Culture

Culture

Movie Review: 'The Land' more than just a skateboard flick

Audrin Baghaie | November 9

“The Land” opens up with a simple, overstated question directed to four teenagers: “What are you going to do with your life?” The school principal asks each of them individually, cut between footage of the students committing a crime later that evening. It’s a question that resonates vividly throughout the film’s 90-minute runtime, interwoven between footage of the students committing crimes later in the narrative. We follow a coalition of naive, high school skateboarders by the names of Cisco, Junior, Patty and Boobie, on the streets of Cleveland. The group’s friendship is tested through a very saturated plot that is predictable and cheesy at times.

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Culture

Review: Group satisfied with unique production of 'Much Ado About Nothing'

Fin Martinez | November 6

The first production of Popejoy’s performance season was the classic Shakespearian rom-com “Much Ado About Nothing.” The play was put on by Aquila Theater, a production company renown for their productions of Shakespeare’s works. Aquila’s production is a modern take on the classic and takes creative liberties with the setting, characters and time period, placing each in a modern setting. While the original play takes place entirely in the character Leonato’s home, this setting of this production is in an English pub with Leonato being the owner and resident of the establishment.

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Culture

Q & A: Local artist, skater shares his inspirations

Jonathan Baca | November 6

Jeremy Salazar is a local artist, skateboarder, fashion designer, photographer and filmmaker. His first solo art exhibit, “Love Life,” is showing now through Nov. 18 at Duel Brewery in downtown Albuquerque. The Daily Lobo sat down with Salazar on the opening night of the exhibit to discuss his unique fusion of street art, skater culture and DIY self expression.

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Culture

Unique version of Shakespeare classic to play at Popejoy

Fin Martinez | November 4

On Sunday Popejoy Theater will host a performance of William Shakespeare’s acclaimed play “Much Ado About Nothing.” The play, a fresh take on Shakespeare’s work, is being put on by Aquila Theater who has put on classic productions for the past 25 years. “This production is celebrating our 25th year,” said Desiree Sanchez, director, adapter and production designer for the show. “The company has been around for for that long touring America, and this year we’re touring ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ with Agatha Christie’s ‘Murder on the Nile.’”

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Culture

Movie Review: 'Wiener-Dog' a memorable piece of absurdity

Audrin Baghaie | November 3

It’s easy to disregard “Wiener-Dog” literally just by reading the silly title, but after watching this film, you’ll realize that’s the point. A dog is involved, yes, but behind its fuzzy presence is a funny, cynical and almost existentialist take not on how people choose to live, but rather life making that decision for them. The dog in this film is the lens into four different narratives and the audience gets to learn about each one in detail. Satisfyingly, the detail is in the images. With swift, short and sweet dialogue, we learn more from the set design than we do from the character interactions.

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Culture

Column: Indie games break down barrier between creator and fan

Nichole Harwood | November 3

Indie video games are what Bandcamp releases are to major music labels — a disruptor that allows for a more accessible market for smaller developers to release their games. Big developers like Nintendo or Activision have long dominated the game development industry, but indie games are now on the rise after gamers have grown disenchanted by major studio releases not living up to hype, or relying too heavily on in-game purchases and expensive downloadable content. It’s titles like the horror-survival game “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” which are developed independently, that are giving rise to the indie game movement.

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Music

Review: 'Autograf' puts on a passionate and upbeat show

Fin Martinez | November 2

It’s not often you find yourself at an anniversary show of a music group on Halloween. That turned out to be the case at the El Rey Theater, when the electronic music trio Autograf performed on Oct. 31st to an enthusiastic crowd. Drinks were overpriced, but that’s just the nature of a concert venue. But the show made up for the outrageous drink prices with the passion and stage presence of the group. A relatively new group that started in 2013, Autograf hails from the windy city of Chicago, a town famous for good music and a long history of legendary musicians. Autograf may be next on the list, as their performance at the El Rey was one worthy of Electric Daisy Carnival.

