The list below is designed to help you build your off-campus routine, whether you have a car or rely on public transportation.

Grocery Stores 

Wegmans (650 Harry L Drive, Johnson City)

Wegmans is a staple for off-campus students looking to find quality groceries. While somewhat distant from the Downtown Binghamton area, Wegmans is a great stop to find whatever groceries you need for your meal prepping schedule. It doesn’t match the affordability of ALDI or the accessibility to downtown living of Weis, but it makes up for what it lacks in variety and quality.

ALDI (560 Harry L Drive, Suite 50, Johnson City)

Located just down the street from Wegmans, ALDI serves as an affordable alternative to Wegmans and Weis. Equipped with everything you need to cook on your own, ALDI offers quality ingredients at a reasonable price. Just remember to bring a quarter — ALDI shopping carts can’t be unlocked without a coin!

Weis Markets (50 Pennsylvania Ave., Suite 4, Binghamton)

Weis is a great option for grocery shopping for those living in Downtown Binghamton without a car. Walkable from most resident hotspots, Weis is one of the only truly accessible grocery stores for off-campus students living in downtown. While it’s not quite as affordable as ALDI, Weis is a convenient way to get carless groceries in a pinch.

Clothing 

Formal wear – Boscov’s (11 Court St., Binghamton)

Whether you’re prepping for an interview or getting suited up for your next job fair, heading to Boscov’s is a quick and convenient way to ensure you are dressed appropriately, no matter what the occasion.

If you’re looking for formal wear at any price, the department store is suited to fit your attire needs. It lacks firepower in the casual wear department, but as a student, Boscov’s can be a lifesaver if you ever forget your business clothes at home.

Casual wear – Oakdale Commons (601-635 Harry L Drive, Johnson City)

The Oakdale Commons shopping center has a variety of retailers, complete with casual clothing stores like Hollister and American Eagle. There aren’t many retail options in the Greater Binghamton area, so Oakdale Commons stands out as a solid hotspot for shopping if that’s on your to-do list.

Thrifted clothes – Goodwill NYNJ Store & Donation Center (3701 Vestal Parkway E., Vestal)

Thrifting has become more and more popular over the past few years, and there’s no more convenient a place to shop on a budget than the Goodwill off Vestal Parkway. It’s located just minutes away from the Binghamton University campus and is serviced by OCC Transport if you don’t want to make the walk. You never know what gems you might find on the racks at the unbeatable price of a local thrift.

Pharmacies

Walgreens (37 Pennsylvania Ave., Binghamton)

Walgreens is the closest chain pharmacy to Downtown Binghamton for all of your pharmacy and convenience needs. A simple and familiar option, there isn’t much better or more accessible for most off-campus residents.

Another option is the CVS on 249-253 1/2 Main St., Binghamton, but it’s an easy choice based on which is closest to you.

Household essentials and school supplies 

Target (3112 Vestal Parkway E., Vestal)

A tried and true option for any household necessities, Target is conveniently serviced by OCC Transport and has anything you need from quick groceries to furniture and decorations. At a slightly higher price than Walmart, you will find a huge selection of quality items at Target.

Walmart (2405 Vestal Parkway E., Vestal)

Located just down the road from Target, Walmart sells a similar variety of retail, grocery and hygiene items at a discounted price. While you might not find as many brand names or quality items at Walmart, they have you covered with the basics.

Best Buy (3209 Vestal Parkway E., Vestal)

While Walmart and Target have most of what you need to get back to school, Best Buy provides a more specialized tech-based shopping experience. If you’re looking for new chargers, a laptop or a home console for your new apartment, Best Buy can meet any of your tech needs. In the digital age, it’s an important staple of your school shopping experience.

Fitness 

Planet Fitness (4700 Vestal Parkway E., Vestal) or (10 Glenwood Ave., Binghamton)

Moving away from campus might mean you need to find a new way to get to the gym. Luckily, there are two Planet Fitness options located in the Greater Binghamton area, with one conveniently nested in the nearby U-Club lot.

For casual lifters and fitness enthusiasts alike, these are solid options if you’re looking for a pump while living off campus.

McLean, a professor and chair of the Department of Film, Video, Animation and New Genres at the Peck School of the Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, delivered a program containing a little more than one hour of short films, followed by a Q&A session.

Daniel Murphy, a lecturer of cinema, opened the event with a brief introduction and explanation of McLean’s background. Shortly after, McLean took the stage and presented the films the audience watched over the course of the evening: “Wherever You Go, There We Are,” “I’m in Pittsburgh and It’s Raining,” “Remote,” “Curious Fantasies,” “See a Dog, Hear a Dog” and “Somewhere only we know.”

While McLean used experimental techniques for all six of the films, some, like “Curious Fantasies,” were heavily stylized. Other films, notably “I’m in Pittsburgh and It’s Raining,” featured more formal narrative elements tied together in a surreal and experimental package. According to McLean, much of her focus when filmmaking centers around creating tension through sound design by using uncomfortable noise, like rubbing a balloon.

While McLean worked through an experimental lens for all six of the films, some, like “Remote” and “Somewhere only we know,” were more heavily stylized. “Somewhere only we know” was a montage of game show clips, for the most part, close-ups of contestants’ faces, as a means to build suspense. The format allowed McLean to blend humor and tension, a concept she played with in all six of her films.

Other films, most notably “I’m in Pittsburgh and It’s Raining,” featured more formal narrative elements tied together in a surreal and experimental package. According to McLean, much of her focus when filmmaking centers around creating tension through sound design by using uncomfortable noise, like rubbing a balloon.

“Wherever You Go, There We Are” was the first of the six films shown during the viewing. It consisted of scam emails being read aloud by a text-to-speech voice, accompanied by eerie imagery of expansive forest and landscape — a commentary on the uncanniness of computer-generated content. “See a Dog, Hear a Dog” reflected a similar sentiment, juxtaposing the vitality and unpredictability of our beloved pets with calculated and inhuman AI. Footage of robotic dogs was spliced in between footage of real ones, blending the line between animal and technology.

“See a Dog, Hear a Dog” showed the distinction between human and A.I. communication, flashing between images and videos of technological advances and a little girl repeating the film’s name.

“My favorite part was seeing how the confusing scenes connected to make a deeper story,” said Stefanie Bivona, a junior majoring in psychology. “It was a little unsettling at first, but it became meaningful when we got to see the difference in the human and A.I. skills.”

Throughout all of her films, McLean emphasized commentary on the value of humanity, explaining that our consciousness and desire set us apart from other entities. She used multiple symbols throughout her films to demonstrate, including humankind’s connection with nature and animals, and the uncanny disconnect between our language processing and computer-generated phrases.

Nicholas Gandolfo, a senior majoring in environmental science, attended the lecture and screening and shared how the films spoke to him.

“I was a big fan of the experimental natures of the films, and how they were a social commentary on things I think are really relevant today, the capitalistic society we live in,” Gandolfo said. “I’m a big fan, obviously as an environmental science major, of the conservation of nature. I was a big fan of the films today.”

Following the screening, McLean answered a series of questions posed to her by students and other members of the audience. She explained several aspects of her creative process, like where her inspiration comes from and how she selects footage based on each film’s unique requirements.

Stephen Farrell, a junior majoring in business administration, described what messages he took from the films.

“Personally, I really loved the juxtaposition between the technology and human nature,” Farrell said. “And how as we advance technologically, our primitive side really shows. The editing style really tied it all together and drove home the point for me.”

McLean’s lecture was the third and final lecture in this semester’s Visiting Film & Video Artists and Speakers Series. With events like this, more students have the opportunity to interact with independent and experimental filmmaking in an academic setting.

“Independent filmmakers, it’s important to support them, because it really gives more people the chance to show their skill and their love for the craft,” Farrell said. “It really opens the door to many more possibilities of different perspectives on a lot of different things.”

“Daredevil: Born Again” picks up the narrative six years after the original critically acclaimed Netflix series “Daredevil” left off, dropping audiences right back into the heart of Hell’s Kitchen. Building on the dark, gritty undertones of its predecessor, “Daredevil: Born Again” retraces themes of vigilantism and justice. With a true break of Marvel’s status quo in these introductory episodes, the show might just be the most exciting project Marvel has had in years.

Viewers of the first “Daredevil” series will be satisfied with the fan service they’re given in these first two episodes. Plenty of audience-favorite characters are back in full swing, and the show doesn’t take long in putting protagonist Matt Murdock (Charlie Cox) right back into his iconic red suit. The combat is crisply choreographed and extremely representative of the amazing choreography fans were treated to in the original Netflix series. “Daredevil: Born Again” is based on what is considered to be one of the greatest stories in the history of Marvel comics, and dramatic changes in Daredevil’s life provide the stage.

Matt Murdock’s world is shattered by episode two of “Born Again.” The consequences of his actions in the Daredevil costume cross over to the people he loves, causing him to leave the alter ego behind. In other news, New York City’s largest crime lord — Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio), the Kingpin — is running for the mayor’s office, and he’s winning. The city is spinning out of control, and there’s no hero to save it since Murdock has left the Daredevil world behind.

While the acting in the show is great overall, the onscreen relationship between D’Onofrio and Cox stands out as the epitome of superhero television. The dialogue, while not always the strongest throughout the first two episodes, was electric between these characters. In such an emotionally charged opening sequence, the whole cast was given a chance to leave it all on the screen. There were incredible moments from Deborah Ann Woll in her time playing Karen Page and others from Cox that will leave audiences breathless.

The real strength of “Daredevil: Born Again,” however, comes in its story and direction. Directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead deliver a stylized and brutally relentless package that keeps the show wildly entertaining. The themes of justice and morality bleed through every aspect of every moment, from the cinematography down to the title sequence.

It doesn’t feel like the New York that Marvel has simulated in recent projects. Instead, Benson and Moorhead treated their audience to something that the media mega-giant hasn’t been able to recreate for years now: risk. The two changed the status quo of the character and his relationships, making for a fresh take on the Daredevil label. It’s exciting to think of what might happen to such a popular and multifaceted character with this kind of budget and creative direction. All of the well-orchestrated production is wrapped up in a visually appealing package just brimming with creativity. This is the high-energy plot that Marvel needed for a successful pilot.

However, not everything was perfect. The dialogue, at times, left something to be desired. It felt disjointed to downright cringeworthy at some points, a symptom of a Marvel-ified script. Fortunately, the performances of the leading cast wash out most of the conversational oddities that made it through to the script. Otherwise regarding writing, the pacing is solid, the plot is compelling, the characters are dynamic, and the script is holding up under the weight of high expectations. While the story and thematic elements of the narrative might be the only fantastic aspects of this script, there isn’t much left to be desired.

With all that being said, “Daredevil: Born Again” is a valuable new entry in the Disney+ Marvel streaming catalog. It might just be another superhero show, but it could also be the shake-up to the multiverse that the entertainment giant was looking for.

Rating: 4/5

There isn’t much better than kicking it back on a Friday night, sparking up your favorite strain of flower and binge-watching your favorite TV shows and movies with friends — or solo, for some. However, some movies are special. Some movies just have that extra bit of absurdity that will take you and your buddies to the next level — either by tripping you out or making you cry laughing. Compiled below, in no particular order, is a list of 10 made-for-stoners TV shows and movies that will take your mind away from the couch and into a world of your very own.

