Prince has always been a strange and mysterious being, so it should be no surprise that he is, once again, doing things a little differently. Instead of a single album release, ART OFFICIAL AGE – Prince’s solo LP – and PLECTRUMELECTRUM – featuring his all-female backing group 3rdeyegirl – were both released on the same day, Sept. 30. While both albums share similar soulful grooves and a fetish for the caps lock, each has a distinctive style that brings back the classic funk-energy that Prince does best.

ART OFFICIAL AGE, Prince’s 31st studio album since 1978, kicks off with “ART OFFICIAL CAGE.” What starts off a standard dance tune erupts into something more grand and unexpected. He orchestrates a multi-layered and transformative wall-of-sound. The song leads with a heavy bass line and delves into a fuzzy synthesizer-driven melody with snappy guitar breaks and air horns. Prince makes allusions to an artificial (or, “art official”) cage that has trapped his mind, likely referring to the Internet, which he famously hates. Then, around 2:50 into the track, we hear the sound of someone being water-boarded paired with the threat, “We need you to tell us what you know,” before an electric guitar solo leads the song out.

In response to the classic “Chappelle’s Show” sketch about playing a game of basketball against Prince and the Revolution, Prince included the single “BREAKFAST CAN WAIT.” The single’s cover features a wide-eyed Dave Chappelle in Purple Rain attire, ruffled lapels, black eyeliner, pencil-thin mustache and all, holding up a plate of pancakes.

“FUNKNROLL” is a track that appears on the tail-end of both albums in different variations. The version on ART OFFICIAL AGE is more dance-oriented and finds itself right at home in any frat house or dance party with the line, “The only way to last at the break of dawn / Is put your phone down, get your party on.” This lyric is great; it not only speaks to Prince’s party energy, but also remains in touch with his frequently referenced distrust of technology. The PLECTRUMELECTRUM version is more tailored for funk or rock devotees with a great focus on instrumentation and vocals. Much like the rest of the album, it fits more in the rock category and feels like Prince albums from the past.

The guitar solo on the opening track “WOW” recalls Prince’s dynamic guitar abilities and introduces PLECTRUMELECTRUM with 3rdeyegirl in style. A variety of sounds are found across the album, with “BOYTROUBLE” hip-hop artist Lizzo’s rap, the smooth ballad “TICTACTOE,” and “MARZ,” a two-minute depth-filled rocker.

In “FIXURLIFEUP,” Prince delivers a not-so-subtle strike toward sexism when he takes aim at the male-dominated music world with the line, “A girl with a guitar is 12 times better than another crazy band of boys/ trying to be a star when you’re just another prick in a misogynistic wall of noise.” This collaborative album with 3rdeyegirl goes to show that female-fronted musical acts are just as good as any other band.

Both albums have a distinct feel to them, but the major difference is between the intended audiences. PLECTRUMELECTRUM more closely resembles a rock record and ART OFFICIAL AGE, though it may run a few minutes too long, is aimed toward the dance music crowd. Prince fans are sure to enjoy both, but more casual fans may prefer one over the other. Either is a safe choice in the end.

What does college Greek Life have in common with Rush, the legendary Canadian rock band? Admittedly, not a whole lot. One is an age-old social tradition, while the other is a three piece rock band from Ontario commonly referred to as the Holy Triumvirate. One is the gathering place of the campus’s social elite, while the other is self described as “terminally unhip.”

Of the few similarities, Greek Life participants regularly swear the experience positively impacted their lives, while Rush’s die-hard fans insist it’s the band that changed their life by proving popularity isn’t the only way to be cool, as members Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart have done.

Fraternities and sororities are currently closing out rush week, so here’s a Rush playlist to honor the week and raise awareness for “YYZ” over SAE. Prepare to get some Neil Peart all up in you.

Anthem: In order to make it through rush week, you’re going to need an Anthem.

Finding My Way: The transition from high school to college can be an intimidating voyage. Gone is the comfort of home, your family to assist with cooking, cleaning and laundry, but also gone are the friends who’ve been by your side your whole life. While rushing for a fraternity or sorority can provide you with an instant group of friends, it’s still reassuring to know you aren’t the only person struggling to find your way in the world.

YYZ: Welcome to Upsilon Upsilon Zeta, the unofficial Rush house. There will always be ample space to “slap a little bass.”

Need Some Love: This song captures the hormonally driven need for love – which is a major factor for many Greek Life participants.

Cygnus X-1 Book II: The rival Rush house. Imagine Cygnus X-1 as the fraternity from Revenge of the Nerds.

Subdivisions: While fraternity and sororities often pitch the kinship and bonding that will occur in any given house to potential new members, remember the unattractive truth: rushing is a competitive audition process where the theme is, “Be cool or be cast out.” Greek life becomes the family you choose based on which house is the most appealing (acceptance instantly grants you a new “big” brother or sister), so be yourself, but more importantly, appeal to everyone else in the house. “Conform or be cast out.”

Limelight: “Living in the limelight / The universal dream / For those who wish to seem / Those who wish to be / Must put aside the alienation / Get on with the fascination / The real relation / The underlying theme.” Rushing will thrust you into the limelight of your peers. This is where you prove you’re worthy to be one of the bros, and disprove the notion that “A stranger is [not] a long awaited friend.”

A Passage To Bangkok: Now that marijuana is legal, at least a few houses will similarly be “wreathed in smoke,” as Rush was in Lebanon.

Fly By Night: “Clear head, new life ahead / It’s time I was king now, not just one more pawn.”

Follow Craig on Twitter: @wgwcraig

Neil Young, a consistent force in the music world since the 1960s and two-time Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame inductee, swung his “Rebel Content” tour through Matthew Knight Arena last night, touring in support of The Monsanto Years, an album which blatantly takes aim at corporations such as Monsanto, Starbucks and Wal-Mart.

His current backing band is The Promise Of The Real, featuring Lukas and Micah Nelson, sons of fellow music icon, Willie Nelson.

Young began the show alone at the piano with “After The Goldrush,” the title track from his great 1970 album. Next up was “My My, Hey, Hey (Out Of The Blue),” another classic Young song. Armed with an acoustic guitar and microphone mounted to his harmonica brace, Young comfortably paced across the stage, looking as comfortable as if he were at home playing in his living room.

“Old Man” also received the solo acoustic treatment, which, at age 69, has now become a retrospective song about his life. Young coolly tossed his harmonica into the crowd after completing the song and said, “I saw Elvis do that once. I thought it looked cool.”

