SEPTEMBER 2020 WEEK 1 //
FEATURED MEDIA PICKS
MOVIE PICK // “QUEEN & SLIM” (2019)
Queen and Slim (2019) is a tragic thriller that chronicles a first date gone horribly wrong.
En route to dropping Queen off after an uneventful date, Slim encounters a twisted cop who pulls them over after a minor traffic infraction. While Slim willfully walks the officer through the contents of his car, Queen stares in disgust as her defense attorney instincts flare up and this blatant display of police brutality unfolds before her.
Things soon escalate and Slim is ordered to drop to his knees, hands up as the officer points a gun in his face. Angered, fearful, and confused, Queen attempts to explain that she is an attorney, and this is all a misunderstanding. Undeterred by her words, a scuffle erupts, shots are fired, and the officer is dead as a result, sending them on a cross country evasion from the law.
Directed by Melina Matsoukas, this movie doesn’t disappoint to deliver familiar paranoias and textures similar to ‘Get Out’. Our protagonists initially flee the law not because they were in the wrong, rather they understood that the US justice system does not work for them. While on the run, the duo encounters several supporters who they learn regard them as folk heroes as they evade arrest; further emboldening their resolve.
The cinematography was beautiful; it felt like a 2 hour Solange video which I was so about! Great soundtrack and strong relatable characters who take us through an emotional roller coaster throughout a series of events none of us could’ve navigated through better.
Ultimately, I loved the movie, but I wasn’t super psyched with the ending. Less about what happened and more with how it happened.
Highly recommended! -Dev Lee, Head of Media
MUSIC PICK // KEDR LIVANSKIY
House/Electronic
This album definitely took me by surprise. These looming covid months, I’ve been playing music back to back at an unprecedented pace. So when I came across Kedr Livanskiy, I immediately felt like I was standing in a super posh European club, ya know—the kind with 16$ vodka redbulls, but you’re on vacation so fuck it, ha.
‘Sky Kisses’ is a quick favorite. That hubris bass right out front keeps everybody on their toes. Super ethereal, super catchy. Like sexier Crystal Castles haha. This goes for ‘Kiski’ and ‘Bounce 2’ as well. Seriously, put these on your workout playlist, your workplace playlist, and commute; These will whip you right into shape. ‘Lugovoy’ cracks me up in the best of ways though: Here we have Russian, Reggae, Electronica, making for who knew, a rad combination.
Strongly recommend. Great slice of dance music to break up the monotony of your regular algorithms.
VIDEO GAME PICK // Sid Meier’s “Civilization 5”
Civilization 5 has turned out to be the quintessential time-killer some of us need. Civ 5 is a turn-based strategy PC game where you start as the head of your nation, and expand to victory using several metrics including: Domination, Cultural, Diplomatic, Scientific, or Religious. There are so may plug-ins to this game, you can go back and play history’s most famous battles, start anew in the dawn of time, or go on to live out your Django Unchained-style reverse imperialism fantasy where the Aztecs burn down Madrid, or the Zulus win by nuking London.
I will admit that there is a learning curve to this game; I certainly don’t know how how to win all of the victories ha, but that’s besides the point. I think the best merits about this game is that: you can play alone, learn at your own pace, put it down without any consequences, and personally I find it to be an exciting consolidation of worldly affairs.
Highly recommended. Beware staying up all night playing; so fun!
