‘Captain Marvel’ is a marvel to behold, somewhat
Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers for Captain Marvel.
Use the fields below to perform an advanced search of Ball State Daily's archives. This will return articles, images, and multimedia relevant to your query. You can also try a Basic search
1000 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers for Captain Marvel.
Editor’s Note: The Daily News publishes Letters to the Editor with minimal copy edits and provides a headline only if the author does not provide one. The views expressed in letters do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. We reserve the right to withhold submitted letters depending on the content. Letters should be approximately 500 words and sent to editor@bsudailynews.com.
Ever since 2005, playwright turned filmmaker Tyler Perry has been making films about Mabel “Madea” Simmons, a sassy old black woman who often gives wise advice. In the vein of Big Momma’s House or The Nutty Professor, Perry has played the role of Madea, dressing up in make-up, and performing multiple different characters. Having made over 11 films featuring Madea, the films have been a commercial success and have certainly found their audience. On the flip side, they have been critically panned. Famed black director Spike Lee has derided the films, equating them as the modern equivalent of a minstrel show. With this film being announced as the last of the Madea films, Tyler Perry does not end these films with a bang. He ends them with a very quiet whimper.
Jack Williams is a junior journalism major and writes “Sharp Around the Edges” for The Ball State Daily News. His views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Jack at jgwilliams@bsu.edu.
Rhyan Radabaugh is a sophomore English education major and writes “Personal Transgressions” for The Ball State Daily News. Her views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Rhyan at raradabaugh@bsu.edu.
It’s hard to believe that Weezer has now made 13 albums and It’s crazy to think of how far they have come. Blue Album took the world by storm with excellent singles like “Say It Ain’t So,” “Buddy Holly,” and “Undone.” Their second record, Pinkerton, was initially hated by critics, but later praised for its raw sound and incredible depth. After those two, however, Weezer has never crafted another stand-out record. Each album after, from Green to Hurley, has been inconsistent with a couple of strong singles to keep the band afloat. Each record offers a good listen but still suffers from poor songwriting and frontman Rivers Cuomo trying desperately to add every trending sound into each album. This trend temporarily stopped when White Album was released. On this record, the band went back to their roots with fun, catchy songs that felt just as delightfully awkward and nerdy as Blue and Pinkerton. The record after, Pacific Daydream, fell flat on its face in the most disappointing way. It added to Weezer’s ever-growing inconsistent discography. Their newest album, Weezer (The Black Album) remains pop-friendly with catchy tunes and predictable song structures. While some songs may be bland and lifeless, a majority of the record remains fun and memorable.
Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers for this episode and previous episodes of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.
by Olivia Weinzapfel Public opinion on Disney’s live-action remakes, to no one’s surprise, is starting to shift toward a negative light. Some of the first classics that were recently remade, such as The Jungle Book or Beauty and the Beast, were alluring to life-long Disney fans; it was exciting for children and adults alike to see their favorite classics recreated in a life-like scene. It’s a great concept, but this can only be done so many times before these remakes start to lose their luster. That being said, why does it seem like Disney is making an effort to rework every single original? Disney is loved by millions, regardless of demographics. After all, that’s a large part of what formed most of our fondest childhood memories. The sentiment of the classics is something that makes the live-action versions irresistible to us as near-adults. Additionally, it begs a question of standards; will it be as good as the classic? No one wants to miss out on an opportunity to see how well Disney will (or will not) recreate it, which continues to secure plenty of funds for the company. As long as the fanbase lets their nostalgia get the best of them, they’ll keep on paying to see these modernized versions of their favorite originals. Sure, public opinion toward the idea of these remakes is becoming more bitter than sweet. The plain truth is, many of us are getting annoyed by seeming lack of originality from Disney’s producers. But what kind of multibillion-dollar company needs new ideas when they can still feed on the old ones? Creators are already well aware that we’re in love with the