The Force Awakens, the long-awaited seventh chapter in the Star Wars saga, entered our galaxy on Dec. 18, 2015. With it came a new generation of scavengers, soldiers, and pilots alongside the passionate royalty, fur-covered warriors, and scruffy looking nerf-herders of the past. This combination of old and new inhabits a galaxy both vastly different and strikingly similar to the hopeful universe we left 30 years prior.
December’s R-rated comedy Sisters was essentially an extended Saturday Night Live skit, the kind that tries a little too hard but is charming enough to merit a re-watch. The film stars Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as the titular Ellis sisters who reunite for one last house party when their parents put their childhood home on the market. During a holiday movie season that was packed with heavy dramas and fantasy franchises, Sisters’ raunchy antics were a welcome change.
It’s a new semester here at Monmouth and Blue Hawk Records, the University’s student-run record label, has some rocking stuff in store for us this spring. We closed out our fall semester in December with an EP release show in the Rebecca Stafford Student Center (RSSC) for the record label’s seventh compilation album, Shades of Blue. Dan Amato opened the show with his retro style showcased in a cover of “Houndog” by Elvis Presley as well as his single “Beautiful to Me” on the EP. Dan and Jackson performed their single off the EP, “I Told You,” along with some other cool tunes. They were then followed by a set from jazz artist Kellan Brennan, who covered “I Get a Kick Out of You” by Cole Porter as well as his original “Old Soul” on the compilation album. Thanks Genie closed out the show with a set including their song from the album, “Run.”
“You save those tears for your pillow,” is one of the many famous quotes of dance instructor and choreographer Abby Lee Miller, who has run the Abby Lee Dance Company, or ALDC, since she was fourteen-years-old. Her dance studio in Pittsburgh, PA, has been featured on the Lifetime series Dance Moms since July 13, 2011, when the first episode premiered. The show, which has a rating of 4.6/10 on IMDB and 6.8/10 on TV.com, is currently on its sixth season. The show is full of drama between Abby’s harsh and demanding teaching skills and the over-the-top, preposterous dance moms.
A film that includes a post-apocalyptic wasteland, breakneck action, and was actually a huge summer blockbuster that thrilled mainstream audiences is not usually considered an “Oscar film.” But on Jan. 14, when this year’s 88th Academy Award nominations were announced, Mad Max: Fury Road wound up with 10 nominations, just second behind The Revenant and its 12 nominations. These nominations weren’t in minor categories, either; the film racked up nods for Best Picture, several visual and sound categories including Best Cinematography, and Best Director for George Miller.
The quick staccato of coaches’ voices shouting out plays mixes with the sound of crashing helmets, and echoing whistles pound your eardrums as a plain black image emerges onto the screen. Concussion brings the audience to the setting of an average football field, then cuts to the induction of Pittsburgh Steelers center, Mike Webster, into the NFL hall of fame. Webster notably emphasizes in his speech that the only thing players have to do is “finish the game. If we finish the game, we win.” While this saying may appear motivational and reflect the dedication that football players have towards the game, when it is combined with clips of brutal physical injuries that people have experienced on the field, it makes one wonder whether finishing the game should really be the main concern. This initiates the conversation on the issue that the film delves into.
Blue Hawk Records’ seventh compilation album contains a great group of talented musicians. At the release show, we will be hearing all the amazing tracks on the album and you can pick up your very own copy outside of the Rebecca Stafford Student Center on Dec. 9 at 2:50 p.m. The artists featured on this album are: singer-song writer Dan Amato and his song “Beautiful to Me,” dynamic duo Dan and Jackson and their track “I Told You,” ‘Homebrew Jazz’ artist, Kellan Brennan with his song “Old Soul,” and our final spotlight, Thanks Genie.
If you’re bored this winter break and are looking for something to do, watch About a Boy. The 2002 English movie is one that has an interesting plot but also contains a great message. It even ends around the holidays, which definitely corresponds with the time of year.
Earlier in the semester, I wrote a feature on video game preorders in which I mention Star Wars Battlefront. I cautioned readers away from preordering Battlefront, citing questionable business practices of the game’s publisher. I also warned of potential bugs/balance issues, and that this new Battlefront title may bear very little resemblance to the original Star Wars Battlefront titles on which it is based. I finished on a positive note, stating that Battlefront would probably be a great, albeit flawed, game, due to Dice being the developer (Dice is known for the wildly successful Battlefield series). After spending a large number of hours playing it, I can say that I was very wrong about Star Wars Battlefront. It is not a great game, and, for most gamers, isn’t even worth playing.
Like many Ryan Murphy shows before it, Scream Queens is not perfect. The man who created Glee and American Horror Story does not exactly know how to make a fast-paced, plot-driven series, when to tone down the camp, and struggles at times to find coherent endings to the series he helms. But Scream Queens, FOX’s comedy-horror series that just wrapped its first season on Dec. 8, reaches levels of hilarity and campiness that is nothing more than pure fun, and seems to have the potential to be Murphy’s best show yet.