The Instagram account @tcnjbands announced that The College of New Jersey’s Department of Music ranked No.1 in the 2022 Best School for Music in New Jersey on Jan. 24, an honor that recognizes all the diligent work that music majors at the College have put in.
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Bastille released their fourth studio album, “Give Me The Future,” on Feb. 6, which challenges listeners in a different way than most albums do. The album explores the different insecurities people can have about the future.
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Wallows, a Los Angeles-based trio made up of Dylan Minnette, Braeden Lemasters and Cole Preston, came back after two years with their new single, “Especially You.” The single heralds their upcoming album “Tell Me That it’s Over,” coming out March 25. The album, a collaboration with producer Ariel Rechtshaid (Vampire Weekend, Haim, Adele), offers a variety of musical genres, ranging from lo-fi post-punk to early ’90s pop psychedelia. “Especially You” presents an exciting evolution of Wallow’s sound that pairs the confessional tone of “Are You Bored” with the exciting production of “Ok.”
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“The Power of the Dog,” which was released on Netflix on Nov. 17, had one of the most unique plots of anything I’ve seen last year. With Oscar season coming up and this film being one of the top contenders for best picture, I decided to give it a watch. The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee. It was also beautifully directed by Jane Campion.
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Calling all demigods and Greek mythology fanatics — Disney+ has officially announced that the “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” series is on its way.
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Netflix’s new surprise hit show “Murderville” debuted this past week and proves that Netflix can indeed still make good shows. The series centers around Detective Terry Seattle (Will Arnett), who partners with a different celebrity guest each episode to help him solve a murder mystery. The big twist is that the celebrities aren’t given a script and have to improvise their way through the case before picking the culprit at the end of the episode.
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Even with the remote start to the semester, the music department’s Senior Recitals took place on Saturday, Jan 22 as scheduled. Audience members sat, masked, in Mayo Concert Hall to be treated to three recitals: Ryan Barry, Gaia Hutcheson, and Melanie Katz and Ryan Haupt, all senior music education majors.
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“The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window,” a limited series on Netflix, centers around Anna (Kristen Bell), a bright-eyed, smiley-faced young woman with a generally chipper personality. It is dampened only slightly by the occasional hallucinations of her dead daughter, periods of hysteria, binge drinking and ombrophobia-induced panic attacks.
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Who would have thought that Paul Blart Mall Cop and Jacob Black would have their very own crossover episode? The two stars, Kevin James and Taylor Lautner, came together for a Netflix original titled “Home Team.”
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Korean dramas have recently made their way into mainstream media, with shows like “Squid Game” and “Hellbound” breaking world records upon their release. Millions of viewers find themselves entering the realm of Korean cinema, searching for the next thriller to provide them with the same experience the aforementioned shows did.
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The newest movie to release on HBO Max is director Megan Park’s highly anticipated feature directorial debut “The Fallout,” which she wrote herself. The film drew lots of acclaim and attention last year at the 2021 South by Southwest Film Festival where it won three awards. Now, almost a year after its debut in March of 2021, it has finally been released for the public to watch this heartbreaking story.
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Sidney Poitier was a distinguished actor, director, diplomat and author. He was the first African American to win an Oscar for Best Actor (“Lilies of the Field”) and was an actor who redefined what the Black male lead could look like. Poitier’s characters, much like the man himself, were dignified, honorable and courageous. They were meaningful because they showed that the elevated male lead was not an archetype that only white men could play. Yet, as awe-inspiring as Poitier’s characters were, they pale in comparison to the integrity, determination and bravery of the man himself. Poitier, 94, passed away in his home in Los Angeles on Jan. 6. However, his legacy lives on.
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“Nightmare Alley” wasn’t a film that I was heavily anticipating, but was pleasantly surprised by how interesting and captivating the story and world created was. The film was released on Dec. 17 and was directed by Oscar winning director Guilermo del Toro. The film stars Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara and Willem Dafoe. Cooper plays a man who is down on his luck and is trying to earn a living in the early 1940s. He starts his work as a carny in a traveling carnival show when he learns the art, or act, of mind reading. As he fraudulently schemes his way to the top, his lies and deceitfulness begin to catch up with him.
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“The Royal Treatment” taught me that if I want to get a man, a prince even, all I have to do is give them attitude and a haircut, because apparently that worked wonders for our main character, Isabella. At this point, I believe the concept of building chemistry between leads, or having an engaging, non-generic plot is lost on Netflix.
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After much anticipation, two-time Academy Award-winning director Asghar Farhadi’s newest movie, “A Hero” has finally been released on Amazon Prime Video for all to watch. Gaining lots of traction last year while traveling the film festival scene, “A Hero” won several awards including the Grand Prix at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival as well as many foreign language film awards.
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“The Tragedy of Macbeth,” released on Dec. 25, is Director Joel Coen’s interpretation of Shakespeare’s classic story. The film’s stellar cast includes Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand and Corey Hawkins among others. Just like the play, this A24-produced-film shows us the repercussions of greed when Macbeth, a Scottish general, is approached by three witches that tell him he will be the new king of Scotland. With influence from his wife, he kills the king and takes the throne for himself. We follow his rise to power and madness as he tries to deal with the guilt of the king’s blood on his hands.
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Netflix recently released its newest original series, “Archive 81,” on Friday, Jan. 14. The show, directed by Rebecca Thomas, stars Dina Shihabi (Melody Pendras), an emotionally damaged undergrad student seeking answers to who she is, and Mamoudou Athie (Dan Turner), a mentally perturbed film restoration expert who receives an unexpected job offer. This horror-based thriller is as riveting as it is grotesque but sadly seems to unravel as the show progresses.
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On Friday, Jan. 14, The Lumineers released their fourth studio album titled “BRIGHTSIDE.” The band, known for their indie/alternative/folk style, first performed together in 2005 right here in our home state of New Jersey and has been releasing catchy music ever since.
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Students, faculty — including President Kathryn Foster — and families all gathered in the Mayo concert hall to see the second-to-last Tuesday Recital of the semester. This recital, which took place on Nov. 30 at 12:30 p.m., was different from the others because it primarily featured small chamber ensembles including one of the largest bassoon ensembles the College has ever had.
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Before watching Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut, “The Lost Daughter,” I didn’t expect a story about a woman’s struggles with motherhood and the subsequent loss of her identity to be told with so much kindness and empathy.
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