KATELYN:
Monsters: The Erik and Lyle Menendez Story- In the newest season in the Monsters series, following the hit show “Dahmer” is the thrilling and heartbreaking story of the Menedez brothers. For those who don’t know, the brothers killed their parents, shooting them 13 times. The show is an insight on why and how. The young boys were molested and abused by their father Jose Menendez their entire lives, and their mother Mary Louise “Kitty” Menendez just let it happen.
The actors Cooper Koch, who played Erik, and Nicholas Alexander Chavez who played Lyle, showed so much emotion; it feels like you are right there in the courtroom with them. This is a story the world is not ready to let fade out, because there are so many unanswered questions. The brothers newest trail is awaiting new evidence that was submitted on Sept. 26. Lawyers say they are “cautiously optimistic” about the chances of the brothers being released after 34 years. Now, the brothers are hoping that new evidence will reopen their case and set them free.
The Office– This office is a 2005 sitcom based right here in Scranton. This show follows the lives of a branch, and its manager of a paper company called “Dunder Mifflin.” The main characters viewers may know are, Micheal Scott (Steve Carell), Pam Beasley (Jenna Fischer), Dwight Shrute (Rainn Wilson), and Jim Halpert (John Krasiniski). The show has love stories, heartbreak stories and never fails to make anyone laugh. No matter what you like, “The Office” has an episode for everyone. You will fall in love with the characters so much that tears are shed on the last two episodes, and that is almost a guarantee.
The Little Giants- This is an all-time classic football movie, in the fictional town of Urbania, Ohio. Danny O’Shea has always lived in the shadow of his older brother, Kevin, a Heisman Trophy winner and local football hero. Kevin coaches the “Pee-Wee Cowboys” football team. Despite being the best player, Danny’s daughter, Becky, nicknamed Icebox, is cut during tryouts because she is a girl. Her less-talented friends, Rashid, Tad, and Rudy are cut as well. After being ridiculed by the players who made the team, Becky convinces her dad to coach a new pee-wee team of their own. Naming them the “Little Giants” this name makes a whole new meaning when talking about the rivalry between the professional team the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants.
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days- “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” is a 2003 classic romantic movie, starring Matthew McConaughey and Kate Hudson. Kate plays Andie Anderson who is a journalist for the fictional women’s magazine Composure and is the main writer for what her boss calls the “How-to Girl.” But Andie gets inspired by her friend’s recent heartbreak to write a column about “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.” She begins by finding a man, makes him fall in love with her and then proceeds to do crazy things to make him lose interest. Despite their differences the two actually begin to fall in love, and in the end the story tells a great love story that leaves all viewers’ hearts melted.
BRIANNA:
The Kill Count- Although this YouTube series has long had the simple intro of “Welcome to the Kill Count, where we tally up the victims in all our favorite horror movies,” these videos are much more than a simple one-trick pony. Covering a different horror, or horror adjacent, movie each week, host James A Janisse and his team recap the plot, go over the movie’s production history, and mix in many cheesy jokes in their quest to count kills. This series has something for everyone: Non-horror fans, like myself, will delight in the production trivia and Janisse’s upbeat presentation style, and those who love blood and gore will enjoy the kill counting portion itself, as well as the behind the scenes info on how the deaths were filmed. Even the show’s sponsorship segments, usually skippable, annoying slogs anywhere else, are made at least a little fun with humorous skits. The transition between the bulk of the episode and the breakdown of the movie’s numbers at the end is also a highlight, different every video and always having to do with a scene or character from the film in question. Sometimes actors from the film being covered show up to help out with them!
Anyone could count up the kills in a horror movie, but only this series, with both its production values and humor, manages to do it with such accessibility and finesse. New Kill Counts are uploaded weekly on Friday mornings to the Dead Meat YouTube channel.
Dimension 20- Recently having been featured in a TIME magazine article about the widespread popularity of Dungeons and Dragons, Dimension 20 is one of the most popular D&D based shows out there (along with Critical Role). A production of Dropout, formally CollegeHumor, each season of the show features Game Master Brennan Lee Mulligan (and sometimes guest GMs) running a campaign that is played by a cast of fellow improv comedians. Each season is drastically different, with only a few receiving sequel seasons: It could be a story about the secret, magical sixth borough of New York City, or it could just as well be a story set in a world of sweets and candy that takes heavy inspiration from “Game of Thrones.” No matter what the story, they are filled with as much heart as they are humor, and long stretches of otherwise mathy combat are kept interesting with elaborate 3D maps and miniature figures designed specifically for the show. Between its storytelling and production, which help to keep things immersive on both sides of the screen, whether you’re new or old to D&D you’re sure to have a fun time.
“Dimension 20” can be watched via a subscription to the Dropout streaming service, although the first four seasons can also be watched in their entirety for free on the Dimension 20 YouTube channel. The first episodes of each season beyond that can also be viewed for free as well on the same channel.
Charlotte:
Gravity Falls- Lately, I have been going down a rabbit hole of nostalgia, first starting with “Gravity Falls.” The first season of the show captures the essence of summer to me, and as summer starts to end now, it’s been helping me transition into fall. The episode titled “Summerween” has been a staple episode for me, where the gang experience a “Summer Halloween” and have to battle a local legend, the Summerween Trickster. I was terrified of this episode but eventually it became my favorite.
