On Nov. 23, Canadian singer-songwriter sensation Shawn Mendes released a documentary about himself on Netflix, titled “Shawn Mendes: In Wonder.” The documentary, directed by Grant Singer, is a beautifully-painted picture of Mendes’ life through a vulnerable lens.

Mendes takes his fans on a journey throughout the entire documentary by showing Pickering, Ontario (the town he grew up in), his family and friends, his first concert, backstage and on-stage footage of Shawn Mendes: The Tour and footage from the making of his upcoming album, “Wonder.”

However, the purpose of the documentary is not to just give fans an insider look at Mendes’ life. It is to reveal his biggest secret: He is, in fact, human. This may seem trivial to most people, as it is blatantly obvious that Mendes is a human being. But that fact holds so much more value than many understand.

Mendes is incredibly successful at what he does. His dedication to his music and his fans is unreal. Yet, with all of that dedication, there comes the striking fear that fans believe he is “Superman.” Mendes never wants to let his fans down, and because of this, he tends to overwork himself to the point where his health is compromised.

Mendes included incredibly vulnerable moments in the documentary where he was faced with a choice between disappointing his fans or injuring his voice severely. While he had no control over this unfortunate event, Mendes still felt he was to blame. He was afraid to show fans that he was not “invincible.”

Aside from sharing those upsetting yet powerful moments with Mendes, there are also plenty of positive moments in the documentary. There are clips where Mendes explains to a fan how to chase her songwriting dreams, clips of fans with tears streaming down their faces while telling Mendes how much they mean to him, clips of Mendes running to hug fans at the end of his tour shows and so much more.

The connection that Mendes has with his fans is undeniable and well-exhibited in the documentary. They keep him grounded. While watching the documentary for his writing process, his everyday life, relationships and tour rituals may be cool, but the real reason to watch is to see the personal connection he has with his fans. While Mendes may be unbelievably talented, at the end of the day, he’s “just a guy who loves music.”

I was very surprised when I saw the announcement of a new Ariana Grande album. While I did like the short two-week promotion and saw it being very successful, I did not expect Grande to release a whole album this soon after “thank u, next” (considering that album was released less than a year after “Sweetener”). Grande’s album drops are only comparable within the pop landscape to Rihanna’s four albums in four years from 2009 to 2012 (each within the third or fourth week of November).

However, Ariana Grande is often called the “queen of pop” right now, and she can take risks with the support of her diehard fanbase. She has become one of the most supported stars in pop music after gaining a Beyonce-level of charisma for her public image. For as young as she began her career, her image has aged smoothly and granted her a peak in popularity nearly eight years in.

Unsurprisingly, “Positions” has captured a large audience — an audience I’m not part of. Since “thank u, next,” Ariana perfected a sound that blends the instrumentals of hip-hop; the vocals and writing of pop; and the tempos and grooves of modern R&B. This is thanks to frequent producers TBHits and Social House, who had huge parts in her revolutionary hit “thank u, next.” They haven’t looked back since this track, transferring onto a trail of gold and leaving none other than Pharrell Williams in their dust after his glorious six-song run during “Sweetener.”

Personally, I find TBHits’ production to be pretty repetitive and safe for an artist as talented as Grande. The mood of “Positions” is fairly static because of the production, and trap drums and sub-bass are too dark for Ariana. A lot of the tracks on the album that should be brighter are drained of their energy by the hip-hop production, some examples being “just like magic,” “six thirty” and “obvious.” Without very strong hooks or melodies, these songs are some of the most forgettable on the album.

Even though I’m not a huge fan of the darker production, a few of the tracks on “Positions” do come with memorable performances that fit the style. Ariana and The Weeknd play off each other very well on “off the table,” a track that allows the two to put together a more traditional duet narrative in their lyrics. The echoey background vocals and driving drums of “safety net” are ominous under Ariana and Ty Dolla Sign’s layers of vocals and make up for the less than stand-out writing. The bouncy drums and live bass on “motive” bring energy to the track, and Doja Cat’s cadences and vocal inflections make her sound like a female Anderson .Paak. The songs “nasty” and “west side” are the only tracks that I’d consider to have stand out hip-hop beats. Both tracks feature catchy choruses as well, with “west side” being my preferred out of the two.

