Category Archives: Entertainment

Travel/Food

Recipe review: Brookies

Leave a comment

By: Austin Bailey-Zimmerman

Ingredients

Brownie Batter:

  • ½ cup unsalted butter melted
  • ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips or roughly chopped chocolate
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup packed light brown sugar
  • ⅓ cup cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour

Cookie Dough:

  • ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder

Instructions:

  1. Line a 9×13 baking dish with parchment paper or grease it.
  2. Heat the oven to 350Fº.
  3. For the brownies, melt butter then stir in cocoa powder.
  4. Whisk in both sugar and the salt then add the eggs and vanilla and beat well (secret to glossy brownies is to beat the eggs and sugar very well.)
  5. Add the flour and mix until almost combined then fold in the chocolate chips
  6. Transfer the brownie batter to your prepared pan and spread into a thin layer then set aside.
  7. For the cookie dough, cream the butter, and sugars on high for 3-4 minutes or until light and fluffy.
  8. Mix in the vanilla and egg.
  9. Add salt, baking soda and powder then mix until combined.
  10. Pour in the flour and mix until almost combined then fold in the chocolate chips.
  11. Drop spoonfuls onto the brownie batter. You don’t need full coverage, it will be nice to see the brownie batter peaking through after baking.
  12. Bake at 350Fº for 35-40 mins.
  13. Allow to cool before removing from the pan and cutting.
  14. Enjoy!

Review:

These brookies were absolutely amazing. The brownie was so rich and gooey, and the cookie was perfectly browned and sweet. The chocolate chips in both were melted and tied both of them together. There was the perfect ratio of cookie to brownie, so in every bite I got a little bit of both. I paired it with a cold cup of milk and it made my night.

The recipe was easy to follow, but took up a lot of time since you have to make two different mixtures. It was all very worth it though, and now I have lots to share.

The next day while I was hanging out with my friends, I shared the brookies with them and they tasted just as good cold or warmed up in the microwave. I also gave some to my brother and he said that they were great.

I got this recipe off of Preppy Kitchen (https://preppykitchen.com/brookies/#recipe) by John Kanell. The website was easy to navigate and the recipe was amazing. He did a great job with creating the perfect brookie recipe.

I had a great time making these, and the result was so worth the time spent! It was great to share with my friends and family. Try making these yourself! Enjoy!

Books/Art, Editorials/Student Voice, Movies/TV/Theaters

Reasons why books are better than their movie adaptations

Leave a comment

By: Fletcher Pike

Image created with ChatGPT

If you’ve ever watched a movie adaptation of a book, like ‘The Hunger Games’ or ‘Divergent’, you might wonder about the differences or similarities between the book and its movie adaptation. In this article, I will list several reasons as to why books are better than their movie counterparts.

For one, reading a book allows your mind to create your own interpretation of the story. Your brain creates your own version of the characters using descriptive words within the book that seems to make it more personal and creative. However, most movies might not correlate to your personal interpretation of what you thought characters or places looked like. This can lead to some dissatisfaction as some things might not seem as familiar to you.

Another reason is that movie adaptations usually leave out details from the book. As reading a book can usually take longer than watching a movie, the movies might leave out some interesting details or information about the plot or characters. The average film is only about 2 hours long, but books can have hundreds or even thousands of pages of descriptive words and details that can take several hours to read.

Another reason is that books help build your vocabulary. When you read a book, your brain is actively progressing in grammar and spelling. Reading several books makes you an overall smarter person as you are continuing to build your reading level and vocabulary.

Some might think that movies are more interesting than books, but books allow you to immerse yourself further into your own interpretation of the story.

Overall, I think that books are much better than movies as they provide a creative outlet for the endless stories that books contain.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘Bridgerton’ Season 1 review

Leave a comment

By: Sasha Deans

Season 1 of ‘Bridgerton’ is a romantic drama that takes place in London during the Regency era, The story is about rich families who go to parties and dances to find love and good marriages, and everything is super formal and full of rules. The main focus is on the Bridgerton family, especially the oldest daughter, Daphne Bridgerton.

