Category: Arts and Culture

By Lydia I. Martinov

It is Friday evening, and your family is gathered on the couch ready to watch a movie. Nobody agrees on what to see. Mom wants a romance, Dad is looking for an action flick and your baby sibling is asking for Cocomelon. Does that sound familiar? Well, you’re in luck! Here is a list of 12 amazing movies that everyone in your family is guaranteed to love.

1. Shrek

Shrek is a very popular movie that many people enjoy for its comedy, adventure, and most importantly, well-known songs. There is even a second and third Shrek!

Shrek is about an ogre who lives in a land of fairytale creatures that most of us are familiar with from famous books and classic stories. This grouch’s home is a little cottage located at what he calls “his” swamp. Suddenly, his peace is disturbed by the fairytale creatures who appear at his house, after being banned from the kingdom by the evil king. Shrek cuts a deal with the king. He goes on the adventure with a very talkative donkey in order to rescue Princess Fiona, who’s trapped in a tower guarded by a dragon, to get the annoying creatures off his property.

You can find this humorous film on Roku, Netflix, Apple TV, Vudu Movie & TV Store, VUDU, Prime Video and Redbox.

2. The Ice Age

Ice age is the most humorous of all the funny cartoons. It is very popular too! It is a comedy (of course), adventure and fantasy. There are a few other Ice Age films following this one.

The Ice Age takes place 20,000 years ago, naturally, during intense climate changes. It is about a wooly mammoth, sloth and saber-toothed tiger who become unlikely friends. They find a lost child, and have to return him back to his eskimo family.

You can watch this great film on Disney+, Youtube TV (rent or buy) and Prime Video (rent or buy).

3. Despicable Me

Despicable Me has always been a favorite, and it has been loved by many others, since it first came out. Its amazing comedy, crime fiction, adventure and fun characters are super cool to see. This movie was so popular that a Despicable Me 2 came out, and then a Despicable Me 3!

It is about a man named Gru, who is not a very kind person, but deep inside, he turns out to be a great guy. He lives with many of his friends who help him with his bad deeds, and he adopts 3 little girls to help fulfill a secret plan.

This must-watch movie is available on Netflix, Youtube, Prime Video, Vudu, Apple TV and Google Play Movies.

4. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is an absolutely hilarious movie combining comedy, fantasy, and science-fiction. They even made a film called Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2. 

You’ll be laughing your pants off when you see how Cloudy, a man who tries to make inventions that work, but keeps failing, makes a machine that everybody loves. But, will his machine cause any problems for the small society he lives in?

You can find this film on Netflix, Prime Video, VUDU, Vudu Movie & TV Store, Redbox. or Apple TV.

5. Monsters inc.

Monsters inc. is a movie loved by all (especially when it first came out). This buddy comedy and fantasy film is a great movie that you will simply adore. It is followed by a sequel called Monsters University.

Monsters, inc is about a monster named Sully and his companion named Mike. At work, they face an odd surprise.

You can find this laugh on Disney Plus, ROW8, Prime Video, Vudu Movie & TV Store, Apple TV, Redbox or VUDU.

6. Rio

Rio is a hilarious movie that takes place in, well, Rio. It is a comedy, musical and adventure film.

Rio is about a bird named Blue who fell out of a truck filled with other birds captured at their home in Rio. He was found on the street as a baby by a young girl who raised him. He never learned to fly. She later found out that he was the last of his breed.

This fun watch is available on Hulu, Prime Video (rent or buy), and Youtube TV.

7. Boss Baby

Boss Baby is a very cute movie about a baby. It is a friendly comedy, adventure and fantasy film.

Boss Baby is about a baby who is delivered to his new family by taxi, after leaving Baby Corp. (a really cool organization that sends babies to their new family) wearing a suit with a briefcase. Tim, the Boss Baby’s new big brother, finds out that his new baby brother is actually a spy on a secret mission including an epic battle between puppies and babies.

You can watch this film on Hulu, Vudu, Youtube TV or Prime Video (rent or buy).

8. Turning Red

Turning Red is a brand new movie that just came out. It is rapidly becoming more popular, and it takes place in 2012. This film combines many genres, including comedy, animation, fantasy, family and coming-of-age story.

It is about a 13 year old, chinese-american girl named Meilin (Mei) Lee. She lives in Canada with her mom, Ming Lee, and dad, Jin Lee. She turns into a red panda when overcome by emotion. Her three best friends help her calm down.

This crazy movie is available on Disney+.

9.Rise of the Guardians

Rise of the Guardians is an amazing movie that includes all of your favorite magical people like Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny. 

This film is about how Jack Frost goes on a big adventure to become a person more known in the world, so that more people believe in him, but he faces a challenging foe.

This great watch is available on Netflix.

10.  Puss in Boots

Puss in Boots is a really great movie that became an instant hit. It is a major comedy, action, adventure and fantasy film. You saw him in Shrek, and now he got his own movie!

