Reviews

Taylor Swift's new album, The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD), is a heart-wrenching album consisting of over sixteen raw and vulnerable songs. TTPD was released on April 19, 2024 at 12 am (eastern time). So if you’re like me, you stayed up until midnight to listen to the release of the album. The tempo of the songs vary. For example, the song “Florida!!! ft. Florence & the Machine” is quite upbeat, when the song “loml” is pretty slow paced with calm background music.

Everything was good and then unexpectedly at 2am, Taylor made everyone’s jaw fall to the floor by releasing a double album with fifteen additional songs! This new deluxe album is called The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology. And some of my favorite TTPD songs just happen to be from this extended version. For example, “The Black Dog,” “I Hate It Here,” “The Prophecy,” and “How Did It End.”

So overall Swifties got thirty one new Taylor songs in just two hours, which was honestly kind of overwhelming at first. So for me personally, I had to listen to the songs many many times (over multiple days) before I could even comprehend the lyrics. But again, the more I listened the more I understood the deeper meaning of the songs and I grew to love them. And at least for me, I usually hate songs when I hear them for the first time.

My all time favorite songs from the album are “The Black Dog,” “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived,” The Prophecy,” “How Did It End,” and “Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus.” In my opinion, those six songs outshined all of the other twenty-five songs. And for me they’re constantly on repeat. The background music, the lyrics, the bridge, the chorus, the beat changes, I swear every single thing in those songs continues to blow me away.

I genuinely like just about every song; however I don’t necessarily prefer “So High School” and “I Look In Peoples Windows.” In those two songs, the lyrics just don’t really speak to me, and in my eyes they definitely can’t compare to some of the other songs on this album. However they are not terrible by any means, just not my first choice.

With Taylor getting older and maturing, so are her lyrics. Throughout the album there are continuous references of drugs, alcohol, marriage, children, and even cheating. There’s even speculation that her song “Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus” is names she would’ve chosen for her children if she had gotten pregnant with Joe. Just about the entire album is rumored to be written mostly about Taylor’s ex lover Joe Alwyn whom she was with for just about seven years. So ultimately many fans envisioned Taylor and Joe getting married, which could be the explanation for all of the marriage references in the album. But of course Taylor had to write a few songs for her current boyfriend Travis Kelce; “The Alchemy,” and “So High School.”

Also... it has been confirmed in a Vanity Fair interview Joe used to be in a group chat with Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott called “The Tortured Men’s Club” so that’s where Taylor got her inspiration for the album name. Jaw dropped.

But overall, I believe that the album is truly remarkable and deserves lots of praise and attention from the public. Taylor expresses her emotions in ways most people never could, and I honestly wish that Taylor was going on tour for TTPD, because I would one million percent be attending. The songs are worth every minute of your time. It will not disappoint. So go listen to The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology on Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon Music, or Pandora! Happy listening!

The popular show All American has come out with a brand new season. The 6th season has had people waiting on the edge of their seats for quite a bit. Season 5 left people with a cliffhanger, as the main character Spencer James confesses his love to Olivia Baker before she leaves for months at the airport. You will be more than satisfied when you see what happens to start Season 6.

For starters, one thing the producers do great is they leave off each episode with a suspenseful moment, making you want to watch the next episode to find out what happens. Important things will happen, leaving you with no choice but to watch the next episode. That really brought me into the show, as you won’t catch yourself in a moment with nothing going on. There is constant drama and situations they have to settle. Unfortunately, some of those situations involve important people not surviving, but that might be one of the reasons why this show is entertaining.

  Also, the actors have to get a lot of credit as well. They do an outstanding job of simulating a very realistic situation when they encounter one, which makes the scenes look like reality. For example, without giving spoilers a character dies, and the way they act is almost too realistic, as it’s quite literally how you’d expect someone to act if seeing someone important to them die. Some characters put on such a good act, that you wouldn’t even be able to tell how they act in real life. For example, the actor Daniel Ezra who plays the main character role (Spencer James) hides something very well throughout the show. That hidden thing is his British accent that nobody knew about until he opened up about it. You wouldn’t believe he has an accent if you watch the show, as he puts on a great act that fits the character role he plays. He completely changes his way of talking to fit the role, which he does an outstanding job with.