Daphne is just starting her first “season,” which is when high society girls get introduced to people and hopefully find someone to marry. At first, everything seems perfect: she looked super amazing, acts politely, and gets attention. But things start to go wrong, and she realizes that finding true love isn’t as simple as it looks in fairy tales. That’s when she meets Simon Basset, the Duke of Hastings. He’s super rich, super charming and but cold, as he doesn’t want to marry anyone. But when he and Daphne come up with a plan to help each other out things start to get really interesting and even sad.

While all this drama is going on, there’s a mysterious gossip writer named “Lady Whistledown”. She sends out letters to everyone in town spilling secrets and talking about people’s personal lives. Nobody knows who she is, but everyone reads her papers. It makes things fun, but also a little dangerous for the characters who are trying to keep their secrets private.

One of the best parts of the show is the music. Even though the characters are wearing ball gowns and dancing in ballrooms, the songs are actually modern ones that we know but they are just played on violins and string instruments so they sound old-fashioned but cool. This makes the show feel unique, like it’s mixing the past with the present.

“Thank U, Next” by Ariana Grande, “Girls Like You” by Maroon 5, “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish, “Wildest Dreams” by Taylor Swift, “In My Blood” by Shawn Mendes are some of the songs heard. Even though the show is about things that happened a long time ago, the modern songs help you connect with the characters and feel the drama in a way that’s more fun and relatable. It also makes scenes more memorable like you’ll hear the violin version of “Thank U, Next” and actually remember the party scene it went with.

I also feel like the diversity in the show definitely helps keep it a up to date show; there’s no timely realistic race structure which is good. There’s many black and just people of color playing so many roles!

Overall, ‘Bridgerton’ Season 1 is about more than just love. It’s about figuring out what you want in life, making your own choices, and dealing with family pressure. It’s also about friendships, gossip, and standing up for yourself. With amazing costumes, fun characters, a little mystery, and awesome music, it’s a really fun and dramatic show to watch. I would definitely give it a 4/5.

You can watch ‘Bridgerton’ on Netflix.

Travel/Food

How to make tres leches

Leave a comment

By: Nereida Dominguez Remedios

Image by @joefoodie via Wikimedia Commons

According to the Loco Gringo food blog, in the 19th century, there was a recipe floating around Mexico for a bread cake that was soaked in wine and topped with custard. This is thought to be a spin of the Italian tiramisu or the English trifle, both alcohol soaked sponge cakes with heavy cream, cheese and sugar! All recipes were a great way to reconstitute leftover, stale cookies, cake or bread into a great dessert.

There are several different styles of tres leches such as, coffee, chocolate, piña colada, strawberry, and coconut. But many people enjoy and prefer regular tres leches.

Oftentimes there are tres leches that have fillings like strawberry, pineapple, cookies and cream, or peanuts and another filling could be peaches.

The things you will need to make the cake will be listed below:

  • cake mix of choice (I use Betty Crocker’s or make your own)
  • sweetened condensed milk (I use la Lechera)
  • evaporated milk (Carnation)
  • regular milk (of choice)
  • heavy whipping cream
  • sugar
  • vanilla extract 
  • measuring cups

The majority of time when I make tres leches I often use cake mix. I follow the instructions on the box then when I take out the cake I let it cool down for at least one hour.

Once it is cooled down I begin to poke holes all around the cake with a fork.

While it’s cooling down, you can make the milk mixture (tres leche) by pouring a can of condensed milk with a can of evaporated milk (both contain a cup and a half) and lastly you add one cup of regular milk (of your desire).

Once you have finished the milk mixture you may add it to the cake and let that sit in the fridge for one hour to a hour and a half.

Once the milk soaks into the cake you may start the whipping cream. You use a cup and a half of heavy whipping cream and one fourth of a cup of sugar and lastly a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Once all the ingredients are in a bowl you may begin to mix them into a thick consistency. After that, you may put it on the cake.

If you would like, you also can put cinnamon as a topping, or strawberries, then you will have a tres leches cake.

You may now enjoy! 

For more information, please visit:

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘Snow White’ controversy

Leave a comment

By: Teagan Mack

*Note: This article contains minor spoilers

Mirror Mirror on the wall, must Disney remake them all?

