05/27/22
This Week: The newest murder-mystery show that will keep you guessing, a fresh R&B album, and enough films recs to fill your long weekend with movie-watching.
TRENDS THIS WEEK:
Youtube Kehlani - Melt
Letterboxd EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
TikTok #Multiverse
Spotify As It Was - Harry Styles
Netflix JACKASS 4.5
Twitter Ray Liotta
Shopify It’s Been A Week
Life & Culture
I’ve been trying to figure out what to write about in life and culture this week, after yet another school shooting has gripped the United States. Sadly it feels like there is nothing to say when these tragedies happen and no changes are made. When children are taught to “train for this”. When this is a uniquely American problem, as other countries, like Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, each tightened their gun laws after mass shootings. A few things we can do is donate to the victims fund, reach out to legislators, and remember the 19 students and two teachers that lost their lives on Tuesday morning.
It looks like even as pandemic restrictions soften, less students are enrolling in college. Yesterday, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center shared the latest numbers, which showed that 662,000 fewer students enrolled in undergrad programs in spring 2022 compared to a year earlier. This is a decline of 4.7 percent. Grad programs also declined 1 percent from last year. This is all representative of the larger question young people are asking themselves: is college worth it?
SiriusXM just acquired Conan O’Brien’s production company, Team Coco, to the tune of $150 million. This includes the podcast network’s existing podcasts (which reportedly bring in 180 million downloads a year), like CONAN O’BRIEN NEEDS A FRIEND, WHY WON’T YOU DATE ME? WITH NECOLE BYER and LITERALLY! WITH ROB LOWE.
Today I discovered this guy who makes videos of his super specific job—rescuing cats stuck in trees—and I am fully hooked. I’ll admit, this sounds pretty random, but his impressive climbing skills paired with his patience and dedication to helping the cats return to safety make for some very heartwarming content.
—Darlene Kenney, Digital Strategist
Even though it’s not fully set in summer, this movie is the epitome of summer to me. Summer is about appreciating what really matters in life and allowing yourself to discover nature through childlike eyes, and this movie explores that in such a beautiful way. I specifically loved the way that every character that Fern, played by Frances McDormand, comes across—from the endlessly loveable Swankie to passing coworkers sharing the stories of their tattoos—are all clearly living such full lives with their own world as their center, similar to how we experience our own lives.
Watch it if: You’re okay with dedicating one of your nights to a good cry this long weekend.
RESTREPO
Memorial Day honors the Americans who fought and died in times of war. Over the years, filmmakers have honored them with their movies, telling stories of veterans by capturing their struggles, sacrifices and accomplishments—and RESTREPO director Sebastian Junger does just that. In an up-close, feature-length documentary the viewer is dropped right in the middle of one of the most dangerous postings in the U.S. military, and we get to see and hear the soldiers tell their stories.
Watch it if: You want to see the real lived experience of millenal soldiers in Afghanistan.
I can only describe this movie as majestic. And who doesn’t want to start their summer off with that feeling? After a boy is abandoned by his mother, he’s taken in by a couple who lives on a remote farm. Soon after, he finds himself on the run with his, er, unique foster uncle in the wilds of New Zealand. As a national manhunt ensues, the unlikely pair must join forces in order to survive.
Watch it if: You’re in the mood for an adventure. You’ll love it if you also liked UP or MOONRISE KINGDOM.
This is one of those movies that you can distinctly recall even years after watching it. A family of six of the most different individuals go on a road-trip mission to help seven-year-old Olive live out her dream of competing in a little miss pageant. The film is beautiful, uncomfortable and simultaneously heart-warming and heartbreaking. The genius dialogue is what really takes it to the next level. The monologue about suffering trumping happiness. I think about it every other day.
Watch it if: You want to see a great performance by Steve Carell before everyone realized he could be a “serious” actor. You’ll love it if you also liked FORREST GUMP or MATILDA.
A perfect summer flick that just screams early 2000s fun. It follows Anne Marie, a talented surfer as she navigates preparing for a high-stakes surfing competition in Hawaii, and an unexpected romance with an NFL quarterback. What really makes the film worthwhile is the well-written female friendships and pretty intense surf scenes.
Watch it if: You’re looking for a fun movie to get yourself in the mood for summer.
