One of the best actors working today, Leonardo DiCaprio, has been in quite a few memorable movies. With The Great Gatsby opening this week, the actor will be taking on one of the most iconic roles in American Literature. Whether he will succeed (I surely hope he does) is yet to be determined, but he has had many other memorable roles. Oh, and sorry Titanic fans, but he’s too unrealistic in that movie for it to be put on this list.

5. Shutter Island (2010): Director Martin Scorsese has collaborated with DiCaprio many times, and here he plays a man searching for the truth. He is lied to almost as much as the audience is in this misleading, exhilarating thriller. He can often fall on the crutch of “tortured young man” role, but here that role is more complex.

4. Blood Diamond (2006): A frankly underrated movie, you have Leonardo as a smuggler who is selfish and will do whatever he can to get what he wants. He sports one hell of an accent and is transformative in this social thriller.

3. Inception (2010): One of Christopher Nolan’s best works, as well as DiCaprio’s. Here you have him as a dream infiltrator who must face his own demons, if he’s ever going to get back to his family. He is vulnerable and proves that he can handle big budget movies, just as well as he can calmer dramas.

2. The Departed (2006): Maybe the best movie he’s in, but not his best role. That being said, he is awesome in this movie as he plays Billy Costigan, an undercover cop looking to bring down the biggest mob boss in Boston. He is electric and frightened, and if nothing else, this movie singlehandedly made my friend Cory change from hating DiCaprio to loving him.

1. Django Unchained (2012): If there is one thing Tarantino is known for, it’s the colorfulness of the characters in his films, and this film features a plethora of actors at their finest. DiCaprio has never really played a villain, and he as Calvin Candie, a loathsome slave owner, makes me want to see more of him as a villain.

By SCOTT IWANIEC

Contributing Writer

Going into Iron Man 3, I was like a child on Christmas morning. Being a huge fan of all of the Avengers movies and familiar with its source material, I had my expectations for this movie, but did it meet these expectations?

To start off, here’s crucial advice EVERYONE going to see this movie should keep in mind:

1. The trailer is VERY misleading. Do your very best to forget about the trailer. Walk into the movie with a blank slate and no assumptions.

2. Keep an open mind.

With that being said, I am proud to say Iron Man 3 is a great way to kick off Marvel Phase 2 and the summer movie season. First and foremost, the director change is apparent. Shane Black takes this movie into a completely different direction than Jon Favreau’s first two installments. This movie explores the character of Tony Stark’s emotional depth in a way that we have never seen in Iron Man, Iron Man 2, or The Avengers. It is slow, but savory; however, this doesn’t mean it is without laughs.

As dark and surprisingly complex as it is, Shane Black doesn’t fail to add the laughs we crave. In fact, this may be the funniest of all the Iron Man movies, despite having the least amount of jokes (quality over quantity people!). The same goes for the action. Similar to The Dark Knight Rises, this is mostly about the person wearing the suit, rather than the superhero himself. It does have significantly less of Iron Man in it, but the action we do see tops that of any Iron Man movie before it.

Not to say this is without problems. The villains remain to be rather vague, despite a frightening performance by Ben Kingsly in the first act of the film. Speaking of the villains, about 45 minutes into the film comes a huge plot twist that will make you either love the film, or hate it. There is no doubt in my mind this twist will anger a lot of people, especially hardcore fans of the source material, hence why I said “keep a VERY open mind”. At the same time, I do know people who enjoyed this twist.

My final verdict: Iron man 3 is a really great experience, but a much different experience than before. Its level of character is absolutely superb and makes for a great and intriguing time. My prediction is the fan base opinion will be divided over the plot twist, which I will not name. I recommend this to anyone who is a fan of the Avengers movies, but warn you that hardcore comic fans may be disappointed. Regardless, it is a must see.

P.S. 3D doesn’t really add much. Go see it in 2D; it’s not worth the extra $3, and as always, stay after the credits.

By NADINE NORTHWAY, CHRISTINA CONSTANTINOPOULOS, AND TYRUS  WATSON

UNH’s own Purebred Records is pleased to announce their first ever release. On May 7, New Haven hip-hop artist Lansky Aloi will debut his first full-length 50 Shades of L.A. album. Aloi is a graduate student at UNH and is building quite the following in New Haven County.

