By: Stephanie Caballero Benitez

K-pop, is a music genre that has gained lots of attention and popularity. In this article I will be discussing the newest group of HYBE: NewJeans. 

HYBE is currently one of the biggest ruling companies in the K-pop industry. HYBE was founded in 2005 by the current chairman Bang Si-Hyuk. HYBE, back then known as “Big Hit Entertainment” was a very unsuccessful company. The company only started gaining popularity in the year 2015 with their K-pop group BTS which is a worldwide known boy group. Since then the company has taken many talented people and turned them into what are called “K-pop group Idols”. 

The group NewJeans debuted on July 22, 2022. This girl group began their pre-debut around October of the year 2019. After 3 years of training, HYBE began to announce the debut of their new group. Their debut song “Attention”, for the album ‘New Jeans’, came out on the same day as their debut, July 22. 

The song “Attention” gained popularity quickly just as the group did. Some people believe that this is because of the company they are under. Others believe that they have talent and gained their platform by their own talent. With people stating their opinions online on the group it had begun to gain more popularity.

Later on, more songs for their debut album ‘New Jeans’ came out. It consisted of 4 songs: 

• Attention
• Hype boy
• Cookie
• Hurt 

Out of all of the songs in the album “Hybe Boy” and “Attention” have done the best as they were used by K-pop fans on ‘Tik Tok’ which made them well known. Their songs made it to the Billboard Global chart with “Attention” at No. 82 and “Hype Boy” at No. 116. 

NewJeans consists of 5 members: Minji, Hanni, Danielle, Haerin, and Hyein. This group is made out of girls with a wide range of age, with their youngest member being 14 and their oldest 18. 

Just as other K-pop groups, NewJeans sold a physical album. Theirs was a little different as it didn’t come in a box but instead in a bag that came in colors red, white, and black. Their album bag consists of the bag, a pin-up book, a CD, and photo cards. 

Overall, this girl group has done very well in the K-pop industry considering their age and how short of time their pre-debut was.

For more information, please visit: 

• https://kpop.fandom.com/wiki/NewJeans
• https://hybecorp.com/eng/company/artist

By: Semaj Carter

‘Scream Queens’ is a show about sorority girls named Chanel Oberlin, Chanel #3, and Chanel #5 They were named this because Chanel couldn’t remember their names. I also think it’s a sense of ownership and an example of how Chanel sees the world.

*Warning: spoilers ahead*

Season 2 opens up as a recap of season 1. The season was about the “Red Devil Killer”, who chased down the sorority girls and killed their “friends”. One of them, was Hester Ulrich, who was behind the Red Devil Killings, and framed the Chanel’s, who then were sent to a mental hospital.

I think the first season shows the privilege of the Channels as white women because Chanel murdered the housemaid for the sorority house and got bailed out immediately without questions or punishments. The Chanel’s get a job as doctors and get to have their TV show even though they’ve never studied or majored in a medical university. A quote from one of the characters named Wes Gardner, kind of explains it all “Even if they fail they succeed”.

One thing I would like to address is that they treat Chanel #5 like she is not logical or she’s so weird and crazy, which I know is just for comedic relief, but I just find it so entertaining how she’s the only person that’s the closest to normal and everyone treats her like she’s not.

A mystery about this show that has been bothering me for a while is that Chanel #3 hides her ears with earmuffs and I have always wondered what is so bad about her ears that she has to hide them.

I think this show should’ve gotten a season 3. I might be wrong, but I heard many people say that it got canceled yet when I research it online it says a season 3 is coming out. I can agree with people when they say that Chanel is a very horrible person, she’s racist, ableist, and very self-centered, the only reason I like her as a character is that she’s the most authentic and interesting one besides Kathy Munch, A.K.A Dean Munch, one very underrated character. I also think another character that deserved a lot more screen time is Zayday Williams, played by Keke Palmer. I fell in love with her character ever since she first appeared on the show.

You could tell the writers didn’t care much about Zayday and when they got tired of writing for her character they just kidnapped her. In the first season, she was kidnapped by the Red Devil Killer, and in the second season, she is kidnapped by the Green Meanie who was just a copycat of the iconic Red Devil.