Out of the brighter pop tracks on the album, “positions” and “34+35” are the clear standouts. The latter of the two recently debuted at Number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, likely frightening conservative old men just as much as “WAP” did in August. This track also has my favorite vocal performance from Grande on the album, especially on the bridge. “Positions” currently sits at Number 2 after being the album’s only lead-up single. The track is ridiculously catchy and possibly my favorite song on the album. The acoustic guitars throughout the song add lots of texture under the clicky drums, especially on the chorus.

The only songs on the album that come off as corny to me are “my hair” and “love language,” and it’s almost completely to blame on the instrumentals. While I do enjoy Ariana’s performance on “my hair,” the jazzy production (especially the guitar) sounds cheap and Splice loop-esque. I could not get past the strings on “love language” after my first listen. They annoy me so much that I’m completely fine with ignoring the song as a whole and happily moving forward to the title track.

The final track of the album, “pov,” is frustrating to me. The opening verse is one of the best moments on the album because of the beautiful vocal melodies and sparse instrumental, but the song quickly loses its charm after the first chorus. I would have preferred if the drums had stayed minimal, as they do in the album opener, “shut up.” Though it would serve as a fine intro, I personally find no use for “pov” outside of that. It’s a bit gimmicky for me, and I don’t find it very cute or funny. It also foreshadows Ariana’s string fetish, which finds its way into the production of nearly every track on the album.

Overall, I’d consider the album “Positions” to be a continuation of “thank u, next’s” disappointment off of “Sweetener.” While both “thank u, next” and “positions” have a share of good tracks, neither have the wide range of moods, instrumental spectrum or vocal performances that “Sweetener” showcased. Not to mention that “Positions“ begins and ends with fairly lackluster moments.

However, I would still recommend this album to an Ariana Grande fan. I’m aware that I am not the target audience for this album, and I’m fine with that. As much as I’d love to hear more Ariana Grande and Pharrell Williams collabs, the majority of her fanbase (and the radio) want to hear TBHits and Social House productions. They want to hear Queen Ariana flow over hip-pop R&B beats with confidence. If I had to predict what would be next for Grande, I’d say we’re due for a switch-up in sound after a few quiet years. I do know that Grande isn’t going to stop progressing the pop world any time soon.

While it’s no Disney’s “Fa-La-La-Lidays,” Netflix’s new series “Dash & Lily” is a perfect holiday pick-me-up. The series was created by Joe Tracz and is an adaptation of the young adult book series “Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares,” written by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn.

The series, only eight episodes with about 30 minutes each, explores quite a unique Christmas love story between the two main characters: Dash, the cynic (Austin Abrams) and Lily, the cheerful holiday spirit (Midori Francis).

Much of their budding romance resides within the pages of a red notebook left by Lily at their local New York City bookstore. Lily makes the first move by leaving a set of clues for any teenage boy who picked up the notebook to figure out in order to play her game. Dash stumbles upon the notebook and goes to ridiculous lengths to figure out the hidden message Lily left behind. Once he does, they start the game.

Lily is an innocent 17-year-old girl who knows nothing about love or risk-taking. The whole notebook setup was her brother Langston’s (Troy Iwata) idea. Yet, once she meets Dash through the words he writes in her notebook, she is hooked. Throughout the entire series, the two get to know each other through the notebook, spilling their inner secrets and biggest fears. They challenge each other to step out of their comfort zones in order to find out clues to the other’s identity. Dash encourages Lily to believe in herself, and Lily leads Dash to believe in the magic of Christmas.

This love story is the typical “cynical boy meets hopeful girl” trope, but having the two fall for each other based on only their words and not their appearances really adds something special to the story. It makes the romance much more genuine.

While the series is mainly focused on the story of Dash and Lily, it also highlights themes of family and friendship. Each person’s family and friends become involved with the whole notebook escapade. There’s even some drama when two characters from the past show up and turn everything upside down.

Netflix watchers looking to curl up on their couches or beds with a cup of hot chocolate and watch a Christmas love story unfold should definitely check out “Dash & Lily.”

Last November, I embarked on a quest to find the perfect Thanksgiving horror film — a movie to bridge that awkward time between Halloween and Thanksgiving. After much consideration, I awarded the dubious honor of best Thanksgiving horror film to “ThanksKilling” (2008), a low-budget sleaze-fest about a homicidal turkey.

