The movie musical is becoming a rare beast in the modern age of film, but Disney’s latest offering, “Encanto,” proves that a soundtrack can carry a film just as much as the plot or animation. The film, directed by Byron Howard and Jared Bush, stars “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” actress Stephanie Beatriz …
Read More »Smooth Bananas: The life and work of Stephen Sondheim
Last weekend, the world of musical theatre lost a giant: Stephen Sondheim, one of the most influential composers and songwriters of the 20th century. Sondheim was responsible for some of the most beloved musicals of the 1900s, including “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” “A Little Night Music,” …
Read More »The holiday season is not a jolly time for everyone and that’s perfectly fine
It seems that every year we get past Halloween and Thanksgiving, and the conversation immediately pivots to the “Holiday Season.” This season is almost always geared entirely towards Christmas, and the overwhelming sentiment is that Christmas time is exclusively a happy time and anyone who disagrees can shove it. This …
Read More »Throwback Rotten Bananas: ‘John Wick’
“John Wick” is a thrilling, ass-kicking adventure through a fantastical veneer of underground assassins. The film, directed and written by Derek Kolstad, stars Keanu Reeves as the titular character, a master assassin who is called back into action after an extensive period away from the profession. Wick is taken back …
Read More »Media literacy is the most important skill in our modern world
Do you remember when your high school English teacher talked endlessly about the meaning of a blue curtain in whatever novel they had assigned that month? Do you remember when they talked about the quote, “Everyone’s equal but some are more equal than others,” in “Animal Farm” and how you …
Read More »Rotten Bananas: ‘Eternals’
“Eternals” is an interesting and intriguing step for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to take and, as expected, the judgement is split right down the middle. The film, directed by Chloe Zhao, stars an ensemble cast—the eponymous Eternals. The Eternals are a race of immortal warriors created by cosmic entities …
Read More »Dave Chappelle is loud, wrong, and hurtful about trans people
Seasoned comedian Dave Chappelle took to the stage once again in his Netflix special “The Closer” and, in this foray, he made comments about transgender people that are just tried and false to be honest. It’s not that Chappelle isn’t funny, it’s that the old jokes about transgender people that …
Read More »Rotten Bananas: ‘Antlers’
Horror has seen a dip in original quality in recent years. “Antlers” is an attempt to return to a time when horror movies played on original fears. The film, directed by Scott Cooper, stars Kerri Russell as Julia Meadows, a teacher in rural Oregon, as she attempts to bond with …
Read More »‘I don’t get into politics’ is a privileged statement
This past week, Pittsburg held elections for open seats on the city commission and the school board. There are many Pittsburg State students who didn’t vote, didn’t know the platforms of candidates running, didn’t know who was running, or didn’t even know that Pittsburg is run by a city commission. …
Read More »Smooth Bananas: A brief look into film scoring
Often when we watch films, the music is overlooked despite its integral position in the overall composition of the movie. Moviegoers first remember the actors in the movie, and then the director, but the composer of the film’s score is the last to be remembered, followed only by the technical …
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