Netflix’s annual “TUDUM” event was held this past weekend on May 30th. This event showcases the biggest upcoming Netflix projects and things coming to Netflix this year.. This year’s “TUDUM” had a lot to show with projects like Squid Game: Season 3, Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, Stranger Things: Season 5, and more!

Squid Game: Season 3 is set to premiere this month on June 27th. This season is the finale to the highly popular and worldwide sensation Korean show. At TUDUM, the official trailer for the new season was released. The trailer featured the main character Gi-Hun, who is played by Lee Jung-jae, and his fight to unmask The Front Man in a brand new game. This season is set to feature rebellion, death of a dear friend, and a betrayal. It picks up right after the nail-biting cliffhanger from season 2. Keep watch for June 27th!

Guillermo del Toro is known for his great directing style and set design. He pioneered movies like Pacific Rim, The Shape of Water, and Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. His newest project for Netflix is a newly adapted Frankenstein film coming from the classic literature novel written by Frankenstein Monster. The film features Oscar Isaac (known for his roles in Dune and Moon Knight) as Victor Frankenstein, Jacob Elordi (known for his roles in Euphoria and Saltburn) as the Frankenstein monster, and Mia Goth (known for her roles in Pearl and X) as Elizabeth Lavenza. Netflix revealed this project with a teaser trailer, and the expected release is November 2025. 

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is the third installment in the Knives Out franchise, coming after Glass Onion. This murder-mystery series features Daniel Craig as Benoit Blac, the detective. The newest film features a stacked cast with names like Daniel Craig, Jeremy Renner, Mila Kunis, Josh Brolin, Andrew Scott, Kerry Washington, Cailee Spaeny, and Josh O’Conner. The new teaser showed just how great of a film this film is going to be with new loose ends and secrets. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is set to release on December 12th.

Stranger Things 5 is finally here…well almost. The highly anticipated finale will be a three part release this fall. Netflix released a teaser trailer showing all of our beloved “Losers Club” members facing the reality of the upsidedown bleeding into the real world. This last season is sure to pack a punch, with many fans suspecting a death to one of the beloved characters. Who will it be? Find out during the releases on November 26th, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Eve. 

There are many new Netflix releases to look forward to including these ones, and more like Sesame Street and Wednesday: Season 2. There is so much anticipation and hype for the new projects. Are you excited? 

The early 2000s: mySpace, low rise jeans, iconic music, and the height of the “chick flick”. The term “chick flicks” are used to refer to movies that are catered specifically to women audiences. This term really only became popular during the late 80s and early 90s. Then, it referred to movies made for younger women that dealt with the topics of love and relationships. Today, among younger generations, it is associated with movies that discover personal growth, gender norms, and heavier topics. But why, after all this time, are they still seen as “lower cinema” and are they actually deeper than people realise? I believe so. 

To understand the point of discussion, you must first understand what movies I’m referring to, as “chick flicks” are categorized differently by different people. When I speak about these films I am referring to movies such as Legally Blonde, 10 Things I Hate About You, The Princess Diaries, Mean Girls, and others across the genre.

These films on the surface seem very shallow. But when you dig deeper, you will find important messages, if you are just willing to look closer. 

To make specific examples, I’ll begin with the film that inspired this whole article: Legally Blonde. I watched this for the first time at the end of 2023 with my best friend. I was surprised at how funny it was. Not only that, but how many profound topics it covered for its time like women in higher education, working in male dominated fields, standing up for oneself, bouncing back, and embracing yourself. Legally Blonde follows Elle Woods, a young woman in college who has just been broken up with as her hyperfemininity is seen as “unprofessional” and not “proper wife material”. To counter this, she studies hard and passes her LSAT and gets into Harvard Law School to follow her ex-boyfriend. While there, she realises she never needed him and that she has a talent and passion for law. 

I was so taken aback that, in a film centered around women, packed full of stereotypes, there was still room made to show that women were just as capable of pursuing higher education and working in male dominated fields.