Here’s the thing, though. I’m a glutton for turkey-flavored punishment, and there are a surprising number of Thanksgiving-themed horror movies out there. So, to kick off November, I’ve decided to subject myself to four more of the most appetizing films the sub-genre has to offer.

It should probably go without saying that most Thanksgiving horror movies are pretty bad, at least if you’re judging them by the same standards you would do with a mainstream horror. Instead of trying to find a “good” movie, my goal is to find a movie that’s memorable, weird and, most importantly, fun. I’m looking for turkey puns, Thanksgiving-themed murder weapons and dinner table drama that rivals Toni Collete’s monologue in “Hereditary.” But most of all, I’m looking for a movie that will help my horror-loving month find something to love about Thanksgiving.

4. “Ghost Note” (2017) — directed by Troy Hart

I don’t understand how a movie about a blues musician-turned serial killer-turned-ghost ranked this low on this list, but here we are. “Ghost Note” has a lot going for it — a Thanksgiving seance, an impromptu musical number about unrequited teen love and a villain who looks like a rejected Cenobite design — but it doesn’t manage to be nearly as interesting as its premise suggests. We follow a generic goth teen who accidentally awakens the aforementioned blues ghosts while staying with her grandmother over Thanksgiving break. Cue edgy teen dialogue, questionable acting and plenty of intentional goofiness, but a shocking lack of blues ghost action. There are a couple of decent kills and some passable scares, but “Ghost Note” nevertheless fails to make the most of its ridiculously fun premise.

3. “Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County” (1998) — directed by Dean Alioto

What’s scarier than being forced to spend Thanksgiving with your dysfunctional family? Having to spend Thanksgiving with your dysfunctional family while under assault from aliens, according to Dean Alioto. In this made-for-TV mockumentary, the McPherson family is tormented by extraterrestrials on Thanksgiving day. Nosebleeds, malfunctioning blenders and the world’s most awkward game of Go Fish ensue (in that order) as the McPhersons fight for their lives… and then sort of give up and go eat leftovers. The MVP here is the alcoholic mom who puts down her wine glass maybe twice during the 90-minute runtime. And I haven’t even mentioned the parade of increasingly ridiculous “expert” interviews that punctuate the movie. Jokes aside, “Alien Abduction” is an entertaining found footage film that gets bonus points for being not just sufficiently Thanksgiving-themed, but enjoyably weird as well.

2. “Pilgrim” (2019) — directed by Marcus Dunstan

I was pleasantly surprised by “Pilgrim,” a Blumhouse production about a troubled family that hires a group of pilgrim reenactors to join them for Thanksgiving dinner. Because this is a horror movie, the reenactors take their jobs a bit too seriously and decide to teach the family what it truly means to be thankful by attempting to murder them. For the first hour, the film feels very much like a middle-of-the-road mainstream horror, with an array of unlikeable characters and dialogue that isn’t quite bad enough to be funny. However, Peter Giles saves the film in his role as Ethan, the villainous scenery-chewing pilgrim reenactor whose performance gets increasingly over-the-top as the movie continues. It all culminates in an unhinged gorefest full of corny one-liners, buckets of blood and a few killer (pun intended) twists. Despite its slow start, “Pilgrim” is a fun romp with a dark sense of humor and a fantastic third act.

1. “Blood Rage” (1987) — directed by John Grissmer

“Blood Rage” is a slasher about a preteen boy who kills a couple at a drive-in theater and frames his twin for the crime. 10 years later on Thanksgiving Day, the innocent twin escapes his mental institution, and the murderous twin takes the opportunity to go on a killing spree. This movie has it all: carving fork kills; soap opera star Louise Lasser drunkenly shoveling cold Thanksgiving leftovers into her mouth and a killer who says, on four separate occasions, “It’s not cranberry sauce.” (In each case, it is, in fact, blood.) This is an ’80s slasher perfection filled with gore, teased hair and teenagers having sex in impractical locations. Adding to its charm are the gruesome practical effects by Ed French, known for his work on cult classics like “Sleepaway Camp” and “The Stuff.” Sure, there’s no plot to speak of, but it sure is fun. I can easily see “Blood Rage” becoming a new holiday tradition.

Dua Lipa dropped a new single, “Fever,” with Belgian singer Angele on Oct. 29. The flirtatious track is sung half in English and half in French.