Before Young quietly took the stage, a husband and wife farmer sprinkled seeds across the stage, but once Promise Of The Real joined him, a group of men in white biohazard suits sprayed the stage with fog, meant to represent pesticides spread from agricultural giant, Monsanto.

The set’s middle portion focused heavily on The Monsanto Years, with songs blatantly rallying against Monsanto and other corporations with involvement in genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

In the lobby of the arena, an area called “Neil’s Village,” focused on the environmental causes close to Young’s heart, where concertgoers could sign various petitions. For all the preachy elements of this tour, Young is at least standing firm with his beliefs and attempting to make a difference, which is a noble act that not everyone of celebrity stature can claim.

Onstage, Promise Of The Real and Young mesh well together. Whether performing by the books covers, or erupting into extended, Crazy Horse-style jams, they are able to match Young’s sheer love of music.

“People Want To Hear About Love” was the most effective song from The Monsanto Years. In it, Young lists many of the issues plaguing society, but repeatedly insists the reason we can’t answer the issues is because “People Want To Hear About Love,” not the miserable aspects of the world.

The major detractor of the night was that many of the jams refused to end. “Down By The River,” from 1969’s Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere, pushed on for nearly 20 minutes and was the longest song of the night. This was a polarizing moment for much of the crowd. Most were enraptured by the song, but others couldn’t wait to see the end and headed for the exits.

One woman yelled, “Thank god THAT’S over,” after the final notes ceased. She left moments later, as did much of the crowd as 10:30 p.m. quickly came and went.

Young would play for another hour, nearly cracking the three-hour mark for the show. He is a tireless performer, coming back to the stage for a one-song encore, outlasting many of the attendees. The show ended around 11:30, but Young probably could have kept going. He never took an intermission and soldiered through the night, proving “Rock ‘n’ Roll can never die.”

Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir received an all too generous 15-minute opening slot. Dressed in a garish white suit made to resemble an ’80s style television preacher, the choir delivered a sermon about climate change, police violence and had a song called “The Devil Is Monsanto,” (not the other way around). The 12-piece group sang well, but the lyrical content felt like an awkward and ineloquent in-your-face rant in which they created a laundry list of problems, but never once attempted to tackle a solution – the musical equivalent of a bumper sticker on a Ferrari.

Before FIDLAR took the stage at the Wonder Ballroom on Thursday night, the air was thin, breathable and cool, much like the outdoor fall weather that crept in through the open doors at the front of the venue. By the end of an hour-long, adrenaline-charged set by FIDLAR, everyone in attendance was drenched in sweat, the floor was covered with loose clothing, stepped-on plastic cups and at least one puddle of booze-laden vomit.

FIDLAR is touring in support of Too, an emotional roller coaster of an album which is mainly about singer Zac Carper’s struggle to overcome his longtime addiction to drugs including heroin, cocaine, meth, speed and alcohol (If you haven’t read the Consequence of Sound interview with Carper from late August, please take a few minutes to do so here. It’s heartbreaking and essential to understanding FIDLAR).

As the lights dimmed, R. Kelly’s “Ignition Remix” began playing, marking probably the only time anyone has ever moshed to an R. Kelly song. Skulls with light-up eyes served as the only stage light until two large, black mannequins cloaked in grey sweatshirts appeared on both sides of the stage, illuminated by the overhead spotlights.

The crowd was ready to erupt as everyone condensed into the front area of the dancefloor. The clashing guitars of “Stoked and Broke” ignited the mosh pit that failed to cease for the duration of the show. Eventually, the pushing and shoving began to drive people to the outskirts of the audience in search of respite.

The energy of the night was high as the set began with five consecutive songs from the band’s 2012 eponymous debut album. “Max Can’t Surf” was second, leading to the hyperaggressive “White On White” and “No Waves.” Although Carper has kicked drugs, he still visibly flinches with shut eyes every time he sings “I feel like shooting up,” showing that the pain of drugs and temptation still affects him to this day.

“Cheap Beer,” FIDLAR’s best known party anthem was played early and with a slow, extended intro before blasting into the main riff. The early placement did not prevent the show from rocketing along at breakneck speed. It even allowed for a partial cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s classic “Sweet Home Alabama,” a sloppy, out of tune rendition of“The Star Spangled Banner” and a scream-heavy Nirvana cover.

As the band transitioned into new material, guitarist Elvis Kuehn (drummer Max and Elvis are brothers) sang on “Drone” and “Why Generation,” while bassist Brandon Schwartzel took over for “Bad Medicine.”

The best moment of the night was “West Coast” followed by “5 to 9.” Both songs blast by like the snippets of the road trip the band is attempting to recollect. The line “Got high and headed up to Portland, but you can’t buy liquor in Oregon” went by so quickly that most people simply put a hand in the air as recognition before belting along to the infectious “Ah ah ah ahs” of the chorus. This is quite possibly the best song to be released this year, and live, it flies by more quickly than normal, leaving the audience begging for a rewind button.

“You guys want to get weird?” Carper asked the audience. He then commanded the crowd to sit down, which most did on the first try. “I’m expecting 100 percent participation. You’ll know when to stand up,” he said as the band slowly turned a disjointed feedback jam into the song “Cocaine.” As soon as the first power chord was struck, the entire crowd jumped up, matching the intensity of the heavy song.

The lights swirled an alternation of green, red and blue coloring, making it appear as if the stage was 3D-ready. Carper unleashed a blood-curdling scream in the final verse of the song that displayed the raw power of his voice. As the show approached sensory overload, FIDLAR finished “Cocaine,” thanked the audience and left without an encore after an hour-long set.

As Carper told Consequence of Sound, “The adrenaline is a drug itself.” Even if “life just sucks when you get sober,” it is easy to understand how delivering a performance like this could be a high potent enough to fill the void of heroin after experiencing a FIDLAR show.

Watch the music video for FIDLAR’s “Cocaine” below.

Punk is a misrepresented genre. The traditional imagery associated with punk consists of violent mosh pits, anarchy, blood, studded leather vests and crazy hair. This was true for the initial wave of punks and the hardcore scene, but modern punk is far different in sound and scope.

Sure, fast, distorted guitar riffs about partying and politics still reign, but the shock factor has long since worn off. Today, punk also focuses on creating a sanctuary for the misfits, the socially awkward and misguided to come together and realize that no one is alone in the universal struggle through adolescence and life.

With Friday’s release of The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us, Beach Slang has launched itself into the forefront of the genre. It echoes many familiar rock sentiments while remaining an engaging 27-minute blast of fun. It is the first full-length album from the Philadelphia foursome, led by youthful 41-year-old James Alex (guitar, vocals, songwriter), JP Flexner (drums), Ed McNulty (bass) and Ruben Gallego (guitar).