Adjacent to this, 10 Things I Hate About You deals with topics of defying societal expectations and the power of sisterhood. The Princess Diaries handles the responsibility of leadership, finding confidence in oneself, and the importance of a balanced friendship. Mean Girls addresses social isolation, cliques, and the harmful effects of bullying. All of these also share the theme of female empowerment.

Now, that is not to say that these films don’t still cast an unbecoming light on women. In fact, due to being a product of their time and the norms in the industry, many moments in these films can be caught leaning heavily on stereotypes. I do think it is important to remember the period that these films were created and take them with a grain of salt.

I never watched these films when I was younger as I had been raised to believe that they were demeaning towards women. But when I started watching them around sophomore year, I started realizing that perhaps these films were not as surface level as everyone had said. They explored so many different topics and praised all different types of femininity, validating that girls could be successful no matter what they looked or acted like. Today, chick flicks are one of my favorite types of movies. They provide comfort, reassurance, and humor in stressful times.

One of the most anticipated productions of the year happens during the final game of the National Football League. Each year an artist is chosen to perform for around 15 minutes during halftime. The artist that is chosen is usually well-known and or well-liked. This year was Kendrick Lamar. People around the nation were curious as to how this halftime performance would go. Would Kendrick live up to the hype or would it ruin his entire career? It did neither; it exploded the nation into one of the most talked about performances. 

The performance started with the ¨game¨ loading, the setup was like a game console.  It pivoted to Uncle Sam (Samuel L. Jackson)  talking about the American Dream. Kendrick came out to a teaser of his new song and then went straight into  ¨Squabble Up¨ which was disappointing to many. He then played ¨Humble¨ with him being in the middle of the American Flag split, representing the division among America. 

He teased the audience by playing a part of ¨Not Like Us¨. There was controversy over him playing the song due to his disagreements with the artist Drake. If he would play ¨Not Like Us¨ it could result in not just Kendrick being sued but the NFL itself. He ended up going straight into a collab with the artist SZA. SZA and Kendrick have multiple songs together and are also good friends. Their song ¨All the Stars,¨ was out of the world with many people loving their performance together, but it was not the climax of his performance.

Uncle Sam came out saying that Kedrick can not mess this up and that he has to stay in line. Kendrick ended up rapping/talking about how there is a cultural divide, but ultimately he needed to play the song. People exploded when he played the songs in either an excited way or an angry way. Most people were very boisterous when he played the song. Serena Williams (Drake's ex), a famous tennis player, came out and crip walked during the performance. At the end of this section, the cameraman unmuted the audience screaming at the top of their lungs ¨a minor,¨ another reference to Drake and the allegations.

His final song was called ¨TV Off.¨ His energy was electric and radiating off of the stage. His backup dancers were nothing short of exhilarating. It ended with him saying “TV Off”
referencing his song and the crowd had lights that said “game over”.

The impact of the halftime show extends beyond the entertainment industry. It has become a significant cultural moment, often reflecting societal trends and issues. Past performances have addressed themes such as unity, diversity, and social justice, resonating with viewers and sparking conversations. While some people did not fully understand the halftime show, the individuals who did understand it were inspired. 

Let's hope next year the performing artist can live up to the expectations. 

Comedian Conan Christopher O’Brein is this year’s recipient of the Mark Twain comedy award. The Mark Twain Award for American Comedy award is a prestigious award given to a comedian each year for their excellence in the field of comedy. O’Brien is among the long list of all-time-great comedians such as Adam Sandler, Jim Carrey, and Kevin Hart to receive the award. 

O’Brien got his career start in the comedy industry in 1993 when he was suddenly brought up to replace David Letterman on the Late Night Show on NBC. At that time, Conan O’Brien was only a comedy writer, writing for shows such as The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live, so nobody really knew who he was. O’Brien had a tumultuous start with the show, but he went on to dominate the Late Night show for sixteen years, with his show taking on a more avant-garde sense of humor that really resonated with younger audiences.

