Students sound off on music streaming program Spotify
By Staff Writer | Jan. 25, 2012When it swept into the United States in July of 2011, the music streaming service Spotify was an instant hit, even more so than its predecessor, Napster.
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Seton Hall's Saints and Sleuths bring 'Magic' to Theatre-in-the-Round
By Staff Writer | Jan. 25, 2012As the lights dim in the theater and a hush falls over the crowd, there is a moment of silence before a single actor enters. Standing tall and meeting the gaze of the audience, he sings out in a deep voice, "All night around the thorn tree, the little people play…" And so begins the production of "Magic," a comedy by G.K. Chesterton about fairy tales that really do come true.
New Walsh Gallery exhibit challenges viewers' perceptions
By Staff Writer | Jan. 18, 2012Artists give new meaning to traditional landscapes in the Walsh Gallery's latest exhibition, "Crossroads: A Shifting Landscape."
Snow Patrol brings techno beats
By Staff Writer | Jan. 18, 2012The sound of a hyped electronic techno beat may bring to mind club scenes in "Jersey Shore" and result in fist pumping. But what if the music that creates such a vibrant scene is being played by Snow Patrol? This may have seemed like an un-likely scenario until the band released its sixth album, "Fallen Empires" last week.
"Iron Lady" puts Meryl Streep back in run for Oscar
By Staff Writer | Jan. 18, 2012In most cases, it would be absurd to cast an American actress as one of Britain's most influential leaders. However since Meryl Streep is no ordinary actress she impeccably portrays former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady." The performance is both captivating and heart-wrenching – the crown jewel of an overall brilliant movie.
Godspell' is the light of Broadway
By Staff Writer | Jan. 13, 2012New York's Circle in the Square Theater on Broadway and 50th Street looks awfully similar to Seton Hall's own Theatre-in-the-Round. The Circle in the Square is an intimate amphitheater, which makes it the perfect location for Broadway's revival of the hit musical "Godspell." The theater creates a personal performance space in which the audience is very much a part of the action as cast members sing up and down the aisles, sit next to audience members and pull them onstage.
Common's dreams do come true
By Staff Writer | Jan. 8, 2012To anyone proclaiming that hip hop is dead: you obviously have yet to hear the inspirational material that Common has recently released for the world's listening pleasure.
Jay-Z explains it all in autobiography
By Staff Writer | Jan. 7, 2012"Decoded" tells the story of Shawn Carter, more commonly known as Jay-Z, from his days growing up in the Marcy Projects in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn through his current rise to fame. This autobiography provides the opportunity to change the mindset of hip-hop fans and non-fans alike.
Dean Koontz disappoints
By Staff Writer | Jan. 4, 2012Dean Koontz has been terrifying and entertaining readers for over forty years. With a slew of bestselling novels to his name, it seems as though Koontz can craft a brilliant horror novel without effort. But "77 Shadow Street" proves that even a great author can produce a lackluster book. While Koontz's latest novel has an interesting premise, as a story "Street" simply misses the mark.
Extremely different but incredibly moving
By Staff Writer | Jan. 3, 2012There are 472 people in New York City with the last name Black, and in the film "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," it is the job of nine-year-old Oskar Schell, played by Thomas Horn, to find each and every one of them. He wants to question them about a mysterious key his father left behind in an envelope with the name "Black" written on it.
Happy Brand New Year!
By Staff Writer | Jan. 1, 2012Dressed neatly in button-up shirts and ties, the five members of Brand New gave an explosive and refreshing performance to the sold-out crowd at Atlantic City's House of Blues on New Year's Eve.
The Top Albums of 2011
By Staff Writer | Dec. 30, 2011Adele, "21" – The year's top-grossing pop album features groundbreaking and heart-wrenching singles such as "Rolling in the Deep," "Rumor Has It" and "Someone Like You." Adele incorporates elements of soul, Motown, and jazz into her funky grooves and tear-jerking piano ballads. More importantly, in a world where auto tune, Protools, drum machines, and vulgar choreography dominate the music industry, it is refreshing to know that one woman with one voice, accompanied only by a piano, can still leave a room full of 40,000 people speechless.
The Top Movies of 2011
By Staff Writer | Dec. 29, 2011In a year of raunchy comedies, summer superheroes, blockbuster finales and plenty of Oscar bait, The Setonian looks back at our favorite movies of 2011.
An intense and disturbing 'Dragon Tattoo'
By Staff Writer | Dec. 27, 2011One of the darkest movies of the holiday season, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" opened this week. The film, which is an adaptation of a book, chronicles journalist Mikael Blomkvist as he is given the task of solving the disappearance of a young girl who went missing 40 years ago. Blomkvist, realizing that he cannot solve the murder alone, teams up with Lisbeth Salander, a mysterious bisexual computer hacker. As they dig deeper into the murder case, they discover the risk for their own lives is becoming greater.
Spielberg's 'War Horse' a galloping delight
By Staff Writer | Dec. 27, 2011Picture war – destruction, death, suffering. Now think of humanity – compassion, hope, love. Surely humanity cannot exist in the inhumane time of war, can it? The film "War Horse" effectively proves that it can. As seen through the innocent eyes of a horse, humanity can exist among friends, animals, and even enemies affected by the horrors of war.
Cruise brings "Mission: Impossible" to new heights
By Staff Writer | Dec. 24, 2011In a world run by James Bond, there are few spy movie franchises that can compete, but the "Mission: Impossible" series does a superb job of standing on its own. In the 15 years since theatergoers saw Tom Cruise hanging by wires in the first film, the franchise has spawned three sequels, including the most recent addition, "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol."
No mystery here: 'Game of Shadows' is pure holiday fun
By Staff Writer | Dec. 18, 2011A sequel to a literary adaptation film presents a unique problem because usually one finds the book and first movie are always better. "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows," the sequel to 2009's "Sherlock Holmes," could be the exception to this rule: it is just as good, if not better, than its predecessor. After earning an estimated $40 million and the first place spot at the box office this weekend, it would appear that audiences everywhere agree.
A happy and messy "New Year"
By Staff Writer | Dec. 12, 2011"New Year's Eve," directed by Garry Marshall, tells the story of a group of New Yorkers as they prepare to ring in 2012. Broken down into different storylines, the film is a classic case of six-degrees of separation: audiences must figure out how all of the characters are connected as the film progresses.
Michael Crichton's 'Micro' is a major success
By Staff Writer | Dec. 7, 2011In 2008, throat cancer robbed the world of one of the most creative minds in literature: one that gave us "Jurassic Park," "The Andromeda Strain" and numerous other science fiction adventures. "Micro" is the last novel from Michael Crichton, the inventor of the techno-thriller, and in it he takes readers on a final thrill ride. While Crichton's untimely death prevented him from finishing the book, author Richard Preston completed it based on Crichton's notes. "Micro" serves as a fitting send-off to a literary legend.