“Takeaways” begins the album with a jolt of energy and a Bruce Springsteen decree about the need to escape a “dead end town for trash like us, but I got a full tank and a couple bucks.”

The easiest description of Beach Slang’s sound is to imagine if the Japandroids’ “Fire’s Highway” combined with the Gaslight Anthem’s “The ‘59 Sound” and the Hold Steady’s “Stay Positive” to form high energy songs about finding your place in the world through music.

At times the lyrics straddle the line of over-earnest sentiment, until it becomes clear that Alex means every syllable he exerts. “Ride The Wild Haze,” the fastest track on the album, thunders into play with the line “I feel most alive when I’m listening to every record that hits harder than the pain.”

On first listen, it is almost cringe-worthy, but as the song progresses, the softness peaks out from behind the brazen wall of guitars: “I’ve never been alright, I’ve never been okay. I never cared if I was cool, fit in or anything… I’m kind of a misfit kid just floating in this daze.”

With tightly shut eyes and emotionally charged breaths that signify he has been waiting for years to get his message out, Alex creates a convincing ode to music through heart-on-the-sleeve rock, bleeding with Rivers Cuomo levels of honesty. Every song features inspirational quotes that could find a home on any refrigerator, while maintaining the razor sharp edge of a Rock and Roll manifesto.

The ethos of Beach Slang is exemplified in “I Break Guitars:”

“If rock and roll is dangerous, how come I feel so safe in it?… The night is young, the freaks are out. The wild hum of drugs and sound. The basement is alive and loud. We’re alright now.”

Few artists can convincingly pull off an emotional acoustic number surrounded by brash rockers, but Alex learned from the Replacements, who once managed to make “I’m In Trouble” [a brilliant punk song about, well, being in trouble] and “If Only You Were Lonely” [a faux Hank Williams ballad that is arguably one of Paul Westerberg’s greatest songwriting efforts], into a cohesive single. Beach Slang succeeds here by instilling the emotional depth the Replacements create on songs such as “Unsatisfied” and “Left Of The Dial.”

“The punks are wired and these records feel tough. It’s loud and wild, but I swear it feels soft,” Alex sings on “Too Late To Die Young.” The only acoustic song on The Things We Do is perfectly crafted with strings and occasional piano hits that supplement the sound instead of clouding the purity of the acoustic delivery.

The Things We Do flows immaculately. The final two tracks, “Hard Luck Kid” and “Dirty Luck” bleed together as if nothing more than a key change has occurred, providing an impressive conservation of momentum. “Porno Love” shows what Beach Slang is capable of accomplishing with one stanza of lyrics and a single guitar chord.

This is the type of album that could conceivably revive guitar rock, if it were to break out. “Bad Art And Weirdo Ideas” is about as perfect as a rock song can ever hope to be. It’s easy to sing along to, the guitar has the right level of reverb to feel like a summer anthem and it packs a message that needs to be taken to heart:

“We are not alone. We are not mistakes. Don’t whisper now, We’re allowed to be loud.”

Never forget that.

Follow Craig on Twitter: @wgwcraig

2010 to 2015 has offered an elite variety of films. In the past six years, we’ve seen quite a range of cinematic storytelling: robots posing as humans; humans falling in love with robots; robots who are programmed to have human emotions; humans whose feelings control them like robots; robots pulverizing humans’ architecture; humans using robots to develop a system to communicate with other humans; human-robot hybrids fighting alien invaders; and humans telling other humans that robots are spying on them.

We’ve also seen some exceptional releases from some of the finest working directors today, like Terence Malick’s The Tree of Life; Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty; Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master and Inherent Vice; and David Fincher’s The Social Network.

Here are the Emerald’s picks of the best flicks from the decade so far (only some of which implicate robots):

Toy Story 3 (2010; Director: Lee Unkrich)

The implicit darkness of the Toy Story films is usually a vaguely disturbing undercurrent. Toy Story 3 brings that darkness to the fore, not for rote edginess but to emphasize the emotions of the human and toy characters alike. The climactic furnace scene is infamous for its ability to bring adults to tears. It’s obvious the toys will make it out of the flames alive and happy; not so with the tragic villain Lotso, whose horrifying fate doesn’t invoke poetic justice as much as just how awful life can be for toys. Few films go to the same length as Toy Story to create a terrifying world. Even more incredible given that it’s the third movie in a kids’ franchise. –Daniel Bromfield

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010; Director: Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

In 2010’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, the often outrageous Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul mellows down to an almost obscene degree. Though the story centers on a dying man and his family, Uncle Boonmee is a surprisingly emotionally neutral experience. What makes it great is its ability to evoke awe in a way rivaled by few films, and it’s more conducive to repeat watching than 2001: A Space Odyssey, the gold standard for films designed to humble one through the vastness of space and time. Uncle Boonmee plays as an art film, but there are no philosophical conceits to grasp in order to enjoy it. Just sit back and watch. –Daniel Bromfield

Black Swan (2010; Director: Darren Aronofsky)

Known for his unnerving, surreal and downright depressing films (see: Requiem for a Dream and Pi), Aronofsky does not make feel-good flicks. His 2010 psychological thriller, Black Swan, definitely attests to that fact. Starring Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis, Black Swan follows Nina’s (Portman), journey to become the coveted white swan in an acclaimed ballet production of Swan Lake. As the pressure clamps down on Nina, she begins losing touch with reality, which Aronofsky showcases in utterly terrifying ways. The perspective sticks with Nina for the duration of the film, leaving the viewer just as in the dark as the confused and mentally unstable ballerina as she succumbs to hallucinations and makes life-altering decisions. Black Swan portrays the beauty of ballet and dance performance as well as the unbearable pressure that comes with it. Watch this film without cringing. I dare you. –Meerah Powell

The Social Network (2010; Director: David Fincher)

The Social Network is a film that will inevitably stand the test of time as the definitive period piece of the early 2000s. Fincher’s eye for bleak dread is turned away from the morbid, and focuses on a series of human interactions that would come to shape the internet era. Aaron Sorkin’s script crafts a Machiavellian villain out of Mark Zuckerberg, portrayed with damning humanity by Jesse Eisenberg. Startlingly entertaining, and endlessly watchable. –Chris Berg

Drive (2011; Director: Nicolas Winding Refn)

When Drive debuted in cinemas in 2011, it seemed to pass like a bullet in the wind. Refn’s stark thriller about a silent protagonist with a mysterious background went largely unnoticed by mainstream audiences, and Refn left it to the film blog circuit to champion its startling charms. Four years later, and Drive has seemingly established a new spin on noir, where rain and lounge jazz are traded for light-polluted nighttime skies and brooding electronic tones. –Chris Berg