Conan left the Late Night Show in 2009 after he reached a deal with NBC and comedian Jay Leno to take the prestigious Tonight Show slot. Conan hosted the Tonight Show on NBC for a remarkable 7 months until he had heard word that NBC was pushing the Tonight Show back until midnight to fit the Jay Leno show in at 10:00. Because of this, O’Brien left NBC, leaving his dream job behind him after a little less than a year of him doing it. 

Because of his exit contract with NBC, O’Brien was barred from being on television for months. However, that didn’t stop Conan O’Brien. After leaving NBC, Conan O’Brien set off all around the country doing a comedy tour, which he titled the “Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on TV Comedy Tour”. While he was touring around the country, Conan received an offer from the Turner Broadcasting Service to do a late night show on their network, which he eventually accepted. 

Conan’s Tonight Show on TBS titled “Conan”, aired for nearly 11 years, first airing in 2010 and ending in mid-2021. Because of his spot on basic cable, Conan had more freedom to do the comedy that he wanted on his TBS show, causing his more crude and flamboyant humor to have a renaissance on the show. Most notably, Conan’s show on TBS featured a long-running series entitled “Conan Without Borders” which had O’Brien travel to countries such as Italy, Haiti, Ghana, and Mexico and explore their countries, culture, and interact with their people. 

After leaving television, O’Brien has risen in another form of communicative art: podcasting. Conan’s podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend features him along with Matt Gourley and Sona Movsesian, his two co hosts that have been working with him since he started on late night. The podcast features celebrities and influential people, which Conan interviews in a very casual style, as if he was their friend. Additionally, Conan O’Brien recently released a Max series entitled Conan O’Brien Must Go, which features him traveling around the world to meet his fans from all corners of the world. 

O’Brien is set to receive the Mark Twain Award on March 23rd, 2025. Additionally, O’Brien is set to host the Oscars that same month, on March 2nd. After almost 32 years in the comedy business, O’Brien has not missed the opportunity to make people laugh, and his hard work, kindness, and dedication over those years are about to catch up to him.

Do you have Tubi? If not, I’d recommend it; it’s free and you only have to watch a few ads to have access to many stupid movies. At least, I thought it only housed stupid movies. That was until I stumbled upon Sergio Leone’s excellent trilogy: A Fistful of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. 

It was Black Friday night when I started watching the first in the trilogy. I expected to just watch the one and go to bed. I stayed up until 2 am that night, binging every single film, and while the first two are great in their own regard, this article is about the third for a reason. 

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly was released in 1967, starring Clint Eastwood (the Good), Lee Van Cleef (the Bad), and Eli Wallach (the Ugly). Eastwood’s and Wallach’s characters form an alliance to find the buried Confederate treasure, all while being hunted down by Cleef’s character, Angel Eyes. The almost three-hour runtime encompasses many a double-crossing, two of the main characters joining both the Union and Confederate Armies, quite a few dead bodies, and a whole lot of gold. This action-filled spaghetti western will surely enthrall those already privy to the genre and even those unfamiliar with it. The iconic score--you know it even if you think you don’t--, beautiful cinematography, cool characters, and a truly attention-grabbing ending all make this film great. I’d completely recommend that everyone watches this timeless cowboy classic, five stars!

On November 8th, the Recording Academy released the nominations for the 2025 Grammy Awards. Leading the pack, Beyoncé received 11 nominations for her genre-bending album Cowboy Carter. This is the highest amount of nominations she's had in a single Grammy season since 2009. Following her lead are Taylor Swift, Chappel Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Carli XCX, Kendrick Lamar, and Billie Eilish, all great artists who have had great years with their music.