Lansky Aloi (photo obtained via Facebook).

With catchy hooks and an energetic delivery, Lanksy’s album is the perfect summer soundtrack. But he’s no one-trick pony. 50 Shades showcases stylistic variety while steering clear of clichés in today’s pop music, and every song is built around Aloi’s honest, insightful lyrics.

Tracks transition smoothly from high-energy club bangers to more subdued, personal pieces that, all in all, present listeners with a well-rounded and engaging listening experience. Engineered by UNH senior Jahmar Davis and mastered by UNH professor Roger Arnold, 50 Shades of L.A. shines sonically and is primed for play on the radio or at your next house party. There really is something for everyone on the record.

It isn’t often that an artist’s first release features a strong sense of musicality, lyrical craftsmanship, and pop sensibility. Lansky Aloi has managed to capture all of that here. Don’t miss out on the next big name in hip-hop. Check out 50 Shades of L.A. on iTunes and keep up with him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LanskyAloi .

In preparation for Spring Weekend, I decided to download Hot Chelle Rae’s latest album, Whatever. The bad news: they have not released a new album in two years. The good news: the album is so much fun!

Hot Chelle Rae (photo by Meghan Makowski).

“I Like It Like That” is such a fun happy song. It is the kind of song I will be driving around to, windows down, on the way to the beach…or at least that’s what I would do if I had my driver’s license. I’ll have to settle for swaying back and forth with a smile on my face.

“Tonight Tonight” is perhaps the best known song by Hot Chelle Rae. There are two great things about this track. First, the gorgeous Chord Overstreet is featured in the music video (he is on Glee and the brother of a band member). The second is that the song is so very relatable, especially during Spring Weekend. It is all about forgetting all of your problems and just having fun with your friends.

“Honestly” has the same kind of vibe as “Tonight Tonight.” It displays the strong fun beats that the band is known for in the first place. The attitude is carefree and happy.

It is very easy to group “Keep You With Me” and “Radio” together. These songs are for all those couples facing long distance relationships this summer. “Radio” is definitely a happier more optimistic track, while “Keep You With Me” is more yearning and emotional.

The title track, “Whatever,” is actually kind of funny. It has the same carefree attitude but to a greater extent. The lyrics are silly and happy. The examples they give like “when the girl you like thinks you’re gay” are really humorous. This song emulates the happiness that Hot Chelle Rae embodies in almost all of their work.

“Forever Unstoppable” was personally a disappointment to me. I found it to not be as entertaining as the other tracks.

“Why Don’t You Love Me,” a duet with Demi Lovato, is completely different from the rest of the album. It is much more open and emotional than the other songs. That being said, it is excellent.

Sometimes the unexpected turns out to be pretty great.

Spring Weekend started off with high expectations after another successful spring concert. While the crowd was fairly divided between Hot Chelle Rae and Meek Mill fans, both sides were pretty unanimous in one aspect.

OnCue (photo obtained via Facebook).

“Who’s the third performer again?” some students questioned when waiting on line to get into the show. Connecticut native OnCue surely had a tough crowd to prove himself to Friday night.

The underground rapper, who is currently based out of Brooklyn, brought songs old and new with him, all wrapped up with power packed beats. Those who didn’t know his music still could get into it though, bobbing their heads and throwing their hands up in the air.

The greatest aspect of his set was the ability for him to keep the crowd hyped even though most had never heard him before, a very tough task with such a large crowd. The majority of his set was new music, to be released on his new mixtape Angry Young Man sometime this summer.

Even though many didn’t know the words, his stage presence and the energy to keep the crowd going was enough to keep me bouncing along with him and dancing. My favorite song of the set was “Running” off his mixtape Can’t Wait because of not only the catchy beat, but the words behind it. The lyrics speak of his fight to make it in the music business and how he’s running from everything that’s bringing him down to follow his dreams. Lyrics like his really resonate with me, and I had no problem being the only person in that gymnasium to be screaming every word back to him. A lot of his lyrics stray from the typical rap topics, which is why I can really appreciate his work, not being primarily a rap fan.

