D NY Have an idea for a story? M arts@theotherpress.ca ¢ ‘The Nutcracker and the Four Realms’ film review ¢ ‘Smallfoot’ film review ¢ ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ film review ..and more! Hip hop, skateboards, and acceptance > ‘Mid90s’ film review Roshni Riar Staff Writer keen hen purchasing my ticket to see Midgos, Jonah Hill’s screenwriting and directorial debut, I can safely say I didn’t know what the next hour and a half would hold. I anticipated skateboarding, some good ’gos music, and a lot of laughs. While I did get all of those from the film, what was really at the forefront was a resonating tale of friendship, the trials and tribulations that come with trying to find your place in the world, and the desperation that we've all felt, at some point in our life, to be accepted. The film takes place in Los Angeles in the ’gos, with 13-year-old Stevie (played by Sunny Suljic) developing an interest in skateboarding, much to the chagrin of his violent older brother Ian (Lucas Hedges). Stevie’s situation at home is tense—he and his brother are constantly manipulating and frustrating each other, which results in frequent physical altercations that their mother Dabney (Katherine Waterston) is complacent towards. Searching fora way out, Stevie gets hold of a crappy kid’s skateboard one day and makes his way to the local skate shop, where he meets Ruben (Gio Galicia), Fuckshit (Olan Prenatt), Fourth Grade (Ryder McLaughlin), and Ray (Na-kel Smith, who is a professional skateboarder), a ragtag group of friends who love to skateboard. The dialogue throughout the film is cringe-worthy but brilliant and true to the way kids spoke to each other in the ’gos and early 2000s. The actors deliver the lines effortlessly. The way the characters speak to each other is casual, gross, and hilarious. While watching the film, I often found myself looking at Stevie’s crew and seeing each character as someone I knew in elementary school. At the same time, during more serious moments the dialogue is minimal and tight, guarded like it would be if young boys were uncomfortably sharing their feelings. The movie shows some conflicts that are never mentioned again, which could be frustrating if it wasirt obvious that these conflicts have glaring implications on the characters’ internal attitudes and behaviours. Sunny Suljic and Na-kel Smith are the driving forces of the film, both absolute standouts in their roles. As Stevie, Suljic takes the audience on his character’s journey towards acceptance, from both himself and his peers. His acting—particularly in scenes without dialogue—really evokes a lot of emotion. Smith plays Ray, the oldest and most talented at skateboarding of the crew. He offers teenage wisdom and support in times of need and is the perfect grounding character for the wild group of friends. Considering Smith has limited acting experience, his performance is a pleasant surprise. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross scored Midgos wonderfully, especially in moments of tension and dismay. Their score blends with the soundtrack, which features classic "gos songs like “The World is Yours” by Nas, “Still A G Thang” by Snoop Dogg, “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” by Nirvana, and “Tearz” by Wu-Tang Clan. Midgos is, more than anything, a slice of the life of Stevie and his crew. There’s ‘Mid90s' promotional image conflict and devastation, but the root of the story is about friendship and how fast friends often shift and grow into support systems that you don't realize you need or want. We follow Stevie’s journey day by day—the elation he feels with his new friends as he learns to skateboard, the tension at home that he represses, and how his two worlds feed into each other. The themes are implicit as the dialogue doesn't feature many heart-to-heart moments, but the emotion is still there and incredibly powerful. Midgos is nostalgic, funny, and entertaining but it also gives the audience a lot to reflect on, especially when it comes to the idea of “growing up.” Sabrina’s adventures with Satan begin » ‘Chilling Adventures of Sabrina’ TV show review Image via Netflix Sonam Kaloti Arts Editor hilling Adventures of Sabrina is way more satanic than I thought it would be. At the same time, it feels exactly like a cliché teen romance. After watching the first episode—which is one hour long—I’ve concluded that it might not be the show for me. However, I may continue watching it just to see how it plays out. Sabrina Spellman, played by Kiernan Shipka, is about to turn 16 years old. It’s a big day for her because she must choose between her mortal life and her witch life. She is half-human, half-witch because her late father was a warlock and her late mother was human. Sabrina’s boyfriend Harvey Kinkle, played by Ross Lynch, lulls her toward the mortal life since she does not want to leave him. However, her aunts tell Sabrina that they, as well as her late parents, want her to pursue the life of a witch—meaning she must undergo her “dark baptism” when the clock strikes midnight on her 16th birthday. The first episode alone has so much to it, from teenage sweethearts saying “I love you” for the first time, to a teacher being stabbed in the neck bya young girl possessed by an angry witch’s spirit. There is constantly so much going on and the mood changes back and forth so often that not only is it hard to keep track of, but it makes the plot itself seem messy. One thing that I really enjoy about this series so far is the correct usage of anticipation. The build-up to frightening scenes is slow and steady, with just the right amount of suspense to keep you on your toes. Sometimes the scary creature isn't shown directly, which is good because that’s a fatal mistake many horror movies have been making lately. Our biggest sense of fear comes from the unknown—and in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, we often really don’t know what's going on. This surprisingly helps the plot, since Sabrina herself is continuously asking questions and trying to learn more about her two lives in order to make an informed final decision about her identity. We learn alongside her, which makes up for the messy plot structure a little bit. It feels as though we are watching someone's real life play out, in all its strange and seemingly random sequencing of events. The show is set in the town of Greendale, which is within the Riverdale universe. Upon watching more episodes, I hope to see some Easter eggs and familiar places. I couldnt tell you much about the correlation between the original Sabrina the Teenage Witch and the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, since the former was mostly before my time. However, from my recollection of seeing my sister watch it when I was four, I do think the original was much lighter-hearted and had a lot less of Satan himself. The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is now available on Netflix and the entire season is already out for all your binging needs.