Your Sister’s Sister (2011 TIFF release, 2012 actual release; Director: Lynn Shelton)

Shelton’s film is almost as simple as a story can be, with little more than a trio of actors and a remote setting. A woman, Iris (Emily Blunt) invites her friend Jack (Mark Duplass) to spend time alone at a remote cabin in the San Juan Islands, where he runs into her sister Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt). With so few variables, Your Sister’s Sister defies its potential limitations with a poignant, comical story that becomes more captivating as cabin fever and the onus of keeping secrets in close-quarters start to set in. Also: Mike Birbiglia is in the first five minutes. –Emerson Malone

Midnight in Paris (2011; Director: Woody Allen)

Paris follows an ordinary man from Pasadena, Gil Pender (Owen Wilson) who’s fascinated by the ’20s and Paris in the rain, and finds himself transported to the middle of 20th century Paris. The movie is magically charming, filled with sweet humor and smart. It’s filled with famous historical figures like Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway (Corey Stoll), Salvador Dalí (Adrien Brody), and F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston), and displays their personalities on a level. The film also explores the concept of nostalgia, and how easy it is for one to wish they lived in another time. It illustrates the good and bad that comes with every era, entertaining audiences along the way. –Anna Lieberman

The Tree of Life (2011; Director: Terrence Malick)

Malick doesn’t just shoot for the moon with his partially autobiographical epic; he shoots for the center of the universe. He weaves together the universe’s origin, the beginnings of life on Earth and dinosaurs showing mercy for one another, with his trials growing up in Waco, Texas in the ’50s with a strict dad (one played by Brad Pitt, no less) and an angelic mom (Jessica Chastain, naturally) in this maximalist story. You can easily get intoxicated by watching the sweeping, poetic cinematography of Emmanuel Lubezki, through which we see the world from a youthful perspective. –Emerson Malone

The Avengers (2012; Director: Joss Whedon)

In 2008, the stumbling house of Stan Lee set out to release its first in-house produced film under the Marvel Studios banner. Iron Man was a bold film with a closing sequence teasing something seemingly impossible: The Avengers. When it came time for Marvel to deliver in the face of industry shifting success, they gave us its crown jewel. This is the perfect summer film, a spectacle event that brings together iconic characters with purpose and charm. It displays an understanding of what a Marvel blockbuster can give to an audience, and never holds back. – Chris Berg

Life of Pi.

Life of Pi (2012; Director: Ang Lee)

This movie is filled with a magical-realism that made people come together in theaters and perk up, wide-eyed at the beautiful cinematography, and fall into Pi’s world lost at sea on a tiny lifeboat with a tiger; his last remaining reminder of his life before his ocean-exile. Filled with moments of devastatingly raw sadness, uplifting triumph and quiet hopelessness, this movie left people riveted and connected to Pi and his tiger – Richard Parker – and the bond they create together alone for so many days on that boat surviving, simultaneously finding themselves in the center of God’s wonders. – Jordyn Brown

The Place Beyond the Pines (2012; Director: Derek Cianfrance)

All you need to know: Ryan Gosling plays a carnival motorcyclist stunt driver who begins to rob banks to provide for a newborn child that he just learned he has with his lover (Eva Mendes). Pines is a beautiful exercise in storytelling, both in the jarring, segmented structure and in its depiction of the cyclical, inescapable patterns that befall some father-son relationships. –Emerson Malone

Spring Breakers (2012; Director: Harmony Korine)

Harmony Korine’s first “mainstream” film portrays the turn-of-the-2010s as an era. The Black Keys and Britney Spears, Gucci Mane and My Little Pony – all are portrayed as relics of a very specific moment in time. But Korine doesn’t court the pang of relatability the way Richard Linklater did in Boyhood. The film looks and feels like chillwave, EDM and Instagram filters. It exists entirely in a sphere that, five years after “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites,” this generation might even feel a bit nostalgic for. But the most remarkable thing about Spring Breakers is that (relatively venerable) director Harmony Korine isn’t condemning millennials. He doesn’t shame them for texting, partying, having promiscuous sex, or listening to Skrillex. He simply turns a thoughtful eye on a culture obsessed with instant gratification. –Daniel Bromfield

The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013; Director: Martin Scorsese)

It’s hard not to feel morally iffy about Scorsese’s escapist epic, especially when it makes the high life its corrupt protagonist Jordan Belfort enjoys seem so fun – sex, drugs, luxury vehicles, near-constant partying, all at an enviably young age. But the conspicuous absence of the moral implications of his extravagant lifestyle just makes them more obvious and uncomfortable. We admire him as perversely as the audience that gazes at him at the end of the film as he delivers his post-prison seminars. And when his true evil comes out, as during an immensely uncomfortable scene with his gay butler, the shattering of the illusion is even more sobering. –Daniel Bromfield

The Master Photo credit: Creative Commons

The Master (2012; Director: Paul Thomas Anderson)

Some praised this movie for being a big, juicy hunk of steak to savor for a long time, while others called it the cinematic equivalent of a pile of bricks without mortar. In a premise that could have arisen from a J.D. Salinger novella, we follow Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) a WWII veteran with a canine charisma, prone to concocting booze from paint thinner. He finds his way onto a ship one night, where he forges a kinship with Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour Hoffman), the figurehead of a quasi-religious following. Fueled by its ambiguous title, the film delves into the power dynamic between the unlikely companionship between the two. Partly inspired by the lives of John Steinbeck and L. Ron Hubbard, The Master is not a film to be left in the background. It demands attention. –Emerson Malone

Her (2013; Director: Spike Jonze)

Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) is the solitary protagonist in this meditation on hyper-futuristic alienation, who falls in love with a phone operating system named Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). You’d think a premise with this much cross-platform romance would be a painfully cheesy tale, but it plays off effortlessly, and almost disturbingly so. If for no other reason to watch Her, listen for Arcade Fire’s soporific, instrumental score. –Emerson Malone

This Is The End (2013; Directors: Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen)

There are few great disgustingly raunchy comedies. This Is The End is one of the raunchiest films of all time and the funniest movie of the decade. It boldly goes where no other film dares tread. In it, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Craig Robinson and Danny McBride struggle to survive after the apocalypse strikes during an A-list celebrity party at James Franco’s posh new house. The actors all play and mercilessly mock themselves in a manner that is as self-deprecatory as it is celebratory, leading to an endlessly quotable film. Few movies can justify being anywhere near as crude as this, but This Is The End hilariously crosses the line of cultural acceptability for an unforgettably funny film involving Channing Tatum as Danny McBride’s sex slave, a nighttime visit by Satan (played by Rogen) to Jonah Hill’s room and a curt rave prominently featuring Psy’s “Gangnam Style.” —Craig Wright

Force Majeure. Photo credit: Creative Commons.

