Review
One Track Mind: Kanye West and Jay Z., “H.A.M.”
January 11 was a good day for music — Britney Spears dropped her new single “Hold it Against Me,” and Kanye West and Jay–Z released “H.A.M.” A few days after, 'Ye tweeted, “Yo Britney, I’m really happy for you and I’mma let you be #1, but me and Jay–Z single is one of the best songs of all time.” Sorry, Kanye: while we might have agreed with you on the whole Beyonce/Taylor Swift thing, we’re not as persuaded by your latest effort. “H.A.M.” is the first official single off the rap heavyweights’ joint EP, Watch the Throne, and stands for “hard as a mothafucka.” The track has all the bounce of Jay–Z’s best work, but Kanye’s verse is among his worst: his lazy flow sounds like a failed freestyle and features themes he’s covered better elsewhere.
Review: The Decemberists, the King is Dead
The Decemberists show few signs of life on latest full–length
Review: Meat America
The newest show at Bambi gallery explores exactly what raw talent means to an experienced photographer.
Review: True Grit
How dare they remake the film that earned John Wayne his only Oscar! Such is the resounding cry of film scholars and devoted fans of the Duke alike.
Review: Wharton Esherick
The work of Wharton Esherick just asks to be ignored. Sitting in Van Pelt amongst angrily buzzing computers and tired students buzzed on caffeine, an art exhibition doesn’t stand a chance.
Review: Thefeast.com
Take a seat and indulge in the latest of “where to go” websites: thefeast.com. The premise of the site is to “take you to the best places to eat, shop and play in the city.” Luckily for us, Philadelphia is one of the cities on The Feast’s radar.
Review: Jet Wine Bar
Within 24 hours of reopening the South Street Bridge, archaeologist Jill Weber gave West Philadelphians an intoxicating incentive to test the new pavement.
Review: Village Belle
Though it’s a bit of a trek from campus, Village Belle is worth an excursion to Front Street in Queen Village for its lovely atmosphere and solid fare.
Review: NIcky Minaj, Pink Friday
I was pretty much destined to have a complicated relationship with Nicki Minaj. On the one hand I just want her to succeed; one, because she is trying to revive the sadly lapsed tradition of fierce female rappers, and two — my more visceral reason — because she, like me, is a woman of Caribbean descent trying to do big things.
One Track Mind: “Doncamite,” Gorillaz
If you thought Gorillaz were satisfied with this year’s Plastic Beach, their epic, critically–acclaimed third album, you’d be wrong.
Review: Girl Talk, All Day
All Day is, by its very nature, an extremely difficult album to review. There aren’t really “songs” to highlight, themes to pick up on, lyrics to quote.
Review: Black Swan
Black Swan begins with an exhilarating ballet number. The camera circles continuously around Nina (Portman) as she performs Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, a ballet that requires her to adopt the personalities of both the “White Swan” and the “Black Swan.” The cinematography and choreography are breathtaking as the number progresses, slowly spiraling out of control as the dark side increasingly takes over. This tension between the bipolar personalities of Swan Lake’s protagonist drives the film, as Nina embodies the White Swan’s grace and fragility but cannot quite demonstrate the manic intensity required to play the Black Swan.
Review: The Fighter
It’s telling that The Fighter is named as such. A more descriptive title might have been “The Boxer,” but this is not a biopic about boxing.
Review: Faster
Faster’s unoriginal and awful title suggests a forgettable experience, and unfortunately the film’s content does nothing to counteract our initial impression.
Review: Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part I
As is the problem with all book adaptations, the Harry Potter movies struggle between appeasing pedantic super fans and providing enough modification to warrant a cinematic retelling.
Review: 127 Hours
Aron Ralston traveled to a national park in Utah for a typical adventure involving rock climbing and hiking.
One Track Mind: “Together Baby,” Ghostface Killah
One of Wu Tang’s most active members in the current music scene, Ghostface Killah shows no sign of slowing down, following up last year’s misguidedly R&B–centered Ghostdini: The Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City with The Apollo Kids, set for release Dec.
Make Me A Match, Part Deux
Jim Santel is a junior English major from St. Louis. He recently transferred from The University of Chicago.
Review: Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co.
When we casually stumbled down the stairs of Rittenhouse’s Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co. fresh from a sweaty stint at a stereotypical Penn–packed event, it was as though we'd traveled back in time.