Disney’s new live-action ‘Snow White’ movie has been raising a lot of debate and controversy. While some are excited to see a new take on the classic, others have some concerns about the casting choice, changes in the storyline, and overall direction the film is taking. This movie, which stars Rachel Zegler as Snow White, has sparked a vast range of opinions from critics and fans. Here’s a closer look into the major issues surrounding the movie.

The casting of Rachel Zegler as Snow White has struck significant debate, mainly because of her being a Latina actress in a role traditionally associated with fair skin and black hair. In response to the backlash, Zegler has stood by the casting, expressing that the story of Snow White is not just about appearance, but about kindness and bravery. She also pointed out that people who look like her are rarely cast in such iconic roles. In a 2022 interview with Vanity Fair, she stated, “You don’t particularly see people who look like me or are me playing roles like that,” highlighting the importance of representation in fairy-tale stories. Instead of focusing on the negative criticism, Zegler focused her attention on the significance that this role portrays for audience members who identify with her background.

This new version’s depiction of the Seven Dwarfs has also sparked debates among audiences. Peter Dinklage who advocates for dwarfism rights disagrees with Disney’s choice to feature CGI dwarves in their remake by labeling it a “backwards story”. Dinklage disagrees with this decision, and believes they should use real actors with dwarfism to play the dwarfs. The selection of a Latina actress by Disney prompted his worries about the continued existence of old stereotypes. They planned to replace them with “magical creatures” and consult the dwarfism community to prevent negative stereotypes. This decision has prompted further discussion. Some worry about losing the dwarfs’ charm and humor, while others believe it’s important to address how disabilities are represented today.

Another significant change involves Snow White’s character development. In the original animated version, Snow White is passive,  waiting for her prince. In the new version she is more active and independent. Some argue that showing women in movies as self-reliant, and strong is essential, while others feel it moves further away from the original plot of the fairy-tale.

After watching the new remake of Snow White, I’m not sure how I feel. I grew up watching all of the original Disney princess movies, and even though Snow White was not my favorite, I still found her story interesting. The movie looks good, and the costumes have a nice touch, but it doesn’t feel the same. There are no dwarfs like in the original, only magical creatures, which deviates from the old storyline. Snow White doesn’t sing “Someday My Prince Will Come,” and we don’t get to see much of the prince either. She acts more serious and tough, unlike in the original where she is kind and gentle. It feels like a completely different story with the same name. Although I liked a few parts,  I missed the songs, the animals, and the magical feeling from the original. I wish they had kept more of the Disney charm that made me love the old movies.

The controversy around the new ‘Snow White’ movie highlights the challenges Disney faces when remaking classic fairy-tales. While some appreciate the effort to make this franchise more diverse and more empowering towards women, others fear the changes could alienate fans of the traditional stories. This could include cultural aspects like ethnic representation, or sensitive portrayal in disabilities. Right now it’s unclear if this new movie will live up to the original, but its impact on bigger conversations is certain.

One person I talked to, Evelyn Lundy, summed up her thoughts about the new movie: ”The movie was revolutionary and it brought a different perspective to the story of Snow White.”

You can still see ‘Snow White’ in theaters.

Movies/TV/Theaters

‘Adolescence’ review

Leave a comment

By: Chole Rocha

‘Adolescence’ is a limited series on Netflix, directed by Philip Barantini. This show is not like many other TV shows on Netflix because each episode was filmed in one shot. This means that from the beginning to end of each episode, there is not a single cut in the camera.

This show is a coming of age drama that touches on subjects that many children go through during their teenage years. It is set in a school in the UK, with young teens that are being exposed to the toxic environments that social media provides.

Each character faces their own troubles and are all unique in their own way. Some struggles that were shown in the show were gender identity, depression, substance use, bullying, and academic pressure.

The actors were able to display raw emotions that made everything feel real to the viewer. The main character, Jamie Miller, was played by Owen Cooper. This show was Owen’s first acting role. I think that he did amazing at playing this character and taking on such a difficult job for his first time.