Force Majeure (2013; Director: Ruben Östlund)

A “controlled avalanche” is key to this Swedish black comedy and a rather fine metaphor for the repressed catastrophe that befalls a family at a ski resort. When an avalanche interrupts lunch, the dad makes the snap judgment to run away from his wife and children out of self-interest for his safety, and shamefully pays the price for his decision. The whole family dynamic is rattled; the ski trip is effectively corrupted. The lingering, Kubrickian cinematography holds a microfocus on the family, even as you catch glimpses of an oddly futuristic world around them. Humiliation and emasculation are abundant as the perception of the stoic patriarch is put on trial. Force Majeure is damn stressful to watch, but it’s a near-perfect film. –Emerson Malone

Godzilla (2014; Director: Gareth Edwards)

Studio blockbusters are rarely the place you expect to see restraint on film. Much less so in a tentpole monster movie about the most legendary kaiju of them all. But Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla illustrates an amazing commitment to pace and building scale – all without a slow moment. Using some of the most vibrant cinematography in recent memory, Edwards transitions from a personal human tragedy, to community and city destructions, to a gritty bar fight between skyscraper-sized beasts. –Chris Berg

The Raid 2 (2014; Director: Gareth Evans)

It’s common parlance for film snobs of the day to insist that the traditional action movie is dead. That the dawn of PG-13 blockbusters and shakey camerawork has slit the throat of a cinema staple. But all these fools would need is a glimpse at The Raid 2 to see their folly. This Indonesian action epic is a masterpeice of classic hand-to-hand combat choreography, gunplay, car chases, and sweeping brawls that feel painfully personal. –Chris Berg

The Grand Budapest Hotel. Photo credit: Creative Commons

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014; Director: Wes Anderson)

This film retains all the commonplace characteristics of a Wes Anderson production – the pop-up sets, an antiseptically clean look, stilted rapport, and Bill Murray. But Anderson’s eighth film still shows how, despite some degree of predictability, he can still bend the rules. He employs different aspect ratios to correspond to three separate timelines and effortlessly blends together a number of genres – art heist, youths in love, and a prison break – within 99 interminable minutes. –Emerson Malone

It Follows (2014 Cannes release, 2015 actual release; Director: David Robert Mitchell)

It Follows is a pastiche of ’70s horror, stealing a classroom scene outright from Halloween and featuring a synth score whose debt to John Carpenter is almost comical. But It Follows features smarter, more compelling characters than the wooden, one-dimensional idiots of its source material. It also features one of the most effective ghosts in cinema history (its true nature isn’t identified, but it’s treated like a ghost, and it even wears a white sheet at one point.) Its appearance is unimpressive, but its mere presence is far more frightening than any amount of dumb zombie makeup could ever be. –Daniel Bromfield

It Follows (again)

As a long time fan of horror I am surprised when something genuinely scares me. David Robert Mitchell’s It Follows did just that, with ease. Though at its base, a supernatural flick about a woman fleeing a mysterious, shape-shifting entity, It Follows is more than just simple scares. Though undoubtedly terrifying, the film also focuses on the themes of friendship and trust and specifically what great lengths friends are willing to go to protect each other. It Follows is built on a very specific, timeless, eerie yet beautiful atmosphere with the framing of each scene so well thought out that they could stand on their own as pieces of art. The dreamy, minimalistic cinematography, amplified by an impeccable soundtrack written by Disasterpeace, will easily send chills up spines. Extremely uncomfortable to watch at times and breathtakingly gorgeous at others, It Follows will linger with you long after the credits roll. –Meerah Powell

Citizenfour Photo credit: Creative Commons

Citizenfour (2014; Director: Laura Poitras)

The most surprising revelation from the Snowden leaks? That they had a documentary filmmaker with them the whole time. While holed up in a Hong Kong hotel, Poitras records the potent anxiety and boundless paranoia of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald and the recently unemployed Edward Snowden as the most important news story of the 21st century breaks. That’s what makes this a unique documentary of its kind, given that it’s not a retrospective portrayal, but a firsthand account of history in the making. –Emerson Malone

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015; Director: Alex Gibney)

Through interviews with The Church of Scientology’s apostates, Gibney’s adaptation of Lawrence Wright’s book “Going Clear” is a deconstruction of one of the most enigmatic, made-in-America organizations. It attempts to explain as much as it can within two hours – the life of founder L. Ron Hubbard, the religion’s inventive vocabulary and the Church’s current figurehead; David Miscavige and the numerous allegations of his violent behavior; as well as why the Church courts celebrities as members; and how it achieved the tax-exempt designation as a religious institution. This is likely the most compelling documentary – if not feature-length film – of 2015. –Emerson Malone

Inside Out. Photo credit: Creative Commons

Inside Out (2015; Directors: Pete Docter, Ronnie Del Carmen)

Although Inside Out is a film geared toward children, it represents fairly mature ideas about the nuances of emotion, even exploring the consequences of not feeling anything at all.

The film follows Riley, a funny and kind girl that moves to San Francisco with her parents. And of course, all of her emotions come with her. The human mind’s varied moods are on full display here – Fear, Disgust, Anger, Sadness, and Joy – all represented in a sweet, anthropomorphized form. The film is extremely creative, representing complex psychological concepts in an entertaining fashion. Riley’s brain is like its own world, with islands of emotion, a train of thought and endless shelves of stored memories. Mark this as the first children’s film that explicitly states how joy is comforting, but also that it’s okay to be sad sometimes. –Anna Lieberman

Ex Machina Photo credit: Creative Commons

Ex Machina (2015; Director: Alex Garland)

Set in the not-so-distant future, Ex Machina, directed by Alex Garland – writer of 28 Days Later – is a film that proves to be way too close to home. The film focuses on a computer programmer named Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) who wins a workplace contest to be part of a top secret, once-in-a-lifetime assignment. It’s soon revealed – after he already signed multiple contracts and agreed to be locked up in a remote fortress-esque mansion in the wilderness for a week – that Caleb will be administering a test to an android in order to gauge its potential artificial intelligence. The film uses brilliant pacing broken up with scenes of stunning views of Norway, for use of both beautiful cinematography and as an addition to the cold, creepy setting. It adds a chilling, sterile environment to the intense interactions between Caleb, his boss (played by Oscar Isaac) and a humanoid robot, Ava. Ex Machina holds the sentiment of mystery close, as both Caleb and the viewer seem unsure of whom to trust throughout this chilling film. You may want to toss your laptop out the window after this one. –Meerah Powell

Not listed: Shut Up and Play the Hits (2012); Sound of My Voice (2011); Boyhood (2014); Django Unchained (2012); Dear White People (2014); Gravity (2013); 127 Hours (2010); Steve Jobs (2015); Carnage (2011); Birdman (2014); Holy Motors (2012); Zero Dark Thirty (2012); Biutiful (2010); The American (2010); The Skin I Live In (2011); Moneyball (2011); Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012); Seven Psychopaths (2012); How To Survive a Plague (2012); Blue Jasmine (2013); Dallas Buyers Club (2013); The Imitation Game (2014); Nightcrawler (2014); Inherent Vice (2014); The East (2013); Another Earth (2011); I Origins (2014); Gone Girl (2014); Whiplash (2014).

