“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.)
In “Hacks,” the Emmy-nominated HBO Max comedy-drama released in early May, a stubborn 70-year-old veteran comedian meets her match in a self-obsessed, flannel-wearing 25-year-old humorist. The most promising part of the 10-episode series is the unlikely bond between Deborah Vance (portrayed by “Mare of Easttown” actress Jean Smart), a stand-up comic based in Las Vegas, and Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder), a comedy writer who has been canceled due to an off-color tweet about a gay senator.
As fun as they are, flashy, showstopping musical numbers cannot save “In the Heights” from the criticism that emerged on social media following the musical-drama film’s release in early June. The motion picture, created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, writer and star of the Tony-winning Broadway musical of the same name, was difficult to watch. This was in part due to its failure to center Afro-Latino actors, despite taking place in the New York neighborhood of Washington Heights, known as the “Little Dominican Republic.”
Michelle Zauner, better known by her stage name, Japanese Breakfast, has had a busy spring. Her memoir, “Crying in H Mart,” was released in April and reached number two on The New York Times Best Sellers list. Zauner then released the third Japanese Breakfast studio album, entitled “Jubilee,” in early June. Both the memoir and album have defined my June: the book’s jacket is still filled with sand from a trip to the beach, and I have particularly enjoyed playing “Jubilee” in the car with the windows down.
On July 3, Disney released the much-anticipated filmed version of the smash-hit musical “Hamilton” to its streaming platform Disney Plus. The film, originally slated for theatrical release on October 15, 2021, presents a live-capture version of the musical using footage from two original cast performances back in 2016.
From March 5 to March 8, Rooke Theater was transformed into the scene of one of the most infamous murders in American history. “This explosive ride of a story is driven by propulsive rock music,” Michael Ofori, the director, wrote. Lizzie the Musical tells the story of the infamous Borden murders that took place in Massachusetts in 1892. The actors — Sophie Schweik ’23, Zara Malik ’21, Emma Chaffee ’22 and Kylie Levy ’21 — each produced phenomenal vocals. This production was especially fitting for Mount Holyoke College due to a central gay romance between two characters and the emphasis of abuse survivors’ voices, like Lizzie was.
To Netflix, nothing seems to parallel the perils of adolescence like telekinesis and murder. Eleven blows up things with her mind in “Stranger Things,” the repercussions of murder become clear in “The End of the F***ing World” and countless attempted and successful vengeance plots unfold in “The Politician.” Netflix’s new story of teenage angst, “I Am Not Okay with This,” isn’t as big and bold as these other examples. It’s not flashy and it doesn’t involve high-speed chases, which might put it closer along the lines of the trials of average, non-bloodthirsty, teens of the “Everything Sucks.” In true Netflix style, “I Am Not Okay with This” does still involve telekinesis, daddy issues and a distinct murder.
Along with Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go, Starz, ESPN and plenty of other streaming services, Apple has introduced its own five-dollar-a-month streaming service, Apple TV Plus. One of the shows Apple has pushed is “Dickinson,” an anachronistic telling of Emily Dickinson’s life in the years shortly after she left Mount Holyoke Female Seminary.
At 8 p.m. on a Saturday night in Holyoke, a crowd anxiously awaited the performance of (Sandy) Alex G. Alexander Giannascoli, known by fans as (Sandy) Alex G, performed at Gateway City Arts in Holyoke, Massachusetts on Nov. 16 as part of his tour for his new album, “House of Sugar.” Accompanying (Sandy) Alex G on this leg of his tour were the bands Tomberlin and Indigo De Souza.
Every few years, a genre-bender comes along, breaking some of those conventions but maintaining the essential ethos of that genre. “Parasite,” Bong Joon-ho’s haunting depiction of class struggle in South Korea, doesn’t fit into either category — the film neither conforms to nor breaks free of genre convention. Instead, Joon-ho’s latest thriller is indubitably a masterful genre-melding exercise, gaining the audience’s trust and comfort only to shatter the carefully constructed world later on.
BY EMILY ROLES FOTSO ’21
Tate Farris, better known by her stage name Yung Baby Tate, released her debut studio album “GIRLS” this February, a 39-minute homage to womanhood and self-love. Since her beginnings as a producer in 2009, the Atlanta singer and rapper has combined pop, hip-hop and R&B elements to create a fun, unique and catchy sound. Long-awaited after the release of her first EP “ROYGBIV” in 2015, “GIRLS” does not disappoint, combining her youthful sound and rap and production skills to create a promising first work full of potential.
BY SABA FIAZUDDIN ’21
Director Hirokazu Kore-eda (“Like Father, Like Son,” “Nobody Knows” ) paints a poignant picture of a family that survives through theft in his latest film “Shoplifters.” Nobuyo (Sakura Ando), Osamu (Lily Franky), Aki (Mayu Matsuoka), Shota (Jyo Kairi) and Hatsue (Kirin Kiki) all sleep under the same roof in a shabby room, surrounded by other worn out apartment buildings in the sleepy suburbs of Tokyo.
BY CHLOE JENSEN ’20
Who among us does not enjoy a good binge-worthy Netflix show to soothe post-finals stress? I know I certainly do. After re-watching several episodes of “Gilmore Girls” and “Stranger Things” over winter break, I found myself craving a new, exciting, binge-worthy show. On Jan. 11, Netflix released its original series “Sex Education,” a funny, heartwarming and honest British show.
BY MIRANDA WHEELER ’19
“Well, women are used to worrying over trifles,” said Mr. Hale, played by Kylie Levy ’21 in last week’s production of Susan Glaspell’s 1916 one-act play “Trifles,” directed by Brianna Sloane. With set design by technical director Shawn Hill, lighting design by Lara Dubin, costume design by Elizabeth Lowe ’19 and dramaturgy from Heidi Holder, the one-act play opened Rooke Theatre’s Fall 2018 season.
BY GABBY RAYMOND ’20
Nick Kroll and John Mulaney, the stars of the Netflix series “Big Mouth,” took their audience on a cringeworthy 10-episode journey in their sophomore season. The show toggles between raunchy sing-along adult cartoon and the sexed class we all wish we had in high-school, though maybe not with P.E. teacher Coach Steve. There are moments you will not physically be able to look at the screen and others when you laugh so hard you cry — either way, the cesspool of middle school hormones is so relatable you’re going to have to buckle in for a binge watch.
