Review: Pretty Little Liars

 By: Lily Deschaine

With a mysterious dark feel, comedic comments, quite a bit of drama, and plenty of cliffhangers, Pretty Little Liars is a show that you could binge-watch for hours on end. When Alison DiLaurentis goes missing at a sleepover with her four best friends, the entire town is thrown for a loop. The show follows Allison’s friends a year after she went missing. At this time, the friend group has split up and has to find their way back to each other as a series of strange events begin to happen around them. They each start to get unusual messages signed by a mysterious someone named A who seems to know details of their lives that only Allison would know. The group works to find whoever it is who is stalking them and overall find out what happened to their friend.

Originating from an 18-book series written by Sara Shepard in 2006, Pretty Little Liars was brought into the television world by Marlene King in 2010 and lasted until 2017 with a total of 7 seasons and 160 episodes. Over the years the series has acquired a large following of over 2.5 million viewers. This large amount set the record for the most-viewed series so far. As this show was targeted towards young adults this is where most of their following originates from.

Pretty Little Liars has a number of good actors who play as the inseparable group of girls that the show follows. These actors include Lucy Hale who plays Aria Montgomery, Ashley Benson who plays Hanna Marin, Shay Mitchel who plays Emily Fields, and Troian Bellisario playing Spencer Hastings. Each of these actors was able to gain a lot of fame after being a part of this popular series and can now be seen in several other series or movies as well.

If you liked Pretty Little Liars and are looking for more mystery-packed shows like this you can try The Perfectionist and Original Sin which are spin-offs made off of this series. Original Sin being directed by Michael Cristofer and The Perfectionists being produced  by Marlene King.

Review of Fortnite

by: Danny Fowler

What is Fortnite?

Fortnite is a popular free-to-play game that took the world by storm upon release by Epic Games in 2017. Fortnite is a fast paced third person shooter of the battle royale genre where 100 players battle to the death until one player or team remains. Fortnite separates itself from other games in several ways but the most notable is the building mechanic. In Fortnite you are given a building plan that allows you to build a wall, ramp, floor, and cone. This feature adds a whole new dynamic to the game and makes it unique from all other games in the genre and is what has made the game so successful.

Gamemodes

Another huge factor that is responsible for a lot of Fortnite’s success is the extensive amounts of game modes. Fortnite over the years has created a hefty amount of game modes to entice many different audiences. The game started off with just a simple face paced battle royale mode and a slower paced save the world mode where you would protect your home base from zombies while also completing missions to upgrade your gear and home base. But over the years the Fortnite team has incorporated many new modes. This started with limited time modes where they would add limitations to the normal battle royale game to make the game fresh and exciting to play. These were small additions compared to the long awaited release of creative mode in December of 2018. Creative mode allowed players to have their own way to create game modes themselves. Anybody could create maps for other players to play on and each map would get a code specific to the map that other players could type in to use that map once it was uploaded to the server. Creative started out small but is now the most popular game mode among players. As of recently Fortnite added three more modes: Lego Fortnite, a survival game mode where you and friends can build a town while fighting monsters and completing quests all the while trying to survive. Rocket Racing, A racing game mode where players race against each other on a variety of different tracks using cars from the popular game Rocket League. Fortnite Festival, a game mode where players can play their favorite songs by hitting buttons to the beat of the song similarly to Guitar Hero. Fortnite has an abundance of game modes that appeal to a variety of audiences which is what makes the game so popular.

Cosmetics and Collaborations

Another thing that makes Fortnite unique is the large number of cosmetics that each player can use to express themselves. Fortnite has many different types of cosmetics including outfits for your character, wraps for your guns, gliders that you use to drop onto the map and much more. Over the years Fortnite has added more and more cosmetics to the game that allows players to be more unique to themselves. Each day a new item shop is added with either new or returning cosmetics that the player can purchase using the in-game currency v-bucks. To go alongside the cosmetics Fortnite has also partnered with several big music artists, content creators, companies, etc. to add cosmetics of players favorite icons. The first collaboration was with Marshmallow, an electronic dance music creator in February of 2019. This marked the beginning of the icon series of skins that includes a bunch of big names and is being added upon to this day.

