‘The School for Good and Evil’ is dangerously shallow
By Katlynn Rossignol
Sofia and Agatha of Galvador are whisked away from their small medieval town and enrolled in the School for Good and Evil, where the descendants of fairy tale characters are trained in magic. But upon arrival, the girls believe they are put in the wrong schools and must find a way to switch before it’s too late.
Positives:
“The School for Good and Evil” is a visual spectacle, filled with plenty of fun visual effects. The ‘blood-magic’ is especially ...
‘Rings of Power’ Finale Attempts Ties to Tolkien’s Lore
By Janie Walenda
This review contains spoilers for the whole of “Rings of Power” season one
I’m not sure how I feel about the season finale of “Rings of Power.” That’s not a great first sentence for a review, but that has been the overwhelming feeling that has stuck with me. On one hand, the finale delivers its twists with its usual style and a surprising amount of complexity. However, the developments in this episode do nothing to lessen my concerns about how “Rings ...
‘She-Hulk: Attorney at Law’ Finale Falls Flat
By Samuel M Acosta
This past week we finally saw the ending of “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law” and it is definitely something different than we have ever seen before from Marvel. Not only does it lean into the fourth-wall-breaking nature of the character, but it does away with the typical big fight sequence at the end. Yet, I can’t help but feel unsatisfied with the show's ending, especially in light of how amazing the episode before this was. It all just feels rushed and underdev...
‘Werewolf By Night’ is a Fresh and Violent New Chapter of the MCU
By Ben Konuch
“So many death dealers in one room…”
Phase 4 of the MCU has been full of bizarre hits and misses. It’s been a phase of experimenting, with unconventional and unique entries like “WandaVision” and “Eternals” attempting to break the mold of the Marvel formula. For all of its experimenting, Marvel has failed as many times as it succeeded. Some titles like “Moon Knight” and “Loki” have been received favorably, while entries like “Eternals” and ...
‘Andor’ Episodes 4-6 Raise the Bar for Star Wars Television
By Ben Konuch
“Of course I’m afraid! But there’s a difference between fear and losing your nerve. You want out of this? Make a choice. Don’t use me as an excuse.”
“Andor” has quickly shot up the ranks of my favorite pieces of Star Wars storytelling. Fresh off the high note of episode three's action-packed conclusion of the first story arc, “Andor's” next two episodes are again slow-burn world-building that culminate into a visually stunning and narratively satisfying ...
‘Halloween Ends” By Crashing To The Ground
By Samuel M Acosta
This review contains spoilers for “Halloween Ends.”
I was absolutely hyped to see this movie. Along with most people, I really enjoyed the first installment of the “Halloween” franchise reboot and despite popular opinion, I love the second installment. So when it came to the final part of the trilogy, I was ready to dive in and love whatever was there, despite its flaws. Well, dive in I did… and I hit my head on the concrete because this movie had less depth ...
‘Ada and the Engine’ Blows The Audience Away
By Samuel M Acosta
On October 15, Teghan Reed and Farrah Rawlings, senior theater majors here at Cedarville, held their capstone project, producing a performance of “Ada and the Engine” by Lauren Gunderson in Alford Auditorium.
With Rawlings playing the leading role of Ada and Reed directing and designing the show, this ended up being one of the best shows that I had ever seen. It not only made me respond emotionally, but the true artistic nature of the show was astounding. It left ...
‘Oddballs’ is a YouTuber’s Dive into Netflix Animation
By Katlynn Rossignol
Summary
The town of Dirt, Arizona, is the home of lab experiments turned loose, including James the bubble-boy, his talking crocodile friend Max, and a girl from the future named Echo. With so many unexplained things in life, the three of them cause chaos as they question the wacky world around them.
Background
One of the fascinating things about “Oddballs” is its connection to “TheOdd1sOut” YouTube channel, a storytime animation channel created by ...
The Sanderson Sisters are back from the 90’s in ‘Hocus Pocus 2’
by Anna Harman
Disney came out with “Hocus Pocus” back in 1993. 29 years later, they released a sequel to this Halloween classic. The Sanderson sisters, played by Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker, made their comeback in “Hocus Pocus 2.” They performed several musical numbers in this sequel, all while they are faced with strange, modern technology. Viewers also got to see the return of Billy Butcherson (Doug Jones). The film was a combination of nostalgia for the ...
‘Amsterdam’ Is A Confusing Piece Of Art
By Samuel M Acosta
When I saw the trailer for “Amsterdam”, I was incredibly excited to see this star-studded film. After watching it, I am in awe of the boldness and the artisan nature of the film, yet I am also unable to forget how thoroughly confused I felt during it. While I loved certain scenes and elements of the film, the pacing and plot felt sporadic and disjointed. There were multiple times when I couldn’t help but whisper to myself, “What is going on?” While this didn’t ...