Puss is a cat who was adopted and he saved people in his town as a child. Or, at least, that is what everyone thinks. The hero is actually his friend Humpty Dumpty. Recognize the name? He ends up in jail, because Puss didn’t help his friend who was stuck, while they were robbing the town bank, and Humpty got caught. Follow Puss on a path to becoming a hero instead of a thief!

You can find this adventurous cat on Netflix or HBO Max.

11. Home

Home is a great movie that is enjoyed by all. It is a sci-fi, comedy, adventure and fantasy film.

Home is about an alien (Boov), named Oh, who travels with all of his other Boov “friends” to get away from the so-called bad guy, Commander Gorg.

You can find this laugh on Netflix and Prime Video (rent or buy).  

12. The Bee Movie 

The Bee Movie is an amazing movie that people of all ages will find worthy to watch. It is a comedy and adventure film.

The Bee Movie is about, well, bees! What is it like living in a hive with hundreds of your family members? Go on an adventure with Barry, the bee, who lives in the hive, to find out what lies outside.
This wonderful watch is available on Netflix, Vudu Movie & TV Store, Prime Video, Redbox., VUDU or Apple TV.

by Lucie Ruggiero

Summer break is just around the corner, and the perfect way to celebrate is by watching a fun family movie. Here are four movies (in no particular order) that I enjoyed watching with my family. Maybe you will like them too! 

1. The Mitchells vs. the Machines

This is a truly unique and fun family movie. The story follows aspiring filmmaker Katie Mitchell as she and her family go on a “family bonding” cross-country road trip. But their plans are interrupted when robots take over the world! Katie and her family must embrace their weirdness and get along to save the world. 

This movie was hilarious and creative! Its unique style of animation like that of Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse made it a visually cool movie as well. The Mitchells vs. the Machines is rated PG.

2. Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga

This was another unexpectedly great movie. The movie is about Lars Ericksson, whose lifelong dream is to win the Eurovision song contest for Iceland. He and his best (and only) friend Sirgrit, through a series of accidents, qualify to compete. 

This movie is full of music, hilarious mishaps, and colorful settings that make it thoroughly enjoyable to watch. Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga is rated PG-13.

3. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Walter Mitty develops negatives for Life magazine and has a habit of getting lost in fantastical daydreams where he goes on epic adventures, unlike his real life. With the closing of the magazine, Walter is given the perfect picture for the cover. The only problem is, the negative is missing! Walter must go on an epic quest to retrieve the negative before it’s too late.

I absolutely loved this movie! It reminded me a little of Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga in the way that it’s a bit of a hidden gem. This movie was both inspiring and funny, which I think is a good combo. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is rated PG.

4. Mamma Mia!

Mamma Mia! starts out with Sophie, who is about to get married. She wants her father to be at her wedding, but she doesn’t know who he is. That all changes when she finds her mother’s diary. As it turns out, there are three possible fathers! Sophie sends an invite to all of them, without her mother knowing. Chaos, confusion, and music ensue as old friends meet again. Who will walk Sophie down the aisle? 

In my opinion, no summer is complete without Mamma Mia! and its sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again. These musicals are very silly and a little wild, but their energy has that wonderful summer feeling that can’t be beaten. The way ABBA’s songs seamlessly carry the story, you’d think they were written specifically for the movie. This movie is a summer romance movie, so I was skeptical the first time I watched it, but even my musical-and-romance-hating brother enjoyed Mamma Mia!. Mamma Mia! and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again are both rated PG-13.

by Blake Killion

Since the start of the Covid19 pandemic, live-action filmmaking has been drawn to a halt, with new restrictions and safety guidelines preventing many of the franchises we know and love today from being filmed. However, despite this unexpected stop in traditional production methods, many filmmakers have begun trying new mediums with which to tell their stories.

As a small independent filmmaker myself, I’ve spent much of my life creating live-action short films with friends in person, in a variety of locations and genres. Early 2020 found me in mid-production of a fantasy short film with a sizable crew. Unfortunately, in early March, I, like so many other filmmakers and production studios, had to put the short on hiatus given the implementation of quarantine. Some called the Coronavirus the end of traditional media, but filmmakers were not ready to give up so quickly.

A few weeks into the pandemic, an online film course I take as a student launched a virtual film challenge to anyone interested, providing a series of prompts to create a three-minute short from. Many others followed suit with their own challenges and film festivals with the goal of providing small-scale movie-making opportunities to those locked in their own homes. A fair number of popular YouTubers launched their own festivals to their fans, offering prizes for a variety of categories a short could fall into, and as a result, inspiring the massive community of independent filmmakers online to resume their craft.

Theatrical productions essentially came to a temporary close in the pandemic and gave center stage to the online filmmaker community, and with it came a number of new styles and methods of film production. Many creators made solo productions or collaborated with those within their social bubbles, while others found workarounds for their limited number of live-action casts, such as creating storytelling within recorded video games, using green screens, and some even using objects such as puppets as their main actors. Others still utilized the medium of animation to tell their stories. One YouTuber in particular, Joel Haver, kicked off an AI-assisted animation trend (fittingly called the Joel Haver Style) where live-action footage was animated over with the help of an application called EbSynth. These examples barely scratch the surface of the incredible determination of filmmakers to tell their stories in any way possible. 

