The Cedars 2025 awards of the century presented by Arts and Entertainment 

By Danielle Cherry and the A&E writers 

Everyone loves a good award. As the Oscars approach and TV-shows and movies get their chance to win recognition, Arts and Entertainment at Cedars was excited to highlight the top movies we reviewed this season.  

While the categories we walked through are less drastic than the Oscars, our take was both fun and only slightly biased. Arts and Entertainment covers a wide variety of shows and movies – ranging from some of the worst films conceived by man, all the way to award-winning cult classics. 

To start this diverse list, let’s begin with the TV shows. 

Action

Action punches viewers in the face, sometimes literally – which is exactly what “Marvel Zombies” does, throwing everyone directly into the mix of every fight. With its gruesome choreography and thrilling animation, “Marvel Zombies” tops the charts in both character development and tension. 

Without a dull moment, Marvel fans watch their favorite characters pair up in unexpected ways, adding lore to an already fandom-filled world. In classic Marvel style, “Marvel Zombies takes number one for the Action category. 

Science Fiction

This year brought stranger things to our screens than Demigorgons and Vecna. With Sci-Fi shows on the rise, it’s only right to let John Hiett tackle what really goes into deciphering a winner in this category. 

“”Plurbius” deserves to be the winner in the sci-fi category because of its unique twist on the apocalyptic concept and virus outbreak, while focusing on one single character,” Hiett said. “This selling point makes “Plurbius” captivating, standing out among other shows.” 

“The entire show follows Carol, as she navigates a world where she’s alone as everyone has been converted into a hivemind from the virus,” Hiett said. “The show is an intense study on characters, specifically Carol, as she battles with loneliness and depression, all while fighting towards the goal of reverting humanity back to the way it was. Despite having insane stakes of the entire world being taken over by a virus, the show managed to keep the story personal and heartfelt with Carol front and center.” 

Blockbuster

The 2025 season brought us thrilling TV shows, many of which you can catch up with on Cedars’ website. But 2025 also blessed the movie community, bringing people back to theaters with huge releases ranging from Superman to Zootopia 2. 

We had a lot of blockbuster movies grace our screens, from F1 races to finale whirlwinds of Mission: Impossible, the choice was a tough one. The biggest hit of the season was DC’s success,“Superman,” so Hiett takes the mic once more. 

““Superman” deserves to be the winner for the blockbuster movie category due to the movie’s amazing portrayal of Superman fighting enemies in the air and saving civilians on the ground,” Hiett said. “This movie utilizes Superman’s powers in interesting and refreshing ways where it’s not simply him crashing through buildings – but using his speed, flight, laser vision and ice breath to outsmart and outplay his enemies.”

“On top of all this, a big aspect of why “Superman” is such a great superhero action movie is how Superman’s goal is to save people first and foremost,” Hiett said. “In a world of villains and massive threats, Superman aims to be kind and optimistic in the face of danger – always taking the time to try and see the good in everyone.” 

Horror

We all love a movie that sets the vibes from the beginning, and Frankenstein’s edgy, mysterious and haunting atmosphere was clear from the opening sequence. Classic book lover Cadence Powers has some thoughts on why “Frankenstein” takes the victory for the dark and mysterious category. 

“Is there anything more edgy than Frankenstein?” Powers said. “Mary Shelly’s original story of a man desperate to defy death is taken on by the gothic director Guilmero del Toro.” 

“The movie explores the original themes of the book, ranging from the dangers of obsession, ambition and the exploration of loss,” Powers said. “In addition to the themes, the movie is gorgeously done. Everything from the costumes to the set design is perfectly aligned with the story of the movie.” 

With its stunning makeup and stellar acting by Oscar Issac and Jacob Elordie, Frankenstein’s movie adaptation was a huge success. 

Romance

Speaking of big-name actors, why don’t we turn it over to the romance category where Elizabeth Olsen, Callum Turner and Miles Teller bring tension and feeling to every second. With his diverse taste, but an eye for grossing films, Gabriel Payne has this to say on “Eternity.” 

““Eternity” keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish and smiling the entire time,” Payne said. “It’s refreshingly wholesome, highly entertaining and remarkably genuine all at the same time.”

“Every technical aspect of this film, from cinematography, costume design and performance, are excellently executed,” Payne said. “In the current age of film we face, it is rare to find a project that meets and exceeds so many benchmarks of quality and entertainment.” 

With tension at every decision, “Eternity” takes the top of the romance category, with writing that captures character in an intentional, dramatic manner.

Family-friendly

While I wish we had an eternity to spend on “Eternity,” we must move on to some family-friendly feature films – with the most popular and highest-grossing film defying gravity. 