Anyways, this is my quick opinion the ‘Scream Queen’ characters in season 2. I hope this article made sense and helped you form your own opinion of the characters and such. Overall, I would give it a 6/10. If you want to watch ‘Scream Queens’ it is available on Hulu.

By: Julia Sikorski Roehsner

Warning – spoilers

Fans of the original ‘Hocus Pocus’ movie, which was released in 1993, to great success, were likely excited by the announcement of a sequel. ‘Hocus Pocus 2’ was confirmed as in production in December of 2020, and was released to Disney+ on September 30th of this year.

‘Hocus Pocus 2’ runs about an hour and 45 minutes long. Its story line picks up three decades after the events of the first movie and is set in the present day—with a quick visit to Winifred Sanderson’s past in 1653 Salem.

The viewer learns that she was banished from the town after she refused to consent to a marriage arranged by the despicable Reverend Traske. To avoid separation, Winifred and her sisters, Mary, and Sarah, venture into the nearby forest, into which the people of Salem are too scared to pursue them.

There, the sisters encounter Mother Witch. At first wanting to eat the girls to preserve her youth and beauty, she stops when she senses Winifred’s witchly power.

Mother Witch gifts Winifred a magic spellbook—recognizable as Book from the first movie—as it is Winifred’s sixteenth birthday, but warns her to never cast the power-gaining spell of Magicae Maxima. She also makes the mysterious comment that a witch is nothing without her coven.

The flashback ends, and the viewer is soon introduced to a new cast of characters. First and foremost is a teenager named Becca. Not only is it Halloween, but it is also the day of Becca’s sixteenth birthday. She and her friend Izzy are preparing for their customary night of fun celebration, though without the company of their third friend, Cassie Traske, who has become distant in the wake of her new relationship.

The two girls pay a visit to their favorite magic shop, located in the former home of the Sanderson sisters, and Becca receives a candle as a birthday gift from the store owner, Gilbert. Per tradition, the pair then venture into the forest.

Upon lighting the candle, Becca and Izzy discover that the 1993 banishment of the witches—now a local legend—was not so permanent after all; the candle turns out to be another Black Flame Candle.

Winifred, Mary, and Sarah are back once more.

Thus begins an evening full of adventure and twists and turns as Becca and Izzy do their best to escape the Sandersons and get rid of them once and for all.

Pulled into the mix are Gilbert, who turns out to have tricked the friends and is now facing the consequences, and Cassie, whose father is the spitting image of his ancestor—Reverend Traske. There is also an appearance by the familiar corpse, Billy Butcherson. And, of course, what is Winifred Sanderson without her beloved Book?

It’s only one night, but a lot can happen in one night when there’s magic involved.

Perhaps controversially, I found ‘Hocus Pocus 2’ pretty enjoyable. Common complaints that I’ve heard about it are that it’s not up to the standards of the original ‘Hocus Pocus,’ that it lacks that same feeling of Halloween spookiness, that it’s disappointing that more of the original cast didn’t return, and that the plot itself was boring.

I can understand these complaints, but they were things that didn’t bother me personally. I am not a longtime fan of ‘Hocus Pocus,’ so nostalgia was less of a factor for me when watching ‘Hocus Pocus 2.’ I also didn’t mind that it was aimed at a wider, and potentially younger, audience.

I particularly liked the cinematography and editing. The scenes were crisp and clean, and the coloring followed a consistently pleasing color scheme.

Overall, it was a light and comedic watch.

However, there were a few moments where I found myself frustrated at the characters for not realizing the obvious, and some of the scenes felt a bit forced, both in storyline and in acting.

Therefore, I give ‘Hocus Pocus 2’ a three and a half out of five star rating. As mentioned earlier, you can watch this movie on Disney+

By Leticia Bugg Sam

About ‘Prey’ the movie:

‘Prey’ is about a girl named Naru and she’s a skilled warrior of the Comanche Nation.
She fights and protects her tribe against the most highly-evolved predators on earth.