Lipa is no stranger to collaborations. After her sophomore album “Future Nostalgia” received widespread praise, Lipa joined forces with The Blessed Madonna to produce a remix album. Masters at Work, Mark Ronson and Stuart Price are among the assortment of other big-name DJs and producers that worked on this album, “Club Future Nostalgia.”

Lipa did not stop there with the collaborations. The remix album features guest appearances from Gwen Stefani, Madonna, Missy Elliot and Korean girlgroup Blackpink as well. Although many prefer the parent album, “Club Future Nostalgia” became both Lipa’s and The Blessed Madonna’s first album to gain entry onto the U.S. Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart.

Needless to say, it was no surprise when Lipa released yet another collaboration, only this time it was with Belgian singer Angele. “Fever” introduced Angele to English-speaking listeners for the first time, but she was already a star in French-speaking countries. Angele rose to fame after the release of her debut album “Brol” in 2018. “Brol” garnered a lot of success. It has gone two times platinum in France and the single, “Tout oublier,” spent nine weeks at the top of Ultratop Charts, breaking the record for a Belgian artist (which was formerly set by Stromae). Angele has since been asked to perform on several French television shows as well as on the “One World: Together At Home” benefit concert hosted by Lady Gaga in support of the World Health Organization and essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic.

Angele is praised for her authenticity. Her music videos are fun, her lyrics are genuine and she isn’t afraid to talk about our society. In 2019, she received lots of attention for her song “Balance ton quoi,” in reference to the French “Me Too” movement, Balance ton porc. Its accompanying music video discusses sexism and struggles that women have encountered in a way that educates people rather than just ridiculing men.

“Balance ton quoi” is just one of Angele’s songs that tackle societal issues. Her song “La Thune,” which is a slang word for money, talks about the superficial needs of modern society, and “Ta Reine” is a tribute to lesbians.

Lipa’s “Fever” featuring Angele is another of many successful collaborations. France and Belgium are already in love with Angele’s music, and English-speaking countries are next in line thanks to this hit. It will be exciting to see who Lipa teams up with next.

It has become a bit of a cliche at this point but it begs acknowledgment that this was a weird year for the Philadelphia Film Festival, which went virtual and drive-in for the first time. With most of the heavy-hitter movies moved to next year and other festivals either canceling or going virtual, the selection of films skewed towards more under the radar and eclectic. Sections were eliminated in lieu of separating films between drive-in and virtual-only, though there was some cross-over between them.

While it was nice to have a little flexibility to decide when to watch, I have to say I miss the actual festival experience itself. Not only are there fewer distractions in a theater, but some of the biggest pleasures are hearing the audience react as a collective. I also miss walking into something at random because it’s close to another movie on my schedule, and simply being able to process what I saw for an hour or so before jumping into the next one.

Despite all these apprehensions, I still managed to see plenty of films. Because of scheduling or lack of drive-in access, I missed out on “Nomadland,” “Ammonite” and “Minari,” as well as a few other potential masterpieces. The ten listed below are still pretty great, with a few that could be the best of the year. Many of them should be releasing in the coming weeks or sometime next year. All of them should be on your radar.