Another episode I love titled “The Inconveniencing” takes place in a haunted convenience store. The owners hate teenagers, which funny enough, are trespassing in their store. This episode scared me just as much as “Summerween” did when I was little. I think the reason why I loved and still adore this series is because it blends various aspects about childhood and growing up with creepy, fictional creatures. It’s the perfect mixture for someone who loves scary things, but not too scary.
Princess Mononoke- This 1997 Studio Ghibli film has stuck with me throughout my life. I always tend to watch this movie every couple of months, and it never gets old. The visuals have the classic style from Studio Ghibli alongside a story with an intense theme: Human vs. Nature.
The film leaves you feeling bittersweet; it also leaves you thinking about the current state of our world. From the Industrial Revolution to current times, we are affecting the state of nature. However, the film ends off with the consensus that nature will bounce back, with or without humans. That’s where the bittersweetness comes in, we may be destroying the planet, but eventually the planet will get rid of us. Although this has nothing to do with the film itself, that’s how this film leaves me feeling and thinking.
Another aspect of the film I adore is the soundtrack. The opening song “The Legend of Ashitaka” creates a grand entrance to both the sound and look of the movie. As well, the ending song “Ashitaka and San” has a somber melody that adds to the bittersweet ending. Overall, the entire film is a masterpiece. If you are interested in viewing this movie, it is available on HBO Max.
Sabrina:
Gilmore Girls- With the air turning crisp and the leaves changing colors, it’s officially “Gilmore Girls” season! The series has seven seasons, first airing on Oct. 5, 2000. The show follows the lives of mother and daughter duo Lorelai and Rory Gilmore as they go through life in their small town Stars Hollow, Connecticut. This is one of my ultimate comfort shows, always giving me a sense of warmth and happiness. You grow to love all the characters in their own way and feel as if you’re a part of their town.
Stars Hollow is the perfect little town, constantly decorated for the season and bustling with some sort of random activity. You can watch the Gilmores’ lives unfold as they drink coffee and contemplate their life decisions on Netflix or Amazon Video!
Pitch Perfect: “Pitch Perfect” first sang its way onto the big screen on October 5, 2012. The movie stars Anna Kendrick, who plays Becca, as she starts her first year at college. Becca, with a shove in the direction, joined the female a-cappella ground the Barden Bellas as they began to rebuild from their huge embarrassment at the years prior International Championship of Collegiate A-Cappella. Pitch Perfect is the first of three, but is by far my favorite. The movie brings plenty of laughs, drama, and, of course, music. By halfway through the movie you’ll find yourself wanting to sing along, and by the end you will be singing along.
Watch “Pitch Perfect” and fulfill your music loving heart on Peacock and Prime Video!
Ceyonna:
La Vita È Bella (Life is Beautiful)- I’ve recently been wrapped up in watching foreign films, and emotional ones at that. “La Vita è Bella,” also known as “Life is Beautiful,” is an older Italian film from 1997, starring Roberto Benigni and Nicoletta Braschi, on Amazon Prime Video. It was inspired in part by the book “In the End, I Beat Hitler” by Robino Romeo Salmoni. The movie takes place in the year 1939 in fascist Italy. It follows Guido, a happy-go-lucky Jewish-Italian man, and his family from their normal, loving lives to their time in a concentration camp after the rise of the Nazis. Guido’s determination to create a game out of the concentration camp, despite the horrors he endured, to keep his young son, Giorgio, from understanding the truth of their circumstances is definitely a tear jerker. This movie becomes especially intense when you learn that lead character Roberto Benigni’s father had spent two years in a concentration camp in real life.
Warning, the ending will leave you in a heaping puddle of tears, so keep the tissues close.
Beautiful Boy- This film will forever be in my top five and never fails to evoke a large emotional reaction from me. Based on father and son, Nic and David Sheff’s memoirs about the struggle of addiction, “Beautiful Boy” will hit you hard.
Nic Sheff, played by Timothée Chalamet, is a teenage boy living a normal life, excelling in school and extracurriculars, until he soon begins struggling heavily with a methamphetamine addiction. His father, David, played by Steve Carell, stops at nothing to assist his son in conquering his addiction, and is trying to learn how to cope with the cycle of his son’s addiction himself.
It is a heart-wrenching true story that truly did a phenomenal job capturing the mix of unconditional love, relapse and addiction. You can watch Beautiful boy on Amazon Prime Video.
The Handmaid’s Tale- Adapted to screen from the best-selling book “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood, “The Handmaid’s Tale” on Hulu will produce a form of rage and gut-wrenching emotions you did not quite know were possible. The show has five seasons, with the sixth and final season airing sometime in 2025.
The show follows June Osborne, a once ordinary woman, living a normal life with her husband, Luke and their young daughter, Hannah. After a group, called The Sons of Jacob, overthrew the American Government and formed a new country called Gilead, June’s life, along with anyone who was unable to escape, changed drastically. In Gilead, women are oppressed beyond imagination, and lack privacy almost completely. June refuses to settle for this to be her life, or the life of anyone else around her and vehemently works to assist in the escape of as many women and children as she can, all while trying to reconnect with her daughter who was taken from her upon Gilead being erected.
“The Handmaid’s Tale” will at times have you prepared to press pause and take a deep breath, but is genuinely an amazing production that highlights the dangers of extremism.
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