1. “The Big Lebowski”

It wouldn’t be right to have a list of 10 stoner flicks without this cult classic from the Coen brothers. Follow Jeff Bridges as The Dude, John Goodman’s iconic Walter Sobchak and Steve Buschemi’s hilarious Donny as they embark on an absurdist and harebrained mystery involving rugs, a missing wife and a whole lot of bowling. An absolute must-watch, especially when high.

2. “Black Mirror”

This one might not be for the faint of heart, but it seems as if Netflix’s sci-fi thriller anthology has been amassing a growing popularity in the stoner community. Its unique visuals, episodic style and trippy subject matter are especially conducive to the stoner genre. If you’re not one to get paranoid or nervous easily, a foray into the world of “Black Mirror” might be a good idea for you.

3. “The Midnight Gospel”

Duncan Trussel stuns audiences in this visually fascinating space podcast. “The Midnight Gospel” provides viewers with one of the most unique experiences to date, as they track a lovable space-podcaster as he traverses through the planets and has incredibly deep conversations with his well-learned interplanetary guests. A hidden gem for most, “The Midnight Gospel” is a perfect option for stoners of every tolerance level.

4. “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World”

A Michael Cera video-game musical spectacular. What more could you ask for? “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” is a visual and auditory masterpiece, built on the back of decades of nostalgic video-game music and intuitive animation. The eye-popping style depicting Cera defeating Ramona’s ex-boyfriends is built for a high experience, and it will not disappoint.

5. “South Park”

Come on down to South Park and have yourself a time — you just can’t put it better than the title sequence itself. Each episode provides a ridiculous look into the outrageous schemes crafted by the deeply psychotic Eric Cartman and friends Kyle, Stan and Kenny. Pop on any episode of “South Park,” and it’s a guarantee to be a memorable high experience for stoners everywhere.

6. “Rick and Morty”

Despite recent controversies and writer’s room changes, “Rick and Morty” retains its rightful spot on any list as one of the best stoner shows out there. Follow mad scientist Rick and his neurotic grandson Morty as they encounter galactic villains and familial drama in the weirdest ways possible. Complete with iconic visuals and a surprisingly hearty story, “Rick and Morty” earns a consistent spot as one of the best shows to watch high ever.

7. “The Lord of the Rings” Trilogy

This one might be surprising to some, but the cinematography alone skyrockets any of “The Lord of the Rings” to one of the most ideal high movies ever. Complete with comedy, adventure and some of the most beautiful shooting locations to date, “The Lord of the Rings” is an often-overlooked opportunity to improve your high tenfold. Just grab some of that Hobbit’s grass and follow Gandalf as the Fellowship journeys to the depths of Middle Earth.

8. “Pineapple Express”

For stoners, by stoners. “Pineapple Express” is Seth Rogen at his best, creating a star-studded weed-centric escapade. Maybe if you’re lucky enough, you’ll be able to get your hands on some of that coveted Pineapple Express strain weed before you watch, and really immerse yourself in the viewing experience. There isn’t much to say about “Pineapple Express” other than, you just have to see it to believe it.

9. “Planet Earth”

If you haven’t watched “Planet Earth” while high yet, you’re just not getting it. David Attenborough will put you at ease as he takes you across this beautiful planet we call home, delving deeply into the lives of animals and environmental spectacle. Quite literally the most beautiful docuseries to possibly exist, “Planet Earth” is a cornerstone to the existence of stoners everywhere, and if you haven’t tried it yet, you really are missing out.

10. “Dazed and Confused”

“Dazed and Confused” has everything that a great stoner movie should have. Full of great tunes, great comedy and quotable quips, this Matthew McConaughey classic earns its place on this list based on vibes alone. It’s a must-watch for audiences in college, which makes it a perfect target for most of the ages looking at this list. Warning, though — by the end of the night, your friends will be saying “Alright, alright, alright” nonstop.

Last Thursday, Amazon Prime released the eighth and final episode of their hit animated show “Invincible” to audiences everywhere. Following an introductory season that took the world by storm with its gritty undertones and unique spin on the superhero genre, there seemed to be high expectations for an exceptional second season. Initially releasing the first four episodes of the second season back in the fall, Amazon allowed the ultimate half of the season to garner even more anticipation prior to its release in the past couple of months. Luckily, part two of the season delivered on all fronts.

Episode five of season two, the first episode of part two, aired on March 14, concluding with episode eight on April 4. The storyline picks up following a massive twist at the end of part one in which Invincible is reintroduced to season one’s primary antagonist, his father Omni-Man.

Part two opens with the titular character, also known as Mark Grayson (Steven Yeun), returning to Earth after rekindling a relationship with his seemingly changed father (J.K. Simmons). Before voyaging back to Earth, he brings his alien half brother, a Viltrumite-Thraxan mix eventually bestowed the name Oliver (Lincoln Bodin) by Mark’s mother Debbie (Sandra Oh). Much of part two’s main story stems from Mark’s struggle to be there both for his superhero organization and those who need him at home. In typical “Invincible” fashion, no punches are pulled in terms of the absolute brutality faced by Mark and everyone he holds dear.

Overall, the story is one of the strongest aspects of the latest entries in the series. The world-building is intricate and appreciated, and the writers’ indifference to killing off half of their characters makes the stakes of every battle feel real and tangible. There are twists and turns galore, and the patented in-your-face style of storytelling keeps the viewer’s eyes glued to the television. Despite a small lack of focus, season two of “Invincible” feels like an even more contained and developed storyline than season one, which is very much appreciated following what felt like a more staggered and episodic approach originally.

Complimenting the strong central plotline is fantastic dialogue, characters and, most clearly, voice acting. The cast is, to be frank, stacked. Yeun, Simmons, Oh, Seth Rogen, Mark Hamill and Jason Mantzoukas — the list really goes on. Each character’s voice is distinctly recognizable and fits their characterization to a tee. Because of this, dialogue really becomes a cornerstone of this surprisingly emotional animated show, allowing each interpersonal interaction to hold some serious weight in the eyes of the viewer. These actors and actresses know how to bring life to a script without even getting the chance to express these emotions physically, promoting a deep connection between the audience and on-screen events. The focus on dialogue is reflective of a style becoming more popular in the animated medium, and although the show is just as visually shocking, the script and readings stand on their own as a testament to the passion behind the “Invincible” creative process.

In terms of visuals, something must be said about the weakest quality of the second season, that being the animation. The first season was criticized heavily for its sometimes shoddy framing and speech animations, and the second season is no different. It gets a little frustrating, especially when the actual subject matter is so visually interesting. The execution just doesn’t seem up to par with the other aspects of the show, and it’s definitely something that could be improved upon moving forward.

Otherwise, there isn’t much to talk about in the way of what the production team got wrong in this second half. The show is unapologetically “Invincible” at its finest. Brutal fights, tense emotions and quick jokes make for a poignant entry in the show’s young lifespan. Season two part two adds upon an attention-grabbing first half and concludes in a spectacular manner. Everything season one does great, season two does just as well.

Overall: 4/5

Skadoosh. That’s the word that every audience member wanted to hear when they walked into Mike Mitchell’s “Kung Fu Panda 4.” A cacophony of college students, young children and parents entered the movie theater eager to get a taste of a nostalgic and adventurous story featuring their favorite anthropomorphic warrior. Unfortunately, this is something that the latest entry in the “Kung Fu Panda” franchise failed to provide.

“Kung Fu Panda 4” avoided what made the other films in the franchise so spectacular. The lovable cast of characters? Gone. The movie explained the absence of the Furious Five briefly, citing that Po’s iconic team was simply on a mission somewhere else. The formidable villain with a deep and intriguing backstory? Nope. The Chameleon is a flimsy and flat character, who just so happens to also undermine all of the legitimately inspired villains that came before her. If you’re expecting an epic conclusion to the “Kung Fu Panda” saga, this is not the place to look.

The film opens with the beloved “Dragon Warrior,” Po (Jack Black), being notified by his red-panda mentor Master Shifu (Dustin Hoffman), that it is time to select a successor to the mantle of the Dragon Warrior. With the departure of Grand Master Oogway in “Kung Fu Panda 3,” it’s Po’s time to rise to the position of “Spiritual Leader of the Valley of Peace.” At the same time, a villain named the Chameleon (Viola Davis) masquerading as Po’s nemeses from past adventures wreaks havoc on the bustling Juniper City. Po, in a desperate attempt to savor his final moments as the Dragon Warrior, escapes his home in the Valley of Peace alongside a criminal fox (Awkwafina) who guides him throughout the criminal underworld in their ultimate task of defeating the Chameleon and saving the world. It’s a simple and enjoyable plot, but it isn’t without its questionable points.

It seemed like there was an onus on the writers to move the spotlight away from Po and onto the new addition, the criminal fox, Zhen. Why, all of the sudden, does Po have to leave his position as the Dragon Warrior? He was perfectly capable of continuing to battle and be the fluffy hero that he is. The absence of the Furious Five made absolutely no sense either. Why was Po the only warrior of the bunch to not join on the trip? According to creator Mitchell, this absence is for story related purposes — but it feels like more of a budgeting issue this time around. Despite this, the story and world were not actually the problem in this project. The real problem lies in the writing and shallow characterization of some of the movie’s most important figures.

The dialogue in the film is exactly what could be expected from a children’s movie. Most of the jokes were solid — especially the inclusion of murder-obsessed-bunny-children in the criminal undergrounds of Juniper City. Where the writing fell flat was in the character category.

Awkwafina’s character, Zhen, was an unwelcome replacement for Po’s old gang. She is characterized completely inconsistently and feels more like a shoehorned substitute than a lovable character in her own rite. The friendship developed between her and Po does not really marinate during the short 1 hour 31 minute runtime, and it feels completely off-base that the writers decided to introduce this character in what has been branded as the conclusion of the franchise. She was a shell of what a Furious Five and Dragon Warrior team-up could have been, and the movie sunk far too much time into selling this friendship when it should have been eliminated altogether. She might simply be a vehicle for ending the saga—a way to pass down the title of Dragon Warrior — but this is a lazy answer to that issue. Laziness runs rampant in the characters of “Kung Fu Panda 4.”

Po’s fathers, Mr. Ping (James Hong) and Li Shan (Bryan Cranston), are relegated to comedic relief — the whole time. It gets exhausting and boring and feels like a way to eat up runtime. This movie, a movie in a franchise that gave audiences three intricate and developed villains, gives us the Chameleon instead. The Chameleon, frankly, is a garbage villain with little to no explanation or development herself. The Chameleon also strips the past villains of their kung fu prowess by summoning them from the spirit realm and absorbing their chi.

By the end of the movie, the cast of villains are quite literally husks of the characters they used to be. Their interactions with Po are … friendly? It’s like the writers forgot the characters that they were writing dialogue for. It’s understandable that this is a kids movie and not everything can be realistic or have immense depth. This, however, is a very different mistake. It’s a lack of care for the source material, for those who enjoyed the story that they already built and for the legacy that the series leaves behind. There is even more to be said about Po and Shifu’s diminished role in the movie, but picking apart every little detail that the writers fumbled in this script would take a novel. More briefly, the writers of “Kung Fu Panda 4” completely desecrated a lore that they themselves worked hard to build.

Other than all that, the voice acting was fine. Visually, it was fine. The action was undoubtedly awesome, but it was sparse. There was nothing special about this entry. It was wildly disappointing.