I wouldalso compare it to the popular show Outer Banks for a few reasons. One being it attracts mostly teenagers as they are both teenage drama shows. Next, Tthey have teenagers as the main characters in both shows, showing us realistic teenage situations that they encounter and how to

 handle them. Both are great shows with a lot of suspense going on in them keeping you on the edge of your seat.

You can catch All American on Netflix, but if you don’t want to spend money, then don’t worry because it’s also on the free app known as “The CW app”. There are so many positives with this show ending off with the fact that it is free to watch. You don’t necessarily need to have a Netflix account, instead you have an option to save your money! It really doesn’t get any more convenient than that. I overall rate it an 8.7/10. I definitely recommend it to teenagers that like drama shows, and or football shows as well.

“Telling” a story strengthens a language barrier but “showing” a story breaks a language barrier. Netflix’s devastating showcase, War Sailor, is an instance where they break the language barrier.

It’s a harrowing narrative of Norwegian sailors in WWII who were forced to work for the Allied forces. Alfred (Kristoffer Joner) and Sigbjørn (Pål Sverre Hagen) are two best friends, both involuntarily conscripted, longing for home, and knowing nothing of the future or the past.

Joner and Hagen both play their characters well. It’s easy to see the pain in their eyes when the days continue to drag on. The actors do a job well done when it comes to connecting their characters’ “pasts” with their current situations using subtle reactions to action and dialogue.

Alfred wants to go home to his family, and whenever the show switches to the perspective of his wife, Cecilia (Ine Marie Wilmann), and his three growing children, we would see them hiding under air shelters. It was hard to continue on with an episode without thinking about how he’s missing out on his infant child growing into a toddler.

When Alfred seems to be enjoying his time with the other sailors, he switches back glumly with a sad realization that he’s not with his family directly. The show never really tells us this, either through voiceover or dialogue. We, as watchers, can easily see that in the emotions and the shift in atmosphere.

When there’s light and laughter, it instantly dims and quiets down when a character looks off at the distance of the sea with pursed lips and reflectful eyes. It helps us sympathize with them— without anything being said.

Sigbjørn tries to make the best out of the situation, and through a lot of his gestures towards his fellow sailors, you can see him making a second family. Like when the crew was in a war shelter, Sigbjørn talks to the others while Alfred keeps to himself. Alfred is only touching the water with his fingertips and then snatching it out again. He is afraid of a new reality.

Again, nothing has been said about that. It’s easy to put ourselves in the shoes of the characters. You can tell why Alfred is scared, why he’s writing to his family everyday even if he can’t send them letters, why he seems to be shut off. You can tell why Sigbjørn is moving on, why he’s seen as an older brother figure, why he’s looking out on the positive side, why he still adds humor to every dreadful day.

Cecilia misses Alfred dearly, but you can see her role slowly shift from being married to Alfred to a single mother trying to survive the occupation of Norway and keep her children safe from war. Wilmann makes it clear that Cecilia is trying to move on with high hopes. But with the actor’s slow, well-executed pauses in speech, you start to understand that it’s hard for Cecilia to move on.

The shifting perspectives make the whole story even more sadder. Both perspectives don’t know if the other perspective is alive or not. They have no communication whatsoever. And the fact that we, the watchers, have both of the perspectives while they barely have any other than their own really puts you on the edge of your seat.

There have been multiple anti-war media around the world like this, a notable one would be All Quiet on the Western Front. Both the movie and this show have similar views on what happens to ordinary people during war. But they continue to make us think about it through characters and actions instead of them having to tell us.

War Sailor projects an underlying, yet very important story of WWII quite realistically in a way with respect and character. The story is more on the regular civilians during the time and how the war really struck them traumatically.

It’s a great show. Yet, I couldn’t watch the three episodes in one sitting but I kept going back to it. It’s not for the faint of heart. If you have the courage to watch it, tread carefully.

If you haven’t seen the movie Dune 2 and you have some money to spare, then this film would be a great choice.

The movie Dune 2 is one of the best movies in 2024 because It has a 95% rating on rotten tomatoes. When I first saw it I was amazed at how much plot there was. The acting in this movie was amazing and if you like setting like endless desert movies then you will like this movie. The thrill of the action in this movie is awesome and there is a lot of it. In my opinion this movie is very Close to Star Wars so if you like stuff like Star Wars you are going to like this too.

