Lancer Spirit Online

‘Hardcore Henry’ dulls with weak gimmick, listless violence

Riley Walberg, News Editor | May 4, 2016

What isn't shocking is the story itself. Unmemorable, unsurprising, and uninteresting, Hardcore Henry's plot quickly becomes predictable, especially when you realize that you're basically watching someone else play a video game. The more the story goes on, the more video-game-like it becomes, complete with waves and levels of enemies escalating in difficulty and even a final boss fight at the end.

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Drake underwhelms with ‘Views’

Conor Battles, Editor-in-Chief, Arts & Entertainments Editor | May 3, 2016

Ultimately, Views falls short of greatness. Drake has portrayed this release as his evolution; an expansion on his signature sound that would propel him towards legend status. It's reflected in the album's cover - Drake, solitary and sullen above the rest of the world, poised to strike from atop the CN Tower. In the end, though, Views is enjoyable, but more of the same.

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Classic Review: ‘Sunset Blvd.’ (1950)

Isaac Owens, Broadcasting Manager | April 13, 2016

Somehow, Billy Wilder created a movie that feels as fresh today as it did in 1950, as though he knew exactly how it would be taken in today.

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Deakin lives up to six-year expectations with debut

Joe Conry, Reporter | April 8, 2016

'Sleep Cycle,' Deakin’s first solo album after his departure from experimental-pop group Animal Collective, is a psychedelic freak-folk-accented trip into the hazy, ethereal memories of Dibb’s past. With the exception of Tim Dewit who plays drums on “Footy”, 'Sleep Cycle' is a solitary self-reflection into Deakin’s worrying thoughts and emotions surrounding his future.

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‘Zootopia’ merges Disney charm and social impact

Isaac Owens, Broadcasting Manager | April 6, 2016

While not entirely managing to avoid every Disney cliche, Zootopia does pull off originality.

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Don’t need your help: The unlikely resurgence of cassette culture

Conor Battles, Editor-in-Chief, Arts & Entertainments Editor | March 31, 2016

Even back when they were all the rage, it was hard to explain what made cassettes popular. Quality-wise, they were terrible. The ultrathin, wiry spools of tape could tear, knot, or burn out with ease. But they were cheap, and they were portable. As such, the cassette tape ruled. It has lain dormant since the advent of the compact disc, but with the popularity of vinyl, what's to stop a slowly-growing movement of entrepreneurs and self-starting indie outfits from mounting a tape comeback?

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‘Batman v Superman’ does no justice

Isaac Owens, Broadcasting Manager | March 26, 2016

The problems do not necessarily lie within the movie's excessively violent protagonists or adult themes but rather in its unintentionally silly way they’re carried out.

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Coffee House 2016 to be held tonight in LHS cafe

March 25, 2016

The LHS music department is hosting the annual Coffee House Concert tonight at 7 p.m. in the HS cafe. The cost is $5 at the door. Coffee House 2016 List of Performers Bold as Love : Patrick...

Commentary: The nebulous possibilities of virtual reality

VR has gone from sci-fi dream to (expensive) reality. Now what?

Conor Battles, Editor-in-Chief, Arts & Entertainments Editor | March 24, 2016

The simple truth is that the layman - that is, the average consumer that hasn't spent the last few years playing around with Oculus devkits and browsing industry forums - knows next to nothing about the raw technical differences between, say, Google Cardboard and Samsung's Gear VR. The idea that a typical consumer would so readily drop several hundred dollars on something they know so little about is more than a little absurd, and is VR's biggest problem going forward to mainstream use.

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Iggy Pop and Josh Homme merge art-rock with Detroit punk on ‘Post Pop Depression’

Conor Battles, Editor-in-Chief, Arts & Entertainments Editor | March 14, 2016

Taking in the bold new sonic directions that Iggy Pop has taken his decades-honed sound in is a heady task. It's a puzzling trend, considering the relative success the reunited Stooges have had in the last half decade, but in an odd way, it suits Iggy. He embraces his elder-statesemanhood with all the grace the man responsible for "I Wanna Be Your Dog" can muster, and Josh Homme is the perfect muse for Iggy to experiment on/with.

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’10 Cloverfield Lane’ an unexpected thrill ride

Isaac Owens, Broadcasting Manager | March 11, 2016

...rookie director Dan Trachtenberg proves his is a name to keep an eye on. Surpassing the original film in every way, 10 Cloverfield Lane is exactly the simple and fun white knuckle thriller it needed to be.

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‘House of Cards’ underwhelms with fourth season

Isaac Owens, Broadcasting Manager | March 9, 2016

Unlike how seasons one through three are heavily influenced by the clockwork of Washington, season four sheds the spotlight on the facade surrounding presidential election seasons. Obviously Underwood’s campaign is important to the show, but House of Cards has become more about corruption than politics. Some of the shows greatest highlights come from scenes when Frank delegates tasks throughout the political spectrum, and that is the biggest qualm there is to be had with season four. Losing much of the shows politically technical intrigue, its smarts are replaced with the gossipy campaign zeitgeist that is seen by the public eye.

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