From controller to silver screen: Amazon Prime’s “Fallout” and the rise of television gaming adaptations
By Ben Konuch
Imagine this: it’s 2007, and you’ve just heard that your favorite video game is getting a movie adaptation coming to theaters soon! If you’re imagining accurately, your reaction might be a groan of frustration or a panicked clutching of your non-existent pearls. After all, why should you be excited for another movie studio to fundamentally misunderstand a video game you love?
By 2007, Hollywood had shouted loud and clear that it was incapable of capturing the fun of ...
Singer Nathan Duty appreciates many styles of music
Story and videos by Zoe Ekeh
“The first thing I ever started doing was singing – ever since I was little, I sang,” Nathan Duty said. “I think a lot of us that’s the first we connect with is our voice because it’s just part of us.”
https://youtu.be/YxrQE9xRv2g
Singing, playing the piano and playing the saxophone are all the musical skills and gifts that Duty has acquired throughout his life. He considers himself to be a vocalist. As a musician, it is a ...
Singing from two periods of music: Carter Foerch’s enjoyment and passion of singing eclectically
Story and videos by Zoe Ekeh
Singing classical music in a recital hall, playing covers of modern songs on a piano or keyboard and composing music are how Carter Foerch displays his musical talent. And those three pieces of his musical pursuits carry different weights in his day-to-day life.
Most importantly – at least for now – Foerch studies classical music performance as a music major at Cedarville University. Classical music has a complex history, and Foerch finds it remarkable ...
Isaiah Rubio: A musician with a determined path
Story and Videos by Zoe Ekeh
Musician with A calling
Walking past a concert stage set up with a huge screen, LED lights, and speakers, Isaiah Rubio felt anxiety come over him. This feeling caused Rubio to question if he would ever belong on that stage.
Rubio ignored his interest in creating music until an overwhelming feeling of longing to pursue his musical passion came upon him that day. Since then, he has listened to a calling for using his musical talent.
As a sound ...
‘12 Angry Jurors’ tells a riveting story of justice and duty
By Sophia Monastra
You file into the small jury room. In front of you is a long wooden table surrounded by chairs. The lights above hum, and in the corner stands a cooler of water. The trial has dragged on for six days. You’re tired, the room is hot, and you want to go home. As you and the rest of the jury make your way to the chairs, someone walks over to the window and cracks it open.
In this room, you and eleven other people will decide the fate of a boy accused of murdering ...
“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” is lukewarm at best
By Janie Walenda
What do you want out of a “Ghostbusters” movie? Personally, I am here for the theme song and to see a bunch of goofballs fight ghosts. By this forgiving metric, “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire” is a success. But in a film that is stuffed to the brim with characters and side plots galore, it’s hard to find any concrete thing that the film excels at. It’s certainly a weaker entry than its predecessor, “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” which stands as one of the best ...
‘Monkey Man:’ blending cultural representation with brutal revenge
By Ben Konuch
“In this city, the rich don’t see us as people. To them, we’re animals.”
(Editor’s note: “Monkey Man” is a mature film that contains moments of intense violence and grapples with adult themes such as human trafficking, religious persecution and attacks on LGBT minorities. The author of this article notes that some of these topics and the way they are presented may not be for everyone, but for some, there is great worth in asking its questions. The film is not ...
What makes the first half of “Shogun” so special?
By Ben Konuch
“Why is it that only those who have never fought in a battle are so eager to be in one?”
When the first adaptation of James Clavell’s influential 1975 novel “Shogun” premiered as a miniseries in 1980, it took the television world by storm. “Shogun” not only aimed to capitalize on Clavell’s highly successful story of death, deceit and culture set in feudal Japan, but to bring the story to the small screen in a way audiences had never seen before. The crafting ...
‘Unsung Hero’ fosters a strong character-audience connection and prompts contemplation about your faith
By Esther Fultz
Have you ever been in a situation where you felt like everything that could possibly go wrong did? To be completely honest, I felt like I did last week when I left my phone at home and misplaced my Macbook charger at the same time and as a result missed a coffee date with my friend. If you can relate to this, the beginning of “Unsung Hero” depicts a situation you could consider similar - just a little more intense.
When talent manager David Smallbone’s career takes ...
‘X-Men ‘97’ embraces and elevates the original series
By Janie Walenda
Before the times of live-action cinematic universes, superhero stories were ruled by the worlds of animated cartoons. In the 90s, Batman, Spider-Man and the X-Men all received iconic cartoon series that are still beloved today. While cartoon superhero shows are still being made, they’ve certainly taken the backseat to live-action blockbusters. “X-Men ’97,” a continuation of the animated series that started in 1992 and ended 27 years ago, makes a compelling ...