The acting performances in this movie might just be the best part with Timothee Chalamet as Paul Atreides which he played this role perfectly and portrayed the character so well by being a good guy in the beginning to slowly changing into a evil version of himself and the way he takes the role of leadership so well. Also the role of Austin Butler as Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen was portrayed perfectly by being this villain that is not showing up in the movie to often but when he does come in there is lots of great acting like in the end of the movie when Paul Atreides and fights him it is very iconic and i also like how he does not appear to be scary but is really dangerous.

The movie dune 2 is sci-fi movie where the main character goes to a different planet to save his family and his main goal is to take down the government which will save his family. Most of his time there he is learning the way in the desert especially with the giant worms that’s if they here you walk normal one time they will come and swallow you whole.

So he learns that and then also fights a ton of other guys and goes on mission until he well known and he is ready to fight the government which are taking abuse of the spice which is basically the money on that planet all while dealing with this cult that is tying to have everybody join them and basically its this like drink thing that they drink and then they can see and hear stuff.

That is why Dune 2 is one the best movies in 2024 and it would not be a waste of your time and money.

When you step foot into Five Guys, prepare to indulge yourself into burger utopia. The scent of sizzling beef patties and freshly cut potato fries quickly fill up your senses, teasing your tastebuds and causing your mouth to water. As you approach the counter, your eyes will begin to widen at the sight of freshly cooked burgers, covered by crispy bacon and smothered by silky soft buns. The menu is rather simple but their food does not disappoint. My personal choice, a crispy bacon cheese burger, with mouth watering, melting cheese. Oh yeah, with a side of freshly cut fries.

When I first arrived at Five Guys, my expectations were rather high as I have had positive experiences in the past. I was immediately hit by the strong scent of freshly grilled patties. Thus I was hit with an initial sense of optimism.

However, although I was not expecting much from the overall experience of the restaurant, I was rather taken aback by the underwhelming and anticlimactic environment Five Guys offered. There was noticeably no music and only a few looming customers waiting to pick up their food.

Attempting to ignore my lingering disappointment, I decided to focus on the food and order. But I was once again let down. To be quite honest, the service at Five Guys often leaves much to be desired, with long waiting times and disorganized order fulfillments being common complaints. Furthermore, my personal situation was unfortunately very similar to these common complaints as I was forced to wait unattended at the cashier for nearly five minutes despite there being no line and numerous employees being available to take my order. Rather, they found talking to their friends, or the other employees, a higher priority over actually performing their job. That does not sit well with me to say the least.

Not only was the service sub-par, but so was the cleanliness and overall physical features of the restaurant. Five Guy's layout and seating arrangements felt cramped despite the rather empty state of the restaurant. Accompanied by the small pieces of trash, rappers, and sporadic straws lying unattended on the floor, Five Guys can feel more like navigating a busy supermarket or undesirable gas station. In short, for those who are seeking an easygoing dining experience on a quiet night out, Five Guys is most definitely not the ideal place for you.

With all of this being said, despite the underperforming environment and service of Five Guys, the quality of their food may be able to completely overmine these undesirable qualities. Let's start with the star of the show: the burger. Each burger is its own masterpiece characterized by juicy patties cooked to perfection nestled between two soft, buttering buns. Additionally. Five Guys' offering of customizable toppings add a unique and personalized experience that takes any burger to another level. My personal choice: the bacon cheeseburger. My first bite gave my tastebuds an experience of a lifetime. I was first hit by the powerful juiciness of the burger which was then balanced out with the crispy bacon and finished off with oozing American cheese. Words can’t even describe this work of art. I then threw myself into a beautiful side of fries and a chocolate milkshakes. The freshly fried potato strips were the perfect source of a salty snack characterized by a crispy outlayer hiding a pillowy, salty paradise. The milkshake, I can only

 describe as a real-life chocolate wonderland (although I would have liked some whipped cream to top it off).

In short, despite its service and environmental challenges, FIve Guys shines brightly as a beam of culinary elegance. Its mouthwatering burger and delicate fries were so undeniably enjoyable, I will most likely be making another trip over in the near future. While the dining experience is undesirable, the overall quality of the food makes it a destination worth considering for those seeking a burger of a lifetime. With a commitment to taste and flavor, Five Guys has remained, and will stay, at the top of the burger world.