The way he delivers his rhymes are so artistically done, it really gives me a respect for the genre and what he’s doing. I think that his heavy influence of alternative music like Death Cab for Cutie (one of his favorite bands) as well as rap has given him this sound that you can’t find anywhere else. That, and the fact that he sings his hooks as well as rapping the verses, makes OnCue both unique and versatile. He closed off the set with one of his newer singles, “Cereal,” as well as another favorite of mine, “Feel Tall,” also off of Can’t Wait.

I highly recommend OnCue to anyone who is a fan of rap and/or spoken word alternative. Chris Webby fans may have recognized him already, as being on the track “Home” which raised money for the Newtown tragedy back in December.

All of OnCue’s music can be found on his website mynamecuey.com under mixtapes for FREE, so why not give him a shot? While many didn’t know him going into the concert, I’m sure he made a great impression on the crowd, leaving quite the buzz as we walked back from North Campus. I have no doubt we’ll be hearing great things from Cuey, we’ll just have to wait and see.

One thing I have always loved about the summer months are the amazing outdoor festivals, concerts and fairs that result from the warm weather. Depending on where you live, there are many different things to do and see. My hometown is famous for its summer carnivals. As soon as you see the Ferris wheel being set up in the local mall parking lot, you know that school is almost coming to a close, and warm nights at the beach are just around the corner.

With the warm weather ascending on Connecticut comes many festivals, the largest of which is Soupstock Music & Arts Festival in Shelton, Conn. The festival will take place on Saturday, June 8, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Pavilion in Veteran’s Park. The event will have free admission to the public and is a benefit for the Mary A. Schmecker Turtle Shell Fund—“Furthering Art, Craft and Music Education for Children and Young Adults.”

In anticipation to find out more about this event, I was able to interview Derek Signore, the Marketing Director for the Soupstock Festival and one of its founders.

“Soupstock actually came about from a conversation we had a few years ago at Liquid Lunch. One of our employees suggested we hold a soup cook-off and call it Soup-a-palooza or Soupstock,” said Signore. “That idea stuck with us and when Fred and I started the Turtle Shell fund, we knew that our largest annual fundraiser would be called Soupstock. We asked my brother Joe to help us organize the event and together we created the festival for the first year. From then on, with the added help of Nicole Heriot, the festival has grown into what it is today—a celebration of artistic expression in our community.”

“Shelton, CT is our hometown and we are extremely proud of our community. The Veteran’s memorial park is the perfect location because of its size and accessibility. It makes us so proud to be able to celebrate the beauty of our community right in the very heart of our community,” he further added.

This is the fourth annual celebration of the event, so it is easy to see how successful they have been in creating a memorable event. Not only does this even include arts and craft showcases, but it also features live music and a cook-off. Performers at this year’s festival also include Vermont Funk troupe The Main Squeeze, Will Evans & Jeff Howard of Barefoot Truth and McLovins fame, local favorites The Alpaca Gnomes, Hubinger Street, Old School, Bobby Paltauf Band, Wandering Roots, festival staple Newton Crosby, The Nameless Trio, Terri Lynn, Hannah Fair, Back From Earth and The String Fingers Band.

“Joe Manganello and Nicole Heriot are immersed in the local music scene and have a great knowledge of really good musical talent. Together, they formulate an awesome and diverse lineup between two stages. It rocks. Literally,” said Signore when inquired about how the musical lineup was constructed.

The cook-off will be another entertaining event of the day’s festivities where participants from all over Southern Connecticut will compete for the coveted Soupstock title. Each cook will make a large kettle of soup ready for all attendees to inspect and taste.

Members of the public can make a small donation to the Turtle Shell Fund and become a ‘Schmecker’ (that’s literally German for ‘taster’). Your donation gets you a pass to taste the soup all day long. Once you’ve tried them all, you can vote for your favorites and go back for seconds.

I asked Signore if they had a specific target audience. I explained that many festivals in the West and New Haven areas target college students because four major colleges and universities surround the area. Signore agreed with this target audience, but broadened it a bit. “We love families. We love music lovers. Our organization is all about fostering creative expression in young people, so we want to reach as many young people as possible,” he said.

It is clear that the festival’s main goal is to showcase local talent while creating a sense of community, which is something really crucial to building a lasting and memorable event.

Due to the strong sense of community this event evokes, there are many local businesses that have remained constant stakeholders in the event for the past four years,

“Each year has had its own personality, but there are a few sponsors who have believed in us from the beginning, including Recipe of Success, LLC and The Valley Community Foundation,” Signore explained. “However, that is only to name a few. There are many sponsors that help make this event possible each year.”