storylines and characters of the classics, so it’s an easy money grab. They can’t really be blamed for taking advantage of that convenience. Generally, success with a remake might depend on the success of the original. Some are more popular than others, but it’s doubtful that any of these remakes will turn out to be box office failures. While creators know this is an easy success strategy, they still face challenges when it comes to putting a new creative twist on movies to add at least some kind of change. To spark a sense of novelty and add some differentiation, creators seem to rely on three things: visuals, famous actors, and new angles. You could use just about any Disney live-action film as a great example of a movie with astounding visuals. It’s pretty safe to assume that producers have a large budget for effects and awe-inspiring scenery. We’re used to the cartoons, so they have to make it as visually interesting as possible as we juxtapose the original with the remake. This is a simple but effective tool that grabs hold of and maintains our attention span throughout a movie with a predictable outcome; it keeps our eyes glued to a screen even when we know almost exactly what events we’re about to see. Another filmmaking reliance on live-action movies is casting. Disney casts almost all of Hollywood’s most recognizable and publicly loved actors and actresses for their movies. The Lion King, set to release in theaters by July 2019, has a cast full of famous leads and many other talented voice actors. This film will feature Donald Glover as Simba, James Earl Jones as Mufasa, Beyoncé as Nala, and Seth Rogan as Pumbaa, just to name a few. The movie hasn’t been released yet, but the cast list was announced early last year, and it immediately generated positive reactions. We don’t have to know anything else about the production to already be writing the release date on our calendars. In some instances, however, casting choices might be a little questionable. Fans were probably thrown off-guard while watching the trailer for the next Disney remake, Aladdin. The end of the trailer flashes a scene of the infamous genie emerging from the bottle, and his face is quickly recognized as Will Smith's. In rare cases, this might excite some, but for many others, it might induce preconceived criticism. Based on standards set by the original movie, will Will Smith be able to live up to the legacy that Robin Williams left behind in the animated version? Williams is a widely loved and commemorated character in every role he played, so avoiding backlash with this casting choice is tricky; this aspect of the movie alone regarding one of the main characters might make or break the film's success. As mentioned before, the same basic storyline still exists in both old and new versions. Creators can work their way around this in one of two ways: different angles or different time periods. Taking a different angle or perspective on a plot is a refreshing way to recreate these stories. A good go-to method of pulling this off is filming a story from a villain’s perspective. This was beautifully executed in Maleficent, the 2014 version of Sleeping Beauty. We all know the tale, but it’s from another character’s perspective, one that was more or less overshadowed by the protagonist in the early version. This makes the story all the more interesting, since we’re reintroduced to a character on an introspectively deeper level. Another appealing method of recreation is the evolution of time. Winnie the Pooh, recently released as a live-action version entitled Christopher Robin, is shown in the perspective of Christopher Robin as an adult. This detail is a more relatable one for audience members. Most of us were kids when we first watched Winnie the Pooh, and now we get to see it with Christopher Robin all grown-up, just like us. The nostalgia kicks us once again as we see our lives and struggles of growing up mirrored in filmmaking with a beloved classic character. As long as Disney’s film creators continue to use these methods of reeling us and our nostalgia in, it’s easy to see why they are delivering remake after remake. As the generation who grew up watching Disney films, it makes sense that producers will be trying to remake as many as they can in the next few years while we’re becoming adults and reminiscing over our childhoods.
Sophie Nulph is a freshman journalism major and writes “Open-Minded” for The Daily News. Her views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Sophie at smnulph@bsu.edu.
Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers for How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Disclaimer: This review is of the Xbox One version of the game. This review may contain spoilers for the previous Metro games.
Elena Stidham is a journalism and telecommunications major and writes “Loud and Clear” for The Daily News. Her views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Elena at emstidham@bsu.edu.