Jamie Miller, is a young boy who was bullied online and he eventually committed a crime that could not be undone. The first episode shows Jamie being arrested as a suspect for a murder, but by the end of the show, you can see the impacts that his decisions had on his family and the other people around him.

As each episode goes on, you can clearly see Jamie’s mental state start to disintegrate. The show was never a “who did it” murder mystery, it was clear by the first episode who committed the crime. The point of the show was to figure out why he did it and what led him to that point.

During an interview with GQ, Philip Barantini stated that the purpose of the show was to spark conversations about the dangers of cyberbullying and toxic masculinity. He wanted to encourage parents to engage in more deep conversations with their children about their online experiences. I really enjoyed watching this show because it was amazing to see everything filmed in one continuous shot. All of the actors that were in this show have amazing talent and were able to deliver amazing scenes for us to watch.

Books/Art

‘Chaly Goes to See the Doctor’ by Dr. Chee Vang: Book review

Leave a comment

By: Jooney Freddieson & Aalovely Lor

Before we start with the story, let’s talk about the author— Dr. Chee Vang.

Dr. Chee Vang is not only an author, but a family practicing physician in the Hmong community. He graduated from Highland Park Senior High, soon pursuing his career in medicine.

He made history as the first to write a bilingual children’s book in both Hmong and English about health for children. This helps reflect his passion and commitment to medicine and preserving the Hmong language.

Through the book, Dr. Chee Vang offers medical guidance, as well as bridging cultures and generations.

He serves his community by providing both medical care and helping young Hmong children/teens reconnect with the language that’s beginning to get lost.

This book is more than the first Hmong/English bilingual children’s book, but also a meaningful way to contribute to health education and preservation of culture.

At the beginning of the book we’re introduced to Chaly, a young boy who expresses his nervous feeling about visiting the Doctor for a checkup.

It’s a relatable opening that helps capture the reader’s attention, especially children who have similar experiences when going to the doctor’s.

As the story progresses, we follow Chaly through all the different steps of his medical examination.

He’s first introduced to the nurse who takes his vital signs, and that includes multiple steps like taking his temperature and blood pressure.

The nurse makes sure to explain each step carefully to give Chaly and the reader a sense of understanding.

Eventually, Chaly meets Dr. Chee Vang who performs a physical examination. Through the examination, Dr. Chee Vang takes time to answer Chaly’s questions and builds both trust and communication.

He uses models and diagrams as an easy-to-understand method to help Chaly learn how the body works. This is not only helpful to Chaly, but it also can provide a way for young readers to follow along.

At the end, Chaly realizes his outlook on visiting the doctor’s has changed completely. His fear from the beginning ended with confidence and he understands that it doesn’t have to be scary because the doctors are supporting them, not hurting them.

Chaly’s journey educates and prepares the readers for what to expect during a medical visit, breaking down each step and introducing medical roles in a memorable way.

This also teaches young people to advocate for themselves and communicate openly with their healthcare professional. These lessons are important for children, especially those with language barriers or cultural differences.

Although this book was designed for readers between the ages of 5 and 18, its education goes beyond the age range.

It includes Hmong translations on each page, becoming a language learning tool for everyone as well. This is important for Hmong families because younger generations begin to lose their fluency in the language they speak.

As a Hmong teenager, I (Aalovley) continue to struggle with losing touch within the language I grew up speaking. Reading this book had an unexpected impact on my vocabulary when speaking Hmong. The words helped me reconnect with my culture, and more importantly, I was able to share this book with my younger siblings. I taught them what I learned, and that helped reinforce the vocabulary/language in all of us.

We highly recommend this book for Hmong families who are seeking help with their language/further education on health knowledge because these aren’t everyday things we learn.

‘Chaly Goes to See the Doctor’ is more than just a children’s book, but also a tool for learning and reconnection. It builds relationships between doctors/patients, between cultural generations, and for kids or teenagers like us. It gives us a path back to parts of our culture we may have lost along the way.