If you think that this event is something you would be interested in not only attending, but also volunteering for, then there are many ways to get involved, and you can contact the festival at www.soupstockfestival.org. This could be a great opportunity for music students to gain experience with live sound/performance experience, or even majors such as hospitality and business to be involved firsthand with the building a successful, large-scale local event.

“Every year, we keep growing and it takes more people to organize the event. We are finding that with each year that passes, more people want to volunteer. This makes us feel great and we are currently at the point to where we are organizing departments and assigning team leaders for each department,” Signore said. It is clear that this would be the type of event that could give any volunteer hands-on experience and a feeling of accomplishment.

Soupstock is all about community and fostering local talent to showcase the achievements of those who dedicate their life to arts and music. It is rare to find festivals such as this anymore, which are family friendly yet equally entertaining for an audience of any age. Being that this event will be held so close to school, it would also be an amazing opportunity to either volunteer or to attend and feel a sense of community where it matters most.

Established in 2010, the Soupstock Festival has grown organically into one of Connecticut’s leading independent arts and music events. The festival has earned its reputation by attracting premier talent across all mediums to provide a landscape meant to please all the senses (and comparatively, all ages).

This is an event where people of all ages can join together and enjoy great music, local art, amazing food and outdoor fun for a great cause. Soupstock Arts & Music Festival is only growing in size and popularity with each passing year, and by attending you would be able to say you aided in helping a good thing grow.

Summer. A time for relaxation. A time for beaches, bathing suits and bad tans. And a time for going to the movie theater and seeing big Hollywood blockbusters. The thought of going to the movies in the summer, at least for myself, offers many nostalgic images: the smell of the popcorn, a theater full of people, and then going back out into the warm night at 9 p.m. after the movie has ended.

The movies of the summer also bear significance—it’s a time when Hollywood’s biggest and most beautiful come out and make big-budget movies. The movies are more lighthearted, epic and crowd-appealing. And, as anyone who has an unhealthy obsession with movies, I am anxiously awaiting this year’s summer-movie lineup.

Iron Man 3 is kicking off this summer season, and from then on the month of May will be in full gear. A week later, The Great Gatsby opens, and then the week after that Star Trek Into Darkness. Yeah, I know, quite the lineup.

Then on May 24 you have The Hangover Part III and the sixth installment of The Fast and Furious. To end the month, the magician-thriller Now You See Me and the Sundance baby Kings of Summer opens.

June starts with Joss Wheedon’s Much Ado About Nothing. June 14 has the new Superman adaptation Man of Steel. That week also opens the star-studded comedy This is the End, a movie about the end of the world that takes place at James Franco’s house, which seems pretty accurate. The week after is Pixar’s Monster’s University, which I am excited for. The month has others at the end, but none look too interesting.

July and August are kind of underwhelming compared to the other two months. However, the ones to look forward to are Pacific Rim, Elysium, The World’s End, Kick-Ass 2, Prince Avalanche, The Way Way Back and The Conjuring.

I guess this is one of the most enjoyable perks of loving movies—there’s always something to look forward to. The summer is ushering in a huge amount of movies, and though not all are for everyone, there’s something for everyone in the wealth of selection.

In 1988, the people of Chile were given an option: they could either vote to keep dictator Augusto Pinochet in power for another eight years or abolish the dictatorship. The people could either vote “Yes” or “No,” and the vote would decide whether dictatorship would continue or if democracy would be instituted. As the title suggests, the film follows the “No” advertising campaign.

René Saavedra, a successful advertisement creator, has been hired to help the “No” campaign with its ads. The country of Chile had been plagued by government-approved abductions and murders, and many people in the “No” campaign want to exploit this corruption. However, Saavedra believes that the people who would vote no but are too scared to would respond better if the ads, while still including the same subject matter, were done in a more humorous and happy manner. The best comparison to any movie now would be that this is Chile’s version of Argo. It’s a movie about politics, which brings in a young advisor that offers an unconventional way of handling the situation.