““Wicked: For Good” was a movie for all ages, from little girls to grown men. “Wicked” had it all. Packed with beautiful aerial sequences and heartpounding betrayals, Wicked truly shows what it means to be changed for good. 

Thriller

Tense, high octane and daringly different “Wake Up Dead Man” takes the top spot for thriller of 2025. As a veteran writer for Arts and Entertainment, Sophie Monastra shares some insight: 

““Wake Up Dead Man” walks the delicate line between thriller and comedy with a remarkable grace, shifting between tones both suddenly and naturally,” Monastra said. “Add that with a highly present and surprisingly balanced theme, lovable detective-sidekick relationship, well-done scenery and engaging camera work –  this movie wins my award for Best Thriller.” 

Animation

If you open your window in rural America, you might hear snippets of the highest-grossing K-pop film ever made. As golden rays shine through the window, you might be reminded of the Huntrix and their Golden Globes win. 

It only feels right that Cedars would give “K-pop Demon Hunters” the award for best animated film. On top of being genuinely well-written and presenting a redemptive message, “K-pop Demon Hunters” gives viewers a refreshing spin on traditional animation. 

Images of the Huntrix gorging themselves on ramen still play in my mind, with intense action scenes feeling almost comic-book style in the way the animation was executed. The music itself deserves another win, with the Hunters hitting impossible notes my hall-mates are tired of hearing me try to reach. 

Every time I look back at this show, Cole’s hair seems to get just a little bit worse. 

Hard to Watch

Moving away from traditional categories, since we are a newspaper and are not publicly broadcast on live TV, A&E thought some different categories were necessary. Starting with the cringest project we have watched this year. There were a lot of options to choose from, with two flying to the top. Amelia Morris starts us off with the Walmart version of “The Summer I Turned Pretty.”

“”My Life with the Walter Boys” was by far the cringiest series of the fall semester,” Morris said. “The acting often seemed forced, which took me out of the moment. Not a single character could make it through the episode without making me cringe. Nikki Rodrigez, who plays Jackie in the series, constantly teetered over the line of cringe. There were scenes when I entirely believed her performance and others that I could hardly stand. With the main characters that viewers were supposed to love, quickly coming to the very thing we hate. Overall, I did enjoy the series, but the cringe was sometimes too much.”

Our second winner, “Adulthood” is best described by Payne as “gum on the bottom of my shoe.” Let’s let him expand on that a little bit…

“This film was nothing more than awful,” Payne said. “There was seemingly not an ounce of passion for the project from anyone involved, except maybe Josh Gad. Finding a reason why this film was made is exceptionally difficult, since it really has nothing special to offer.

“The fate of “Adulthood” to quietly die an irrelevant death on Paramount Plus was absolutely well deserved,” Payne said. “The time, money and effort spent on creating and watching this film are unfortunately a waste.”

Christian

As a Christian newspaper, it is only right that we take a moment to award the stories that matter most: the ones about Jesus. While “Light of the World” may not win at a traditional awards shows, A&E can’t help but point out the incredible effort The Salvation Poem Project put into making this movie what it is, with Josh Ball taking the lead on dissecting what made this movie so wonderful. 

““Light of the World” is a great family movie that tells the story of Jesus through phenomenal animation,” Ball said. “The medium reflects the point of view of John the Beloved, being the same age as the target audience of the film, fitting the mood perfectly. The whimsical art style was appealing to children without annoying adult viewers.”

“Choosing to animate the film this way also reflects the way the young John the Beloved viewed the world: as a child to whom everything is wonderful and magical,” Ball said. “Throughout it, the color scheme matched the tone of the movie: it was bright when the mood was light, and shadows dominated the more tense scenes. “Light of the World” was the perfect showcase for the abilities of animation as a storytelling medium.” 

When all is said and done, there were a lot of incredible projects released in 2025, many of which never getting the opportunity to have a shout-out. As our awards season comes to a close, let me remind everyone that no matter the movie or show, they all make an impact. 

God has given us the gift of story to tell and to share with others. If you want to read more about the stories that have impacted us, check out Cedars Arts and Entertainment online, where you can find your next favorite watch. 

Danielle Cherry is a sophomore Communication major and writer for Cedars A&E and Sports. With her companions in writing, Danielle seeks to show the world that movies are so much more than mere entertainment – they have the power to shape us for good. 

Photos courtesy of A24, Marvel Studios, DC Studios, Demilo Films, Universal Pictures, T-Street Productions, Sony Pictures Animation, Sony Pictures Television, Lighthouse Studios.