If you or someone you know might be interested in the book, here are resources where you can find it and support Dr. Chee Vang:

Libraries in Minnesota:

  • Hennepin Public Library System
  • Saint Paul Public Library system
  • Washington County Public Library system

Libraries in Wisconsin:

  • Marathon County Public Library of Wausau
  • Appleton Public Library of Appleton

It also can be purchased on Amazon: (includes paperback, hardback, and ebook)

Travel/Food

Best sites to see in the Twin Cities

Leave a comment

By: Maggie Hong

Image via Wikimedia Commons

As we get closer to summer, there’s a lot of free time in the future. One great way to fill this time is exploring our cities through museums and historical sites. The Twin Cities Area has lots to offer when it comes to art, culture, and history. Here are three of my favorites, perfect for all ages and interests.

Minneapolis Institute of Art— Mia is a must see site in the Twin Cities. It has 143 galleries, showcasing almost 5,000 years of artwork from around the world. Permanent exhibits include African, Asian, American Indian, and European galleries, as well as various eras of American art. More immersive galleries include rooms decorated in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie Style and period rooms themed around the Renaissance era, Ancient Japan, and the American 1950s. Be sure to check out rotating exhibits, which feature local and international artists.

Mill City Museum— The Mill City Museum might not be on the top of everyone’s sightseeing list, but it’s one of the most interesting museums in the cities. Built in the ruins of downtown Minneapolis’ Gold Medal Flour factory, this museum has interactive exhibits themed around Minnesotan milling history. Board historic train cars, bake bread, and ride a flour elevator while you learn about the people who worked in one of Minnesota’s biggest industries. A highlight of this museum for me is walking through the ruins park; a part of the building preserved as it was after the 1878 Mill City disaster, an explosion which leveled the building and damaged much of the surrounding area. You can see the old walls, outlines of rooms, and pieces of metal equipment that survived the fire.

Historic Fort Snelling— Historic Fort Snelling is a great place to learn about Minnesotan history, as well as experience the beauty of the Mississippi riverbank. Watch cannons fire and historic reenactors march military routes in this 1800s fort. Fort Snelling is also a great place to learn about Native history. Learn about Dakota language, history, and culture from community members and historic actors, and see how native people were treated during Fort Snelling’s time as an internment camp. Lastly, hear the story and see the living quarters of Dread Scott, a slave who sued the US government for his family’s freedom. So much history and many monumental moments have taken place at Fort Snelling, right in Highland’s backyard.

Music/Concerts, Tech/Games

JOYSTiCK Ep. 16: ‘A Minecraft Movie’ – Jock’ the Block

Leave a comment

By: Daniel Kendle

The ‘Minecraft’ movie, formally known as ‘A Minecraft Movie’, is a 2025 film released by Warner Bros. Pictures, Legendary Pictures, and Mojang Studios. Directed by Jared Hess (‘Napoleon Dynamite,’ ‘Ninety-Five Senses’), the movie is based off of the popular video game ‘Minecraft.’ 

‘Minecraft’ is my personal favorite video game ever, so I’ve been…curious about its silver-screen adaptation ever since it was announced, boosted by its initial trailer’s release last year. I’m also (straightens tie) a bit of a film buff myself, so that helps a lot. So, on opening night of this year, I showed up to an AMC screening of the movie, clad in a suit and my dad’s sunglasses, ready to enter the pits and emerge back alive.

The film’s plot is pretty basic, all things considered; if you’ve seen the modern ‘Jumanji’ films, then you get the idea: people are sucked into a video game, and have to find their way back home to the “real” world. This comparison isn’t necessarily a bad one per say, but I think it’s the beginning of an all-encompassing problem this film has: identity.

When adapting a piece of media into a feature film, one must decide how faithful the adaptation must be. This is a sliding scale, with past video game movies falling all over the spectrum. For me, the sweet spot is around the middle: the film encapsulates and faithfully translates the source material thoroughly, but brings forth its own ideas as to not feel like just a 1-to-1 replica of its predecessor.

This is where ‘A Minecraft Movie’ confuses me. The film seems to strive to land on both opposite ends of the line: it wants to be incredibly-faithful, yet also be a standalone product. The movie features countless references and Easter eggs to ‘Minecraft’ and its spin-off franchises – hell, the main villain is a character from one of those spin-offs. And yet, seemingly to spite this, the plot chosen for the film seems barely interested in telling a story reminiscent of ‘Minecraft’s’ emotions, atmosphere, and world building, instead using locations and creatures from the game on a surface level.