1. Night of the Kings — Set in an Ivory Coast prison run by prisoners, this riveting ode to storytelling shot to the top of my list when I caught it towards the end of the festival. It’s simply a pleasure to watch, poetic and magical in equal measure, and I love how the story becomes a group performance of sorts. With name drops to “City of God” and a tone that feels like “Peter Pan” crossed with Tarsem Singh’s “The Fall,” it’s one that shouldn’t be missed.
2. “Rose Plays Julie” — Christine Molloy and Joe Lawler’s slippery,  uncategorizable film is provocative in the truest sense of the word, one that digs deeply into thorny moral and ethical dilemmas and comes out ambivalent. Starting off as a stalker thriller, it soon shifts between drama, revenge and tragedy, all shot through an icy glaze that lends an unsettling sheen to even the most mundane moments. It’s as much about intergenerational trauma as it is about the effects of sexual violence, and you won’t soon forget it.
3. “Sound of Metal” — Other reviews have made comparisons to Chloe Zhao’s “The Rider,”, and they’re not inaccurate. Riz Ahmed is fantastic as a drummer who suddenly loses his hearing and checks into a sober program for deaf people when he threatens to relapse. Darius Marder’s debut features some of the best sound design of the year, creating unease and making fantastic use of silence; it deserves to be seen with the best speakers you can get.
4. “MLK/FBI” — Timely, yes, but it likely always will be. In any case, a gripping and visually dynamic history of the FBI that manages to recontextualize the stories we’ve heard about MLK into something fresh. The film provides an important reminder that civil rights aren’t always popular, and the lengths the system will go to crush it.
5. “Lapsis” — A gig economy satire wrapped around a pretty good mystery. I love the mood that this creates; it’s like a chiller version of “Sorry to Bother You.” This is not to say it’s not angry: Noah Hutton throws some superb jokes that feel close to home and interrogates the idea of the even playing field. But first and foremost it’s an actual narrative, compelling and entertaining as much as it is a dystopian call to action.
6. “The Vigil” — A haunted house flick injected with Jewish culture and tradition that proves to be reinvigorating. Keith Thomas’ debut may go heavy on the jump scares but he orchestrates them with aplomb. Not only does he solve the problem of leaving the house, but, like fellow IFC Midnight film “The Babadook,” he expertly blends a real creepy monster with an exploration of grief and trauma. The result is unexpectedly moving, with a deep well of cultural specificity that elevates it from a simple scare generator.
7. “New Order” — If the class warfare of “Parasite” brought everyone together, this one will push a lot of people away. From the foreboding opening of bodies piled up, Michel Franco doesn’t let up, offering a vision of Mexico falling under authoritarian rule following a lower-class uprising that spares no one. Uncompromisingly brutal, it’s a warning of what could happen if the downtrodden are ignored, toying with the viewer and burrowing under their skin.
8. “The Boy Behind the Door” — Gnarly little thing this one is. A reverse “Home Alone” as directed by Wes Craven (“The People Under The Stairs”), it recaptures the feeling of the house sequences of the video game “Resident Evil 7” in the best way, with an added dose of realism both from the young actors and from the plot itself. The script keeps you off your feet, swerving every time you think you know where it will go and threading an emotional undercurrent through everything.
9. “Come True” — What a strange, unique feature this is. Seemingly throwing 70’s sci-fi, 80’s horror and synthpop in a blender with a heavy dose of surreal dream sequences and set design that recalls a mix of the video games “Control,” “Death Stranding” and “Prey,” Anthony Scott Burns has created a fascinating sci-fi film about a teenage runaway taking part in a sleep study. The ending might put some people off, but it can’t diminish the spell he puts on you over the course.
10. “White Lie” — I debated putting this or Pablo Larrain’s “Ema” in this spot, but I have a feeling that will be getting plenty of attention. Besides, this story of a woman faking a cancer diagnosis has a much tougher needle to thread, and while it doesn’t pull it off as well as something like “Uncut Gems,” lead actress Kacey Rohl makes a compelling presence. Meanwhile, co-directors Yonah Lewis and Calvin Thomas keep the pace moving, while Lev Lewis’ atonal score lends the proper amount of unsettling air.

As if the live-action “Mulan” and misguided “The Witches” remake weren’t bad enough, Ben Wheatley (“Kill List”) has directed a mediocre remake of “Rebecca” — proving once again that Hollywood doesn’t know better than to mess with a good thing.

“Rebecca” is based on the 1938 novel of the same name by Daphne du Maurier, making it more of a re-adaptation than a remake. However, any film adaptation of “Rebecca” inevitably invites comparison to the Best Picture-winning 1940 movie directed by none other than Alfred Hitchcock. One might say that — much like the second Mrs. de Winter — this new arrival was destined to live in the shadow of the original.

Like Hitchcock’s adaptation, “Rebecca” (2020) is faithful to the novel. The unnamed protagonist marries wealthy widower Maxim de Winter after a whirlwind romance. However, she can’t seem to compare to Maxim’s beautiful and sophisticated first wife, Rebecca, whose memory is kept alive by the villainous housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers. As she struggles to settle into her new role at Manderley estate, the second Mrs. de Winter begins to uncover the sinister truth about Maxim’s first marriage.