Naru has a brother named Taabe and a mother named Aruka. Naru was invested into finding out who was the Predator ever since she was a little girl. She’s been keeping track of the Predator when it comes to earth and when it leaves, and what it does while it’s here.

She liked hunting but the more she liked hunting the more she wanted to hunt down the Predator. Everyone in her tribe doesn’t think that she can be a good hunter or can hunt at all.

One day when she was old enough, she decided to hunt the Predator but before that she had some practice and the taste of revenge before hunting it.

Characters:

Naru: Naru is a girl who’s a skilled warrior of the Comanche Nation. Her father died to protect his family when she was young in the movie and we never got to meet her father, or ever hear his name. His death was important because she wants to take revenge for his death.

Predator: The Predator is a creature that the tribes call the Predator. The Predator kills and takes out anything that gets in its way. The Predator is like half creature and half robot. He/she can go invisible so that people can’t see him/her. It’s weakness is when he/she doesn’t have its mask on it can’t really see or do anything without it.

Brother of Naru, Taabe: Taabe is a warrior of the Comanche Nation which means that he protects and hunts for his family. Though he was supportive of his sister, he didn’t really believe her when she talked about the Predator.

Naru’s mother Aruka: The mom is a woman who stays home and takes care of her family. She is also a woman that helps the tribe and makes medicine. She taught her daughter how to use medicine that she later uses in her fight against the Predator.

I would give this movie a 9/10. You can watch it on Hulu.

By: Manny Ochoa-Reeve

A broke high school teacher with cancer has a daughter on the way and needs to cook meth to provide for his family. The hit 2008 AMC show ‘Breaking Bad’ is popular again! If you go on social media you will most likely hear about this show. I watched it and I wanted to see what all the hype was about.

This TV show follows a high school teacher in New Mexico who has been diagnosed with cancer. He’s running out of money with the hospital bills, a baby on the way, and a disabled son. There’s no way he can make enough money from being an underpaid chemistry teacher. In order to make money, he starts using his chemistry knowledge and teams up with a former student to cook meth so he can start making money. At first, it’s going well and nobody is suspicious, but just like any TV show, this has many twists and turns.

A fan favorite, and my favorite part of the show, is the character development, because the characters change so much after the experiences they’ve had. Each character has their own personality without anything being confusing and stupid. If you had told me this was a documentary about a drug dealer, I would believe it because the characters and acting are so good.

Something really interesting about this show is that the characters come up with an idea, but you don’t know what that idea is, so then you can follow along and try to find out what will happen next. This aspect of the show adds so much mystery and tension to the show and when the writers reveal the outcome of the plan, it gives you a good or bad emotion, depending on the outcome of the plan.

The only thing that I can think of to make this show better is the pacing. The show has lots of big events that happen and whenever there’s nothing going on it can get boring. Whenever something really big happens in the story, and then tension just dies down, you get bored because of nothing happening.

I think that this show was a nine out of ten because of all the detail. The plot and characters made the show what it is today. Seeing the characters evolve and interact with each other really made the show for me. For all these reasons you can really see why this show is all over the internet.

By: Leticia Bugg-Sam

*Warning, spoilers and talk about suicide*

The TV show ‘Reservation Dogs’ took place in Oklahoma and is about four indigenous kids talking about how they want to go to California for better lives, but things take a wrong turn.

The four kids, Willie Jack, Bear, Cheese, and Alora, were on the reservation for a long time; there were five in the group before they called themselves the “Reservation Bandits”.

Let’s talk about the characters in the show and their lives.

They’re a family as the four grew up and called themselves family. Alora didn’t really have that much regular family. She only had an Auntie and an Uncle and her Grandma. We don’t know what happened to her father, but her mom, well, she passed away when Alora was little.

Her Grandma, in season two, passed away, and her Auntie wasn’t around much. Her Uncle also wasn’t around much.

Willie Jack, she had her mom and her dad but her brother passed away.

Bear had his mom, but his dad left to be a native rap artist and so he just had his mom.