“Kung Fu Panda 4” was in no means a ‘skadoosh’ kind of movie. It was a one-and-a-half-hour cash grab with nothing to say — a desperate end to a beloved franchise.

Rating: 2/5

On Thursday, Feb. 29, the Bengali Student Association (BSA) and Thai Student Organization (TSO) organized the BSA X TSO Street Food Fair, an event that marked the first collaboration between the two organizations. The event was scheduled between 5:30 and 7 p.m. in Binghamton University Union 102.

Upon arrival at the event, attendees were immediately hit with the savory aroma wafting over from a well-stocked buffet of Bengali and Thai street food. They had the choice of either taking part in the multitude of childhood games and activities stationed around the room, or digging into some delectable snacks in the buffet area. Guests got the chance to partake in the art of origami, a Bengali cops-and-robbers-esque game and the massive amounts of Bengali and Thai street food prepared by their respective organizations.

Wasif Shamsul, a freshman double-majoring in political science and economics, was particularly excited about getting a long-awaited taste of his home.

“I want to try out some Thai food,” Shamsul said. “I’m familiar with the Bengali snacks because I’m Bengali, like the Fuchka. It’s gonna be nice because I haven’t been home for a while, so it will be like a little taste of home.”

Shamsul elaborated on Bengali street food, explaining what makes it different from street food in other cultures.

“Bengali street food is similar to a lot of other street food, but we also put our own spin on it,” Shamsul said. “I know in India, there’s a variant of Fuchka called Panipuri. It’s nice to enjoy a Bengali dish and see how we differ from other cultures.”

Shamsul went on to describe the impact that events like this one could have on the campus community.

“It’s important to show multiculturalism,” Shamsul said. “A lot of people here are from different and diverse cultures, so it’s really nice to have events with multiple cultures and show off that we are a diverse campus. It’s also a great way for people to come and have a little fun, especially with midterms coming up. It’s nice to destress, hang out with friends and grab some food.”

Multiculturalism guided organization efforts. The fair brought together two major campus cultural organizations to celebrate the street foods of their respective cultures.

Ushima Chowdhury, the president of the BSA and a junior majoring in biochemistry, echoed this sentiment.

“Last semester, we had the idea to have a street food fair,” Chowdhury said. “At first it wasn’t a collaboration, but then I realized that street food is something that is prevalent in every culture, and so in presenting street food, I didn’t just want to showcase our cultures — we wanted to demonstrate the similarities and diversity between multiple of our cultures.”

Chowdhury explained the origin of the collaboration.

“TSO is an organization we’ve never collaborated with before, and I feel like that’s something people might not really think would happen,” Chowdhury said. “But they were the first people we reached out to. We started planning over last winter break, and it came alive today.”

The centerpiece of the event was the street food. Prepared at the fair was a variety of Bengali and Thai cuisine for any attendee to enjoy. Chowdhury gave some insight into the decisions that were made in choosing dishes for the big night.

“Fuchka and Jhalmuri are two of the most representative dishes,” Chowdhury said. “We host Pohela Boishakh every year and those are two dishes that we always try to provide because they’re some of the most popular Bengali dishes. These are dishes that are very commonly available in food trucks so people of all different classes and all different economic levels are able to eat it.”

Evan Delwar, cultural chair of TSO and a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering, gave some more details as to how this planning took shape.

“The main inspiration for the food was from our actual home countries,” Delwar said. “A lot of these are actual foods that you would find there. For example, BSA picked Fuchka, which is a really fast street food. Even if you go to the city, places like Jackson Heights — you’ll see them there all the time. For TSO, we picked things like chicken sautee, which is what we commonly do for fundraisers. It’s stuff where, if you go to the streets of Thailand, everyone’s eaten it.”

Delwar gave another perspective on the impact of multiculturalism in similar events.

“We just noticed that there’s sort of a divide between the multiple Asian communities on campus, and we thought it would be nice to get them to collaborate and build a connection,” Delwar said. “Particularly between Thai and Bengali culture, we noticed that there’s a lot of overlap in popular street food — how it’s a central part of our culture. People walk on the streets, and you’ll see markets everywhere and other stuff like that.”

Delwar summed up the event in its entirety.

“We really want to get our general bodies to interact, not just our E-Boards,” Delwar said. “It’s great to give them an outlet not only to enjoy the food but to enjoy the games and culture of their home countries.”

After an evening of street food and childhood games, guests left with their bellies full and smiles on their faces. It was a night of food and multicultural celebration for both organizations.

It’s no secret that there’s been a substantial influx in musical biopics in Hollywood. In the past decade, audiences haven’t been able to go a year without another beloved artist getting their run on the silver screen. It’s a lucrative strategy — producers target icons with massive, built-in audiences that will generate income no matter the quality of the project. Last year, it was Leonard Bernstein in “Maestro.” The year before that, “Elvis.” This year, Bob Marley makes his feature-film debut in Reinaldo Marcus Green’s “Bob Marley: One Love.”

All that isn’t to say that every musical biopic is some cash-grabbing cog in the corporate machine. In fact, plenty of these movies are unique and encapsulating in their own way. Unfortunately, it is possible for these films to leave an unoriginal and ultimately uninspired taste in the mouths of their audience. After sitting in a packed theater for its one hour and 47 minute runtime, it became clear that “Bob Marley: One Love” falls victim to this shortcoming.

The most disappointing aspect of the film is, surprisingly, the story. It’s hard to mess up what is arguably one of the most influential careers in music history, yet this script frames the timeline of Marley’s story in a way that simply doesn’t do it justice. The film opens and closes with two massive blocks of text acting as exposition for this specific era of Marley’s career. The issue is, this “exposition” is foundational information that should have totally been included in the film’s actual runtime.

How can you make a movie about Marley and skip over his rise to popularity in Jamaica? His tour in Africa? The man brought together two diametrically-opposed political leaders on the same stage — and it was just a footnote in Marcus Green’s depiction. It’s not like there wasn’t time to develop these plot lines either, as the biopic was short for the genre, logging well under two hours. Overall, the exclusion of these key events felt lackluster. It made the pacing of the movie feel stunted, and negatively impacted the way the characters developed throughout the duration.

This mundanity permeates throughout some of the most key moments in the script. The movie doesn’t take time to build and establish the significance of some of the most important characters in Marley’s story. By the end of the movie, there were three or four rushed plot lines that the audience was somehow supposed to piece together in order to understand whatever conclusion was thrown at them in the epilogue text-wall.

As luck would have it, this flaw seems to be the most glaring problem the movie faces. It’s a structural issue and certainly diminishes the depiction of a legendary legacy, but it’s not a difficult movie to find yourself enjoying at times. Like most musical biopics, the music was fantastic and the acting was pretty alright. Kingsley Ben-Adir does a fine job holding it down as the titular role, but it was really his on-screen wife played by Lashana Lynch that took the spotlight. Ben-Adir’s movements, especially in his moments on-stage and in concert, felt dry and fatigued. There was a brief snippet of a Marley concert at the end of the film which hilariously looked almost nothing like the performances the audience had just seen.

The energy, passion and intensity of Marley as he writhed around the stage was just nowhere to be seen in “One Love.” On the other hand, his vocal performance was extremely impressive. His movements did feel detached from what the audience was hearing, and this resulted in some pretty goofy lip-sync moments, but nothing too bad. Overall, he was a strong and charismatic leading man. As mentioned previously, however, it is Lynch’s Rita Marley who is the emotional cornerstone of this project. The two have good chemistry and form a lovable pair — although the relationship goes rather unexplored for the majority of the movie.

And when it comes down to it, that’s the story of “Bob Marley: One Love.” The strongest, most interesting parts of Marley’s narrative go unexplored. It felt incomplete. There was no real goal being accomplished, just a collage of notable events in Marley’s life in a given era. It was uninspired and lacked what made so many musical biopics innovative and original. Entertaining for a brief period, and disappointing for the rest, “Bob Marley: One Love” is a paradigmatic depiction of what oversaturation in Hollywood can be. Next time you need your fix of Marley and the Wailers, just throw on “Exodus” and let the king of reggae show you himself what kind of legacy he sought to leave.

Overall: 2.25/5

It seems as though Noah Kahan is taking over Northeastern America. The singer-songwriter double threat has been on an unbelievable run with the three album folk-pop series, “Stick Season,” and it doesn’t seem like he has any plans to take his foot off the gas. Following a year culminating in a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, Kahan released the last deluxe rerelease of the “Stick Season” album last Friday, Feb. 9.

As the latest and final entry in the trilogy, “Stick Season (Forever)” includes the ‘new’ content, such as one brand new track, six previously released singles made up of featured artists on some of his more popular songs and two brand new features on “You’re Gonna Go Far” and “Paul Revere.” While the previous rerelease, “Stick Season (We’ll All Be Here Forever)” had more in the way of fresh content, “Stick Season (Forever)” brings the entirety of the album full circle in a neat 30-song package, clocking in with a two-hour duration on the nose.

In order to truly dive into this deluxe edition, it’s important to focus on the new and exciting things that it brings to the table. The only truly new piece we were treated with, “Forever,” is a slow and sentimental track — a mood featured in many of Kahan’s releases. Unsurprisingly, the song’s poignant lyrics and emotional delivery are strong and evoke a reminiscent feeling similar to the feeling brought out by his hit track “Northern Attitude.” Kahan alluded to the comparison in a tweet, stating mysteriously “The forever to northern attitude pipeline,” months before the song actually released.

The only other brand new content featured on the album consists of a Brandi Carlile feature on “You’re Gonna Go Far,” and a Gregory Alan Isakov feature on “Paul Revere.” Neither feature alters their respective song radically, but both add a raw new take on some really solid tracks from Kahan’s repertoire. Carlile brings some much appreciated harmonies to the tune, and Isakov adds a gravelly depth to “Paul Revere” that is well reflective of the lyrical matter. Overall, they’re two solid additions to the mass of folk-pop anthems Kahan has assembled in the “Stick Season” run.

In addition to the three previously mentioned recordings, Kahan gave six previously released singles official album releases. These tracks feature a myriad of pop stars such as Post Malone, Lizzy McAlpine and Hozier to name a few. The issue is, most of these tracks have been out for months already. They’ve already been circulating the radio channels and streaming charts, and there isn’t much more to say about them besides the fact that they put an interesting spin on some already fantastic songs. That isn’t to say that the new recordings aren’t great, just that it’s not abundantly clear why this warranted another deluxe rerelease rather than a delayed release on the first deluxe album.

When taken in all at once, “Stick Season (Forever)” is a two-hour epic containing some of Kahan’s most popular tracks from the last year. When put under a magnifying glass, it isn’t exactly obvious whether or not the three new tracks actually warranted a rerelease, but the content is appreciated either way. That being said, it’s difficult to grade something with such high peaks as anything less than a solid record.

Rating: 3/5 stars

The 66th Annual Grammy awards airs from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles this Sunday, Feb. 4 at 8 P.M. To celebrate some of America’s favorite musical artists, here are five of the strongest and most competitive categories to look out for on Sunday night.

