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Monday, June 05, 2023 — Houston, TX

Hamza Saeed

A&E 4/18/23 11:43pm

Review: Nicolas Cage as Dracula is a national treasure

By Hamza Saeed

“Renfield” is a 2023 comedy-horror film centering Nicolas Cage as Dracula and Nicolas Hoult as Renfield, Dracula’s loyal assistant. My comments on this movie should be prefaced by an acknowledgment of my bias; I absolutely adore Nicolas Cage as an actor. I could watch Mr. Cage do nothing but down an entire Subway Italian without him uttering a word and I would be absolutely enthralled, clinging to the edge of my seat. The subtle facial expressions, the charming yet hungry eyes, and the absolute Adonis of a body that Nicolas Cage possesses could make any film connoisseur faint at just a glimpse. Even taking into consideration my love for Cage’s acting in both his amazing and amazingly terrible works, “Renfield” is another absolute banger of a movie on nearly every level.

A&E 4/4/23 10:19pm

Hamza’s pizza tour: Sampling a selection of slices

By Hamza Saeed

Rice campus boasts a diverse student body, and along with this diversity comes various opinions on the best pizza in the world. Arguments over the superiority of New York thin crust, the Chicago Deep Dish or the classic Neapolitan have run rampant across this fine campus, and as the only valid opinion on the subject, the Thresher aims to squash these debates once and for all in the hunt for the superior slice.

A&E 2/28/23 11:13pm

Review: ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ is a brainless disappointment

By Hamza Saeed

Before beginning this review, I want to acknowledge that I am aware of the controversy surrounding this game. I want to make my position on the trans community explicitly clear. Transgender people have a right to exist and a right to live their life free of harassment from individuals that seek to demean and degrade them. I believe I speak for everyone at the Thresher when I say that I condemn the statements that J.K. Rowling has made. Simply put, you cannot say that you support and love trans women and then tweet out “Merry TERFmas”. 

A&E 2/21/23 11:03pm

Review: ‘Blood and Honey’ is a sticky mess

By Hamza Saeed

I am not an advocate of government censorship, but this movie should be criminalized. It should be a punishable offense to have been involved in the making of this movie. It shouldn’t even qualify as a movie, as it has none of the necessary elements. There is no plot, no motives, no characters, no beginning and no end. Let’s discuss this fever dream of an experience.

OPINION 2/21/23 10:17pm

ChatGPT is far from the villain it’s made out to be.

By Hamza Saeed

Last week’s issue of the Thresher included a letter to the editor that discussed the use of ChatGPT by Rice students. Felicity talks about how the reason we came to Rice was “to grow as a student and individual,” and I believe that in this regard, they are absolutely correct. Where she errs is when she implies throughout the article that this growth and intellectual stimulation are completely incompatible with the use of ChatGPT as an online tool. She is most certainly not the only one who holds that view. Many professors at Rice and across the world are currently grappling with how to handle the rise of A.I. I firmly believe that ChatGPT does have a place in academia and that the vast majority of Rice students are using ChatGPT in a positive manner that actually contributes to their educational pursuits. 

A&E 2/15/23 12:07am

Review: ‘Magic Mike’ didn’t go full frontal — for the better

By Sara Davidson and Hamza Saeed

Walking into the theater in a three-piece suit and a beret, we were salivating. Sara was salivating thinking of the food we planned to grab afterwards. Hamza was salivating for some of that Magic Mike action. Neither of us had seen a Magic Mike movie before this one, hoping that the fresh perspective we could offer would lead to greater insights, or at least some surprises. What this actually led to was one hour and 52 minutes of laughter and Hamza attempting to dance along to scenes that had no business being danced to. 

A&E 1/24/23 10:18pm

Food spots to fill your late night cravings

By Hamza Saeed

Have you or someone you love suffered from the recent closing of YoYo’s and Oh My Gogi? If so, you might be looking for new food spots to scratch those late-night cravings that the serveries simply can’t fill. Read on for the Thresher’s list of a few food spots close to campus that can fill the holes in our stomachs (and our hearts). 

A&E 1/18/23 12:17am

Review: Home Slice Pizza fires up new Houston location

By Hamza Saeed

One of the most amazing parts about coming to Rice and getting to meet people from all sorts of backgrounds and cultures is that you are exposed to a variety of opinions and ideas that help mold you into a more well-rounded individual. One of the most fascinating opinions that I feel people bring with them is their taste in pizza. Whether a debate between Pizza Hut and Papa John’s or New York versus Chicago, we all have opinions on how we like our pies.

A&E 1/10/23 9:53pm

Review: ‘M3GAN’ misfires but plays on emotion

By Hamza Saeed

My expectations for “M3GAN” were cautiously optimistic despite its overdone premise. I thought “M3GAN” was going to be a campy horror movie with cheap jumpscares and even cheesier lines, ultimately performing within a typical January box office. Prior to booking my tickets, however, I did note that the critical reviews for the film were, shockingly, quite good. 

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