The 97th Academy Awards were largely satisfying in terms of winners, but the show was ultimately forgettable. Normally, this would be cause for concern, but given the Oscars’ penchant for embarrassment over the past decade as well as the chaos of the awards race this year, this is the best we could have gotten.
Abby Gibson, Arts & Entertainment Editor
• February 25, 2025
The deluxe edition of “Short n’ Sweet” by Sabrina Carpenter, which was released on Friday, Feb. 14, was a nice Valentine’s Day treat. The expanded album was announced just two days after Carpenter won her first Grammy award, expanding the world of her award winning album and serving as the perfect thank you to her fans. There were five new tracks, including a collaboration with Dolly Parton for “Please Please Please (feat. Dolly Parton),” “Busy Woman,” which she performed on tour for her surprise song segment, “Couldn’t Make It Any Harder,” “Bad Reviews” and “15 Minutes.” The deluxe brings songs the singer couldn’t fit on its original version while also giving fans a way to reconnect with the album, which released back in Aug. 2024.
Paige Sanacora, Assistant Arts & Entertainment Editor
• February 25, 2025
To celebrate 50 years of “Saturday Night Live” (SNL), the show put on a three-hour special that featured a revolving door of past and present cast members, as well as beloved celebrity guests. As a lifetime fan of SNL, the anniversary episode was everything I could have hoped for and more. With way too many sketches and moments to discuss, let’s delve into just some of the highlights you might have missed.
Jonathan Eusebio’s “Love Hurts” is a disappointing next step in Ke Huy Quan’s action career. His Oscar-winning performance in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” – which also won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2022 – showed incredible range for the actor. He gave a heartbreaking, funny, loveable and action-packed performance as multiple versions of his character across the multiverse. His Oscar win was well deserved, to say the least, and anyone who has seen the film would surely agree. Ariana DeBose, Quan’s “Love Hurts” co-star, is also fresh off the Oscar scene, having won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for “West Side Story” in 2022.
“Gladiator II” takes place 16 years after the first film. It follows Lucius, the son of Lucilla, played by Connie Nielsen, and Maximus, played by Russell Crowe. Lucius is played by Academy Award nominee Paul Mescal. Estranged from his family for over a decade, Lucius coincidentally ends up reconnecting with his mother after his home is attacked by the Roman Army. He is taken by the army to become a slave-turned-gladiator like his father, and quickly rises to greatness, also following in his father’s footsteps. The film is packed with well-done action sequences, effective gore and a compelling story as Lucius fights to restore the Roman Republic – a dream his father wished to carry out.
Can a robot fall in love? It couldn’t truly be possible, right? “Maybe Happy Ending” suggests otherwise. The musical recently hit the Broadway scene on Nov. 12, at the Belasco Theater in New York City, New York. It stars “Glee” cast member Darren Criss as a Helperbot named Oliver and Broadway actress Helen J. Shen as a Helperbot named Claire.
The television series “Industry” quietly premiered in 2020 and focused on a small group of postgraduates jostling for favor in an investment bank in London called Pierpoint & Co. Through these young associates, they display the world of finance cynically and smugly, showcasing their early morning trading stock options on the floor to cocaine-fueled raves with clients.
A brand-new adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet” has come to Broadway, this time truly centered around the youth of the play’s characters. Make no mistake, the dialogue is still entirely Shakespearean, but every other aspect of the play is covered in a Generation Z inspired sparkle.
When my 9-year-old self saw Emmett (Chris Pratt) become “The Special” and join the ranks of the greatest master builders to defeat Lord Business’s (Will Ferrell) regime, I thought it was one of the greatest movies of all time. Ten years later, I hold a similar opinion. Having recently rewatched “The Lego Movie” for old time’s sake, I realized that the film should not be taken at face value.
When one sits down in the Circle in the Square Theatre for a date night on Broadway, the last thing you would expect to see is the ensemble dumping bucket after bucket of ice over actor Jeremy Strong’s head.
Around one year ago, the game “Sonic Frontiers” was released and was met with a mostly positive reaction. “Frontiers” has fun gameplay, an interesting, compelling story, and outstanding boss fights and music.
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