Horror and action battle for No. 1 spot


The race for the No. 1 spot this Presidents’ Day weekend was a close one, with A Good Day to Die Hard skirting slightly ahead of Identity Thief — the previous weekend’s winner — and Safe Haven,  likely since it was the main option for couples romancing it up for Valentine’s. This was despite that […]

Great novels inspire the Oscars’ best films


This Sunday marks the 85th Academy Awards, which means that the annual race for best picture will finally come to an end. All things considered, it’s been a pretty good year for film. The artsy Beasts of the Southern Wild holds rank with the conservative Lincoln. The awkwardly funny Silver Linings Playbook is keeping up […]

Punk still relevant for today’s music scene


The genre of punk has long been sliced and diced into various subgenres, and nowadays it seems that just about every slightly hardcore indie band seems to slap the “post-punk” or “prog-punk” label onto itself. In the 1970s, the meaning of punk was clear as hair gel — no one was confused about the dude […]

President’s Day weekend boasts multiple movie options


Though Valentine’s Day was this week, Cupid apparently came early, showering lots of love for Identity Thief this past weekend. The comedy managed to steal $34.5 million, earning more than Melissa McCarthy’s Bridesmaids ($26.2 million) and Jason Bateman’s Horrible Bosses ($28.3 million). This feat was especially impressive considering that the storm Nemo essentially shut down […]

Modern romance books lack heart


The romance genre currently faces a bit of a conundrum. Mass-market paperbacks offer readers “sweeping tales of love,” but their covers often flaunt top-heavy women curled up on four-poster beds. Colorful hardbacks boast moonlit silhouettes of shirtless men crouching in bedroom windows but still promise “genuine romance.” This, scream the Fabio-inspired illustrations, is the 21st-century […]

Songs bring back good old sounds of the ’90s


Is it cool to bring the ’90s back yet? The songs featured in this week’s edition of New Noise sure seem to suggest that it is. With the rise of computer-generated technology in producing music, hearing tunes that use actual instruments has become rare in today’s mainstream hip-hop scene. From the solemn piano in Mistah […]

Stars shine despite censored dress code


“Please be sure that buttocks and female breasts are adequately covered. Thong type costumes are problematic. Please avoid exposing bare fleshy under curves of the buttocks and buttock crack. Bare sides or under curvature of the breasts is also problematic. Please avoid sheer see-through clothing that could possibly expose female breast nipples. Please be sure […]

ABC offers more than just Modern Family


Most of the television-viewing population has heard of Modern Family. It’s hard to turn through a magazine without seeing one of its stars, Sofia Vergara, grace an advertisement with her huge smile, flawless curves and bold confidence. The show itself has won multiple awards and this year is no exception to that — Vergara and […]

Weekend box office offers laughs, thrills


Though more than a third of the country was busy watching the Super Bowl (or at least the commercials) last weekend, a sizable audience was willing to see a zombie try to fall in love. Barely anyone, though, wanted to see Sylvester Stallone shooting up criminals in Bullet to the Head. You’d think Stallone would […]

Books explore human fascination with death


“To the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.” So says author J.K. Rowling in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the first installment of her best-selling Harry Potter series. Though Rowling might be subtly referring to Harry’s future death and resurrection in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, she’s also commenting on […]