As a picturesque sunset fell over Pratt Music Hall, Mount Holyoke College student band Twolips began their Sept. 19 concert on the grass just outside the building. A small crowd gathered before the show began, but several more listeners came after the music started, attracted by both the melodies and the s’mores offered by the Office of Student Involvement a few feet away.
Mount Holyoke College’s a cappella groups brought their best to a mixed group of auditioners and supporters at O-JAM, hosted on Friday, Sept. 6. Each group was greeted by chants from the audience, as well as individual shoutouts to some particularly supported performers. However, no matter who they were there to see, the crowd had consistent energy and enthusiasm for the entirety of the performance.
Although horror is most associated with fall, anyone on summer break will know that summer has plenty of scary elements as well: bugs everywhere, sleepless humid nights and the creeping feeling of dread that you’re wasting your time. Besides, summer also provides various opportunities to get outside: the best place to watch a horror movie! Here are eight summer horror movies you need to add to your summer watchlist.
JoJo Siwa, of “Dance Moms” and Nickelodeon fame, has attracted the spotlight again this spring with an announcement that she’s pioneering gay pop. The actress and dancer, who identifies as pansexual, has previously appeared in “The Fruitties Are Back” (2022), “Kung Fu Sock” (2022), “The Angry Birds Movie 2” (2019) and “Siwa’s Dance Pop Revolution” (2021). On April 5, 2024, she released her latest project, a pop single accompanied by a music video titled “Karma.”
The immense popularity of the new romantic comedy “Anyone But You” has led some critics to hail the start of a rom-com renaissance. The film was a box office success, earning more than $200 million globally, and has begun trending on social media. It has even started a TikTok trend featuring the end credit song “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield, which has made the Billboard Top 20 in the U.K. for the first time in 19 years.
“Drive-Away Dolls” marks the solo directorial debut of Ethan Coen, who is famed for his work with his brother, Joel Coen. The movie is thematically similar to many of their combined works, though the cast is radically different from that of movies like “The Big Lebowski.”
It follows Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) as two friends who embark on a road trip after Jamie’s infidelity-based breakup with her police officer-girlfriend Sukie (Beanie Feldstein.)
Chelsea Wolfe is an artist who has done a bit of everything, from collaborating with metalcore band Converge and dark folk act King Dude to co-writing the soundtrack for the 2022 horror movie “X” starring Mia Goth. Now, Wolfe has released her seventh album, “She Reaches Out to She Reaches Out to She,” which came out on Feb. 9. The album combines the stylings of early Grimes’ electronica with those of Mitski’s emotional depth.
As the outside world remained bitterly cold, showgoers slowly gathered at Amherst College’s Marsh Arts House at 6:30 p.m. for a show that mixed elements of shoegaze, grunge and classic punk. Over the next hour, the space became increasingly crowded, with attendees perusing merchandise for bands Tributary and Blandest, including Ruby Thompson’s “Unrequited Fanzine.”
Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest film, “Poor Things,” is a bizarre yet hilarious reimagination of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein.” The film, based on a novel of the same name written by the Scottish author Alasdair Gray and published in 1992, uses mesmerizing cinematography inspired by surrealist art, catches the viewer’s eye and engages them in this eccentric coming-of-age story.
Megan Jovon Ruth Pete, professionally known as Megan Thee Stallion, released her latest single, “HISS,” on Jan. 26, sending the internet into a frenzy, especially on X, formerly known as Twitter. Minutes after its release, stans and casual listeners alike were in shock over Megans’ diss track, especially regarding its references to Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty, also known as Nicki Minaj.
Depending on your age, “Mean Girls” might mean any number of things to you. The franchise has undergone numerous transformations over the years. The 2004 movie was adapted from a 2002 nonfiction book called “Queen Bees and Wannabes” by Rosalind Wiseman. The movie was followed by a 2011 sequel, then adapted into a 2017 Broadway musical with a book by Tina Fey. Unfortunately, the stellar legacy of the narrative has been tarnished by the 2024 remake, which haphazardly combines both movie and musical without adding anything of its own.
On Friday, Dec. 3, the Mount Holyoke History Department sponsored a trip to Tower Theaters to see the latest historical epic. Unfortunately, Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” was a disappointment — the tone and the narrative are incomprehensible. It feels like the film can’t decide between being a warrior epic, a tragic love story or a comedy. It's not impossible to do all three, so it’s a letdown to see a skilled director like Scott fumble.
Sofia Coppola’s latest film “Priscilla” gives audiences a window into the life of Priscilla Presley, based on the latter’s 1985 memoir “Elvis and Me.” The film’s story begins at a party in Germany in 1959, where a 14-year-old Priscilla (Cailee Spaeny) and 20-four-year-old soldier Elvis (Jacob Elordi) first meet. As other characters point out the couple’s obvious age gap — “She sure is young isn’t she? Like a little girl” — Coppola begins the story of a young, impressionable girl caught in the trap of fame and fortune.