The film, directed by Pablo Larraín, feels incredibly authentic and captures the atmosphere quite well. This can be attributed to Larrain shooting the film with cameras available during the 80s, and he shoots the film docu-drama style. He captures really gritting scenes that seem more like found footage than a fictionalization of the events. Another quality to note is the acting of leading man Rene Saavedra. Though the film is subtitled, Saavedra displays a wide range of emotions, but does so when it’s reflective of his character. Often, he remains calm and level-headed, much like the confident ad consultant that he is

No was nominated for a best Foreign Film Oscar this past awards season, and it’s no doubt why: the film is tense, humorous, but above all, it offers good political commentary as well as social. It is filmed in an unconventional way and supported by a strong leading performance.

With Iron Man 3 arriving this week, you may be looking for other superhero films to whet your appetite. Fear not, here are my five favorite superhero films that I think you’ll enjoy too.

1.Superman (1978): Not only did this film launch Christopher Reeve’s career (he was a nobody at the time), but it still stands as the best adaptation of Superman (debatable with Superman 2). From John Williams’ iconic score to Reeve as Superman and Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor, the film stands as one of the first REAL successful comic book adaptations.

2. The Dark Knight/The Avengers: It’s unfair to say one of these is better than the other, because both are superior for different reasons. The Dark Knight is the epitome of what a dark, gritty style superhero movie can be. The Avengers is just the same, but instead it stands as the quintessence of a larger-than-life, fun, energetic comic book film

3. The Incredibles (2004): Not only one of the best superhero films, but also one of the best Pixar ones as well (and that’s saying a lot). The story about a family of superheroes is heartfelt but incredibly entertaining. It blends story with action and humor in a way that most movies about superheroes fail to do. Not only did it spawn the infamous line of superheroes not wearing capes, but its ending invites a sequel in a way that no other Pixar movie has ever done.

4. Spiderman 2 (2004): The best of any Spiderman movies to date (that’s right Andrew Garfield, I said it). The film is certainly not only Peter Parker’s most personal story as he struggles with whether he should continue to be Spiderman, but it also features Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus, a role it seems he was born to play.

5. X-Men: First Class (2011): Certainly the best X-Men film, this one takes place at the height of the Cold War. It follows the birth of the X-Men, and what would lead to the feud between Professor X and Magneto. On top of a great script, the film is bolstered by great performances from all around, especially James McAvoy, Kevin Bacon and Michael Fassbender.

Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus, Martin Luther King Jr. preached non-violent protesting, and Jackie Robinson was the first black baseball player to play in the major leagues. 42, from writer/director Brian Helgeland, is the story of Jackie Robinson and his impact that he had, not only on the game of baseball, but about racism in the United States.

The year is 1946, and African Americans are still being denied basic human rights and decency in the U.S. The MLB is composed of all white men. That is, at least, until Dodger’s owner Branch Rickey puts his hat in the ring and decides to recruit a promising young black baseball player from the Negro Leagues. Robinson becomes his candidate, and the movie turns to Robinson’s strength, his frailty, and the hatred of his oppressors now that he is playing in what was a white-only sport.

Newcomer Chadwick Boseman plays Jackie Robinson, and Boseman’s performance is an enjoyable one: he’s charming, he’s sincere, he’s gutsy and vulnerable. Though he sometimes doesn’t convey these emotions completely, his performance is still admirable. Branch Rickey is played by veteran wise-cracker Harrison Ford, but we see Ford much more down-to-earth in this movie. Though his character’s intentions remain ambiguous for most of the film and the performance seems more like a caricature than an actual portrayal of Rickey (though I have no way of actually knowing if that’s true), he’s still enjoyable to watch.

However, despite some solid acting, the film suffers from, frankly, a script that is much too light with its source material. Apart from a vitriolic rant from the Philly’s coach (played by Alan Tudyk, a man who can perform any role with ease), the hatred that Robinson most definitely faced in real life is dumbed down to make it easier, most likely, for the white demographic to not feel to ashamed of how things used to be.

You know exactly where this film is going from the trailer, though this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. And another thing, even though everyone dresses and acts like it’s the 1940s, the film never truly seems to embrace its setting.

The film, I suppose, is a lot like America: amid a sea of corniness, it has a heart. The film, despite its flaws, tells a story that stands for what America was built on—change. The story of Jackie Robinson is one everyone should know, but I hesitate to say that this is the best way to be told that tale.