Follow Daniel Bromfield on Twitter @bromf3

Follow Emerson Malone on Twitter @balldroid69

Follow Chris Berg on Twitter @Mushroomer25

Follow Meerah Powell on Twitter @meerahpowell

Follow Craig Wright on Twitter @wgwcraig

Follow Jordyn Brown on Twitter @thejordynbrown

My brother called me from Boston at 1:30 a.m. the other night, barely able to contain his excitement with a story of rock-n-roll badassery unlike any other.

He had just left a concert where the band was forced to start late because they couldn’t find the drugs they needed for the show. After the singer pleaded with the crowd, a hero in the back of Great Scott, the Allston, MA venue, rose to the occasion and saved the show by crowdsurfing his personal stash to the stage.

When the open roll of TUMS reached the thankful bassist, the singer announced that this interaction had officially fucked up the band’s chapter in the history of rock ‘n’ roll.

Arguably, anti-rock star occurrences like these are exactly why it deserves its own chapter.

The band was Beach Slang, the most exciting new act of 2015. Despite its debut full-length album, The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us, which came out in October to near-universal acclaim, the Philadelphia-based band is still headlining four-band billings at small clubs. The members tour with no road crew and run the merchandise table themselves, and from time to time, they need a little help from the crowd because they suffer from stomach aches, too.

Rolling Stone Magazine and Pitchfork both praised The Things We Do, which signifies a rare agreement across the corporatized and hipster sectors of the review world. Vice’s music site Noisey recently called Beach Slang one of its artists of the year.

“The thing we decided when we started on this whole thing would be humility would guide the ship,” said James Alex, singer, guitarist and songwriter for Beach Slang. “We haven’t lost focus of that. We won’t.”

Alex was dressed in a baggy black sweatshirt that read “Born A Bad Seed” when we spoke in a drafty side stairwell at Portland’s Analog Theater on Nov. 11. It may sound like a treatment reserved for journalists, but Alex treats everyone as if he has known them for years and often greets complete strangers with a hug. He is a soft-spoken individual who talks with his relaxed “beach slang” style that differs from his singing voice.

He admits that he adopted his gritty singing style after he read about how, when The Beatles recorded “Helter Skelter,” Paul McCartney screamed outside for 30 minutes to make his voice more gruff. Using a guitar capo also affects the timbre of his bellows.

“If I place the capo higher, my voice just starts to naturally gravel up because I’m straining it,” Alex said. “My doctor probably hates me, but I love how it sounds.”

At a youthful 41-years old, James Alex leads Beach Slang, the most exciting band of 2015 as its singer, guitarist and songwriter. Alex is also the father of a newborn baby boy. Photo credit: Meerah Powell

James Alex is a youthful 41-year-old father of a seven-month-old baby boy named Oliver. When Oliver was two weeks old, James had to leave his wife and son for a European tour. At the time, James said Oliver was not yet able to comprehend that he was his father. Leaving Oliver at six months old was more difficult. “I handed him over and he started to cry and reach for me, and that was tough,” Alex said.

It may be hard to imagine leaving a wife and child at home to pursue a career in rock ‘n’ roll, but this is not Alex’s first critically acclaimed band. In 1992, Alex (then known as James Alex Snyder) was invited to join the pop-punk band Weston as the second guitarist and co-vocalist. After releasing The Massed Albert Sounds, Weston’s major label debut, the band broke up. Beach Slang is another promising shot at a career in music, yet having a newborn is not a responsibility Alex takes lightly.

“I’m hungry to give him a good life,” Alex said. “I came up a little rough and tumble, and I don’t want him to have to do that. I have this sensibility now – the world is bigger than me now, and that’s really sweet and cool.”

Beach Slang’s heart-on-the-sleeve songs focus on the curative power of music. As has been said dozens of times by other critics, the songs border on being unlistenably corny (“I feel most alive when I’m listening / To every record that hits harder than the pain,” Alex croons in “Ride The Wild Haze”), but Beach Slang makes them sound like a definitive rock ‘n’ roll manifesto for the people, by the people. This is why Beach Slang’s small-but-loyal following has been singing along to most of the words since its second show as a band.

No band is quite as genuine as Beach Slang. When the members say thank you (which they do quite often), they mean it. During soundcheck before the Portland show, Beach Slang immediately came off as uniquely grateful; after bass guitarist Ed McNulty checked his bass and microphone, he thanked the sound booth operator. Alex followed suit and took time during the show to introduce the sound operator to the audience.

For every performance, Alex wears a signature blue cardigan sweater, looking a bit like Angus Young with red corduroy pants. For as often as he wears the sweater, it would seem like he travels with a closet full of them. That’s not the case.

“Unfortunately, I have one. Yeah. To the band’s dismay. It doesn’t clean well,” he said.

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J.P. Flexner (drums) and James Alex (guitar) have developed great unspoken chemistry onstage, often teaming up for air punches punctuated by Flexner’s cymbal crashes. Photo credit: Meerah Powell

Alex began the show by saying “We’re here to punch you in the heart” before ripping into “Filthy Luck” from the 2014 EP Who Would Ever Want Anything So Broken?

Drummer J.P. Flexner sings along to almost every word as he navigates between ride cymbal and floor tom leads. Flexner and Alex have developed a great, unspoken chemistry as Flexner is seemingly able to sense when Alex is about to point for a cymbal crash. At this show, a few of the unchoreographed crashes matched up so well, Alex had to compliment Flexner’s timing.

“We feel like we’re playing to a roomful of friends when we’re onstage,” Alex said after a spontaneous bout of air punches and cymbal attacks, which evoked Pete Townshend and Keith Moon in their prime.