Album of the Year

“World Music Radio” – Jon Batiste

“the record” – boygenius

“Endless Summer Vacation” – Miley Cyrus

“Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” – Lana Del Rey

“The Age Of Pleasure” – Janelle Monáe

“GUTS” – Olivia Rodrigo

“Midnights” – Taylor Swift

“SOS” – SZA

Arguably one of the more interesting categories, the Album of the Year award garners anticipation this year through an extremely competitive field of nominees. Taylor Swift’s “Midnights” headlines the bunch, but there are plenty of worthy titles on this list. Lana Del Rey looks for her first Grammy win with “Did You Know That There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd,” and SZA has a chance at leading the show in awards after a landmark nine nominations for her work on “SOS.” Overall, this is a category that will receive plenty of attention following Sunday’s event.

Best New Artist

Gracie Abrams

Fred again..

Ice Spice

Jelly Roll

Coco Jones

Noah Kahan

Victoria Monét

The War And Treaty

This year the Best New Artist award seems to be shaping up with a strong field of candidates. With a smattering of diverse artists from a variety of different genres, some fan favorites include Noah Kahan, Jelly Roll, Victoria Monét, Ice Spice and Coco Jones. It’s going to be an exciting watch, and it will be hard to be disappointed in a winner when all nominees are as popular and acclaimed as they seem to be right now.

Record of the Year

“Worship” – Jon Batiste

“Not Strong Enough” – boygenius

“Flowers” – Miley Cyrus

“What Was I Made For?” [From The Motion Picture “Barbie”] – Billie Eilish

“On My Mama” – Victoria Monét

“Vampire” – Olivia Rodrigo

“Anti-Hero” – Taylor Swift

“Kill Bill” – SZA

To clear up potential confusion, the Record of the Year award is given each year to the best recording of a track, whereas the Song of the Year award is more so an award for the songwriters or headlining artists. This year, the nominees for Record of the Year are familiar with the most competitive categories in the Grammy circuit, and watching the award breakdown is going to be particularly interesting for some superfans come Sunday. Swift and SZA are battling it out as the two juggernauts going into the awards show, but there are plenty of other intriguing candidates on the list. Following a controversial Critics’ Choice awards snub, Billie Eilish seeks to even the odds with “I’m Just Ken” with an award of her own, and boygenius has made plenty of noise with their six nominations, hoping to notch an award for “Not Strong Enough” at Sunday’s ceremony.

Best Rap Album

“Her Loss” – Drake & 21 Savage

“MICHAEL” – Killer Mike

“HEROES & VILLAINS” – Metro Boomin

“King’s Disease III” – Nas

“UTOPIA” – Travis Scott

It seems like every year, there is one massive snub in this category that is so egregious it’s hard to even understand how it happened. This year is no different. Somehow, Gunna’s “A Gift & a Curse” didn’t make the top five despite massive sales and overwhelming success, but that doesn’t stop the category from creating a good amount of hype from mere name value. Travis Scott, Drake/21 Savage, Metro Boomin, Killer Mike and Nas are enough to generate curiosity, and it’s looking like quite the tossup as of now as to who the winner might be. While artists like Drake, 21 Savage, Metro Boomin and Scott find appeal with popular audiences, it’s going to be fascinating to see how a critical success like Killer Mike fares in the eyes of the Academy.

Best Progressive R&B Album

“Since I Have A Lover” – 6LACK

“The Love Album: Off The Grid” – Diddy

“Nova” – Terrace Martin And James Fauntleroy

“The Age Of Pleasure” – Janelle Monáe

“SOS” – SZA

This year is especially exciting for fans of progressive R&B with the success of stars like SZA and Janelle Monáe on popular charts. SZA is the name of the night, and if she’s able to pull it off, she could walk away from the Crypto.com arena with a legendary Grammy haul.

It’s gearing up to be an electrifying night for music fans next Sunday. Make sure to tune in on CBS at 8 p.m. to watch some of America’s biggest stars shine.

Lincoln. Chaney. Oppenheimer. Churchill. Bonaparte. What do all of these men have in common?

If the last decade of entertainment has proven one thing, it’s that American audiences are loving their historical dramas. Blockbusters like “Lincoln,” “Vice,” “Oppenheimer” and “The Darkest Hour” have brought in millions of dollars in revenue with their majestic portrayal of some of the Western world’s pillars of history. The latest film in the trend? Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon,” which was released this past Wednesday in theaters everywhere.

With a two hour 38 minute runtime, “Napoleon” invites its audience to witness the complete rise and fall of the infamous French warlord sprawling over the 15 years of his reign. The story starts in 1799 at the tail end of the French Revolution, and concludes at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Much of the focus of the film is placed on the troubled relationship between Napoleon (Joaquin Phoenix) and his lover Josephine (Vanessa Kirby), exploring Napoleon’s desperate longing to leave a legacy — and an heir — in his wake.

Alongside this plotline is the overarching story of Napoleon’s encroachment into Russia, highlighting his greatest strategic feats against Austrian and Prussian forces while illuminating his brutal and unfeeling tact. As the subject matter suggests, this is a film of epic proportion. To its credit, it never once feels overwhelming or hard to follow. Great visual storytelling allow the complexities of Napoleon’s story to melt into the background.

Unfortunately, not everything is great about this movie. While the film is a technical masterpiece, some of the artistic elements of the picture miss the mark by a wide margin.

The most glaring of these errors emerge from the component of the movie that bore the heaviest emotional weight — the relationship between Napoleon and Josephine. To put it briefly, almost every scene that features the Emperor and his Empress is confusing and unnecessarily ambiguous. The entire plotline feels incredibly half-hearted, as if Scott and his writers had something really interesting to say about the two but just decided to never say it. It’s “show-don’t-tell” taken to an extreme, which it should have never been taken to. By the end of the film, it is borderline impossible to tell how Josephine feels toward her estranged husband, and not in a good “leave it up to the viewer” way, but in a bad “I have no clue what this is supposed to mean” type of way.

This disaster could have been mitigated through the powerhouse cast that much of the onus of the script is rested on, but alas, that is not what happened. In fact, the most disappointing part of the entire display may actually be the leading man. While Kirby stands out in her part as Josephine, the same can not be said for Phoenix in his role as Napoleon Bonaparte.

Is it too much to ask for France’s greatest conqueror to, who knows, maybe have a French accent? Phoenix handles the psychological intricacies of the character with ease, but it feels lazy at times. It didn’t feel as if Phoenix was ever as emotionally connected with this script as he had been with others in the past, and it was reflected in drab dialogue and emotionless violence. With this kind of name headlining, it’s hard to think about anything but what could have been.

It isn’t all bad, though. As stated earlier, this movie is a technical marvel. There are some truly exhilarating battle scenes, reaching nearly a “Game of Thrones” scale. It can be extremely difficult to adhere any emotional value to massive clashes, especially in the briefer, motion picture format. In Scott fashion, the battles are epic and most certainly the most entertaining moments of the entire film. The action cinematography and color correction fits the period well, and the sound design left nothing to be desired. At the very least, the shallow content has a glitzy sheen to it.

But for the most part, that is all “Napoleon” has to offer. While not quite boring, there is nothing truly phenomenal about the film. The pacing is fine, the story is fine, the writing is mediocre and it looks pretty — so, it is exactly like most blockbusters from the past decade. Need a French fix? Just watch “Les Miserables” or something instead.

Overall: 2.5/5

Halloween may have been almost a month ago now, but that isn’t stopping the horror community from getting even more holiday classics during a very generous 2023 for thrill-seekers. This year, Hollywood must have been feeling especially giving, considering the next big slasher released just last week. No, it’s not your typical Halloween frenzy — this time, our killer turns his head toward a time to spend with the family. There are no chickens allowed at director Eli Roth’s Thanksgiving feast.

Roth’s “Thanksgiving” released last Friday, Nov. 17. Clocking in at one hour 46 minutes, this adrenaline-pumping slasher feels like no more than half an hour of nonstop fun. Almost a year after a Black Friday massacre in a local department store, the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts is gearing up for a Thanksgiving with the potential to bring the town back to normal. Soon enough, however, local high school student Jessica (Nell Verlaque) and her friends (Addison Rae, Jenna Warren, Tomaso Sanelli and Gabriel Davenport) begin to notice the disappearance of some of the bystanders at the Black Friday massacre that occurred a year ago. Fearful for their own safety, the group begins to untangle the elaborate web of mysteries behind the Black Friday massacre — before an axe-wielding maniac donning a John Carver mask mutilates them with classic Thanksgiving appliances.

“Thanksgiving” is everything neo-slashers could and should be. Original, at times hilarious, entertaining and wholly terrifying — there’s not much to be said about what this movie is lacking.

There may only be one entry in this franchise as of yet, but Carver has already earned his spot in the horror hall of fame. There are some absolutely brutal kills in this one, and that is not to be taken lightly. In a year that saw the release of “Evil Dead: Rise,” let it speak to the gore of the movie that it’s hard to tell which of this year’s movies had the more disgusting repertoire. Roth doesn’t pull punches in this one, and the suspense is absolutely killer because of it. There are plenty of moments where you could cut the tension in the air with a knife due to the added fear of Carver’s methods, and plenty of audience members may find themselves looking behind their fingers at some point throughout the runtime.

Besides an iconic villain and a fistful of terror, slashers rely on their story and the charisma of their main characters to determine their success. “Thanksgiving” knows its role in both of these regards.

The story is basic but impressively original and new. The simplicity of the slasher formula lends itself well to the thematic elements that “Thanksgiving” is trying to convey. The autumnal imagery and Plymouth neighborhood felt incredibly in-touch, and as a viewer, it is incredibly refreshing to see something so simple done so well. The movie doesn’t get in its own way or trip over its own feet at all. It gives the reins to Carver and lets him do most of the heavy lifting — which is exactly what it needs to do. It never feels like it is too much or too little, but rather, a perfectly balanced Thanksgiving bloodbath.

Speaking of not tripping over its own feet, it’s time to talk about the acting. So many modern slasher films crumble under the unbearable weight of terrible acting, but “Thanksgiving” isn’t like others. The cast is absurdly charismatic, recruiting Patrick Dempsey to play the classic town cop character, and featuring some great young actors and actresses in the leading roles. Rick Hoffman plays the skeptical father and excels in his comic relief role, and the rest of the cast screams slasher. Rae deserves props for busting out her acting chops and making herself into an unexpected highlight of the cast and Verlaque succeeds in becoming a very charming and likable final girl. The archetypes are fitting.

Other than that, there is little to be said about the movie’s shortcomings. Some may want to avoid the extreme nature of the film, but that’s standard when it comes to slashers. This Thanksgiving, audiences everywhere were given something to truly be thankful for. As Dempsey put it — “This Thanksgiving, there will be no leftovers.”

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

This past week marked the 33rd installment in Binghamton University’s annual CEMERS Bernardo Lecture Series. Held last Thursday in the Admissions Center, the event honors Professor Aldo Bernardo, distinguished service professor of Italian and comparative literature. The CEMERS Bernardo lectures are dedicated to Bernardo’s fields of interest, with a focus on medieval and Renaissance history. This year’s lecture was given by Tulane Professor of Art History Holly Flora, entitled “Beyond the Book of Hours: Female Lay Readers and the Wounds of Saint Francis.”

Upon arriving, attendees were immediately greeted by a catered meal complete with charcuterie, turkey meatballs and a small wine bar by the center desk. The first hour of the event acted as a short reception, encouraging the attendees to interact with one another and engage in academic conversation before the lecture began.