Should you play? Fortnite is a very diverse game that appeals to many different audiences, which is one of the things that makes it so unique. I think that if you are someone who enjoys playing video games it is worth a shot to try. Whether it’s Battle Royale, Lego Fortnite, Fortnite festival, or Rocket Racing. I truly feel that there is at least one game mode that every type of player can enjoy. To top it all off, Fortnite is free to play so why shouldn’t you give it a shot. Who knows, maybe it will become your next favorite game.

Breaking Bad: Anything but Bad

By: Addy Waning                                                         CAUTION: SPOILERS AHEAD

Breaking Bad, highly regarded as one of the best tv series of all time, aired on AMC from 2008 to 2013. This show is the perfect embodiment of a power-trip. The show follows Walter White, a high-school chemistry teacher turned ruthless drug lord, otherwise known as “Heisenberg.” After getting diagnosed with lung cancer, you feel for Walter. And even as he slowly turns into an egotistical drug kingpin, you still feel for him. That’s one of the things that’s well done with the show. You still root for Walter, you want him to win, even though he makes questionable decisions. This show constantly lingers in the gray area, which is what makes it so unique. 

The choices the director, Vince Gilligan makes, really adds to the atmosphere of the show. The B roll, music choice, the color change within scenes to signify good and evil, happy and sad. Many camera angles were super innovative in the cinematography world. For example, The Train Heist (season 5, episode 5), the scene utilizes aerial shots, wide camera angles, and even features the sound of a clock ticking to represent the stress the characters are going through. This is just one of the many details that makes Breaking Bad a show worth your time.

The show is widely celebrated not only for its gripping storyline but also for the stellar performances of its cast, with Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul, and Bob Odenkirk standing out as exceptional talents. Bryan Cranston’s portrayal of Walter White, the show’s central character, is nothing short of extraordinary. Cranston skillfully navigates the complexities of Walter’s character, seamlessly transitioning from a sympathetic family man to a morally conflicted, ruthless drug lord. Aaron Paul, who plays Jesse Pinkman, delivers a standout performance that earned him critical acclaim and multiple awards. Paul brings depth and authenticity to the character, capturing Jesse’s emotional journey and internal struggles with remarkable finesse. Bob Odenkirk, in the role of Saul Goodman, adds a layer of dark humor and charisma to the series. Odenkirk’s performance is a masterclass in balancing levity with the underlying tension of the show. Together, Cranston, Paul, and Odenkirk contribute significantly to the success of Breaking Bad, creating a trio of performances that elevate the series to iconic status.

In fact, Breaking Bad was so popular among its audience that there were a few shows related to Breaking Bad. Better Call Saul, which stars the lovable but cunning lawyer Saul Goodman , follows his life before his fateful meeting with Walter White and Jesse Pinkman. Many people even argue that Better Call Saul is better than Breaking Bad. An epilogue of Breaking Bad, called El Camino, begins right where the finale of Breaking Bad left off. It stars Jesse Pinkman as he attempts to escape his past decisions. 

Obviously, this show won’t be for everyone, and people will want to weigh out the pros and cons. A notable pro of the show lies in its exceptional character development, with Walter White’s transformation from a mild-mannered chemistry teacher to a formidable methamphetamine producer standing out as a compelling narrative arc. The series has been branded for its meticulous attention to detail, intricate plot twists, and the outstanding performance of Bryan Cranston in the lead role. However, the intense and dark themes, including violence and ethical dilemmas, might be considered a con by some viewers who prefer lighter content. The show’s commitment to portraying the harsh realities of a criminal lifestyle can also be unsettling for those seeking more escapist entertainment.

Review: Call Me If You Get Lost By Tyler, The Creator

By: Aizik Durand

In 2009, Tyler Okonma, better known as Tyler, The Creator dropped his debut mixtape titled, Bastard. 12 years, another 5 albums, and 1 Grammy later, Tyler dropped the album, Call Me If You Get Lost. An album centered around travel (getting lost), love, and success, the big theme being, who you get lost with, as Tyler tells the story about how he fell in love with someone his friend was dating. From 2021 hit grammy winning project, Tyler is now releasing a deluxe for the album around 2 years after its original release. Tyler announced that the deluxe would be titled; Call Me If You Get Lost : The Estate Sale, so without further adieu, let’s talk about it.

