A title like “A Most Violent Year,” without further information, might lead you to expect (as I did) raging war scenes, intense, blaring shootouts and cacophonous dialogue. Yet, the violence that existed was so silent and so subdued, that it felt real, very far from your average action-packed blockbuster. Set in New York in 1981,“A Most Violent Year” carefully depicts failure of the American Dream by following the life of a poor-immigrant-turned-rich-oil-guy as he protects his family and business during New York’s most violent year.
As World War II wrecks continental Europe and spreads throughout the Pacific, a ragtag group of British mathematicians, logicians, cryptographers and linguists stands around a clicking machine each day trying to crack a Nazi code. When it hits midnight, the Nazis change the code’s key and the code-breakers’ work for the day day is rendered useless. The next morning, they start again.
In the fall of 2009 when Fall Out Boy announced their impending hiatus, fans of the nearly decade-old band were devastated. Not to be deterred, Fall Out Boy put out “Believers Never Die,” a greatest hits album, and played what many feared would be their last show ever. During what became a four-year hiatus,which the band’s bassist Pete Wentz called a “decompressing period”, the members of Fall Out Boy went their separate ways and pursued jobs outside of the former band. Patrick Stump, Fall Out Boy’s lead vocalist and guitarist, attempted a solo music career.
Seth Rogen and James Franco are back with “The Interview,” another one of their infamous “circle-jerks” with a twist: Arrogant talk show host Dave Skylark (Franco) and his producer Aaron Rapoport (Rogen) get the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to interview the dictator of North Korea, Kim Jong-un (Randall Park). With all the controversy surrounding the film’s release, I expected something uproariously clever or at least intelligently offensive. Sadly, “The Interview” ended up being very average.
Once upon a time, in a recording studio far away, Kevin Smith and his producing partner Scott Mosier settled into episode 259 of their weekly podcast, SModCast. As the session began, Smith began to read and discuss a fake, yet hilariously intriguing, sublet ad that was posted on a website called Gumtree on June 6, 2013. The advertisement described an older man looking to rent a bedroom within his house to an individual or a party of two.
Australian singer and songwriter Sia owes her success to her decision to play into the peculiar. Her growing collection of songs is created through a manipulation of raw emotion. Like with most performers of the time, a variety of visual art accompanies Sia’s music. The Sia brand includes her boxy platinum blonde hair, a variety of veils that cover her face, and most notably, a series of bizarre music videos. Released in October of 2013 as a part of the “Catching Fire” soundtrack, the track “Elastic Heart” was quick to tug at the heartstrings of listeners.
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Q: What program/what city are you participating in and what are you studying?
A: I’m at Trinity College Dublin with IFSA-Butler! I got here a couple weeks early to do the early Semester Start Up Program, which was a class all about Irish culture and history. I’m currently taking a few Irish and British history classes, forensic psychology and Greek and Roman mythology.