Deborah Howell, assistant dean of academic affairs at the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science, gave her thoughts on the draw of the Bernardo lecture series toward the campus community.

“I think an event like this can draw in people from a lot of different places on the campus that are interested in the topic that might not have anything to do with medieval and renaissance studies,” Howell said. “I work in engineering. I’m an engineer myself, but because of the topic of the lecture — that’s why I’m here. I think lectures like this are great.”

Ann O’Connor, a sophomore majoring in psychology, introduced her own idea as to why people may decide to attend.

“I think that it enhances the overall student experience because it introduces students to something they haven’t learned about before,” O’Connor said. “You get to learn about certain cultures, like in [the medieval] time period. I think it’s very informative and a good experience to hear from professionals.”

The topic of this lecture, particularly its focus on female lay readers in the medieval time period, seemed to have drawn in many of the attendees present.

Colin Hannifan, an undeclared freshman, discussed how lectures like this one are useful opportunities to connect with people who share similar interests.

“It’s a good place to meet people,” Hannifan said. “You can bond over the speakers you like to hear. I went to a lecture yesterday for one of my other courses, and it was just a super good bonding experience for all the students.”

Hannifan cited other reasons why he appreciates events like this one.

“It’s good for students who are struggling in specific classes,” Hannifan said. “It’s something to do and something to learn from.”

Howell explained why she felt an interest in this topic specifically.

“I’m interested in Saint Francis, and I am a reader at church,” Howell said. “When they said female lay readers I thought, I wonder what this has to do with Saint Francis.”

After the hour-long reception, attendees were treated to Flora’s research on an Italian manuscript, MS 411 at the Biblioteca Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele II in Rome. The manuscript depicted the relationship between a female reader and her genuflection toward Saint Francis, wherein Flora examines the emphasis of Saint Francis’ side wound as a ‘focal point’ for the female reader.

The consistent depiction of the woman in MS 411 as a woman of worship and of impressive proximity to the subject of her prayers, Francis, suggested some unexpected details about the potential history of the document. When analyzing the imagery through a feminist lens, it’s unusual and surprising to witness a female lay reader being depicted so physically close to Francis, asserting that the woman in the images may be of some religiously influential origin.

Flora raised some questions about MS 411 and its origins. She emphasized the interesting capability of the document in subverting certain expectations placed on manuscripts of its like. The absence of identifying heraldry, the appropriation of Christ’s wounds and the unprecedented access to Saint Francis all contributed to a curious mystery about MS 411. Did the woman’s importance prompt the creation of the manuscript? The answers to these questions may be lost to the tides of time.

Flora closed out the lecture with some of her favorite words from Saint Francis himself.

“A perfect life can be lived anywhere,” Flora said. “Poverty is everywhere, charity is everywhere.”

The Hinman Production Company (HPC) opened their production of the Shakespearean comedy “Much Ado About Nothing” this past Thursday, Nov. 2, in the Nelson A. Rockefeller Collegiate Center. Shows began at 8 p.m. with one 2 p.m. matinee on Saturday. It ran for approximately two hours and 40 minutes with an intermission in the middle of act 3.

Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” is a timeless romantic comedy, wrought with deceit and dramatic irony in classic Shakespearean fashion. Set in Messina, the play centers around a dual love story between soldier Count Claudio and the daughter of his host, Hero, and their friends Count Benedick and Hero’s cousin Beatrice. While Benedick and Beatrice despise each other and the idea of marriage at first, the careful plotting of Hero and the villainous Don John pairs the two together unexpectedly.

The set was kept relatively simple, with the major pieces consisting of large Greek columns adorned with roses and benches for the characters to sit on. The columns were wheeled around and repositioned throughout the show to reflect the changing settings, complementing the intricate nature of the Shakespearean plot.

Regarding the intricate plot and language used in Shakespearean shows, Luke Sullivan, director of the play and a junior double-majoring in history and English, worked explicitly with his cast and crew to overcome these practical challenges. It was clear while viewing the performances that the color of the lighting used was meant as a representation of the characters’ emotions — for example, in one soliloquy from Benedick, the stage goes green with envy and disgust.

Sullivan elaborated on the significance of properly telegraphing the emotions portrayed in the script.

“The most difficult thing about Shakespeare will always be the language,” Sullivan said. “It can scare away audiences, and even actors. I did comprehensive translation and interpretation with the actors so they were able to put their own spins on lines, and make everything their own. I aimed to keep the language unchanged, and focus on understandable inflection instead, so that even if the audience didn’t 100 percent understand, they’d get the gist.”

In attempts to preserve the integrity of the period in the face of these artistic decisions, Sullivan discussed his vision for the costume design in the production.

“I really just wanted the production to feel like period-piece Shakespeare,” Sullivan said. “While that might seem mundane, a lot of productions decide to go with modern dress or recontextualization of the setting. I just wanted plain old Shakespeare, as I have not really had the opportunity to see it myself. I think costume and set design help with that particularly.”

Karis Mueller, an actress in the play and a sophomore double-majoring in philosophy, politics and law and English, shed some light on the process she took in order to transmit the emotions of her character, Benedick, to the audience.

“I was most interested in bringing to life Benedick’s contradictions,” Mueller said. “[Benedick] constantly communicates that he is set in his ways and that he won’t change his mind, but Beatrice manages to undo all of that.”

Mueller went on to describe one of the biggest boons to the cast’s success over the course of the rehearsal process.

“One of the most important things about the show is that I felt comfortable with the people I was working with so I was able to bounce off of them,” Mueller said. “This involved a lot of cast bonding and constant experimentation to figure out what worked right for the scenes. Genuinely enjoying the company of this incredible cast and crew absolutely enhanced our chemistry on stage.”

Mueller’s scene partner, Elaina Pecora, the actress playing Beatrice and a freshman majoring in English, echoed this sentiment in her own words.

“The experience with my fellow cast members had a very large impact on my performance, and in the best way,” Pecora said. “The cast all spent a lot of the rehearsal process collaborating together in order to make the show as great as it could be, and along the way all wound up becoming super close and adding inside jokes that shined through in the performance. I can happily say that this show has given me some of my closest friends I’m lucky to have worked with.”

Pecora also emphasized the group’s dedication to overcoming the challenges provided by the antique language used in Shakespearean script.

“[We hope] that people can understand that Shakespeare isn’t something that has to be old and confusing,” Pecora said. “It’s something anyone can enjoy still to this day.”

And enjoy it they did. Despite the difficulties with understanding such complicated language, the HPC did a wonderful job in overtly portraying each and every emotion experienced by the characters in the play. It was met with a night full of laughter and applause from the audience. Most importantly, the HPC players succeeded in transporting the audience back to a time of chivalry, jealousy and love.

October may be over, but for those of us who aren’t done with the frights, there are still plenty of screams to be had. While the Halloween season is primed to satisfy all thrill-seeking urges, some people just can’t get enough of the high adrenaline movies that are so conducive to the spooky season.

Compiled below is a breakdown of some of the best horror movies and series on streaming services right now. Whether you’re a seasoned fan or new to the genre, this list provides some of the more popular modern horror hits of the past decade alongside some deeper cuts for the few who dare to watch …

Netflix:

“The Fall of the House of Usher”

A gothic horror miniseries based off of a collection of modernized Edgar Allen Poe stories — what’s there not to love? It’s a horror mystery centered around the illustrious Usher family, a house that sits atop the fictional big pharma empire of Fortunato. The Usher fortune runs out as one by one, the heirs to the Usher throne begin to die in gruesome ways. It’s a race against death itself to get to the bottom of this mystery — one that is creative and ingenuitive in a way that would make even Poe proud.

“Creep”

In this found-footage cult classic, a videographer is hired by an off-putting, terminally ill man who requested he film a video diary of his final weeks for his unborn child. As the man’s actions become more unhinged, the videographer protagonist begins to question the truth behind the man’s story. In a flurry of some of the most deeply unsettling moments ever filmed, “Creep” will leave you absolutely speechless by the end of its bite-sized runtime.

Max:

“Evil Dead Rise”

There is no preface to put here that will prepare you for the absolute gore-fest that is this title. It’s the perfect homage to the old franchise in the sense that it is so gut-wrenchingly brutal yet charmingly campy. It’s the classic Necronomicon possession story, but the narrative is more of just a vehicle for some of the most jaw-dropping violence this franchise has ever produced. This one is not for the faint of heart.

“Hereditary”

There isn’t much to say about “Hereditary” that hasn’t been said already. Hailed for multiple years as one of the “top-10 scariest movies according to science,” “Hereditary” provides a type of dreadful psychological horror that has not been replicated since its release. Centered around a family who inherited an ancestral curse after the passing of a relative, director Ari Aster delivers in this modern horror masterpiece.

Paramount+:

“X”

The first film in director Ti West’s “Pearl” Universe, “X” does a fantastic job as a standalone movie and in setting up the prequel “Pearl.” Mia Goth is the spitting image of a perfect “final girl” in this slasher, in which a group of aspiring adult film stars attempt to shoot a movie in the guest house of a deranged elderly couple. It’s the pinnacle of what slasher films can do in the genre, and there is honestly a pretty interesting message behind the multifaceted protagonist for the more critical viewers.

“World War Z”

Upon the release of “World War Z,” it was a blockbuster success that reinvigorated the zombie genre’s position in the cultural sphere with Brad Pitt as the face of it. Since then, it seems as if the popularity of the film has tapered off along with the zombie craze. Let this serve as a reminder that “World War Z” is an awesome depiction of the wildly entertaining chaos that comes with any zombie picture — and it’s bigger and better than ever in this action-horror meld.

Amazon Prime Video:

“Smile”

Arguably the most popular horror movie from last year, there is a good reason why “Smile” is touted as much as it is. Despite a controversially cringey advertising campaign, the movie is surprisingly psychological and not reliant on traditional jump-scares as the trailers made it seem. At the heart of this picture is a super creative story with a well-acted protagonist who slowly devolves into mania. A must-watch for horror lovers everywhere.

“Hell House LLC”

The final entry on the list is another found-footage film, this time in a documentary format relating the events of a mass murder in a commercial haunted house. As a group of friends decide to make some extra cash by advertising a haunt in an abandoned hotel, the grim history of the building reveals itself through a series of bone-chilling moments that culminate in the mental infiltration of its inhabitants. It’s classic indie horror, making a huge profit on almost no budget at all. A good recommendation for those who enjoy the mockumentary format.

Evil takes many forms. A manifestation of the darkest vices of humanity, it burrows deeply into society and siphons the vitality from its victims rapidly, like an oil drill digging deeper into healthy soil. But what happens when evil goes unchecked? What happens when the most deranged urges of man are rewarded with the bounties of a wounded community?

These are the questions that Martin Scorsese set out to answer in his latest film, “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Clocking in at 3 hours and 26 minutes, the movie covers a story of epic proportions that ranks as one of Scorsese’s longest to date. Based on David Grann’s book of the same name, “Killers of the Flower Moon” documents a foundational case of mass murder in 1920s Oklahoma and the concurrent establishment of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

When Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) returns home from World War I, he is greeted by his cattle-farming uncle, William Hale (Robert De Niro), who settled on a Native American reservation in Osage County after oil was found on the land. Due to this, the Osage people became the wealthiest people per capita in the United States, a fact that made the Osage people vulnerable to criminals eager to get their hands on some of this ‘liquid gold.’ The story closely follows Burkhart’s relationship with one Osage woman, Mollie (Lily Gladstone), who he befriends and marries at the behest of his uncle Bill Smith. As the mystery unravels, the true nature of William’s intentions becomes clearer to Ernest, whose heart is torn between his beloved and the loyalty he feels toward his powerful uncle.

