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Basma Bedawi

A&E 4/8/25 11:20pm

Review: sad women rejoice! Japanese Breakfast is back, and her pen is lethal

By Basma Bedawi

Michelle Zauner returns as Japanese Breakfast for the first time in two years with her new album “For Melancholy Brunettes (& sad women).” The album comes 10 years after Zauner’s mother died, and Zauner said in a DIY Magazine interview that her grief speaks to the album’s theme of melancholy. This melancholy is potent throughout this album: Zauner has an incredible knack for turning her life experiences into pieces of masterful fiction set to music. She sprinkles blink-and-you’ll-miss-it metaphors and references throughout the album.  

A&E 9/17/24 11:17pm

Why is everyone a DJ?

By Basma Bedawi

In a Baker College single, a D’Angelo vinyl spins and two sunset lamps frame a soundboard and speaker: Devin Gonzalez has a room made for a DJ. 

A&E 3/5/24 10:23pm

A&E predicts the 2024 Academy Awards

By Basma Bedawi , Jay Collura and Arman Saxena

It’s March already, meaning it is time to examine the Academy Awards, an event sure to be full of awkward moments, baffling losses and confounding decisions, once again hosted by Jimmy Kimmel for some reason. However, the 96th Academy Awards Ceremony has something special going for it — this past year was an excellent one for film. It will be difficult in many categories for the Academy to make a bad choice, though there certainly are some categories the Thresher A&E section feels strongly about. Here are our picks for who will win at the 96th Annual Oscars and who actually deserves it.

A&E 11/14/23 10:59pm

Public art on campus: ‘Ash and Spirits’

By Basma Bedawi

Situated just outside Hanszen College is a structure that at first seems to be yet another construction site on Rice campus. As you look closer, it eventually reveals itself to be a multimedia piece of art, weaving together sight and sound. “Ash and Spirits,” created by artist Devin Kenny, is the newest installation on campus and the most recent addition to the Moody Center for the Arts’ Platform series.

NEWS 3/28/23 10:01pm

RTA hosts annual Taiwanese Night Market

By Basma Bedawi

The Rice Taiwanese Association held its annual night market this past Saturday, hosting 415 students in Central Quad and Ray’s Courtyard for a night of food, games and culture, according to RTA Internal Vice President Shani Chiang.

A&E 2/28/23 11:13pm

Review: ‘Cocaine Bear’ is delightfully gory with blow, blood and (obviously) bears

By Basma Bedawi

If you’re looking for a short movie that contains drugs, gore and drama, all without losing its comedic heart and absurdist elements, look no further than “Cocaine Bear,” a comedy-drama directed by Elizabeth Banks and, notably, Ray Liotta’s first posthumous release. The story is (very) loosely based on a real bear found dead in 1985 after ingesting millions of dollars worth of lost cocaine. Although that bear did not go on a killing rampage, “Cocaine Bear” takes many liberties from its origin, making its main creature desecrate Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, leaving few survivors by the end. 

A&E 2/21/23 10:50pm

‘Dump month’ is back: Throwaway films to waste your time

By Basma Bedawi

January has historically been known as a “dump month” in the film industry, where movies that will likely have lesser box office or critical success than other works slated for the year are “dumped” into theaters. However, with the rise of streaming and the fall of movie theater culture, many argue that dump month is no more. To determine whether this month in the film industry is as consistently disappointing as ever, I reviewed four movies released in January. 

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