UCR’s theatre, film and digital production department will be debuting its rendition of Emily Mann’s famous play “Mrs. Packard” this Thursday at 8 p.m. Directed by Bella Merlin, the play focuses on the title character, who is thrown into an insane asylum for three years for being at odds with her husband’s conservative, Calvinist beliefs. The play is based...
It takes a creative soul to craft an awesome graphic novel. Professor of creative writing Nalo Hopkinson and John Jennings have put their brains and collective talents together to make “Nancy Jack.” This graphic novel is a love letter that encapsulates the discrimination and struggles of an African-American man in the 20th century.
The UC Institute for Research in the...
Alabama Shakes’ stunning second album, “Sound & Color” is a tour de force alt-rock album that effortlessly combines a paired-down blues rock with lead singer Brittany Howard’s intense vocals. Alabama Shakes creates an introspective and mellow atmosphere that perfectly fuses blues and gospel in a way that only a genuinely Southern band could. This album is an astonishing work...
Have you ever heard of “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll”? It’s a semi-famous Bob Dylan song from 1964, released on the album, “The Times They Are a-Changin’” — you know, the same album with the song you probably know: “The Times They Are a-Changin’.” “The Times They Are a-Changin’,” has since become an all-time classic, while “The Lonesome...
Released just in time for Anzac Day, an Australian national holiday commemorating veterans, Russell Crowe stars in and directs “The Water Diviner,” a tragic and heartfelt historical epic set just after World War I. Crowe plays the titular water diviner, Connor, whose sons are presumed dead after fighting for the Australian army in the Battle of Gallipoli. When the...
I have a question for all of you. Would you be comfortable being in a committed relationship with someone who had previously been in a sexual relationship with one of your parents? Just speak your answer directly into the newspaper. Don’t worry, I’ll hear your answer.
While this may seem like an odd question, I didn’t come up with it...
Tyler the Creator, devilish mastermind behind the Odd Future label, is back with his fourth studio album, “Cherry Bomb”: a gnashing, at times jazzy revolt against fame, with an in-your-face feel that departs from its predecessor, “Wolf.” Although “Cherry Bomb” has excellent synth beats and guitar riffs, it ultimately gets bogged down by poor mixing, with Tyler the Creator’s...
“Unfriended” is a 2015 American found-footage horror movie directed by Levan Gabriadze. It tells the tale of six high school students who encounter the ghost of their classmate, Laura Barns, on the Internet. When the group starts a Skype call and a mysterious user, billie227, attaches itself to the conversation, things begin to go awry as the anonymous user...
I have a confession to make: I like watching bad films. I take a sort of impish glee from seeing them, rolling my eyes and making snarky comments with my friends on the ride home. My ideal date is sitting at home, watching “Birdemic” or “Battlefield Earth.” I’ve seen “The Room” in theaters. My hobby has given me a...
Netflix has solidified itself as one of the best generators of original programming, rivalling the likes of modern powerhouses like AMC and HBO. No longer must cord-cutters leave their rooms to join their family around the hearth and watch shows together, but now we are allowed to be cooped up in our rooms and binge-watch whole shows, getting jaundiced...