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 ...
‘The Bad Batch’ season three kicks it up to a 99
By Janie Walenda
Within the past several years, whatever focus the Star Wars franchise may have possessed has been on the period of time after the rise of the Empire and before the events of “A New Hope.” Past successes like “Rebels” and “Rogue One” led to newer projects like “Kenobi” and “Andor,” as well as the follow-up to “The Clone Wars,” “The Bad Batch.” Together these stories paint a picture of the rise of the Empire and its totalitarian grip on the galaxy. ...
‘The Christians’ is brilliantly thought-provoking
By Isaac Steward
When I talked with Rachel Richardson, the director of Cedarville’s most recent senior theater production, she was fairly open about what I should expect from her show. However, the show took me by surprise all the same, immersing the audience in its church setting before I even took my seat, starting the show with a time of worship. It was only after we'd finished singing and Pastor Paul (played by Timothy Anderson) came up to the pulpit when the show really started.&nb...
‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ brings us the next generation dragon warrior
By Thomas J. Cromer
The Series in Overview:
For those not familiar with the “Kung Fu Panda '' films, the franchise started in 2008 and its newest entry hit theaters this month. The “Kung Fu Panda'' films are set in a fantasy version of ancient China full of mystical creatures. As the title of the series suggests, it does have a good amount of action in it focused on the Kung Fu family of martial arts. The characters in the series are all humanoid animals, which naturally causes ...