Beyoncé’s nominations also broke the record for most Grammy nominations ever previously set by her husband, Jay-Z, with 99 nominations over his 88 nominations. This makes her the most nominated artist ever in the show’s history. Despite all her nominations and wins over the years of her career, she has yet to receive a Grammy for “Album of the Year”. This discourse has been happening for years among her fans, especially since losing the award for her albums Renaissance, Lemonade, Beyoncé, and I Am…Sasha Fierce. Will she finally get it this year for Cowboy Carter?

This year’s nominations are also headlining for the number of women nominated. Women are dominating in nearly every category, not only showing progress made by the Recording Academy but also the influence women have in pop culture and our everyday lives. It shows women's power in the music industry and the history they continue to make.

There are 94 categories for the Grammy Awards, each containing very talented artists. However, it would take a while to go through all of them, so here are the nominations from some of the biggest categories of Grammy Awards:

• Album of the Year

• New Blue Sun- André 3000

• Cowboy Carter- Beyoncé

• Short n’ Sweet- Sabrina Carpenter

• Brat - Charli XCX

• Djesse Vol. 4 - Jacob Collier

• Hit Me Hard and Soft - Billie Eilish

• The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess - Chappell Roan

• The Tortured Poets Department - Taylor Swift

• Record of the year

  • “Now and Then”- The Beatles

  • “Texas Hold ‘Em”- Beyoncé

  • “Espresso”- Sabrina Carpenter

  • “360”- Charli XCX

  • “Birds of a Feather”- Billie Eilish

  • “Not Like Us”- Kendrick Lamar

  • “Good Luck, Babe!”- Chappell Roan

  • “Fortnight”- Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone

• Song of the Year

  • “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”- Shaboozey

  • “Birds of a Feather”- Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas

  • “Die With a Smile”-  Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars 

  • “Fortnight”- Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone

  • “Good Luck, Babe!”- Chappell Roan

  • “Not Like Us”- Kendrick Lamar

  • “Please Please Please”- Sabrina Carpenter, 

  • “Texas Hold ‘Em”- Beyoncé

• Best New Artist

  • Benson Boone

  • Sabrina Carpenter

  • Doechii

  • Khruangbin

  • Raye

  • Chappell Roan

  • Shaboozey

  • Teddy Swims

• Best Pop Solo Performance

  • “Bodyguard”- Beyoncé

  • “Espresso”- Sabrina Carpenter

  • “Apple”- Charli XCX

  • “Birds of a Feather”- Billie Eilish

  • “Good Luck, Babe!”- Chappell Roan

• Best Pop Duo/Group Performance

  • “Us”- Gracie Abrams Featuring Taylor Swift

  • “Levii’s Jeans”- Beyoncé Featuring Post Malone

  • “Guess”- Charli XCX & Billie Eilish

  • “The Boy Is Mine”- Ariana Grande, Brandy & Monica

  • “Die With a Smile”- Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars

• Best Pop Vocal Album

  • Short n’ Sweet - Sabrina Carpenter

  • Hit Me Hard and Soft - Billie Eilish

  • Eternal Sunshine - Ariana Grande

  • The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess - Chappell Roan

  • The Tortured Poets Department - Taylor Swift

• Best Rap Performance

  • “Enough (Miami)”- Cardi B

  • “When the Sun Shines Again”- Common & Pete Rock Featuring Posdnuos

  • “Nissan Altima”- Doechii

  • “Houdini”- Eminem

  • “Like That”- Future & Metro Boomin Featuring Kendrick Lamar

  • “Yeah Glo!”- GloRilla

  • “Not Like Us”- Kendrick Lamar

• Best Rap Album

  • Might Delete Later - J. Cole

  • The Auditorium, Vol. 1 - Common & Pete Rock

  • Alligator Bites Never Heal - Doechii

  • The Death Of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) - Eminem

  • We Don’t Trust You - Future & Metro Boomin

• Best Rap Song

  • “Asteroids”- Rapsody Featuring Hit-Boy

  • “Carnival”- Kanye West & Ty Dolla $Ign, Featuring Rich The Kid & Playboi Carti

  • “Like That”- Future & Metro Boomin Featuring Kendrick Lamar

  • “Not Like Us”- Kendrick Lamar

  • “Yeah Glo!”- GloRilla

This year’s Grammy nominations are full of amazing, popular, talented, and trending artists in a year that has been great for music. Who will win big and sweep the awards? Who will win Album of the Year? Who will be snubbed? We’ll have to wait until February 2, 2025, to see.