Cheese, it doesn’t say if he had any family in season 1, but later on in the season, he meets a old woman in the hospital and so now he calls her Grandma.

Why they called themselves that.

They called themselves the Reservation Bandits because they steal things, but they do it for a good reason. On the reservation, they’re poor; they don’t have money. There are not that many jobs around there so the four decided to steal things and go to a person who gives them money to see if that stuff is viable.

One thing that was viable was copper; copper and street lights. Another thing that they stole was a chip truck and plenty of other things.

You may think to yourself “Why don’t they just get a job?” Well, where they live which is Oklahoma, on the reservation, they didn’t have plenty of jobs, or jobs that pay good money, and some of those jobs you have to have experience to get the position, and none of them had that experience. So that’s why they decided to start stealing things, and that’s the way they got money.

Now, let’s talk about how there were five in the group.

Well, before the TV show started, they started off as five, but as you get into the show there is an episode called “Hunting” where they start to talk about Daniel, which is Willie Jack’s brother. The reason they didn’t start off with Daniel in the show, was because Daniel, well, he had a rough life and his parents were fighting. He was going through a lot of things, like bipolar depression, and his parents fighting, that all affected him until one day he decided to give up life and attempt suicide. It was very sad, that’s why now, during season 1 and 2 there is only four.

They all decided they wanted to leave Oklahoma and go to California. Well, first it was Daniel’s idea to go but when the word got out, they all decided to go to California. But when Daniel died, they still decided to all still go for Daniel, and for better lives.

But that all took a wrong turn in the last episode of season 1.

Overall, I would rate this show a 10/10. You can watch it on Hulu.

By: Julia Sikorski Roehsner

The Riverview Theater is not your typical movie theater. Based in Minneapolis’ Longfellow neighborhood, Riverview Theater was established in December of 1948. Since then, though all projection and sound equipment has been updated, the building itself still reflects those mid-1900s.

Unlike many movie theaters, the Riverview has just one screen. Among its distinctive architectural features are an open-spaced lobby with couches, a copper drinking fountain, marble countertop tables, and a proscenium.

Concessions include popcorn, soft drinks, and candy. Popcorn is made fresh daily with real melted butter. All prices are extremely reasonable.

Not able to fit a movie into your schedule, or planning a fun stay-at-home night? The Riverview welcomes patrons to stop in whenever the theater is open to buy concession items to go, with popcorn one dollar off usual prices.

Though the theater was forced to close down in the middle of March 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic–not reopening its doors until late May of 2021–the owner, Loren Williams, offered popcorn, slushies, and candy to go throughout the lockdown and placed inspirational quotes from movies and actors on the marquee.

Riverview Theater is constantly showing new movies that cater to all ages, both recently released movies and second-runs. Favorites of the past include ‘Everything, Everywhere, All at Once,’ ‘Thor: Love and Thunder,’ ‘Encanto,’ and ‘Frozen II.’

One of their biggest coming attractions is a Hitchcock Film Festival, beginning September 30th and ending October 6th. Classic thrillers will be shown multiple days throughout the week at varying times. Tickets are on sale now for just $7, discounted to $5 for seniors and students, as well as attendees of any Tuesday showings.

Included in the Fest are ‘Psycho,’ ‘The Birds,’ and ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much.’ It is an occasion you won’t want to miss.

The Riverview Theater isn’t just a movie theater; it’s a beloved and heavily supported part of the community. New customers are always appreciated and welcome.

The theater is within just fifteen minutes driving distance from Highland Park Senior High.

For more information, please visit:

• http://www.riverviewtheater.com/

By: Mia David

On September 5th, 2022, National Geographic released the documentary series ‘The Edge of the Unknown.’ It was filmed and produced by photographer, filmmaker, and mountain athlete Jimmy Chin.

The series consists of 10 episodes that each follow athletes doing extreme sports. From snowboarders and skiers to rock climbers and kayakers, Jimmy Chin tells the stories of athletes risking their lives for their sport.

The athletes tell stories of times they were forced to question whether risking their life is worth the reward.