Throughout the movie, I was having a good time – a GREAT time, even -, but never really processed the experience as an adaptation of the game I love. I’ve heard how people couldn’t believe that they were finally watching the ‘Minecraft’ movie upon initial viewing. While this likely isn’t their opinion on that matter, I felt the same, though in a negative way. This movie doesn’t feel reminiscent of its source material in any way other than literally. Throwing all of these references and characters is one thing, but capturing the spirit and vibe of the game you’re adapting is another.

For me, ‘Minecraft’ is a game that relies heavily on its unique atmosphere for its magic. In a vacuum, I’ve always described it as tender, yet haunting – the world, despite its scenic vistas and cute mobs, has always had a looming sense of isolation that prevents it from joining ‘Stardew Valley’ and ‘Animal Crossing’ in the cozy game genre. But then again, its loose structure separates it from a game like ‘Terraria,’ another sandbox game that employs a more strict and linear progression system.

It’s so unique, and is among the game’s most beguiling offerings.

This movie reminds me of a quote by Max Brooks, author of the book ‘World War Z’ (and, like, 3 ‘Minecraft’ novels; go figure). When asked about his thoughts on the book’s screen translation, he said:

“I was expecting to hate, it and I wanted to hate it because it was so different from my book, and yet the fact that it was so different from my book made it easier to watch because I didn’t watch my characters and my story get mangled…So I was just watching somebody else’s zombie movie, which was fun and intense.” – Max Brooks, USA Today

This quote is about how I feel about ‘A Minecraft Movie:’ it’s a fun ride and I’m able to put aside the original title and enjoy it separately, yet when compared to its adapted game in retrospect, it pales in comparison. I was able to enjoy my time in the theatre, but I’ve largely filtered out my memories with it. It’s over, and I’ve gained little in the process.

If you haven’t seen the clips online by now (a near-impossible task, I know), this film has some memes going around about it. Since the initial teaser, lines like “I…am Steve,” “Flint and steel!,” and most-popular of all, “Chicken Jockey!,” have gained immense notoriety since their inception. These are only a few of the movie’s impressive array of joke-quotes. The film rattles them out at nauseum, as if it’s a 9-5 for it. I can certainly see their appeal, and do find them funny – to an extent. Their inclusions have left me in the opinion that they make the film feel…hollow.

This movie, in my opinion, is set to become dated with time. Not because it has any specific pop culture references or whatever, but because of what it stands for. This is the ‘Minecraft’ movie. Forever. There’s no going back. And when you have a film whose main appeal is ironic, topical humor, there’s little chance that we’ll be as kind to it then as some of us are now.

There’s nothing wrong with liking ‘A Minecraft Movie,’ of course. Everyone has their own opinions, and as long as you aren’t hurting anyone else with your’s it’s perfectly-valid. But nonetheless, I’d like to see a strong argument for the film’s portrayal of this universe as one reminiscent of the power the original one holds.

Actually, there is 1 I should mention. Hess has stated in multiple interviews how the film’s title using “A” at the beginning is intentional, highlighting how this adaptation is only 1 of many, the others being fan creations and the like. Using “A” defines it as not the definitive ‘Minecraft’ translation, but only a single story in an amorphous narrative, one able to be shaped by anyone. I greatly-respect this decision, and believe it to be a strong counter to my thoughts on the movie’s tonal dissonance.

Still, I can’t call this a perfect bandage. Even if Mojang claims to view ‘A Minecraft Movie’ as only a fragment in a sea of ‘Minecraft’-related stories, its nature eludes this idea. Having the creators of the game supporting and developing this feature ultimately undermines this mentality. If the people who made the game, a movie’s adaptation, and also helped aid the movie’s development, that action leaves it impossible for the game studio to not be partial to this retelling of their original game. Their commitment to ‘A Minecraft Movie’ doesn’t cement it as the definitive adaptation of the game for all, but rather Mojang’s definitive adaptation of the game.