It would be impossible to continue without emphasizing the thematic excellence Scorsese is able to achieve throughout his work. In masterful coordination with DiCaprio’s understanding of a truly complex character, Scorsese is able to create a real human being on-screen in Ernest. The expression and pain on DiCaprio’s face as he manipulates and twists his own morals to achieve his material goals is, in a word, priceless. The audience witnesses the true downfall of a man whose soul is infiltrated by capitalistic perversion. It is a tragedy to watch a man who once loved so strongly become nothing more than a vessel for corporate greed and monetary ambition. All of this works to bolster the central idea that the movie demonstrates — evil can be anywhere, and it is not black and white.

The concept that evil is flexible and multifaceted permeates every aspect of the film’s construction. Some shots depict hellish imagery, the light dimly flickering on the actor’s faces. The methods these criminals use to achieve their goals are sickening, and the dialogue reflects their lack of sympathy for the suffering at their hands. In a coagulation of casual racism and genuine feelings of entitlement, Scorsese makes it clear that the perpetrators of the brutality are convinced that they are morally justified. Even the runtime itself provides a grueling glimpse into how this cold, calculated evil takes hold. It takes time to set in, like a virus beginning to incubate. “Killers of the Flower Moon” is an all-too-real representation of how humanity has succumbed to its own visceral addiction, and warns the audience of just how far some people are willing to go.

The film succeeds so strongly in achieving its intended theme by burdening the star-studded ensemble cast with a majority of the emotional heavy lifting. Gladstone is nothing short of perfect in her role as Mollie. She is a strong and stern leading lady whose character serves as a metaphor for the Osage community as a whole. As her livelihood shatters in front of her, she toils and ails in one of the most raw and real performances to grace the silver screen. Mirroring this, the once formidable world of Osage society crumbles under the heel of corruption and avarice. DiCaprio, charming as always, provides a relatable window into how even the best of us can quickly be consumed by the worst. The thematic accomplishment of the movie is predicated on the duality of DiCaprio’s performance. How can a good man do such terrible things? How can a man who loves his wife perpetuate such deep-seated hatred?

The answer is muddy, difficult to wrestle with and tragic. Greed is in all of us. Scorsese’s pessimistic interpretation of the human condition is on full display in this entry, and it is tremendous.

Speaking of tremendous, it’s finally time to address that massive runtime. “Killers of the Flower Moon” is Scorsese’s sixth longest movie to date, and it’s certainly something that did not sit well with some of the audience members in the theater. A couple of restless viewers walked out around the two-hour mark, despite the wildly entertaining story unfolding in front of them. It is understandable, however. The film takes a gradual pace at times, with drawn out dramatic beats in between major story developments. It isn’t for everyone, and in an era where attention spans are plummeting, it might be more suitable to wait for a home release if you tend to get bored.

Regardless of pacing, “Killers of the Flower Moon” triumphs at every angle it intends to. A visual masterpiece, a brilliant screenplay and legendary performances meet at the precipice of modern cinema. His message is a poignant one, such that by embracing greed, humanity becomes the oil rig. It digs deeper, and deeper and deeper, until there is absolutely nothing left.

Rating: 4.5/5

It was a gloomy and rainy day on Oct. 14 — the perfect setting for some spine-chilling tales to fire the Binghamton University community up with some Halloween spirit. At 1:30 p.m., alumni and students alike gathered together in the Chenango Champlain Collegiate Center Multipurpose Room to listen in closely as Libby Tucker, distinguished service professor of English, divulged some of Binghamton’s most well-kept secrets with the Homecoming crowd.

During her talk, Tucker provided a mantra for the creepy stories to come.

“School spirit is reflected by school spirits,” Tucker said.

Tucker’s TIER talk, titled Campus Ghost Stories and Other Folklore: A Conversation with Libby Tucker, was just one alumni-focused event in a series of activities centered around last week’s Homecoming weekend. The Binghamton TIER talks are a speaker series focused on alumni and faculty in order to give viewers insight into the thought-provoking topics on the minds of people today.

Matthew Winston Jr., one of the coordinators of Homecoming weekend and executive director of alumni engagement, spoke about the TIER talk and explained the role of events like this in the context of an alumni-centric weekend.

“This discussion really just gave us an opportunity to connect the intellectual resources of our faculty with students and alumni who took classes here,” Winston said. “This whole weekend around Homecoming, and highlighting and showcasing this faculty member, is just a great way to continue to engage and make those connections between alumni and the experiences they had as students.”

Winston later discussed the topicality of this conversation, which was timed so perfectly in the center of the Halloween season.

“Halloween season for me has always been about the folklore,” Winston said. “Everything that’s been traditionally associated with Halloween. The horror stories, ghost stories and that kind of thing.”

From Charlene the laundry lady in Hughes Hall, to the tall, shadowy figures that wander the nature preserve late at night, this talk was filled with ghouls and frights for everyone to indulge.

Janine Bryant, BU ’84 and Denise Reinalter, BU ’83, spoke on their experiences listening along to the spooky campus legends.

“The first thing [Tucker] talked about was the silver mines in the Susquehanna River,” Bryant said. “The thing with the guardians haunting it, that’s a story I actually heard when I was here, so that clicked something — you could see them late at night, coming home from Downtown [Binghamton].”

Reinalter agreed and included some of her own perspective on the subject.

“I just think it’s very interesting,” Reinalter said. “I’ve never been to an event like this. It’s [scary] on college campuses, especially in basements when it’s late at night — it gives you a different perspective on [Binghamton].”

Both agreed upon the undeniable importance of engaging with legends like the ones discussed by Tucker over the course of the afternoon.

“It gives you a good feel for the actual culture of the community,” Bryant said. “The stories that people like to tell reflect how they like to live and how the culture is.”

In an email interview, Tucker went into detail about the significance of folklore to a community and how these kinds of stories can build real character into a locale.

“Community folklore helps us become part of a group and interact with others in a meaningful way,” Tucker wrote. “For example, when first-year students arrive at college in the late summer or fall, their RAs or other older students may tell them stories about exciting, eerie things that have happened in the past. On our campus, such stories have described the Lake Lieberman monster grabbing first-year students at Newing [College] and the child ghost Lilly playing tricks on students in the halls and staircases of Cleveland Hall at Hinman [College].”

One fun fact Tucker shared is that the creator of “The Twilight Zone,” Rod Serling, grew up in Binghamton and drew inspiration for some of the thematic elements from his experience in New York state’s Southern Tier. She discussed why Broome County and the Greater Binghamton Area is such a hot spot for scary stories.

“When I arrived here in 1977, I heard that the Southern Tier is a place of power because the convergence of the Susquehanna and Chenango rivers creates good energy,” Tucker wrote. “Being in a river valley, we get fog, rain and dark skies, all of which are conducive to ghost story telling.”

Tucker included some details as to how she is preparing for this year’s spooky season.

“This year I’m going to wear a costume that I purchased at our local Halloween Spirit shop,” Tucker wrote. “The ‘Trick r Treat’ shirt is related to the classic ‘Trick r Treat’ movie, which came out in 2007. I have been interviewed this fall by several producers of podcasts who want to learn about the supernatural. Starting at 5 p.m. on the evening of Halloween, I have candy ready at home for trick-or-treaters.”

The TIER talk was an engaging way to learn a little bit more about the Binghamton community. When wandering campus late at night, ghostly figures may wander the grounds, one might just run into Sam the Snacker, Charlene the pink laundry lady or the Lake Lieberman monster. In Binghamton, it’s hard to tell when those crunching leaves are really a creature just waiting to creep up …

Hinman Production Company (HPC) is putting on their fall production of “Binghamton Night Live” this Thursday, Oct. 12 through Sunday, Oct. 15 at 8 p.m. in the Hinman Commons.

“Binghamton Night Live” is a sketch comedy show written and acted by members of the HPC. This iteration of the show is the 15th installment in a long standing tradition of “Binghamton Night Live.” This production, subtitled “15 Minutes of Fame,” features 14 gut-busting sketches. From “weekend update” to plenty of Binghamton University inside jokes, the script has something for SNL lovers and BU students alike — a night full of laughter and comedy. The show takes place over the course of two acts, seven sketches each, separated by a brief intermission.

Jessica Knaster, a sophomore majoring in psychology, is an actress in the play. She described her time with the cast and crew as an exciting and amazing experience.

“My favorite part is the people,” Knaster said. “Although it’s a short period of time, you spend a lot of time concentrating on these people, and it’s really amazing being able to put together a show together with them, and create a lot of fun memories with them.”

The “short period of time” Knaster refers to was just over a month of rehearsal dates. In that month, the HPC team staged and memorized all 14 acts, after having written them the week prior.

“It’s a really quick turnaround,” Knaster said. “We don’t have a lot of time to prepare. So the time to memorize lines and blocking is very condensed.”

Despite this quick turnaround, the HPC is ready to hit their audience with a barrel of laughs on opening night. Knaster emphasized how important it is to the group that people are able to enjoy themselves for the night.

“I know there’s a lot of midterms and tests right now,” Knaster said. “We just want to allow our audience for a few hours to relax and immerse themselves, and be able to laugh and not stress about their daily challenges.”

Becca Ploski, stage manager of HPC and a freshman majoring in history, agrees with Knaster’s sentiment.

“Everyone in the cast and crew has worked really hard on this show,” Ploski said. “We just want everyone to have a really good laugh.”

It is Ploski’s first time getting to stage manage a production like this, and she shed some light on what that was like for her.

“I’m just proud of how I’ve evolved over the show and learning what to do as a stage manager for a show like this,” Ploski said. “Everyone has been really kind and really welcoming and given so much advice.”

The sense of community and friendship between the actors seeps into their work. As an audience member, it is easy to see that everyone on stage loves to bounce off of one another and understands each other’s comedic strengths well.

Katherine Quinn, a first-year graduate student studying English, agrees. Quinn wrote and acted in the show, and spoke highly of her time working on it.

“The best part has been playing off the other actors,” Quinn said. “Some of the funniest people I know are in this show, and getting to play off of them is always a very fun time.”

The staff of HPC feeds off each other’s energy, making for an amusing time on set. The artistic endeavors of HPC work to illuminate the importance of this type of student theatre. HPC provides students with a creative outlet, and it was clear they poured all they could into it. The acts brim with ingenuity, hilarity and absurd costume design. The passion every actor felt for making the audience laugh is evident — and the group enjoys every second.

Derrick Weisburd, a senior majoring in industrial and systems engineering, explained what this kind of production can offer students.

“My favorite part of the rehearsal process was seeing the sketch I wrote get staged,” Weisburd said. “It was so cool because it’s also something that’s never happened to me before. Just seeing something I put so much work into behind the scenes, seeing it on a stage exactly how I pictured it was a really cool experience.”

Weisburd echoed the importance of student theater on the University’s campus.

“Support student theater because it’s so crucial to this campus,” Weisburd said. “We all love doing this so much. Whether it’s an HPC production or something else you see around campus on a flyer, take interest in it and go support other students who are putting so much work into the creative process.”

