional Texas bakery and tales of girls finding belonging on their local quadball team, Meriano understands the power of children’s literature in shaping youth perspectives and works to share diverse stories of family, adolescence and friendship. 

A&E 11/29/22 11:25pm

Poets explore intersectional identities

By Ivy Li

On Nov. 18, The Department of Modern and Classical Studies hosted a poetry reading with two award-winning writers: multi-genre writer Leslie Contreras Schwartz (’02) and poet Benjamin Garcia. Having known Schwartz when she was a student at Rice, Aranda invited her, and then she invited her colleague Garcia.

A&E 11/20/22 12:07pm

Grammy-nominated GAYLE talks Texas and Tinder bans

By Morgan Gage

“I’m an artist and an attention whore,” GAYLE told audiences while performing at Austin City Limits Musical Festival last month. With that statement in mind, she chose the perfect career. Best known for her viral hit “abcdefu,” GAYLE enraptured audiences even in the Texas heat and played both guitar and keyboard while dancing around the stage with a youthful wit and sense of style that would make even the best TikTok girl seethe with jealousy. 

A&E 11/15/22 11:35pm

Review: SoFaygo’s debut ‘Pink Heartz’ fails to impress

By Jonathan Woo

SoFaygo’s music exists somewhere on the musical scale between the feel-good melodic trap of Lil Tecca and the sometimes incoherent, but always energetic, flow of Yeat. Like many artists of the current day, SoFaygo experienced an almost overnight boom in popularity when ear-catching melodies went viral on social media app TikTok via songs such as “Knock Knock.” What separates SoFaygo from his contemporaries, though, has been his lack of any new projects since fame.

A&E 11/15/22 11:31pm

Review: ‘Smithereens’ is an interlude between Joji albums

By Renly Liu

Coming off of his previous hit albums, Joji’s “Smithereens” felt like a half-cooked and overhyped EP rather than a sequel album to rival his previous release. The album’s opener, “Glimpse of Us,” is a strong melodic opening and sets the album’s theme of missing an ex. The rich instrumentals and cutting lyrics work to create a telling story: the idea of a perfect ex-lover.

A&E 11/15/22 11:29pm

Review: ‘Wakanda Forever’ is a compelling and poignant tribute

By Saswat Pati

“In my culture, death is only the beginning.” King T’Challa, or Black Panther, says this after the death of his father in “Captain America: Civil War,” and in many ways “Wakanda Forever” is a film that embodies that saying from start to finish. Though likely not the box-office sensation that “Black Panther” was, “Wakanda Forever” still meets its predecessor in story, quality and acting, and even exceeds it in other areas. 

A&E 11/15/22 11:27pm

Review: Lindsey Lohan’s holiday flick ‘Falling for Christmas’ fails to sleigh

By Claudia Lin

It is time. The temperature has cooled, Christmas trees are replacing pumpkins and boughs of holly are adorning the hallways. For some, the holiday season means gift giving, gathering with family and friends or decorating gingerbread houses. For others, holiday festivities mean sipping hot chocolate while enjoying highly predictable, profusely cheesy Christmas romance movies. 

A&E 11/15/22 11:25pm

Review: Steeper prices grill Burger Bodega

By Sydney Park

Salt, fat, acid, heat. When evaluating a hamburger, the first two elements of cooking are essential. In fact, they become non-negotiable in cases where the burger is priced above average. In addition to salt and fat, places that strive to serve high-end fast food must deliver on both quality and price. A new competitor has recently taken on the challenge: Burger Bodega, a pop art-inspired Houston restaurant offering a small menu of burgers, fries and shakes, all at higher price points. 

A&E 11/15/22 11:24pm

Rock On, Rice: KTRU to host Battle of the Bands

By Felicity Phelan

This Friday night, student bands from across campus will take their places under Pub’s blinding lights and face off in this year’s Battle of the Bands. The battle, which will begin at 7 p.m., is being hosted by KTRU and the Rice Music Collective, and its winners will get to perform at the KTRU Outdoor Show in the spring.

A&E 11/15/22 11:22pm

U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo grapples with life, death and art

By Bonnie Zhao

America’s first Native American U.S. Poet Laureate, Joy Harjo, stopped by Rice’s Brockman Hall for a reading of her newly published poetry collection, “Weaving Sundown in a Scarle Light: 50 Poems for 50 Years,” on the rainy evening of Monday, Nov. 14. Following  the reading was an on-stage conversation with 2022 Texas Poet Laureate Lupe Mendez, during which Harjo shared harrowingly intimate details of her view on art, life, death and loss.

A&E 11/15/22 11:20pm

Houston film festival highlights local trailblazers

By Jay Collura

The Houston Cinema Arts Festival, now running in theaters from Nov. 10 to 17, is a celebration of both the global and local film communities, highlighting trailblazing documentaries, outsider narratives and innovative short films. In a film landscape typically defined to most people by the various megaplexes scattered around the city, the festival is bringing a necessarily diverse set of voices and perspectives into the spotlight.

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