This partiality strains the director and companies’ efforts in underplaying the product’s pinnicality, causing the final result to attempt to stray from the original material’s theming and world as much as possible without becoming something new. And when that result personally feels like a poor representation of the material…my time with it is ruined.

. . .

This is likely my most controversial review yet, and I’m aware of that. I’ve mainly focused on the movie’s – and my – relationship with the game, which makes this review ripe with some of that yum-yum bias that politicians always drool over.

You’ve also possibly noticed how I’ve never even mentioned the story, characters, or VFX once! It’s a surface-level complaint, see – this whole time, I HAVE been talking about those, just in a manner less-literal than you may have expected. Yeah (grunts while flexing), back in elementary school, they called me Mr. Whatshisname the Foreshadow-er, for what it’s worth.

In conclusion, I’m giving ‘A Minecraft Movie’ a 4/10. As of April 2025, the film is playing in theatres globally.

Music/Concerts

 Jisoo ‘Amortage’ EP review

Leave a comment

By: Jooney Freddieson & Aalovely Lor

Jisoo is a South Korean singer; she debuted with the EP ‘AMORTAGE’ after releasing her debut single “Flower”. This EP came out on February 14th of 2025, providing both a digital and physical product of the EP.

There are four total tracks in this EP. The title track is “earthquake” and the following tracks consist of “Your Love”, “Tears”, and “Hugs & Kisses”.

The EP opens up with “earthquake” which is the main track of the EP.

The song messes around with different pacing and beats to signify an earthquake. There are many energetic pops in the song, allowing the chorus to get stuck in your head and have you nodding to the significant pops.

The earthquake is a metaphoric feeling for developing overwhelming feelings/affection for somebody else. The lyrics showcase how her crush is growing into something more serious: “It hits me like an earthquake (uh-huh) / My heart races faster (uh-huh) / My whole body is trembling, can’t stand (uh-huh) / I can’t deny you (uh-huh) / I think I’m gonna-”.

Earthquake was enjoyable to listen to because of the different beats Jisoo brings to us.

“Your Love” is a song from Jisoo that showcases her vocals and emotional depth. The song is upbeat, and leans into a high-energy style song but apart from the fast pace song the lyrics are melancholic.

This song is performed entirely in English, and stands out with its melancholic and euphoric energy. The song represents a person falling in love and feeling a change in their life.

The song creates a sense of warmth and energy. The pulsing beat and melody emphasize the feeling of being lost in love.

“Tears” is the third song on the EP, the song represents the aftermath of a breakup with lyrics that reflect the process of getting over a relationship.

This song is sung in Korean with added English words. The lyrics are sentimental but features a bouncy and upbeat instrumental, making it catchy and fun to listen to.

This song represents her grief after her breakup, but she’s still holding her head up high. The contrasts between the melancholic lyrics and upbeat instrumental makes this song more layered and interesting.

Her lyrics “Today are my last tears” captures the hardship and bitterness of healing. She sings about the necessity of letting go. She sang with a strong voice and powerful vocals which was different than the song that came before it, “Your Love”, which she sang more softly and clear. This change brought a more powerful and dramatic feeling to the song.

This song felt like a farewell, goodbye to heartbreak and an emotional closure.

“Hugs & Kisses” is the last song on the EP. The reason it’s the last song is because it conveys heartbreak and moving on from a broken relationship.

The EP begins with her intense crush, but throughout the songs she ends with “Hugs & Kisses”. The song captures her emotions of loss and recovery, but rather than affectionate gestures (hugs and kisses), she embraces her inner strength and steps forward with confidence on her own.

Although the song is paired with heartbreak, it’s also there to serve as Jisoo’s artistic growth as an individual. She delivers self-empowerment and strength through the lyrics.

Overall, this EP was set up in a methodical way with perfect flow.

Starting us with Jisoo’s crush on a charismatic guy through the lyrics of “earthquake”, it leads to ‘Your Love’ which is her expressing their emotional connection and her admiration for his love for her. After their relationship comes “Tears”, and this song represents her heartbreak. She voices that she won’t waste anymore tears on him and is beginning to move on. Lastly, we were presented with “Hugs & Kisses” that shows us her newfound confidence and connection with her inner self.