Quinn made a case for coming to the show this Thursday, Friday or Saturday.

“I want the audience to be able to forget about their troubles,” Quinn said. “Come to ‘BNL’ and giggle for a while, because you can’t lead a horse to water but you can bring them to ‘BNL.’”

“Binghamton Night Live: 15 Minutes of Fame” will be performed from Oct. 12 to 15 in the Hinman Commons at 8 p.m. Tickets are $1, cash only.

When William Friedkin created his terrifying masterpiece, “The Exorcist,” audiences all across America praised the film for its innovative body horror and convincing performances. Hundreds of thousands of thrill-seeking viewers cowered in fear as Regan MacNeil contorted and rotted away on the silver screen.

This is the reputation David Gordon Green set out to uphold in his reboot, “The Exorcist: Believer.” This time around, Gordon Green changed a few things up for a fresher audience.

It’s the classic possession story, this time with a twist. Instead of the classic one-girl show, there’s double the possession to go around. Lovable father Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom Jr.) is separated from his daughter, Angela (Lidya Jewett), after her and a friend, Katherine (Olivia O’Neill), decide to adventure into the woods and conduct a seance. The girls disappear for three days before they turn up again, both seeming sickly and acting odd upon their return. In classic “Exorcist” fashion, the girls continue to wreak havoc in gruesome and violent ways for the rest of the one hour 51 minute duration.

The formula is tried and tested — and still serviceable. The issue arises when the audience is sitting in the theater for 40 minutes without one true scare. It takes double the time to set up scenes that should have happened in the first 15 minutes. The actual exorcism sequence? You’re going to have to wait an hour and 20 minutes to get to that one.

Herein lies the crux of the film’s problems. The dialogue is serviceable, the story is palatable and the acting is surprisingly strong, but the pacing of the movie is brutal. When the only thing the writing team changes is “let’s make more possessions,” all other aspects of the movie suffer from being extremely underdeveloped and half-baked.

Before getting to witness the real horror part of this horror movie, the audience is dragged through a complete hour of lame jumpscares and utterly boring family drama. The film falls completely flat when paired with its predecessor’s creativity and ingenuity. There is nothing akin to Regan’s heart-wrenching spider walk, there is no iconic “the power of Christ compels you!” — the only thing the power of Christ will compel you to do is fall asleep during this snooze fest.

Before discussing what this movie actually does right, the scare factor must be addressed. There is gore — though gratuitous — in some moments, and when it’s there, it’s actually done pretty well. Shocking, violent acts are accompanied by real moments of terror that are used sparingly throughout the runtime. Exactly how it should be — if it weren’t for the fact that beyond the aforementioned gore, the movie is just not that scary.

There are multiple jump-cuts where the audience is quickly shown a scary-looking face for a second before snapping back to reality. It’s a weird, lazy, bleh of a fright. Other times, the climax of a scene is just a frail jumpscare with no foundation. It isn’t creepy, and it doesn’t actually make any real attempt at developing any human emotion from the audience besides triggering a fight or flight response for a fifth of a second. It’s one hour 51 minutes of the scary maze game.

The performances given by Odom Jr. and Jewett are the highlights of the movie. Victor is truly a lovable protagonist, carried by Odom Jr.’s charisma and chemistry with Jewett. Despite the movie’s shortcomings, it’s easy to root for the pair come the end of the duration. The ensemble cast all does a great job in making it feel real. Katherine’s mother and father, played by Jennifer Nettles and Norbert Leo Butz, play the roles of super frustrating secondary antagonists with great success. Ellen Burstyn reprises her role as Chris MacNeil, which is pretty cool for the five minutes of screen time she is allotted. Overall, if there’s one thing this film really excels in, it’s the acting and dialogue, especially for modern horror standards.

Unfortunately, the acting wasn’t enough to save this movie from the fiery depths of reboot purgatory that it should be expelled to. Why two possessions? Why stuff the movie with an unnecessary B-plot at the expense of real horror? It doesn’t make sense. The two possessions don’t end up adding anything substantive to the elements of the movie that could’ve really shined.

Gordon Green’s spin on the Exorcist universe is dull in so many different ways. The scariest thing about this horror movie is the outlook on the franchise’s next decade.

Rating: 2/5

It was a breezy afternoon on Sept. 26, a fitting atmosphere for the Binghamton Student Association Programming Board’s (SAPB) annual Fall Fest. As students gathered around the cowboy-themed attractions on the Binghamton University Peace Quad, the sun sank into the horizon, leaving only the chill of the late September night.

It was certainly a suitable way to usher in fall. Binghamton SAPB’s Fall Fest ran from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. this past Tuesday. They decorated the lawn with vendors, a square-dancing stage, fall themed free prizes and an electric bull that attracted quite the crowd.

Matthew Qu, an undeclared freshman, spoke about some of the attractions that were provided by SAPB, including a prize booth with free pumpkins.

“This [pumpkin] is probably the best thing I’ve gotten all week,” Qu said. “I’m super excited and I feel like it’s gonna add a lot of good vibes to my dorm room, and it should keep me motivated for the rest of the week.”

Many people seemed to share Qu’s sentiment about the unique festivities on the Peace Quad that afternoon. Friends and strangers socialized together in massive clumps, happily waiting for their pumpkins and donuts with broad smiles.

The Wild West Fall Fest was an opportunity for students to come together and celebrate what they loved about fall. Some vendors sold vintage clothing, including some intricate sweaters and warm jackets to prepare for Binghamton’s upcoming months. Others came to campus for a chance to interact with the bustling hub of eager students, ready to offer treats and goods as they take on the more frustrating responsibilities of college life.

Matthew Ferrar, a senior majoring in physics, represented the real estate group in charge of Chenango Place, an off-campus housing facility that works closely with the BU student population.

Ferrar explained the benefits of events like this for his business and the student population alike.

“We like meeting new people and showing people the type of environment that they can live in if they move to Chenango,” Ferrar said.

Briana Santana, an undeclared freshman, and Jamie Tripoli, a second-year undergraduate student majoring in pharmaceutical sciences, also expressed their gratitude for the opportunity to engage with their classmates and community.

“I think that it just lifts spirits in general,” Santana said. “I think that it’s really fun, and it’s a way to make new friends.”

Tripoli also expressed her enjoyment with the event, in response to watching some of her friends ride the mechanical bull.

“It brings everybody together,” Tripoli said.“It’s a good and fun time.”

After the first hour of activities, there was a series of rotating musical acts on the stage. Artists including Red 100s, Edge and Babi Lou, From The Bronx, Dreamboy DZY and Dream! all made appearances. Students danced along with the music until 9 p.m. when the event wrapped up.

Students moseyed into the dusk with their cowboy hats on and their bellies full of donuts. Thanks to the SAPB, this Wild West Fall Fest succeeded at bringing the community together for an evening of fall festivities once again.

In July of 2022, small-town New Hampshire songwriter Noah Kahan burst onto the charts with his hit single “Stick Season” — a depressingly catchy tune about a man’s struggle to let go of a relationship with someone he left in the past. The song simultaneously captured the pain of leaving home and the memories that resurface in our darkest moments, striking a chord with Gen Zers as an anthem of arrival into adulthood. Upon release of the full album, “Stick Season,” the LP was hailed for Kahan’s innovative songwriting and relatable lyricism that seemed to harness all the excitement and melancholic nostalgia that comes with growing up in small-town America.

Somehow, in his deluxe record, Kahan manages to add to the ingenuity of the original tracks with a symphony of folk music as catchy as it is captivating.

In a flurry of incredibly touching lyrics and rousing melodies, Kahan wraps all the loneliness of life in the sticks into a poignant 28-minute package that remains a cohesive project and an inventive experience for the duration of its runtime. Kahan brilliantly blends lighter instrumentals and heavy explosions of harmony to make each song feel new and exciting — a task that he handles with ease due partly to the uniqueness of his perfectly twangy falsetto. While the original album stands as a masterclass of songwriting in its own right, the six additions serve as a welcome gift to his fans, further cementing the singer-songwriter as a force in the current cultural sphere.

It’s Kahan’s juxtaposition of slow, laborious melodies with his frightening bursts of emotion that take the listener’s attention immediately — and nowhere is that more apparent than in the production of the first track on this deluxe edition, “Your Needs, My Needs.” After opening with some extremely sensitive lines and softer guitar instrumentals, the song erupts one minute and 40 seconds later into a frustrated and self-loathing march about a man who watched what he loved shatter in front of him. It is intense and deeply cathartic, and a testament to Kahan’s versatility in the genre.

While each song stands on its own two legs as an impressive and addicting ode to the gray memory of Kahan’s formative years, it is his ability to ride the momentum of one track into another that makes this deluxe edition a truly coherent and compelling avenue of storytelling.

Kahan runs freely with this approach in his second track and a clear standout from the new batch of songs, “Dial Drunk.” The three-minute 33-second rocker rivals Kahan’s original hit single “Stick Season” when it comes to pure songwriting prowess. The song depicts another male character, this time a broken-down drunkard who can’t help but get himself into trouble at every turn. Each time, the man looks for the same figure from his past to save him from himself — each time, disappointing himself with the realization that this figure will never come. Kahan highlights the man’s dependency on someone he “no longer knows” and leaves himself completely emotionally exposed to his audience in doing so. The track’s overwhelming viral success should be all the evidence needed to understand the weight behind the artist’s words in this deeply human excursion.

Amazingly, Kahan is able to capture the same gloomy spirit that inhabits his opening two numbers four more times on “We’ll All Be Here Forever.” It cannot be overstated how effortlessly his haunting falsetto melds with the lyrics of his more lonely tunes, as it does in “Paul Revere” and “Call Your Mom.” In the latter songs “No Complaints” and “You’re Gonna Go Far,” Kahan recreates the loneliness of losing his youth with profoundly frustrated lyrics and percussion, driving home this six-song delight with another bittersweet tug on the heartstrings.

The lone flaw in these six tracks is that there isn’t more. Maybe a little more variety in the subject matter while remaining in the same thematic vein would have been appreciated, but otherwise, this deluxe edition was exactly what it should have been.

Short, sweet and undeniably depressing, Kahan flexes his viability as both a pop star and a folk idol in “We’ll All Be Here Forever,” leaving his audience hungry for more.

Rating: 4/5

The Broome County Regional Farmers Market occupies two large rooms in a large, well lit-building that was intended to resemble the structure of a barn. This antique take on the venue complimented the physical medium of the vinyl record well. This, in combination with overhead light fixtures that hung cozily from the ceiling and the vintage analog sound, created an atmosphere that was conducive to the collectors’ experience.

It was a fun place to be, regardless of your involvement in the vinyl community. The fair ran with free entry from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., but some more ambitious collectors had the opportunity to pay a $5 early entry fee to arrive at 8:00 a.m. instead.

Long gray tables lined the walls, with little to no empty space on any of them. The underbelly of the tables had LED light strips, illuminating the several dozens of boxes of “dollar records” that sat on the floor. In the center of the two connected rectangular rooms was another setup of gray tables.

In one room, the vendors stood in the center of a smaller rectangle created by the tables, whereas in the other, one long line of tables was browsed by the customers — of which there were plenty. One collector, Tom Scalzo, 45, described the turnout as a welcome surprise, as many of the attendees seemed to appreciate how the fair brought together a disconnected community of music enthusiasts.