Concerts are a special kind of musical experience; a band’s music is atmospherically enhanced for the fans, and the shows forever leave a lasting memory. Young the Giant’s performance at Purdue University’s Elliot Hall of Music on Feb. 21 will be remembered well by fans, despite slight shortcomings in their performance. Small mistakes were collectively waived by the listeners, as the audience ultimately gave a grand ovation at the end of the concert.
by Emily Worrell
SWMRS, after a 3-year hiatus, made a reappearance into the music scene with their fourth album, Berkley’s on Fire. Their punk style was on its way to dominating the alt-rock scene, since not many contemporary bands can put off that kind of boldness. Berkley’s on Fire is similar to their other releases, but this time around they added a mainstream pop twist. They did this in a very haphazard way; punk rock is supposed to be riotous, but SWMRS’s use of disorganized fun in this album isn’t what it used to be.
by Matthew Yapp The opinions and views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinion of Byte or Byte’s editorial board. This week we got our first glimpse into the 8th generation of Pokémon. Fans have been eagerly awaiting news since the new games were announced to be in development last year. This will be the first mainline Pokémon game on a console and fans are expecting quite a bit. That’s why people were thrilled not just to get a look at the new Galar region, but also to see the official art work for generation eight’s starter Pokémon. That being said, there are already a lot of opinions about the three newest additions to the Pokédex. That is why, at this point, it only makes sense to pit them against the other generations' starter Pokémon. Since we are unsure how these three will fare competitively, the rankings will be based on appearance.
Editor’s Note: The Daily News publishes Letters to the Editor with minimal copy edits and provides a headline only if the author does not provide one. The views expressed in letters do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. We reserve the right to withhold submitted letters depending on the content. Letters should be approximately 500 words and sent to editor@bsudailynews.com.
Jordan Rhodes is a senior English major who writes "Shepard’s Corner" for The Daily News. His views do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. Write to Jordan at jbrhodes@bsu.edu.
by Baylie Clevenger The opinions and views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the opinion of Byte and Byte's editorial board. Over the past few weeks, news and social media have been buzzing with post after post about Empire's Jussie Smollett. This whole thing has been a confusing collection of events, so let’s start with a rundown of what has happened. Smollett claimed that he was attacked on Jan. 29 in Chicago in what was being investigated as a hate crime. USA Today reports that he alleged that the men who attacked him threw racist and homophobic slurs at him, poured chemicals on him, and also wrapped a noose around his neck — a nod to the lynchings that have happened to a lot of black people throughout history. The Chicago Police Department came forward with new developments in the case recently in which they report that Smollett likely faked this attack. On Feb 15, after having arrested the suspects of the alleged attack, the men that were questioned by police claimed that Smollett paid them to stage the attack. On Feb. 20, after further investigation, Smollett was indicted for charges of disorderly conduct and false reporting of a crime. On Feb. 22, the Empire star was officially removed from the cast of the show. This whole case has been sad and despicable, and in the midst of a widely publicized fake accusation, there is no better time than now to remember how many real hate crimes happen on the daily. According to reports made by the FBI, in 2017, more than half of the hate crimes committed were motivated by race and about 15% of them were motivated by bias against sexual orientation. Among the hate crimes that were reported, religion, sexuality, and race were the top three biases that were motivation for the reported crimes. Breaking down the information, the FBI also reported that among the sexuality-related hate crimes, more than half of them were against gay men, and among racially-motivated hate crimes, about half of those were anti-black attacks as well. Hate crimes are grossly underreported, as reported by The Chicago Tribune, so the number of hate crimes taking place is likely higher than what we actually have statistics on. While Smollett may have allegedly used his identities for personal gain by faking this attack, he does not represent the entire black community, and he also does not represent the entire LGBTQ+ community. He is one person in those communities that chose to use a false claim for his own benefit while millions of others experience real crimes. Though he has been an advocate in the past, his actions in this instance have negatively impacted both the LGBTQ+ and black communities. All it takes is one highly publicized false accusation to set the tone for a whole community. Even though the majority of hate crimes are not fake, people are going to remember the one that was. His actions have moved advocacy for black and queer people back many steps.
Editor's note: Greg Carbo is the former president of the SGA executive slate Optic during the 2017-18 academic year. Carbo is also a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity, of which Empower presidential candidate Julian Simmerman and treasurer candidate Nate Woods are also members. The Daily News publishes Letters to the Editor with minimal copy edits and provides a headline only if the author does not provide one. The views expressed in letters do not necessarily agree with those of the newspaper. We reserve the right to withhold submitted letters depending on the content. Letters should be approximately 500 words and sent to editor@bsudailynews.com.