Vince Guaraldi - A (very) Brief Background

As the season of Hallothankschirstmas is upon us, I would like to reflect on one of my favorite artists for the season: Vince Guaraldi. 

Vince Guaraldi was an American jazz musician and composer based out of San Francisco, California. During his career, Guaraldi released a variety of jazz and Latin albums, but most people recognize him for his work for the Peanuts. The sound of Vince Guaraldi and his trio was present in every single Peanuts Special, and their music added a special touch to the specials that most Americans already remember and hold lots of nostalgia for. 

Guaraldi: The Perfect Mood-Setter

Throughout listening to most of his music, I found that most of Guaraldi’s work isn’t just nostalgic, but really good as well. In Guaraldi’s soundtrack album for It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, the track The Great Pumpkin Waltz is an excellent example of this, as its clever use of instrumentation and harmony makes it sound very soothing, relaxing, and autumn-like. The track Thanksgiving Theme on the soundtrack album A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving additionally gives off autumn energy while also perfectly describing the joyfulness of Thanksgiving through its upbeat tempo, harmony, and jumpy rhythm. 

The same thing can be said about Guaraldi’s soundtrack album for A Charlie Brown Christmas. On the track Skating, Guaraldi’s piano work makes his music sound like a whirlwind of snowflakes or a shower of snow coming upon me. Additionally, the track Christmas is Coming lives up to its title, its upbeat tempo, harmony in the piano, and rhythmic timing gives off the anxious, yet joyful feeling that you get as you hastily await for Christmas Day. 

And of course, we cannot forget the track Linus and Lucy, which has become an iconic staple not just of Guaraldi’s work, but of the Peanuts itself. Either when it's Schrodinger playing his little piano for Lucy on A Charlie Brown Christmas, or when it's on when I’m studying for one of the many tests I have, it never fails to make me a little bit more joyful. 

Those were only a few highlights of my favorites from Guaraldi, however there are so many more fabulous pieces that he craftfully wrote. A playlist of such songs will be linked at the bottom of this article. 

My Soundtrack for the Holiday Season

As we’re gearing up for this fabulous holiday season, it may seem enticing to be surrounded by music from artists such as Mariah Carey, Frank Sinatra, Michael Buble, or Bing Crosby, as their music encapsulates the spirit of the holidays to a great extent. However, in my opinion, no other artist can perfectly set the mood for this season as well as Vince Guaraldi can.  His music helps to make the holiday season, no matter if it's Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas, feel a whole lot more special.

Link to a playlist with my favorite Vince Guaraldi Trio Tracks

This past weekend, Neema (our beloved world news editor) and I went to see We Live in Time, the new film from John Crowley, starring Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield. Spoilers to come; this film was incredible and I have many opinions.

When I first sat down in the theater, I thought I knew what was to come. I did not. I was expecting a devastating love story about loss, and while it was that, it wasn’t exactly how I had expected. 

The film is labeled as a rom-com and follows the lives of chef Almut and recently divorced Weetabix employee Tobias. Their meet-cute includes Tobias being hit by Almut’s car. From there, they become closer and closer until they get together. As time goes on, Almut develops ovarian cancer but is able to get into remission. From there, the film follows as they have a daughter together and Almut finds out the cancer has returned.

