angst

The coming-of-age story was produced by Janelle Monae Actress and frequent Sia collaborator Maddie Ziegler is a teenage girl with an unexpected crisis in the trailer for Fitting In. The film, from writer and director Molly McGlynn, stars Ziegler as a 16 year old who has been diagnosed with MRKH syndrome. The movie co-stars Emily Hampshire, Djouliet Amara, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, and Ki Griffin, and was notably produced by Janelle Monae, among others. It will open in theaters on Feb. 2.…

Doot me up inside It cannot be understated how much music has influenced the public consciousness. Certain songs have become the theme of generations, and the constant evolution of music, and music creation is still one of the most prevalent forms of expression today. Take someone like Moshibass for example, and his Kirby Otamatone. Screenshot by Moshibass Kirby Otamatone leads Troupe in Bring Me to Life Cover For those who are unfamiliar, the Otamatone is a portable music synthesizer created in the shape of an…

Live Aid, 1985. In front of 72,000 people and a global audience of more than a billion, George Michael is on the brink of superstardom. He is sharing a stage with Elton John, but really everyone’s eyes are on Michael. There is a lovely moment – one of many – in the great new Wham! documentary, when the camera is on Andrew Ridgeley, relegated to singing backing vocals and positioned somewhere behind Elton’s piano. Ridgeley’s expression is of pure pride and love. There doesn’t seem to be any hint of jealousy in his joyful,…

Early last year, Portsmouth-born, Canada-raised 19-year-old Lauren Spencer Smith scored a TikTok-assisted global hit with Fingers Crossed, a musically delicate, lyrically damning takedown of a useless ex with a serious case of daddy issues. Its success led to comparisons with Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo, specifically the latter’s Driver’s License, both songs favouring precise, diaristic songwriting that feels immediately relatable.Fingers Crossed forms the template for much of Spencer Smith’s debut album. Never Been…

The Daniel Kaluuya-produced movie featuring Barney the Dinosaur will be an “adult”, “surrealistic” and “A24-type” film inspired by Charlie Kaufman and Spike Jonze, it has been revealed.In a wide-ranging report on the film-making plans of toymaker Mattel in the New Yorker, Mattel Films executive Kevin McKeon said of the project: “We’re leaning into the millennial angst of the property rather than fine-tuning this for kids. It’s really a play for adults. Not that it’s R-rated, but it’ll focus on some of the trials and…

Few records in the 21st century have divided a band’s fans as much as Daft Punk’s fourth studio album, Random Access Memories. While the reviews were largely positive, a significant swathe of the band’s fanbase wondered why they had swapped techno for soft rock. It took me years to come to peace with this beguiling, if confounding, album, until one day the refracted light came on and the pre-decimal penny dropped: Random Access Memories was the 21st century Dark Side of the Moon. And the 10th anniversary reissue of RAM,…

Make an impact The long-delayed release of Goodbye, Volcano High is finally upon us. As part of Sony’s February 2023 State of Play, KO_OP has revealed that its doors will open on June 15, 2023. Dropping along with this bit of news is a trailer that shows us some of the dramatic tension our dinosaur teens are going to get into. Goodbye, Volcano High wraps your typical high school stories of relationships, rock bands, and the impending demise of civilization into a narrative game that is also showing off some of its…

Christian Petzold has for years been a titan of German cinema – and the Berlin film festival itself – and his new movie is an odd, quibbling tragicomedy with perhaps a little of Bergman’s Smiles of a Summer Night, avowedly intended as the second part of a trilogy about creativity and love (the first being Undine).Afire is an approachable and digestible movie in some ways, and I liked the morose, hangdog look conjured by actor Thomas Schubert playing the miserable young writer Leon, who correctly suspects that his new…

Analysts and investors are struggling to call a bottom in crypto stocks in the wake of a brutal month that ended with the head of BlackRock Inc. saying most digital-asset firms won’t survive. Analysts and investors are struggling to call a bottom in crypto stocks in the wake of a brutal month that ended with the head of BlackRock Inc. saying most digital-asset firms won't survive. Cryptocurrency firms including Coinbase Global Inc., Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd. and MicroStrategy Inc. all plunged more than 25% last…

There is an inherent horror in growing up as an outsider. People might not always understand you, and when people don’t understand you (or want to), they can be cruel. Such is the case for Sara (Laura Galán), the main character of Carlota Pereda’s debut, Piggy. Sara just wants to make it through her day-to-day life but is relentlessly tormented by the group of popular kids who hang out in the square next to her parents’ butcher shop every day. Among them is Claudia, or Clau (Irene Ferreiro), a former best friend to Sara…