Angel Collinson is one of the best skiers in the world, male or female, and in episode 2, she makes her way up to Alaska to ski down some of the most unique and challenging terrains in the world. While making her way down the line, Angel stumbles and falls 1000 ft down to the bottom of the mountain.

Angel is shaken to her core. It was a rude awakening that forced her to reflect on her career; the hours she spent on the slopes and the childhood she had lost to the sport.

After that, it was simple for her. She walked away from skiing ultimately, much to the shock of her family and friends. She didn’t feel the risk and sacrifice were worth the title she earned and the rewards she got.

Not everybody feels this way after facing the extreme danger of the Alaskan mountains. In episode 5, Travis Rice says, “There are so many little mini breakthroughs. I, to this day, continue to chase that feeling that gives me a sense of living.”

Travis gets caught in a deadly avalanche and somehow makes it out with no serious injuries. Although Travis almost lost his life that day, he is quick to get back on the slopes with the support of those around him.

In Travis’ case, it raises the question of whether or not someone should give up something that could take their life if that means losing the one thing that makes them feel alive.

One last example is Ben Stookesberry and Chris Korbuic, who kayak in rivers in Central Africa with their mentor and friend Henri Coetzee. Throughout the journey, they face the threat of crocodiles and hippos. One day, on the river, Henri’s kayak is flipped, and a crocodile drags him under the water; Ben and Chris have to quickly paddle away because there is no hope for saving him.

These athletes continue to experience different life-threatening events and have to pause and reflect on their choices. For some, it’s simply lowering the stakes or walking away; for others, they jump right back into the game.

For those who don’t spend their days climbing mountains, it’s hard to understand how you could get back to the sport after a terrible accident. Chin describes it like this, “In the adventure world, there is a certain understanding that we choose to do what we do and we do it intentionally.”

Chin has an episode discussing his life-threatening adventure where he should have died but miraculously made it out alive. However, like others, he can’t resist the thrill and adventure he finds in the mountains. He says in episode 8, “It’s really impossible to describe the insatiable calling of the big mountains.”

For people like Travis, Ben, Chris, and other athletes in the series, the call to adventure is unlike anything else. Whether it’s mountains, rivers, or the ocean, it’s impossible not to return to the one place you feel alive.

This idea of the risk worth the reward could be debated for a long time. We can pull in different aspects like the level of risk, family and loved ones, and the health of individual people. We must also consider the love, passion, and freedom said person feels towards these sports.

You can watch this series on Disney+.

By: Eva Olson

‘Stranger Things’ came out with a fourth season on June 1st this year. It has 7 episodes currently, but there are two more coming on July 1st because they couldn’t fit the whole storyline into 7 episodes. Episode 8 will be 1 hour and 25 minutes and episode nine will be 2 hours and 30 minutes long. In total, these two episodes will have a running time of almost 4 hours.

There was a new character introduced this season; Eddie Munson. Eddie is played by Joseph Quinn. He is a stereotypical 80’s metal head with an electric guitar and long hair. He’s the leader of the Hellfire Club that Dustin, Lucas, and Mike are all a part of and play Dungeons and Dragons in. He’s very funny and it’s entertaining to see him and the rest of the main cast together. I really like him so far and I’m looking forward to seeing him in the next two episodes.

This season felt more eerie and creepy than all of the previous seasons. It had many scenes that looked like they were straight from a horror movie. The season also felt darker not just in the sense that it was scary but also just in the brightness of some of the nighttime scenes. I kept having to readjust my brightness to see what was going on.

This season was very interesting because I got to see more of Eleven’s past in the lab and the rainbow room. All of the scenes in the lab were super creepy, especially the character played by Jamie Campbell Bower. I got to see more of the other kids who were in the lab, as well as more detail on how Eleven got out.

Overall, I enjoyed this season a lot and I can’t wait to see the final two episodes of it. I’m currently rewatching it because I loved it so much. It kept me on my toes the entire time and was constantly freaking me out. I would recommend this show to anyone except for people who get scared easily. I would give this season a 5/5 star rating. “Stranger Things’ can be found on Netflix.