“I can’t believe how many people are in here,” Scalzo said. “We couldn’t even find a place to park. You get into conversations with people about random stuff. It’s kind of a lot more fun than just sitting by yourself at home.”

The vendors also seemed particularly grateful to see such a lively, excited and young crowd engaging in the classic pastime. Jess Bennett, 32 — a vendor at the fair — was appreciative of the chance to see the community get together in a way that isn’t always possible for fans of the medium. Bennett is the owner of the online record store “Sweet Baby Angel Music,” where they express their passion for music through the purchase and sale of records and CDs.

Bennett elaborated on their enthusiasm for music collecting.

“It can be kind of an isolating hobby, so it’s really nice to get together like this, to see the community and what people are listening to, what makes it alive,” Bennett said. “I think it’s a really good way to connect. It’s kind of a commitment to the artist that you like.”

Scalzo expanded on this idea during his time at the fair.

“The experience is a little more interesting than streaming random songs,” Scalzo said. “Committing yourself to an hour or so of music that you’re gonna listen to end-to-end, I like to do that.”

Beyond committing to an artist, Bennett said there is also something inherently personal about record collecting, especially in including vinyl as a medium. There is a wonder in the individuality of each and every record that the collector lays their hands on, Bennett said.

“The vinyl record is really special because it’s a recording, it’s imperfect,” Bennett said. “It’s never gonna sound as good as a digital copy, but it’s yours.”

This uniqueness was everywhere to be seen in the Broome County Regional Farmers Market on Sunday. In one vendor’s bin sat a vintage soundtrack to Martin Scorsese’s “Goodfellas,” a CD that acted as a conversation-starter for many passerby during the height of the fair’s crowd.

It was clear that these hobbyists shared a special connection with the pastime, and the event ultimately gave an insightful glimpse into the diverse world of music collecting.

“It’s really special to connect with people and talk to people about the music they like,” Bennett said.

It seems like this physical medium is here to stay.

Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin this time, sisters Samantha (Melissa Barrera) and Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) attend a New York City college after the violent events of the previous film. The two are joined by familiar faces, including Chad (Mason Gooding) and Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown), but the film also does its job of providing a heaping helping of fresh blood. Roommates Anika (Devyn Nekoda), Ethan (Jack Champion) and Quinn (Liana Liberato) are only some of the new characters introduced in the big-city setting.

Most viewers know what they are getting themselves into when they sit down for a “Scream” movie. There’s gonna be meta-commentary, campy humor and a whole lot of blood and guts. “Scream VI” is no different. Writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick oversaturate the script with references to overused horror tropes through their Randy Meeks stand-in, and this time comic-relief Mindy takes the helm. The script is mind-numbingly self-referential and could have used a lot more subtlety in that area. It is missing the cleverness of Wes Craven’s original dialogue and definitely bogs itself down with forced humor and meta-commentary. Just because you write a joke about continuing the “Scream” franchise as a means to boost the IP doesn’t make it any more forgivable. There were multiple instances of Mindy both calling out the franchise for having Courtney Cox reprise her role as Ghostface-guru Gale Weathers and overtly foreshadowing the events of the film with her “even legacy characters aren’t safe” wisecracks. The “Scream” meta-commentary has been done so many times, even by similar films like 2011’s “Cabin in the Woods,” that it feels a little tired by this point in the cultural sphere.

While on the topic of the script, it would be worthwhile to pick apart what was probably the weakest part of the entire project — the writing. Leading ladies Ortega and Barrera do a fine job of handling the awkward dialogue but honestly, it does nothing to save the film from a slew of cringe-inducing moments. The students don’t speak remotely like students, much less like a group of people who have just had the most traumatizing experiences of their lives. It is legitimately difficult to care about any of these people beyond a very basic surface level because of the complete shallowness of all their characters. Vanderbilt and Busick hint toward a conversation on mental trauma in a therapy scene at the beginning of the movie, but do absolutely nothing with it by the time the credits roll. The plot is nothing special and by the end of the movie, it completely ran out of steam.

It isn’t all bad, though. It is a “Scream” movie, of course — we aren’t here for profound themes or social commentary, just some laughs and a good kill or two. And man, it delivered on those fronts.

The action sequences were an absolute delight. They were choreographed beautifully, and despite some shaky camerawork, were filled with ripe beats of suspense and combat that were really thrilling to watch. A frat party fight scene early in the story comes to mind, in which Denzel Curry’s “Walkin” plays triumphantly in the background as the group dukes it out with a creepy frat brother. Ghostface had some of his best moments in years, one of them occurring in a supermarket brawl, another in the group’s dingy walkup apartment and a third in a poorly lit subway station. If you’re here for some blood, you’ll be especially content with what you see.

As previously stated, the humor was solid. It wasn’t gut-burstingly funny, but it was there and it worked. A couple of the jokes fell a little flat in what was a surprisingly packed movie theater, but overall the audience stayed laughing throughout the movie. It was a comfortable welcome back to a franchise that uses comedy extremely liberally in tandem with the more terrifying elements.

Now, for what everyone is really interested in — the scares. Look — you aren’t going to go home and shudder at the thought of Ghostface prowling your halls at night, but you will certainly wince a few times at the surplus of jump scares and gore in the film. The cinematography and costume design is another pleasant surprise, with both the set pieces and characters looking better than they had in some of the earlier installments in the franchise. All of these aspects working together manage to make the script somewhat enjoyable to watch play out, but unfortunately not much could have been done to revive writing that is more out-of-touch with humanity than most big-budget productions.

Overall, “Scream VI” was a relatively pleasurable moviegoing experience and one that I would recommend to fans of the series and horror fans alike. It isn’t much more than that, though. It had little to nothing to add to its own conversation on meta-commentary and is getting dangerously close to overdone and monotonous. It might be about time for Ghostface to hang up the knife and mask before this series leaves a painfully bad taste in the mouths of “Scream” fans everywhere.

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Unfortunately, in Gorillaz’s latest LP “Cracker Island,” the ingenuity of past projects stretches thinly across this bite-sized window into the band’s latest adventure.

With a handful of iconic names and powerful production value, “Cracker Island” provides a glitzy look into the newest entry in the Gorillaz saga. This time, the four encounter a story of a cult-ridden island with a history of greed and dark secrecy. Ambitious for sure, but the execution is overwhelmingly shallow. The charm and cleverness of classic Gorillaz tunes like “Clint Eastwood” and “Feel Good Inc.” is lost in a sea of short and forgettable tracks that melt into each other with no sense of identity or differentiability.

It would be wrong to discuss “Cracker Island” without first mentioning what this project gets right. For one, Albarn has a clear and consistent vision throughout, with a coherent flow from track to track. The sequence was made with deliberation and each song paired nicely with one another, giving this album more of a cohesive feel than some less thoughtful LPs.

Second, the album certainly had a couple of standout pieces that lent themselves to the inventiveness of the old Gorillaz sound. “Tormenta” with Bad Bunny was the first time the band had tried their hand at a Latin-pop song, and “Skinny Ape” sounded like vintage Albarn all over again, but the album really struggled to find a spot in between the old and a neo-pop wave that invaded songs like “The Tired Influencer” and the titular “Cracker Island.”

And herein lies the issue with this entire project. The work and craftsmanship are there — it’s just more absent of inspiration and innovation than most other Gorillaz albums to date. The feature list is star-studded, with names from Thundercat to Stevie Nicks, but only a few of these powerhouses are even given the chance to stand out in a pretty unaccommodating instrumental backing. Adeleye Omotayo puts on a vocal clinic and Tame Impala melds perfectly into the “Cracker Island” sound, but most other featured artists feel forced or straight-up ignored.

In straddling the line between a fresh new sound and those old Gorillaz ways, Albarn drains the personality from the genre, which makes it incredibly frustrating to imagine what could have been had he used the same knack for an invention he demonstrated earlier in his career with the band. The greatest sin this album commits is just being downright forgettable. The originality that the neo-pop genre offers is ignored, and Albarn defaults to his tried and tested artistic tropes to bog down any interesting aspects of this project.

And that is the crux of all Gorillaz issues. Throughout the album, they are so unbelievably close to something new and exciting but miss the mark nearly every time. They inject tacky lyricism and monotonous choruses into what could have been an electric and psychedelic experience.

“Cracker Island” is a well-made, ambitious yet insufferably boring album. It is missing the heart of Albarn’s past works and suffers immeasurably from it. The four cartoon characters will have to step it up next time in order to actually reinvent themselves — if that’s even what they really want to do.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

“[Maine is] a good team,” said Binghamton coach Bethann Shapiro Ord. “I just kept reminding them, especially in the second half and the fourth quarter, that we have to lock in on defense because you have to get stops. If you get stops, you get a chance.”

The first points came from Maine (15-13, 11-5 AE), just 21 seconds into the first period and began a seven-point scoring streak that would last most of the quarter. Redshirt freshman guard Jadyn Weltz ended the drought after coming out of a break nearing the end of the first period of play, hitting a layup to put Binghamton (13-16, 6-10 AE) on the board for the first time in the game. The remainder of the first saw both teams trading baskets, with contributions from senior guard Denai Bowman, sophomore forward Genevieve Coleman, graduate student guard Shannon O’Connor and Weltz to get the game within four points before the second quarter.

In the second period, Binghamton continued to build on its offensive output, with Weltz opening up scoring for the Bearcats within the first 40 seconds. The Black Bears didn’t answer until almost a minute and a half later, with a three to respond. Binghamton’s defense was able to gain a little bit of traction in this quarter, holding Maine to 13 points and tying the game for the first time since the first whistle after a Bowman jumper with 1:21 to go in the first half. The Bearcats went into halftime facing a two-point deficit.

“Our defense really gets our offense going,” Shapiro Ord said. “But [Maine] is a good defensive team as well.”

The third quarter of play saw the most scoring productivity from both ends of the court. Coming out of halftime, both teams went toe-to-toe from close and mid-range, with redshirt freshman guard Ella Wanzer and Coleman making critical baskets in the third period. Turnovers continued to be a struggle for the hosts, but rebounding and ball movement allowed them to put up 26 of their own points in the quarter. The Black Bears’ rebounding paved the way for a six-point differential in this frame as they found themselves up 55-47. Maine out-rebounded BU 41-34 for the game.

“We need to have a good, positive assist-turnover ratio, and we need to be better in the rebounding game,” Shapiro Ord said. “We gotta win the points. We need second chance opportunities.”

The final period saw a relentless effort from the Bearcats to overcome the deficit. Bowman and Weltz had their way on offense, dishing and dealing to one another at will with trips to the free throw line to boot. The gritty defensive effort continued to be a thorn in the side of the Black Bears, who were only able to notch 14 points in the fourth. This would not be enough, however, for the Bearcats to overcome the cushion that Maine had built over the first three quarters of the game. Despite Binghamton’s attempt to ignite a comeback within the final two minutes, when the final buzzer sounded, Maine ended up on top 69-65.

“That’s the way our girls are,” Shapiro Ord said. “They’re gonna fight. They’re gonna fight as hard as they can.”

Binghamton will begin its postseason when it faces Maine again in the AE Quarterfinals on Wednesday, March 1. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at “The Pit” in Memorial Gymnasium in Orono, Maine.