Similar to independent filmmakers, major production studios stayed strong despite the Coronavirus. Animation studios such as Pixar had an easier time of simply moving their animators from the studio to their homes to finish movies like Soul, while live-action studios went through the more rigorous task of having their actors and crewmembers all quarantine so they could record safely, on top of the mask requirements the entire rest of the world also was required to undergo. This seems to have worked, as a decent number of productions have both finished and started during the lockdown.

The Covid19 pandemic put a difficult obstacle in the path of filmmakers everywhere. With our primary method of production now unavailable, it seemed as if movie-making might cease until restrictions lifted. But filmmakers everywhere pressed on despite the trials put before us and gave rise to a whole new plethora of mediums and methods for storytelling. Whatever the world throws at us, we will persevere.

by Lucie Ruggiero

When you hear the word ‘composer’, probably the first thing that pops into your head are names such as Beethoven, Mozart, or Bach. You may think of a man in a powdered wig sitting at a piano, candle burning through the night, playing wildly on the keys. But composers are not all dead, white men. Gasp! Really? 

Indeed, dead, white men are the most prominent, well-known, and revered composers. This can leave one feeling as if there is no room for women in the composing world. But fear not! Women have been composing and creating great music for just as long as men. It’s high time we shine the spotlight on someone besides Mozart and Beethoven. Here are five talented female composers (past and present) to add to your repertoire. 

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Clara Schumann (1819-1896):

Composing gives me great pleasure… there is nothing that surpasses the joy of creation, if only because through it one wins hours of self-forgetfulness, when one lives in a world of sound.”

Clara Schumann

Clara Schumann was a German composer and pianist of the Romantic era. As a child, she was a piano prodigy. As an adult, she taught piano and toured frequently, performing 238 concerts with Joseph Joachim. Her husband, Robert Schumann, was also a composer and they sometimes composed together. Her career spanned over 60 years, and she composed 66 works, according to the Dallas Symphony Orchestra website. Playing piano in concerts by memory was pioneered by Schumann and it is now the standard to do so.

Amy Beach (1867-1944):

Music is the superlative expression of life experience, and woman by the very nature of her position is denied many of the experiences that color the life of man.”

Amy Beach

Amy Beach was an American composer and pianist. According to her biography on the Library of Congress website, “Young Amy was a true prodigy who memorized forty songs at the age of one and taught herself to read at age three”. Beach helped to found the Society of American Women Composers in 1925 and is credited as the first successful female American composer. She published over 100 works during her lifetime, with more being published in recent years. 

Florence Price (1887-1953):

Florence Price was an American composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher. Her mother, a music teacher, taught Price, and by age four she was playing and composing on the piano. She went to school at the New England Conservatory and graduated at 19. After school, she moved back to Arkansas, where she married Thomas J. Price and had two children. However, racism and lynchings forced them to move to Chicago. There she began to flourish as a composer. She won two first-place Rodman Wanamaker Music Awards, one for her Symphony in E minor, and the second for her Piano Sonata in E minor. Although she still faced setbacks because of race and gender, she gained recognition for her music during her lifetime. According to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas, she composed over 300 pieces. 

Xin Huguang (1933-2011):

Xin Huguang was a Chinese composer and composition teacher. She was born in Shanghai on October 16, 1933. In 1951, she enrolled in the Beijing Central Conservatory of Music. Huguang is known for her famous symphonic poem Gada Meilin (also spelled Gada Meiren and Ka Ta Mei Ling), which she composed at 23. The Gada Meilin was her graduate work. After graduation, she moved to Mongolia with her husband, Bao Yu Shan, and taught composition at the Inner Mongolian Arts School until 1980. She then worked as a composer for the Beijing Music and Dance Company. In 1991, she moved to America. 

Unsuk Chin (1961- ):

My music is a reflection of my dreams. I try to render into music the visions of immense light and of an incredible magnificence of colours that I see in all my dreams, a play of light and colours floating through the room and at the same time forming a fluid sound sculpture. Its beauty is very abstract and remote, but it is for these very qualities that it addresses the emotions and can communicate joy and warmth.”

Unsuk Chin

Unsuk Chin is a South Korean composer internationally renowned for her music. She started learning music theory at a young age and went on to Seoul National University, where she studied composition. Her music is in the contemporary classical genre and she has received numerous awards for her work.

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These five composers created beautiful music, from symphonies to concertos. They created in ways no one thought of before. Did you know any of these composers before reading about them? If not, what does that say about who we champion in music? In the future, when you are listening to music, I encourage you to look for other female composers. Searching beyond the traditional horizon of “the greats” can lead to surprising, and often rewarding discoveries.