Guitarist Ruben Gallego maintains a quiet stage presence until he sees the chance to pounce with a joke between songs. Throughout the show, he repeatedly played the “Bad To The Bone” guitar riff, which Alex eventually freestyle sang to. On the other end, McNulty rarely stands still, bouncing around the stage with inexhaustible energy, practically punching power chords out of his bass.

(Continued below)

Beach Slang guitarist Ruben Gallego maintains a quiet stage presence until he seeks the opportunity to pounce with a joke between songs. Photo credit: Meerah Powell

Every time Beach Slang plays a song, it feels like they are uncovering a masterpiece for the first time. It’s a raucous experience. Alex said: “When I write songs, that feels like a baptism. When I play, that’s like an exorcism.”

After blasting through the intro of the band’s rowdiest song, “Ride the Wild Haze,” Alex turned around and noticed the giant mirror looming behind Flexner’s drum kit. He stopped everything to made a quick joke about how the “super trippy” mirror threw him off. A quick count-off led into a second take, which felt more anxious, powerful and reminiscent of the rock ‘n’ roll exorcism he teased.

After a few songs, Alex overcame his initial rush of nervous energy and served up more banter with Gallego and McNulty. After “Get Lost,” he joked about wanting to re-record the ending “Ooh-wooh-oohs” with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He and McNulty agreed, then Gallego insisted Axl Rose would be the best to duet with before providing an impression of how it might sound, much to McNulty’s chagrin.

(Continued below)

Beach Slang bassist Ed McNulty provides a spark for the band as he bounces around the stage with an interminable energy level. Photo credit: Meerah Powell

To decompress after this exchange, Alex announced that a new video for “Bad Art & Weirdo Ideas” had premiered that day. Then a fan interrupted: “That’s an awesome song. You should play it.”

“You can’t fight with the kid,” McNulty said with a grin on his face.

Alex invited the fan to tour with the band, offering the last seat in the van: “Why don’t you just come out and drop that every night? That would be beautiful.”

Fans have given Alex a series of pinback buttons to attach to his cardigan, and as he mentioned the Big Star button he had recently received, a woman in the front row handed him a new button for his collection. In disbelief, all he could do was thank the woman with a long hug. Soon after, Alex made a hand gesture to signify that his heart was exploding with love. Gallego wasn’t looking, so Alex repeated the gesture a second time, looking like an excited kid showing off a new trick.

For a punk outfit, Beach Slang is one of the most sincere live bands currently performing, possibly rivaling the Hold Steady for the most positive demeanor. Alex writes songs that remind listeners that “we are not alone, we are not mistakes.” He commonly sings about “kids like us” and “we,” as if simply by listening, the connection is immediately established with the like-minded misfit kids already occupying his “Noisy Heaven.” After seeing Beach Slang live, the album title The Things We Do To Find People Who Feel Like Us makes perfect sense.

“I think the Beach Slang thing, by and large, is sort of about remembering that you got knocked down, but really celebrating that you got back up,” Alex said. “I don’t want to dwell in the junk. There’s light. I want to be there.”

When I asked Alex what his ultimate goal of Beach Slang is, he leaned in and said, “I just want to make honest work. Whenever this thing does sort of lose air and go away, I want to be able to look back at it and be like, we really put our hearts out there. I want to be proud of the thing.

“A secondary sort of great thing would be if that paid the bills. I’ve done other things to make a living, and none of them are as fun as playing guitar, but I want to do that with integrity and honesty. I’m not willing to give that away to just make money.”

In the song “Too Late To Die Young,” a disillusioned ballad about the soft side of punk-rock, Alex sings, “I ain’t ever felt loved.” I asked if touring has changed his mind about this, and he replied, “It’s hard not to feel alright doing this thing.”

Underneath the strings of his white Epiphone guitar is a thin splattered layer of dried blood. As Alex decrees in “Throwaways,” the first track of The Things We Do, “There’s a time to bleed and a time just to fucking run.”

Beach Slang has found its time to bleed. With some good fortune, perhaps fans will be able to crowd-surf bandages to the stage when the bleeding gets out of hand.

Photo credit: Meerah Powell

Follow Craig Wright on Twitter @wgwcraig

Listen to Beach Slang’s “Bad Art & Weirdo Ideas” below.

To fairly review Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the Emerald decided to feature a trilogy of reviews displaying three distinct perspectives: One of a Star Wars expert who has seen every movie multiple times and read Star Wars Expanded Universe comics and books; one of a Star Wars enthusiast who grew up with the films; and one casual fan who doubted that the existence of any modern Star Wars could possibly be decent.

Update 11:46 p.m. Dec. 18: Initially, Mathew Brock was unable to find a theater with any available tickets due to astronomically high ticket demand. His review of the film is now included.

Craig Wright: Star Wars doubter

I have to confess that I am not a big Star Wars fan. The original trilogy is very enjoyable, but the only good thing that came from The Phantom Menace through Revenge of the Sith were the Star Wars Battlefront video games. Much like the Minion Movie, the advertising blitz of The Force Awakens almost made me want to throw out every screen in my house and avoid entering the supermarket for weeks. I seemed to be the only person adamant that stretching Star Wars to nine installments was a god-forsaken, horrible idea.

On occasion, it feels very good to be so wrong.

The first major chase scene of The Force Awakens involves the Millennium Falcon spinning and flipping, flying feet above the desert floor as incoming tie fighters narrowly miss their target. The camera tracks the Falcon, flipping slowly with it before stabilizing. This was the instant it hit that Star Wars is back in full force. This scene is a modern update of the awe-inspiring star destroyer flyover from 1977’s A New Hope that inspired one of the most passionate fan bases in entertainment history.

As Hollywood relies on sequels, remakes and big-budget apocalypse movies, Star Wars returns to what it does best: being a relentless action film that is as funny as it is heart racing. Fan favorite characters return, brilliantly setting the stage for newcomers Rey (Daisey Ridley), Finn (John Boyega) and villain Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). The especially emotive new droid BB-8 is a scene stealer and plays well off of any character’s dialogue and thumbs-up gestures.

The only complaints I can see people having are that Rey’s beginning is reminiscent of Luke Skywalker’s, with a seemingly random call to adventure on a desert laden planet, and (no spoiler) one of the final missions involves a nearly-identical battle plan as that of a previous Star Wars film (you’ll know it when you see it).

I left America’s only not sold-out showing of The Force Awakens with a guilty grin. Going in, I expected something as bad as The Clone Wars, but The Force Awakens is at least as enjoyable as A New Hope. My expectations were exceeded.

The ultimate question is not if it is worth seeing. It is. Now, the question is how many times you should see it and how large of a group will join you.