Film
Drop everything you’re doing right now and think of a simpler time. It’s Memorial Day weekend. Summer is on the horizon. Burgers are sizzling on the grill, neon string lights decorate the marina, your hair blows in the wind. Motorcycles growl in the local dive bar parking lot. This is the summer of heavy machinery, bomber jackets, aviators, half-naked volleyball on the beach under blood orange skies. Muscle…Hubris…America.
This weekend, I’m inviting you to kick off what I am hereby declaring Top Gun Summer with the long-awaited TOP GUN: MAVERICK (trailer here). The original TOP GUN (1986) is a pop culture staple but no one has exactly declared it the pinnacle of cinematic achievement. I would go ahead and say that what TOP GUN: MAVERICK achieves as a 36-year-old sequel is nothing short of a marvel, achieving new emotional highs and breathtaking action sequences that are leaps and bounds ahead of the original. This sequel is so many things: a perfect summer blockbuster, the return of the long absent “dad movie,” and another brilliant showcase for Lady Gaga’s singular ability to write a stirring, anthemic power ballad. But above all else, it’s the extensive level of prep work and technical achievement that went into MAVERICK that jumps off the screen and enhances the moviegoing experience tenfold. Tom Cruise provided months of training in aerial aviation and underwater evacuation to the new cast members, who also had to learn how to camera operate themselves from inside the jet. Director Joseph Kosinski and the production team also spent 15 months working with the Navy to develop and install six IMAX cameras inside the cockpits of the F-18 jets used for production. In a (cinematic) world that’s become heavily dependent on blue/green screen and oversaturated with cartoonish CGI, TOP GUN: MAVERICK's practical aerial stunts are downright incredible and guaranteed to have you gripping your arm rest—especially during the thrilling, god-tier third act. To put it simply, none of the other girls are doing it like Tom Cruise and Joseph Kosinski. So with that, let it be known: Top Gun Summer has officially commenced and with this capsule review, I formally invite you to Hold My Hand, enter the Danger Zone and join me (TOP GUN: MAVERICK is officially the widest theatrical release of all time playing in 4,735 theaters, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find the time!). I’m headed to my second viewing once I finish writing this.
—Neal Mulani, Development Assistant
One of my worst traits is being that person who says they like all music…except country. And with that being said, a movie like YELLOW ROSE (trailer here) should be my worst nightmare—but it won me over with its warmth and heart. Rosario “Rose” Garcia, a seventeen-year-old Filipina immigrant, fits right in with her Texas peers from her leather boots to her cowboy hat. Making music is her favorite hobby, and she writes and sings country music in the motel room she and her mother call home. But things become turbulent when ICE begins sporadic raids in her area. While out with the cute boy from the guitar shop one night, Rose’s motel room is raided and her mother is arrested. Rose is forced to rely on the kindness of distant relatives—and in some cases complete strangers—in order to survive this new life without her closest family. She comes to use music as more than just a way to kill time, singing and sharing her songs with others as an outlet. The film is punctuated with stylish country needle-drops, atmospheric and charming. This is not a typical coming-of-age story with all of its twists and turns, but it is a story about love, perseverance, and the necessity of affection in human connection.
—Victoria Moniz, Development Intern
TV
For all of our readers who can’t get enough of anything related to true crime, I have your next obsession. UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN (trailer here) stars Andrew Garfield as Jeb Pyre, a detective and member of the Latter-day Saints church, who has to investigate the brutal murder of Brenda Wright Lafferty (Daisy Edgar Jones) and her infant daughter. As Jeb finds clues, he discovers that the murder has a connection with one of the town’s most esteemed LDS family, the Lafferty’s. This show will keep you questioning and doubting the intentions of each character you come across. It forces you to think like a detective to figure out why this crime was committed. I loved seeing Garfield in TICK TICK BOOM, and he is just as impressive in this limited series—I definitely recommend checking it out.
—Eri Taira, Graphic Designer
Music
If you like SZA, FKA Twigs or Solange, you have to check out Ravyn Lenae. The R&B singer/songwriter has a unique alternative R&B sound sprinkled with traditional neo-soul. She just dropped her long awaited new album, HYPNOS. Ravyn’s hit ep CRUSH came out in 2018 and featured Steve Lacy. Since then, she’s also worked with Smino and other up and coming alt R&B artists we all love today. This new album shows Ravyn’s maturity…simply saying the songs are beautiful is an understatement. Her voice floats through each melody with such ease and I just can’t get enough of her. I particularly recommend checking out SKIN TIGHT, WHERE I'M FROM and VENOM.
—Eden Bekele, Digital Associate