My thoughts on the album:
This album became a gateway for me into Tyler, I hadn’t listened to him all that much before this project, outside of his 2017 and 2019 albums, but I certainly do now. Not only was it a gateway for me to further explore Tyler’s discography but it was also a gateway to my summer. The album’s theme with its late June drop was essential really. It kicked things off, especially after last summer which was ruined by covid. I played this album everywhere, whether it was backpacking with my dad and uncle in Baxter State Park, playing video games, or even trying to be the boat DJ at my family’s camp. It took me over. For good reason too, the transitions are seamless, the meaning is easy to connect to, the flows are catchy, and it’s just great music overall. With that being said, this is my favorite album of all time, and it earns an easy 10/10.

My Top 5 Tracks:

1. “HOT WIND BLOWS” (ft Lil Wayne) – This track is my favorite track from the original release of CMIYGL, mainly due to its summer toned melody, and just springy vibe, Wayne’s feature is also amazing and just shows how at his age he still has some bars in the bag. The track is based off of Penny Goodwin’s “Slow Hot Wind” from 1974, in which you could consider, the wind now much faster considering new age technology. On Tyler and Wayne’s fourth official collaboration they spend most of their time talking about skill, success, traveling, and more importantly their luxurious lifestyles.
2. “WILSHIRE” – I could go on forever about WILSHIRE, it’s amazing, Tyler shows how good of a storyteller he is and kind of sums up his whole experience with the woman he has been referring to throughout the album. The song is almost like a book, and just so easy to listen to. 
3. “BOYFRIEND, GIRLFRIEND” (ft YG) – This song appeared in the music video for CORSO and was originally known as “ALONE”, Tyler said that the song reminds him of when “he was driving through LA when he was 17” he told instagram. The song is very upbeat and easy to listen to between the catchy hook and flow changes, definitely a song I’m looking forward to this summer.
4. “SORRY NOT SORRY” – This is the last song on the deluxe version of the album and man did Tyler do it well, we got an amazing video to go with, which essentially entailed Tyler continuing the theme of not forgiving people for his past, cause that’s what made him, him. Tyler appears to kill off his aliases from past eras, and it leaves just himself, Tyler Okonma, which DJ Drama and Tyler hint could be the next era of their highly expected 2023 album.
5. “WUSYANAME” (ft Youngboy Never Broke Again, Ty Dolla $ign) – In WUSYANAME, Tyler, goes more in depth to the relationship he has found with his friend’s girl, more so, how he has fallen in love with her, after finding out she is taken. Tyler does a great job with with mixing the flows in this song, it is very catchy, and the use of Youngboy’s feature put many listeners in shock, as it’s one of Youngboy’s best pieces of work, and not his usual style where he raps a more gang styled flow, but in WUSYANAME he raps much more melodically.

Call Me If You Get Lost, when released, topped the charts, and went on to eventually win rap album of the year at the Grammys, this was Tyler’s second win, and his third nomination for the award. Now in 2023, Tyler is dropping Call Me If You Get Lost : The Estate Sale. This comes as he is “supposed” to drop another album since he has every 2 years for the last 14 years of his career.

Now, I expect that Tyler called the deluxe, The Estate Sale, because an estate sale is something that typically happens when moving on. Tyler is very well known for his different personalities across his albums, and in a way, this is the estate sale to that personality, as he moves on. Tyler stated on twitter, “CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST WAS THE FIRST ALBUM I MADE WITH ALOT OF SONGS THAT DIDNT MAKE THE FINAL CUT. SOME OF THOSE SONGS I REALLY LOVE, AND KNEW THEY WOULD NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY, SO IVE DECIDED TO PUT A FEW OF THEM OUT.” He tweeted this to announce “The Estate Sale”. This is also the first time Tyler has released any sort of deluxe to an album. In early 2022, Tyler went on tour for the album, and I got the privilege to see him in Worcester on his tour. He talked a bit while he was there, saying essentially the reason he made IGOR, his 2019 album, was because of his loss in the Grammy’s in 2018 with his 2017 album Flower Boy. Tyler’s intent with IGOR was to make as ‘ill’ an album he could possibly make, hence IGOR being quite the standout in his discography. He claimed that IGOR was essentially all for his ego, which was boosted further when he beat out DJ Khaled on the charts since they released an album on the same day.

