Arts

Arts

Comics don't need to die, here's why

By Drew Weisberg | March 12

Will comic books go the way of arcade games and cable TV? In a sense, yes, but much in the way that TV packages have shifted with the demands of their audience, so too must comic books. Higher quality printing, fewer advertisements and free digital copies: these are the three elements that I would suggest to any comic book publisher looking to bring new readers in and draw old readers back.

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Arts

'WandaVision' fails to escape the Marvel formula

By Julian Levy | March 12

A criticism often leveled at the Marvel Cinematic Universe is the homogeneity of its lineup. The majority of its films have retained a relatively similar tone and neutral gray color grading. "WandaVision," while quite different from the Marvel films in some respects, settled back into the usual MCU trappings by its finale, resulting in an entertaining, if somewhat unexceptional, conclusion.

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Column

Soundtrack to the end of the world: In case of emergency

By Jessica Blough and Myshko Chumak | March 12

I like nervous music, music that’s unsettled and unsettling, even when it’s in a major key, and this seems somewhere between pablum and dread. Over the last 12 months, I’ve found myself falling into repetitive music and listening loops. Maybe read this as my way of rocking back and forth, my sonic self-care at best or anesthetic at worst.

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Music

'Framing Britney Spears' and the movement to free America's biggest pop star

By Christopher Panella | March 11

It seems like an understatement to call the media and music industry’s misogyny, harassment and deliberate destruction of Spears as “struggles.” But “Framing Britney Spears” comes at a moment when American culture is finally deconstructing this euphemism. We’re now grappling with just how terribly Spears was treated.

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Column

Beyond the Underneath: 'White Cube' gallery and its 'Color Cube' cafe

By Ramona Meng Xi | March 11

I can't remember the exact time I got to know about the term"white cube," a style of contemporary gallery with a rectangular space, unadorned white walls and neutral lighting. “White cube” would automatically jump in my mind whenever I walked into a white cube gallery. There were plenty. 

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Arts

King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard's 'L.W.' is organized chaos

By Geoff Tobia Jr. | March 10

The band is hard to classify as anything. Psychedelic rock, art rock and acid rock are decent attempts at trying to describe the overwhelming variety of genres that King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, also known as King Gizz, has experimented with. The six-member Australian group has grown their fan base mostly thanks to their musical explorations beyond the scope of rock. 

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Columns

Comfort Cartoons: Neo-noir and gothic 'Batman: The Animated Series'

By Christopher Panella | March 10

Following the episodic adventures of Batman, Robin and Batgirl, the series takes on a darker tone that feels inspired by both Tim Burton’s two Batman films and the ‘70s and '80s comic books. Those interpretations are seen in every detail: Gotham City’s skies are dark even during the day, the buildings are tall and gothic and gangsters sneak around in alleys and side streets.

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Arts

Courrèges, Nicolas Di Felice steal the show at Paris Fashion Week

By Colette Smith | March 9

There were some shows with small, socially distanced audiences, but the majority of shows were primarily viewed in digital formats. Many designers chose rather nontraditional locations for their shows which created unique and engaging experiences. Many were even pre-recorded. One of the best uses of this alternative showing experience was from Courrèges. 

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Column

A Fantastic Voyage: 'Solve Everything' Part 1

By Drew Weisberg | March 9

It always impresses me when a writer can find a novel concept in long-running series with decades of lore and a tried and true premise like “Fantastic Four” (1961–). I chuckle even harder when that novel idea is both literal and figurative. The secret behind that riddle is the subject of today’s story arc, “Solve Everything” (2009). 

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Music

'The World's a Little Blurry' pulls back the Billie Eilish curtain

By Stephanie Hoechst | March 8

The lore of Eilish’s wildly successful album is well known among fans: Eilish and Finneas wrote and recorded it in Finneas's tiny bedroom in their parents' home in Los Angeles. “The World’s a Little Blurry” keeps this intimacy at the core of its filmmaking style, eschewing any “Miss Americana”-style sit-down interviews to instead capture the relationship between Eilish and her family.

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Cartoon

'Tom & Jerry' falls short of the original cartoon

By Catherine Cahn | March 8

Why do filmmakers feel the need to take successful entertainment and spin it into something ludicrous? While the answer to this is often simply that production companies are willing to exploit the original story for profit, it proves upsetting nevertheless. Unfortunately for the classic cartoon, Tim Story’s "Tom and Jerry" falls victim to just that.

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Column

Hot Take: ‘Twilight’ is a comedic masterpiece

By Derin Savasan | March 8

OK, hear me out — I don’t think "Twilight" (2008) is that bad. No, I mean it. Is it a good movie? No. Does it have Oscar-level acting? Absolutely not. But does it deserve to be pop culture’s cinematic punching bag? I don’t think so.

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Arts

Leslie Epstein's 'Hill of Beans' explores truth, history

By Sadie Leite | March 5

The novel details the lives of Epstein’s uncle Julius ("Julie") Epstein and father Philip Epstein, who were screenwriters for the iconic “Casablanca” (1942). Significant historical figures appear in the new book, including Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Goebbels (Nazi politician and Reich minister of propaganda).

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Arts

Pokémon announces remakes 'Brilliant Diamond,' 'Shining Pearl' and new 'Arceus' game

By Christopher Panella | March 5

The Pokémon Company finally announced its most anticipated games of the past 25 years on Feb. 26. The franchise celebrated its 25th anniversary with many things — like the surprisingly fun virtual Post Malone concert — but the crown jewels of the commemoration were the “Pokémon Brilliant Diamond” (2021), “Pokémon Shining Pearl” (2021) and “Pokémon Legends: Arceus” (2022) game announcements.

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Columns

Soundtrack to the end of the world: Normie music

By Jessica Blough and Robert Kaplan | March 5

Today is the day you learn one of my secrets. It’s less of a “don’t tell my crush I like them” secret and more of an “I’ve only told five people” secret. Read on and you could be the sixth. Congratulations!

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Arts

Weekender: Community organization Sapphire seeks to empower women of color through art

By Devina Bhalla | March 4

Sapphire is also a multifaceted organization. It offers a book club, publishes two separate biannual publications — a literary magazine called Sapphire Hues and an art book series — and holds other community events, all of which are currently virtual.

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Column

Beyond the Underneath: The humble machine that created acid house

By Ramona Meng Xi | March 4

Sometimes acid music literally sounds like acid — boiling and popping bubbles of music notes. It can be artistically concrete in the imitation of liquid but also abstract and malleable to create other audio environments.

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TV

Golden Globes hosts 78th show amid controversy, pandemic

By Stephanie Hoechst | March 3

First and foremost, this year’s Golden Globe Awards were overshadowed by a recent surfacing of the fact that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the 87-person group of international journalists who decide the awards, doesn’t have a single Black member — and hasn’t in the last 20 years.

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Arts

'Dickinson' gets distracted in season 2

By Emmy Wenstrup | March 3

First airing in 2019, the same year that “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” had its debut at Cannes, the show stood out as a satire of these oft-moody dramas, stuffed with modern music and language alongside observations of the ridiculousness of 1850s New England life. Season 2, which premiered on Jan. 8, features new characters, fun new cameos and a touch of witchcraft.

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Column

Comfort Cartoons: Eccentric 'Ed, Edd n Eddy'

By Christopher Panella | March 3

Ed is dumb but lovable, Double D is intelligent and anxious and Eddy sports a short temper and acts as the de facto leader of the group. These eclectic personalities lead to fighting within the group that’s both humiliating and hilarious.

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