Du Maurier’s “Rebecca” is a classic of Gothic fiction. While it has been called a romance, the story is more of a psychological thriller. The relationship between Maxim and the second Mrs. de Winter is far from romantic. From the beginning, Maxim berates and infantilizes his wife, flying into rages when she makes a mistake. Once the honeymoon period is over and Maxim shows his true colors, it is clear that the second Mrs. de Winter is in over her head. A sense of dread and oppression pervades both the text and the 1940 film.

By contrast, Wheatley’s “Rebecca” is a historical romance that occasionally remembers it’s supposed to have Gothic elements. From time to time, Wheatley throws in an unimaginative dream sequence or an ominous flock of unconvincing CGI birds. For the most part, however, the movie feels like a BBC historical drama. The central romance is shockingly stable and mostly devoid of tension. The second Mrs. de Winter, portrayed as meek and submissive in the original, is downright assertive, confronting Mrs. Danvers more than once and even breaking the law on her husband’s behalf.

While divergence isn’t a bad thing, the changes here feel aimless. The script makes an effort to be progressive, but the original was plenty progressive enough. Du Maurier also commented on issues of class and gender; whereas she and Hitchcock relegated their commentary to subtext, this version simply makes it text. These changes crucially weaken the story. For tension and dread to build, it is important that the second Mrs. de Winter be vulnerable. While it was satisfying to see the protagonist come out of her shell over the course of the movie, you never really believe she’s in much danger.

Similarly, the cast struggles to remain true to the spirit of the novel while bringing something new to the role. Lily James is perfectly fine as the second Mrs. de Winter, although her performance can’t compete with Joan Fontaine in the original. Armie Hammer as Maxim is… there. The strongest cast member is acclaimed actress Kristin Ann Scott Thomas, who makes for an imposing (yet surprisingly sympathetic) Mrs. Danvers.

There are, of course, several aspects of the film that work well. For one, “Rebecca” is even more visually striking than the original, with lavish sets and gorgeous costumes. The original twist in the book, which could not be filmed in 1940 due to censorship, was preserved. The queer subtext many see in the source material becomes text in this film, a subtle change that worked well. There are also, notably, twice as many dogs in this movie than in Hitchcock’s adaptation. It’s not enough to keep you from thinking about Hitchcock’s version, however.

A “Rebecca” remake — maybe a miniseries — could be worth watching. However, rather than trying to do something new and bold with the material, the film makes minor updates that are largely ineffective. If only someone involved had taken to heart the lesson the second Mrs. de Winter learns — there’s no use trying to imitate “Rebecca.”

“Creating During COVID” highlights the creative work of students during the pandemic and creates a profile outline of students in various programs. If you would like to contribute your story, please fill out this form here. Last week, students of the Screenwriting and Playwriting major shared their stories. This week, we turn to Interactive Digital Media majors.

The coursework of Interactive Digital Media majors relies heavily on technology, and there are pros and cons to spending so much time behind a screen. While isolation is necessary for safety, it stifles the creativity that many Westphal majors rely on.

Social stimulation is a great way to get new ideas and be creative, but many students, like senior Ben Schenerman, struggle to match the same energy on their own.

“I have more space to be creative, but I have less to say,” Schenerman said.

Schenerman recently released a to-do app to help people because the pandemic has removed many distractions of everyday life.

“[The app] harnesses the healing power of self-affirmations to motivate users to finish things they need to do, rather than using guilt/shame as a motivator,” Schenerman said.

Many students find themselves without the motivation to take on rigorous coursework or choose to spend their energy elsewhere.

Junior Britney Tu normally commutes to campus, but the remote learning format has allowed her to catch up on sleep and develop stronger skills, such as detailed illustrating and developing a consistent art style.

Like many looking to commemorate the pandemic, senior Abigail Stein created a “quarantine time capsule” filled with drawings and mixed media pieces.

“I look forward to looking back through it in a few years to unearth the state of my artistic mind,” Stein said.

Other students have found the long periods of time spent at home to be beneficial to their creative passions. Junior Mikayla Lisiy has spent this time working on logo design and other skills, including building her website, and freshman Paul DiGerolamo created “a traditional art piece made of a valley in the night” that showcases shading skills. Junior James Zangari enjoys producing music, but has not been able to collaborate with friends in the same manner as pre-pandemic.

With so many students showcasing many different talents and passions, it is clear that the Interactive Digital Media major has a lot to offer even away from campus.