Then, in 2020, Tyler would get the grammy over DJ Khaled. DJ Khaled made multiple remarks to this, such as a tweet, which has been deleted, that clearly addresses his album, and why he was so mad at not being number 1,  “I make albums so people can play it and you actually hear it. You know, driving your car, you hear another car playing it. You know, go to the barbershop, you hear them playing it.”. Khaled is well known for his, “We da Best” phrase, he continued his rant with, “You know, turn the radio on, and you hear them playing it. It’s called great music. It’s called albums where you actually hear the songs. Not no mysterious s*** that you never hear it.”. So, Tyler came out and dropped another number 1 hit, grammy winning album, proving that IGOR wasn’t a mistake. So thank you Tyler, for making my favorite album of all time, and just like that, WE GONE!

SHREK 5? Out in 2023

By: Makena Nevells 

Once upon a time, there was an ogre and a donkey that lived in a swamp together. This sentence alone brings so many teenagers and young adults nostalgia. Watching the hit movie Shrek on the couch while eating popcorn. The last time people got excited about a movie in this popular series was in 2010, so it has been overdue to release what everyone has been waiting for a sequel to the well-known Shrek franchise. 

The last Shrek movie “Shrek Forever After”, is an action-packed film about villain Rumpelstiltskin trying to rule the land of Far Far Away and ruin the main character Shrek’s life. Everyone following the release is curious about how the producers will follow this intense film.  According to Illumination founder Chris Meledandri, the original cast of the series will play in this movie as well, including Mike Myers who plays Shrek, Eddie Murphy who plays Donkey, and Cameron Diaz who plays Princess Fiona. 

As for how excited people are for the release, Natasha Cowan explains how Shrek reminds her of her childhood and was excited when learning about the release of a new movie to the franchise. 

With most young adults being younger than 13 when the last release of the series was, many people agree with this statement and get the same nostalgic feeling that Cowan was talking about. 

The sequel is set to come out on the 20th of May, and with people already buzzing about the release, it is sure to be a hit. The nostalgia is already starting and it will be one day you can get a piece of your childhood back. 

The Purrfect Villain

By: Derek Smith

On December 21st, 2022 the newest Puss and Boots movie came out, and although it is a kids movie, the movie was very good. One of the main reasons why this movie stands out when compared to many other animated films is the main villain of the movie.

The title of the movie is  “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” and it is produced by Dreamworks. One of the biggest reasons for this movie being good is the main villain, Death. In this movie we witness Puss In Boots descend from a confident hero to a “scaredy-cat.” Puss has used up eight of his nine lives, and now that he is down to the last one, he has become scared of death.

In the movie, death is depicted as a hooded wolf that carries two sickles. The wolf believes that Puss should die as he is too arrogant and just threw his lives away like they meant nothing. Throughout the whole movie we see Puss lose his arrogance and start to look around and find things that are worth not dying for, things that are worth living for. Everyone is scared of death, even a fictional cat in a fancy hat and boots, but being scared of death can make life a lot more meaningful. Puss in Boots realized this and he duels Death.

In his duel with Death, Puss says that he knows he cannot win against Death but he will continue fighting to defend his final life. After hearing this, Death lets Puss go and live out his last life, but tells him that he will return. This movie was surprisingly good, and also surprisingly real. Death as a main villain is very relatable, and fearing death is such a common fear. The message of this movie is also great.

The main message is that it is okay to be afraid, and that we may not be everything that we really think we are, and that is okay. In the beginning of this story Puss believes he is a superhero, who is fearless and untouchable, but throughout the movie we see that he does feel fear and that he is not untouchable. Overall, this movie turned out to be one of the best animated movies I have ever seen, because of its very adult themed topics along with looking beautiful as well.

Picture credits #1,  (https://www.awn.com/animationworld/puss-boots-last-wish-returns-its-fairy-tale-illustration-roots) Picture credits #2, (https://news.yahoo.com/puss-boots-last-wish-secures)

Midnights: The Record Shattering Album

By: Liv Foley

Taylor Swift’s newest album, Midnights, is argued to be her best album yet. As she said in the promos, the songs in the album are “A collection of music written in the middle of the night, a journey through terrors and sweet dreams.” 

