Top Gun: Maverick

Sooyeon Im (CINE21 reporter): There usually isn’t much of a reaction at press screenings, filled as they are with reporters and critics who sit with blank faces and crossed arms even through funny scenes. But even for people who had spent the previous few days cynically expecting poor reviews, Top Gun: Maverick, the first sequel after 36 years to the original 1986 Top Gun, proved to be exceptionally fun to watch. Legendary pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) has chosen to remain on active duty rather than accept a promotion and is appointed as an instructor at TOPGUN, the training school from which he previously graduated. This idea of the character imparting his beliefs to rookie aviators can be read as a reflection of what Cruise wants to say to younger people in the business on the eve of his 60th birthday. Critics admired Cruise’s commitment to real locations and stunts over CGI and his faith in the everlasting power of genre cues and the big screen. The audience erupted into applause when Val Kilmer, currently battling laryngeal cancer, appeared on screen in a reprisal of his role as Tom “Iceman” Kazansky from the original Top Gun, and the typical Hollywood formula of “man saves the world and gets the girl” was met with cheers. Top Gun: Maverick is peak movie entertainment: an all-inclusive take on the formula for success proven again by the people who have dedicated their lives to the craft of making Hollywood blockbusters. Average moviegoers and critics alike can’t help but sing the praises of a film of this caliber.

“Swimming Pool” (Ohelen)

Ilkwon Kang (music critic): There was a time when pop music was all radio-friendly melodies and R&B songs were all soulful. That formula was broken open, however, with the emergence of genres like alternative pop and alternative R&B. Both subgenres challenge the established characteristics and writing approaches of their parent genres with their own flare, and they both share a lot in common with each other when it comes to vocals and production techniques. The boundary between them is often blurred for this reason. Take the music of singer-songwriter Ohelen, for example. Resting firmly on the border between avant-garde pop and R&B, her music is unstructured and impulsive. It’s as though, once she hears how the instrumental backing has shaped up, she makes a melody on the spot with impromptu vocals that made it into the final recording. Listening to “Swimming pool,” it almost feels like a demo version. It’s very compelling. Her unique tone of voice, singing style and the outstanding approach to production come together to make a finished product that has all the beauty of an unfinished one. This sort of contradiction is another selling point of Ohelen’s music. The feeling lingers on with lyrics like, “Now I know this spot was warm and that spot is deep.”