MUSIC

Backstage with Josh Levi

A new version of the holiday classic "Let It Snow" is out now

Interview and Photos by Jordan Edwards

This past week, Josh Levi released a cover of "Let It Snow," the Christmas classic made famous by Boyz II Men. The track is faithful to the original while adding his own modern touch and updated production.

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Culture Feature

Is the Boston Dynamics Dance Video Proof That Robots Have Soul(s)?

The elaborate four-robot dance to The Contours "Do You Love Me," showed off some impressive moves.

Do You Love Me?

Legendary dancer and choreographer Martha Graham famously said that "dance is the hidden language of the soul."

If that's true, what does it say that the robots of Boston Dynamics just proved that they can dance better than most humans?

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Joe Gardiner, voiced by Jamie Foxx, in "Soul"

via Pixar

It could have been easy — a Pixar movie about living every day to the fullest with creative animation and a moralistic lesson about who and how to be. I watched Soul because everyone was talking about it, but this is what I expected. What came was surprisingly complex, carefully crafted, and exactly the movie we all needed to end 2020.

In 2015, everyone was talking about a Pixar animated film called Inside Out. Somehow, maybe taking their younger relatives to see it or walking into a theatre with an edible and nothing else to do, everyone had seen it, not just kids.

And everyone loved it.

Suddenly, a children's film about the complexity of emotions was telling everyone about themselves. What was remarkable about Inside Out was that it talked to its audience without belittling them and did what the best children's movies do: told a smart story in an accessible way.

The unintended effect was how well it was received by adults alike. Inside Out approached emotions in a way which felt hopeful, yet opposite to grind culture or what has become known as "toxic positivity." Soul comes from the same creators to continue the same work — examining our inner lives.

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Film News

Can Marvel Defeat the "Fantastic Four" Curse?

Will the MCU magic translate to the newly announced film, or are we in for another terrible Fantastic Four movie?

Fantastic Four | Official Teaser Trailer [HD] | 20th Century FOX

At Disney's 2020 Investor Day event, the media giant announced a huge slate of announcements involving Star Wars, Pixar, Disney+, and — of course — Marvel Studios.

Along with trailers for Loki — a series following Tom Hiddleston's Norse god of mischief — and the bizarre throwback sitcom Wandavision, Marvel announced plans for a movie starring "Marvel's first family," AKA the Fantastic Four. There's only one problem: Fantastic Four movies are always terrible.

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Culture Feature

7 Times David Blaine Tried (and Failed) to Escape the Apocalypse

Most of David Blaine's "stunts" are actually elaborate attempts to escape humanity's dark fate.

David Blaine Endurance Event - Tower Bridge. After A Night Of Torment Whenhis Cage Was Rocked Violently By An Attacker David Blaine Goes Back To His Stretching Routine.

Photo by Glenn Copus/Evening Standard/Shutterstock

This week, magician and death-defying early-2000s icon David Blaine failed to escape our planet's inexorable hold.

Many are reporting Blaine's Ascension—dangling from helium balloons that pulled him nearly 25,000 feet above the earth's surface—as just another "stunt," like the time he held his breath for 17 minutes, or the time he encased himself in ice for 63 hours. But in truth, Blaine's latest spectacle reveals the uncomfortable reality that these supposed stunts always contained: David Blaine is trying desperately to escape humanity's inevitable collective doom.

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Culture Feature

Remembering 10 of Fred Willard's Most Iconic Roles

A master of improvisation, Fred Willard leaves a legacy of memorable performances

Modern Family, ABC

On Friday comedic actor Fred Willard died at the age of 86.

With a career in television and movies that spanned six decades—from the 1960s comedy scene where he developed a close friendship with Jerry Stiller to his most recent work on the forthcoming Netflix series Space Force—Willard is probably best known for improvisational work in the mockumentary films of Christopher Guest. While he almost always played an unflappable buffoon, his buoyant charm and genius for ad-libbed absurdity made him a perennial joy to watch in both his major film roles and his frequent guest appearances on shows like The Simpsons, Community, and Drunk History. Here's a look back at some of his most iconic roles.

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