The album contains 13 songs, some about heartbreak, some about love, some about being just plain happy, some about self-insecurities, and even one about karma. This album covers everything. The 3 most popular songs in the album are “Anti-Hero”, “Lavender Haze”, and “Maroon”, which also happens to be the first 3 songs on the album.

“Anti-Hero” is a song about always feeling like the bad guy, and feeling like everyone around you only sees you as some sort of villain. It’s a song about self-hatred and insecurities, which everyone can relate to.  “Lavender Haze” is about all the pressures of a relationship and choosing to ignore the pressure and only focus on the two of you in the relationship. Choosing to ignore everything else around you and only focus on the love between the two of you. Choosing to stay in a “haze” with the other person. “Maroon” is a song about going back and forth between one person, an on-and-off-again relationship, and everything that comes with it. 

All of the songs on the album became the entire top 10 on the Billboard charts in less than a week. 10 songs from the Midnights album covered and smashed down all the other songs on the chart to take all the spots in the top 10 chart. The only person to come close to this was Drake with his Certified Loverboy album, with 8 songs from the album charting in the top 10. 

The songs from Midnights taking all the top 10 marked the first time that no male artist was ever on the top 10 billboard chart in billboard history. 

The billboard top 10 chart started in 1940, and for the first time in 82 years, no male was on the top 10.

Swift became the first artist ever to get all songs on an album in the top 10 of billboard charts. Swift now has 188 chart hits, passing Lil Wayne for third, and trailing the “Glee” cast at 207 hits, and Drake with 278 hits. 

 She has now had 40 songs to get into the top 100, beating Madonna and coming to a close second to Drake. Swift holds the record for the female artist with the most top 10 hits in the history of billboard charts. 

Midnights also became the best-selling album in 2022. The album debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 with the equivalent of 1.578 million album units earned in the United States. The biggest since her own album Reputation in 2017. 

Swift is also the only artist in history to have five albums that sold over a million copies in a single week.

 All together, Midnights is the most recent, Speak Now (2010), Red (2012 and 2021), 1989 (2014), and Reputation (2017) follow. 

Swift is also now tied for the most number 1 albums among women. Midnights is Swift’s 11th number-one album, meaning all of her albums except her debut album, Taylor Swift, have been hit albums. These albums include both her re-recordings. 

Swift is only the 6th act in Billboard history to have more than 10 number-one albums. 

She joins the Beatles with 19 number-one albums, Jay-Z with 14, Drake, Bruce Springsteen, and Streisand with 11. 

Midnights broke the modern-era record for single-week vinyl record sales in the United States.  The album sold over 575,000 vinyl copies in the first week of its release, absolutely smashing the previous record of 182,000 copies, which was held by Harry Styles. 

Swift broke the record for the most streamed artist in a single day in all of Spotify history. The album racked up 184.6 million streams in the first 24 hours of being released. The previous record was 153 million streams in a day. 

Swift became the most-streamed female artist in Spotify history and the first to have 35 billion streams. Swift has gained over 35 billion streams on Spotify and now holds the title of the most streamed female artist, and the first to ever cross 35 billion streams. 

The song, “Snow on the Beach” featuring Lana Del Ray, broke the record for most single-day streams for an all-female collaboration in Spotify history. “Snow on the Beach” gained over 15 million Spotify streams within the first day of its release. Surpassing the previous record that Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande held with their song “Rain on Me”. 

Midnights earned the biggest-ever streaming week for any album ever recorded by a woman. 

Midnights earned an astonishing 549.26 million official streams in its debut week. The only other album ahead of midnights is Drake’s “Scorpion” album at 745.92 million streams. 

On Spotify, the album broke the record for the most streamed album in a single day. The album accumulated 184.7 million streams in a single day on Spotify. 

In the end, Taylor Swift broke over 14 records with the release of this new album. It’s been out for exactly two months now and is definitely still breaking records. Swift still has many more albums to come, including re-recordings of old albums and new surprise albums. At 33, Taylor has set many standards and exceeded them greatly, and her career isn’t even close to being over. 
For more information, more records not included in this article, and the biggest records she broke, visit this website: https://www.insider.com/taylor-swift-midnights-broken-records-2022-10#swift-is-the-only-artist-in-history-to-debut-a-song-at-no-1-and-an-album-at-no-1-simultaneously-on-four-separate-occasions-8