Netflix invited its watchers on a trip to Paris on Oct. 2 with the release of the new series “Emily in Paris,” created by Darren Star. Star is most well known for his previous series “Beverely Hills, 90210” and “Sex in the City.”

The new series opens with Chicago girl Emily Cooper (Lily Collins) receiving the unrealistic opportunity to work as a social media strategist for French company Savoir. Emily has no knowledge of the French language and was only given this chance because her boss, Madeline Wheeler (Kate Walsh), suddenly became pregnant. She naively accepts the job and blindly moves to Paris, leaving her previous life and boyfriend behind.

Once Emily arrives in Paris, she makes a mediocre effort at best to assimilate into the French culture, taking a beginner French class. However, she relies on everyone around her, especially her coworkers (who are fluent in French), to speak English, barely picking up any of the language through her day-to-day experiences. It is interesting how Emily flexes her master’s degrees in communications when she can’t even communicate with her coworkers.

Emily is not well-liked upon her arrival because she always pulls the “token American” card and immediately makes an enemy of her boss, Sylvie (Philippine Leroy-Beaulieu). Sylvie views Emily as a useless American who doesn’t actually have anything to contribute to the company, and most of the series is wasted on a petty battle between the two. It’s the usual “snotty Parisian versus ignorant American” trope.

The series attempts to portray the French as having a work-life balance that consists of more pleasure than work, as opposed to the American balance of more work than pleasure. This attempt fails miserably when the portrayal of “pleasure” transformed from showcasing an easy work-life balance to displaying various different affairs per episode.

Since it does take place in Paris, some of the stereotypical scandal is expected. Viewers may be forced to bend their morals if they choose to root for the budding romance between Emily and lead love interest Gabriel (Lucas Bravo). Gabriel is everything a young, impressionable girl could want in a man for a foreign love affair. He’s handsome, he’s a good cook and he loves to swoop Emily off her feet. Yet Emily and Gabriel’s situation becomes very sticky once Emily unknowingly befriends his girlfriend.

The series is very light-hearted and fun, but it can come across as worn out since there isn’t anything unique to the plot. Still, if a viewer is looking for a little bit of chaos, Parisian culture (though an inaccurate depiction) and romance, “Emily in Paris” may be the right fit.

COVID-19 may have shifted their plans a little bit, but Nintendo still found a way to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the “Super Mario” series in the form of the “Super Mario 3D All-Stars” collection for Switch. The compilation — expected months ago due to leaks and finally revealed in a Direct — brings together the first three 3D entries in the series: the groundbreaking “Super Mario 64,” oddity “Super Mario Sunshine” and the beloved “Super Mario Galaxy.” Each has been upscaled for modern TVs and given small changes to adapt to Joy-Cons, and while you do get three games for the price of one, that may not be enough for some ardent fans.

Of the three, “Super Mario 64” is probably the one to most tap into fans’ nostalgia. The Nintendo 64 launch title is widely considered to have set the standard for not only 3D platformers, but 3D games as a whole. It’s a landmark title, proving that the formula could be translated from a side-scroller to a more open world; it’s certainly worthy of being preserved for future generations. As a first attempt, it’s a monumental achievement. As a game to play… well, it’s a little rough.

Time has not been kind to “Super Mario 64.” The graphics have aged to the point where they’re charming rather than dated; textures still remain blurry at times and Mario remains a vague assortment of polygons. The camera, meanwhile, is kind of awful. Yes, it was a first attempt, but plenty of reviews at the time took issue with it, and other than adapting it for the right stick, it’s largely the same. It will frequently move to a spot where you can’t see Mario, making jumps harder. Finding the right angle often seems impossible. The act of running around and jumping is still pretty fun, but there’s no denying that Mario feels way too heavy, the moves imprecise, flying too stiff. Granted, it hasn’t become unplayable — you’ll still get some fun out of it even if you’ve never seen an N64 in real life. But there’s no denying that it could have benefited from a little enhancement or modernization, at least in the camera.