The film starts out well into the two main characters-- Almut and Tobias-- and their relationship. From the first scene, you fall in love with the characters and their relationship. From there, the film cuts back and forth in time, slowly unveiling the different points of their relationship. At first, it was a little difficult to understand when each scene was supposed to be, but as the film progressed I was able to quickly place about when it would be. Leaving the theater, I was able to comprehend their entire relationship from start to end. As the film got closer to the end, events started falling in order. 

The chemistry between Garfield and Pugh was indescribable. They no longer felt like actors in a scene, they felt like real people. Their chemistry was palpable through the screen and I would go as far to say it was one of the best parts of the film. Their deliveries felt so raw and so real. On that same strain, the script was remarkable and stands out in the crowd of many modern movies coming out now. 

Famous New Orleans artist, Lil Wayne, made his way to Reading on Saturday, March 30th. The rapper, who has sold over 25 million records, put on a show to a packed crowd of around 8,000 at the Santander Arena. 

Dwayne Carter, better known as Lil Wayne, was born on September 27th, 1982. He has made 13 studio albums and almost 30 mixtapes. Wayne’s most famous work comes from Tha Carter series, which spans 5 albums from 2004 to 2018. Tha Carter III, won him Rap Album of the Year at the Grammys, as well as Best Rap Song and Rap Solo Performance for “Lollipop” and “A Milli” respectively in 2009.

The action started at 8:00 p.m. with the opening acts from various artists. Notable performances included: Cordae, who has made songs with artists such as Jack Harlow and Juice WRLD, and the two 11-year old rappers KashNKing. The openers lasted about two hours before Wayne stepped on stage.

Wayne opened with “Mr. Carter,” an amazing track. He performed for over an hour, providing entertaining performances with songs such as “Fireman,” “6 Foot, 7 Foot,” and more. To finish the show, he ended with one of his most popular and best, “A Milli.”

The show was energetic, loud, bright, and fun! While the rap legend may be past his prime, Lil Wayne still provides entertainment for a diverse audience. After his performance in Reading on Saturday, he headed to State College to perform with Drake on the “It’s All a Blur, Big as the What?” tour.

The Golden Globe Awards took place on January 7th, 2024. That night, the critically acclaimed and beloved Barbie competitor received five major awards. These awards include Best Director (Christopher Nolan), Best Motion Picture- Drama, Best Original Score (Ludwig Göransson), Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture (Robert Downey Jr.), and Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama (Cillian Murphy). These awards are very much deserved for one of the biggest movies of 2023, as well as being the biggest biopic of all time, grossing $1 billion at the box office.

There were other major wins as well. Poor Things took home two Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture- Musical or Comedy and Emma Stone’s win for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. The Holdovers won two awards for Paul Giamatti and Da’Vine Joy Randolph in Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture. The very popular show The Bear won three awards: Ayo Edebiri won her first Golden Globe for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy, co-star Jeremy Allen White won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy, and the show won for Best Television Series - Musical or Comedy. Some other honorable mentions: Lily Gladstone made history by being the first Indigenous person to win a Golden Globe for her performance in Killers of the Flower Moon and Barbie won Best Original Song by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell, as well as Cinematic and Box Office Achievement, which is a controversial category, but it won nonetheless. 

Though the long category names were hated, the host Joe Koy was hated even more. His monologue turned offensive and wasn’t settling well with the crowd. He lashed out at them not “laughing enough” saying he only had 10 days to write the monologue. Even though this is understandable, he faced lots of backlash from attendees and across social media. It seems that only having 10 days to write a monologue isn’t a good enough excuse to spend a lot of the time belittling women with gross humor. But the show had to go on.

The Golden Globes did have some upsets and snubs, but the awards went to many deserving actors, actresses, and more. The Golden Globes took place shortly before the Emmys, which had many category wins. These awards set up the Oscar nominations, which Oppenheimer is also sweeping with 13 nods, and help predict the winners of the major Oscar categories. But until then, we can only guess…