Famed action legend Sylvester Stallone and Sung Kang of the “Fast and Furious” series team up in their latest action flick, “Bullet to the Head”. The film is one of the most mindless action films to come along in years. Adapted from a French graphic novel of the same name, “Bullet to the Head” ...
In a quest to conquer boredom when not diligently working, I have tried many online games. Some were extraordinarily fun and held my attention for weeks, if not months; others have been boring and only lasted several hours. One of the better games I have found is “World of Tanks” from wargaming.net. For ...
When I first read the synopsis for the book “Warm Bodies” (2011), I literally burst out laughing. A zombie love story? Surely the supernatural-romance genre that exploded with “Twilight” had gone too far. I thought the book was bound to be a hysterical farce or an absolutely horrible piece of ...
This Valentine’s Day, don’t even bother going to the theater for a chick flick. The most romantic film of this year is six and a half minutes long and can be found online. “Paperman,” Disney’s newest animated short, combines hand-drawn animation with CGI to tell a story that is as beautiful ...
Sometimes, the musicals that I enjoy most are not widely loved. I love them for their original Broadway casts or the music, and they get slammed for their plot and scene design. Or the musical wins Tony awards but isn’t successful at the box office. “Catch Me If You Can” is one of those musicals, ...
It takes a special “rom com” to be my jam, and I mainly like that kind of film if it has elements that are atypical of the genre of romantic comedies. “Silver Linings Playbook” was, without a doubt, one of these films. Yes, there was love, but there was also mental illness, hospital breakouts, ...
It’s that time of the year again. The men put on their tuxedos and the women adorn themselves in their lavish ballgowns. Yes, it’s awards season. With this year’s awards season already underway, it is almost time for the most prestigious awards show in film, The Academy Awards. This year’s awards ...
The historic Douglass Theatre on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard has a lot to offer Mercer’s student body. Founded in 1911 by Charles Henry Douglass, a wealthy African-American businessman and patron of the arts, the theatre began its career presenting films and hosting jazz and blues performances. ...
Making year-end lists are always difficult, especially for films. Many lists either focus on the big box office winners or only look at the critical darlings that come out during award season. This is going to be a hybrid between the two, focusing on films that were well made as well as enjoyable. The ...
“Zero Dark Thirty” tells the story of one of the greatest manhunts in history: the search for Osama bin Laden. The film follows a CIA agent named Maya as she pieces together clues and overcomes adversities to locate the infamous terrorist. The trailers and promotional material for the film heavily ...
If you are anything like me, you are probably the kind of person who likes opera in theory but gets somewhat bored in the theatre. I went to see “Don Giovanni” not too long ago and nearly fell asleep. That being said, I was absolutely delighted with Mercer Opera’s latest performance. An opera ...
Suzanne Stroup's review When I heard the music from Broadway’s “Les Misérables”, I thought it was forgettable, to go along with the convoluted story and the one-dimensional characters. When I heard about the movie, I was not planning on seeing this one in theaters. Then I read the cast list. ...
Joshua Whitfield's review Let me be the first to say that the movie adaptation of the musical “Les Misérables” is fantastic. The adaptation’s musical genius, visual appeal, scope and sense of detail make it the best musical I’ve seen in a decade. I heartily recommend this movie to my fellow ...
To quote one of her own songs, loving Taylor Swift is red. One song can be so good you have it on repeat for days and the next has you wanting to rip your hair out when it plays on the radio. Yet whether you love her or hate her, you can’t deny her music is catchy, relatable and extremely popular. Swift’s ...
The most succinct explanation I can give of the Mercer Players’ latest performance comes from a conversation I heard during intermission between two elderly ladies sitting near me in the audience. They had been among those in the audience laughing hardest during the performance, and now they were ...
The Homecoming 2012 concert on Wednesday, Nov. 7 had two artists perform: Stevens Layne band and Corey Smith. The vocalists, Molly Stevens and Whitney Layne sat down with the Cluster to tell us a little about their background. Molly Stevens is a Mercer graduate and a former member of Phi Mu sorority. Cluster: ...
Featuring a large ensemble cast, “Cloud Atlas” may be the most expensive independent film to date. It is certainly one of the most ambitious. The 172-minute film features an outstanding ensemble cast including talented actors such as Tom Hanks, Hugo Weaving and Halle Berry. “Cloud Atlas” is ...
The Mathis Brothers, the Travis Denning Band, Lingo, Flannel Church and Saint Francis performed at the Fly South Music Festival. The Cluster was able to catch three of the bands after their performances for interviews. The Travis Denning Band consists of singer and guitarist Travis Denning, guitarist ...
With the recent premiere of “Breaking Dawn: Part II” (which, according to CNN, secured the “eighth biggest opening weekend of all time” despite earning a 46 percent from the critics at Rotten Tomatoes), the world saw the final installment of the Twilight film series. Unless Stephanie Meyer decides ...
The latest installment of the James Bond films centers on Bond confronting a cyber-terrorist named Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) as he attempts to exact revenge on M (Judi Dench). The film has a heavy focus on M’s relationship with Bond, as it is mirrored by her history with Silva. M is portrayed as ...
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