Believe the hype. For once, it’s warranted.

Chris Berg: Star Wars enthusiast

There’s never been a movie quite as big as Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The stakes for this film are astronomical, with Disney having spent billions on this iconic franchise. The Force Awakens has a laundry list of tasks to achieve to be considered a success. It must satisfy the massive fanbase of the original trilogy. It needs to excite new fans either too young to have ever had a connection to the series, or who come from a culture meeting these characters for the first time.

In every way that matters, The Force Awakens excels. It works as both a seamless continuation of the original iconic franchise and a launchpad for a whole new generation of adventures. But in the process, it may feel a bit too safe to stand among the franchise’s best.

The Force Awakens follows a new crew of intergalactic heroes as they cross paths with some familiar faces from the originals. It also introduces a new threat, the First Order — born from the remnants of the Empire, post-Emperor Palpatine.

The new characters are immediately charming, lovable, and unique. Unlike the stuffy, monologuing dullards of the prequels, the major new characters in The Force Awakens have great chemistry and are just a joy to watch. Rey, Finn, and Poe are all human and relatable in unique ways. Even BB-8 (the instantly iconic ‘ball droid’) bursts with personality. The returning characters are also given time to shine, with Harrison Ford delivering his best performance in years. He plays a Han Solo who hasn’t let time or personal misfortune slow down his swashbuckling ways.

Director J.J. Abram’s vision of the galaxy far, far away is ambitious, yet grounded. Practical effects and real sets own the show, accentuated by the expected digital wonders. It’s not breaking new ground, but it puts on one hell of a show that demands to be seen on the big screen.

For all of the new ideas of The Force Awakens, the film’s plot is excessively familiar. Structurally, it’s almost a retelling of A New Hope — right down to iconic plot points and moments being recreated with the new cast. This stretches past the line of homage and feels redundant. This a film that knows it has all the time in the world to tell its stories, with entire character arcs left shamelessly unfinished. It knows that any one of countless future films can keep them alive.

Overall, The Force Awakens is a tremendously enjoyable film. It’s a catalyst for a franchise that Disney never intends to finish, and that has to be pleasurable for damn near every human being on Earth. No film paints in broader strokes. Yet you can’t help but smile at its lovable characters, wild action and epic sense of wonder.

Mathew Brock: Star Wars aficionado

I was livid when I first heard that the entirety of the Star Wars Expanded Universe would no longer be considered canon so as not to conflict with Disney’s new Star Wars trilogy. Nearly 40 years worth of comics, novels, videogames and television shows that had defined a large part of my childhood had suddenly become elaborate fan-fiction. One of the most expansive and well-crafted fictional universes ever created was almost entirely erased without a second thought; it was a waste of good storytelling.

Even with this significant exclusion, I am relieved to say that Star Wars: The Force Awakens is an excellent movie. I went into the theater expecting to come out thoroughly disappointed. Instead, I left with a huge grin on my face and only the smallest tinge of remorse in my chest.

The new main characters are complex, interesting, and enjoyable to watch, but Harrison Ford still manages to steal the show with an excellent portrayal of an aged Han Solo. It’s satisfying to watch an old veteran take these newcomers under his wing and show them how a space-scoundrel with a heart-of-gold does things.

Disney has made full use of modern technology to bring a new level of immersion to the series. It was incredible to see spaceships break into pieces during dogfights and to see the marks made by blaster shots and lightsaber slashes smolder and glow after impact. The non-human characters also feel more real than ever before. The various “aliens” fit in with their surroundings and rarely trigger the uncanny valley effect like in past installments.

There are many references to the original trilogy in this new film, perhaps even to a fault. Every other scene seems to feature a recognizable prop or a clever quip referencing some event from the previous films. In fact, the movie has many so parallels and references to A New Hope that it seems like the story was written to deliberately introduce and then plug most of the noticeable plot holes from the original film.

Overall, I enjoyed the movie and would genuinely recommend it to anyone who has seen the original trilogy. It gives the franchise a modern polish without losing the tone that makes it an authentic Star Wars experience.

The Star Wars Expanded Universe, now re-branded as Star Wars Legends, will still have a special place in my heart and in my head-canon. There’s really no reason you can’t enjoy both, and in my opinion, the more Star Wars the better.

There is one movie that has captured the creative imagination of the world this week, one that harkens viewers back to a feeling of awe-inspiring nostalgia that has eluded us since childhood. This movie’s young hero must face an internal crisis and decide which side of the force to pick: the FBI or the Robin Hood style super-athlete thieves who have granted him a path to spiritual enlightenment.

In what is now a grossly tired Hollywood practice, the 1991 cult-classic Point Break has received the remake treatment, trading in simplified bank robberies for adrenaline-fueled stunts and high-stakes heists.

The opening scene begins the action with Johnny Utah (Luke Bracey) riding a motorcycle across the top of a mountain path. Following an accident at the end of the ride, Utah decides to quit extreme motorcycle riding to join the FBI.

He lands his first case by discovering the secret motive behind a group of daring bandits’ plans to continue their robberies by completing the “Osaka Eight” – a series of death defying stunts which, if completed, will allow spiritual nirvana by conquering all of the forces of nature.

After each robbery, sometimes disguised by masks of U.S. presidents, the group performs a stunt and gives the profits to the less fortunate, much like Robin Hood.

Utah intercepts the group when he discovers the impending 80-feet-tall waves approaching a location in the middle of the ocean. Sure enough, the group is there and cautiously takes a liking to Utah after their third daring robbery.

As you might expect from the original film, Utah is accepted by the group and he just happens to be able to accomplish any of the death-defying “Osaka Eight” challenges that the bandits are out to complete — with no training, of course. A budding bromance between Bodhi (the leader of the thieves played by Édgar Ramírez) and Utah is born; Utah must decide what is more important: the bond of brotherhood, or the FBI mission he is set to complete.

There are multiple connections to the original, but it is by no means a shot-for-shot redo. It is a remake that emphasizes the sport aspect of the bandits and deals much less with the robberies. The bonding takes center-stage alongside base-jumps and skydives. It keeps all the classic Point Break tropes while updating the stunts from simply surfing, to a conquering of nature’s powers as an environmental message.

Point Break is, without a doubt, better than advertised. The stunts are at least visually stimulating enough to entice the viewer to forgive the shortcomings of the script and ignore the fact that they should all die on every attempted “Osaka Eight” outing and robbery; but that’s to be expected in a world that relies on over-the-top remakes to drive profit. Watch it expecting to be entertained, and it will accomplish the job. Asking for anything more is asking for too much.