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Culture

Q and A: Mikul of Autograf

Fin Martinez | October 30

The Chicago-based trio Autograf has mesmerized crowds with their unique electronic music, playing a style called “future house.” The group will be performing on Halloween at Albuquerque’s historic El Rey Theater. Before the band’s show on Monday at the El Rey Theater, the Daily Lobo got a chance to sit down with Mikul, a member of Autograf, to discuss the group’s music, history and creative influences.

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Culture

Best movies to watch on Halloween

Emma Citizen | October 30

These classic Halloween movies range from cute and nostalgic to mature and consistently frightening for people of all ages. Enjoy one of these fun or scary movies to set up your Halloween mood.

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Culture

ABQ skater defies skating's bias against women

Luisa Pennington | October 30

Born into an industry dominated by men, 19-year-old Mariah Duran represents New Mexico as one of the few female professional skateboarders. This year alone, she defeated gender norms by taking silver in the 2016 X-Games and signing to go professional. Having grown up in Albuquerque, Duran started skating at the age of 10 after her brother suggested she try the sport. Since then, she has been sponsored by BZ skate shop, eS shoes, and Meow Skateboards.

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Culture

Another year of Humans vs. Zombies

Emma Citizen | October 26

Showing its face once more for the Halloween season is the national tradition of Humans vs. Zombies, a weeklong game of “zombie tag.” Humans vs. Zombies has been an annual event at UNM since 2011, and has captured the hearts of the student body. The rules are simple enough. When registered as a human, you wear a bandana around your arm. If a zombie attacks a human, then the human becomes a zombie and has to move their bandana. Zombies wear bandanas around their heads or necks if they are stunned. Humans can stun zombies using nerf darts or sock balls. Zombies who are hit will be stunned for about 10 minutes. The game runs continuously for a full week leading up to Halloween. “You could be at La Posada at three in the morning and people could be playing,” said Alex Luna, a moderator for the game.

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Culture

2016's most offensive Halloween costumes

Matthew Reisen | October 26

Here it is — Halloween. When the first crisp of winter rides on the breeze alongside smells of campfire smoke. Whether it’s through petty vandalism, candy accumulation or the destruction of brain cells, everyone celebrates differently. But there is one constant: Everybody wants to dress up and, in doing so, make a statement of some kind, whether it’s scary, funny or controversial. Sometimes, costumes go too far, and this is one of those lists. To be clear, these are costume statements you don’t want to make, unless you want a black eye or a Snickers bar full of razor blades. Here is a list of 2016’s top five most offensive costumes for those of you looking to be “that guy” — and by “that guy,” I mean the one who doesn’t get invited to any more Halloween parties. Matthew Reisen is the news editor at the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @MReisen88. 

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Culture

Film Review: 'Only the Brave' deserves a spot among great war films

Fin Martinez | October 26

When we think of war films we tend to think of “Saving Private Ryan”, “Apocalypse Now,” and “Fury” as examples of great contributions to the genre. “Only the Brave,” a 2006 film by Lane Nishikawa, takes the genre in a different direction. Nishikawa’s film follows the soldiers of the 100th battalion in the French combat theater of World War II comprised of Japanese-Americans who enlisted from the Japanese internment camps instituted after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Nishikawa — who wrote, directed and acted in the film — had a clear focus, and from this he created what amounts to a hidden gem in the war film genre. With many films in the genre, the focus is on the mission the soldiers must face, giving the film a distinct path. “Only the Brave” only introduces the soldiers’ mission in the second act of the film. By stepping away from the first act introduction of the mission, Nishikawa has created a different form of war film.

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Movies

Film Review: 'The Witch' offers complex themes, frights

David Lynch | October 26

At first watch, there isn’t much meat on the bones of Robert Eggers’ “The Witch.” On a superficial level – thanks to its incredibly simple premise, small production scale and what could be interpreted as an ambiguous ending – one could think it’s a skeleton of a movie, with small bits of flesh clinging to its ribs in the form of the occasional jump scare. Don’t fall into that trap. It’s easy to think that the final product far outweighs the expectations that a horror lover may have for “The Witch,” but you’d be doing yourself a disservice in the process. So how do you get the most out of the the film, and experience it the way Eggers intended the audience to?