Six years passed before “Super Mario Sunshine” came out; understandable, given the rapturous acclaim given to “64.” As time has passed it’s acquired something of a black sheep status, the “weird” one of the 3D games (or even “the worst”). Reports of its badness are largely unfounded. Yes, it takes place on a tropical island; yes, you do have a jetpack/pump (F.L.U.D.D); and yes, it does have more plot than these games require. But looking past all that, “Sunshine” is a singularly interesting experience, the result of Nintendo breaking up the typical trappings of a Mario game and trying something new. Instead of stars, there are Shine Sprites. Isle Delfino remains a beautiful experience; the water especially has aged great, and the tropical soundtrack is catchy. Even the largely F.LU.D.D.-centric gameplay yields some unique and creative challenges, and the controls are tight and responsive.

All of it feels amazing right up until you encounter the “Old-School,” F.L.U.D.D.-less sequences, and then everything goes to hell. Mario moves fast, and pulling off different jumps is quick and seamless, but ironically the pure platforming levels are some of the worst in the game due to the wonky physics system. Sometimes you seem to move one step more than you need. Others it seems as if your momentum is all off. The game feels as if it was designed for F.L.U.D.D., but these problems even bubble up with the hover nozzle, where trying to make finite movements becomes a pain. It’s combined with a camera that, though showing a silhouette when you’re obscured, still manages to find angles that can turn progress into an ordeal. These problems might be easy to overlook, but the fatal flaw of the game is that to get to the end you must beat the first seven levels of each area. This means, at some point, you are going to have to play a level that feels nearly impossible. While it’s understandable from a story point of view, it makes the extra Shines around Delfino hub borderline redundant, because even if you can unlock all the worlds early, you still have to run those god-awful platforms. Speaking of story, this was the first game with fully-voiced cutscenes. Yeah, there’s a reason they only speak one or two words max now; “Breath of the Wild” this is not.

If “64” was a first draft and “Sunshine” was an overcorrection, “Super Mario Galaxy” is the first 3D entry that feels like they cracked the code. Perhaps even more than “64,” this Game of the Year winner was one of the most anticipated titles in the collection (its sequel, sadly, hasn’t been included). A few minutes is all it takes to understand why: from a pure presentation standpoint, this is one of Nintendo’s crowning achievements.

On the Wii it was a marvel, and seen today it’s downright stunning; beautiful visions of Star Bits (which you can collect for more lives and shoot at enemies or Hungry Lumas) falling, the unique design of the planets, it’s just a great-looking game. A big part of that is the auto-camera, which locks into a specific view and follows you as you jump from planet to planet. Of course, some quirks are still present here (mainly that you can’t rotate it at times where it feels like you should, making some jumps precarious) but by and large it’s shockingly good. The big gimmick here is gravity, allowing you to run underneath planets and jump between bodies, an effect that still lands. You also get a spin attack by shaking the Joy-Con (or pressing a button, a big shift from the Wii), which helps alleviate problems made with jumping on spherical surfaces, but there are some rare cases when movement seems harder than it should be. And then there’s the fully orchestrated score, which makes everything feel even more epic and grandiose.

This is a game where so many elements are coming together perfectly that even the numerous sequences where you launch yourself to a new planet feel transcendent. It’s the combo of a perfect twinkling sound with awe-inspiring camera movements. If you wanted to nitpick, it’s a little too easy throughout, and the story is basic even though there’s a (more emotional than it should be) side-story you can find if you choose. This is a game that’s continuously surprising, an example of the experience only Nintendo can bring, and certainly deserving of its rep as “one of the Best Marios Ever.”

None of these games have changed much, and that’s the biggest problem with this collection. It’s an incredibly bare-bones release, only including soundtracks for each game (but only inside the actual software, no download codes or ways to export it). There’s not even a manual included, the move and action lists being shunted off to a menu you can access with the “-” button. On top of that, Nintendo is selling this collection for a full $60, and only until March of next year (even for the digital version!).

Controls have been tweaked for the Switch but only to adjust for various differences in controllers (and in “Galaxy’s” case, allowing the spin move to be executed with the Y or X buttons). Granted, they have been upscaled slightly, running in an emulator according to some forums, and these games are all 10+ years old at this point. But the last All-Stars collection for Wii was about $40, and it included four games plus a music CD. Nintendo didn’t have to fully remake these games, but they could have at least added some more material for an anniversary. If you still have your original consoles, there’s no real reason to get this unless you really want to play them on the go. For anyone who sold them or hasn’t played before, these are solid ports that replicate the originals, for better and for worse, and worth trying if you need more Mario in your life. Let’s just hope Nintendo isn’t angling for the “Disney Vault” method any time soon.