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Culture

Nude modeling offers unique side job

Skylar Griego | October 26

Not many people can say they get naked for work, but Douglas, a sophomore theater major, said that’s the best part of his job. While nudity is illegal in most establishments, it’s actually essential for Douglas’ job as a nude model in the UNM Art Department. Models at UNM are students hired by the art department to pose — sometimes clothed and sometimes nude — in front of a class full of drawing students. Some may wonder, what kind of person gets into something like nude modeling? The Daily Lobo got to speak with a few of the department’s models, each with a unique perspective regarding this unusual side job. Though their experiences differ, there were a few points about the job each model agreed on: the position pays one of the highest student wages on campus, it has extremely flexible hours, and it is a massive boost for their self-esteem.

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Culture

Hypnotist visits UNM, brings laughter and wonder

Fin Martinez | October 26

Hypnosis, often the subject of skepticism and cinema tropes, is viewed as pseudo-science due to it’s almost comical portrayal of influencing people to do ridiculous things. But what if being comical was the point? Rich Guzzi, a comedy hypnotist, convinced an audience at the SUB Monday night that, while funny, hypnosis is very real. The man can tell a joke, that much is certain. Honestly, Guzzi himself would’ve been able to carry the show on his own, but if he had done that the show wouldn’t have been as memorable. If each performer needs a shtick, Guzzi has one that takes the audience by surprise.

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Culture

Mountaineering club so much more than climbing rocks

Audrin Baghaie | October 23

Mountains were made to be conquered. To traverse nature by means of hiking, biking and climbing is an endeavor that satisfies a certain, perhaps innate, human craving for exploration, and it’s often more fun to do it with friends. UNM’s Mountaineering club has become well-versed with the Southwest over the last few decades, hosting events ranging from Wolf Creek snowboarding trips to rock climbing ventures in Joshua Tree National Park, among other wild expeditions. The club provides training, equipment, means of travel and bimonthly gatherings for like-minded individuals to meet up and interact. “Basically students pay $30 a semester and they get access to all our camping and climbing gear,” said Club President Rachel Swanteson-Franz. “The idea is to give people a community to explore the outdoors with. You need partners to climb with, so we try to cultivate a place to meet people for that.”

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Culture

Marijuana magazine launches in Albuquerque

Fin Martinez | October 23

On Friday, Sister Bar in downtown Albuquerque hosted the release party of Albuquerque’s new marijuana magazine “The Chronicle.” The publication, which covers topics from cannabis legality and politics to strain reviews and medical use, celebrated its premier issue with writers, friends, and directors in attendance. The Chronicle was the brainchild of John Delgado and Jen Montaño, the founder and editor in chief of the magazine respectively. “The original idea was a shared passion, basically. Everybody in this industry needed an avenue, and myself, I’ve always wanted to do a publication,” Montaño said. “I met John — he had it in the back of his head to do it also, but we just didn’t find each other at that moment. So a few months ago we found each other and had the similar ideas that we had, and we decided to publish the Chronicle.”

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Culture

Album Review: 'Gameshow' a bland, forgettable offering from Two Door Cinema Club

Audrin Baghaie | October 21

Album Review: Gameshow by Two Door Cinema Club By Audrin Baghaie Irish indie-rock group Two Door Cinema Club released their third full length studio LP this past weekend.

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Culture

Movie Review: Above and Below fails to pull itself together

Audrin Baghaie | October 19

“Above and Below” is a 2015 creative non-fiction documentary detailing the life of four different survivalists trying to make the most of life in their respective contexts. The film, directed by Nicholas Steiner, offers an interesting peek into a separate side of civilization, a more blunt and in-the-trenches way of living. To put it bluntly, this film isn’t that great. Perhaps I just don’t get it, because most critics are praising the movie on its visuals and examinations on life. Both of these aspects were fine, but in no way do they carry the two-hour runtime.