If you have been keeping up with Geneseo events, you may be aware of the anticipated arrival of Ross Lynch—the man of your childhood—at this year's SpringFest! While the actor/singer has made his mark on our Disney channel screens, some may be wondering where Lynch has traveled with his music since. Is he still in R5, the 2009 pop band entirely made of the Lynch siblings? Or has he gone solo, preparing to perform alone with merely a microphone and guitar?

The 2005 rival of the hit television show Doctor Who (2005) recently celebrated its 19-year anniversary by announcing season 14—comically titled “Season One!” Trailers and teasers previewed flashy storylines, vibrant costumes, and a stacked set of guest stars this March. At the end of the month, the official Doctor Who social media accounts released teasers, including titles for the eight episodes to come.

This past Wednesday, May 1, we received the final episode of the Star Wars animated series The Bad Batch (2021-24). While the show’s first two seasons were great, especially season two, this final season of the series had a lot riding on it, and fortunately for us fans, it didn't disappoint!

Welcome back to the Halo series retrospective! Those of you who missed the first part of this article can find it on The Lamron’s website! Now, we recommence with one of the most beloved prequel games ever released: Halo Reach (2010). 

Last week, the world witnessed the release of Challengers (2024), a new film directed by Luca Guadagnimo, best known for his work on Bones And All (2022) and Call Me By Your Name (2017). The movie follows a group of three tennis superstars: Tashi Duncan, played by Zendaya; Art Donaldson, played by Mike Faist; and the former college star Patrick Zweig, played by Josh O’Connor. When Art’s tennis Career is not going well, Tashi sets him up for a low-stakes challenger match, causing him to racket against Patrick, Tashi’s former lover and Art’s former best friend. Did I mention the three are in a fifteen-year-long love triangle? 

In the last several years, the production powerhouse A24 has made itself a household name through its unique, unusual, and downright maddening approach to plots following the “typical story.” Though this company has produced several less-than-noteworthy creations, we’re here to show you that their highs outweigh their lows tenfold—so let's get started! 

The dawn of the American New Wave in the late 1960s brought new voices, classics, and storytelling techniques. Many of these have stood the test of time and have been utilized by generations of filmmakers since. Easily, the most popular of these methods is the “needle drop,” a practice that uses a pop song from any given era of music to help tell the story through diegetic or non-diegetic means. Needle drop saw its surge coinciding with the American New Wave as more filmmakers began utilizing it, making the practice streamlined into three categories. 

Clipping (stylized as clipping.) is an experimental hip-hop trio consisting of two producers, William Hutson and Jonathan Snipes, with main vocalist/rapper Daveed Diggs. You might know the latter due to his involvement in the famous musical Hamilton (2020), where he played Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson. Nevertheless, that does not pertain to their music, where they try to experiment with strange hip-hop beats paired with Diggs’ normal rapping style.

Though the days of the steadfast argument over whether Call of Duty (2003-present) or Halo (2001-2021) was the best gaming series available on the Xbox are over, one of these two games stays at the forefront of our minds years removed: Halo. From the series’ majestic theme to its memorable weapons/maps variety, alongside several beloved campaigns featuring infamous characters like Master Chief and Cortana, the series has it all! It has been three years since this series’ last entry—Halo Infinite (2021)—was released, so Spartans, grab that energy sword and charge your shields as we take this opportunity to go down memory lane back to the prime of one of gaming's most legendary franchises.

If you were to ask, “Who are the most famous icons of cinema that came from the teachings of legendary ‘B’ movie producer Roger Corman?” You might get answers such as Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, or James Cameron, but one you’ll hear less is that of Joe Dante. Dante is a filmmaker whose story echoes that of many of his peers, beginning with promise and a few hits under their belts, but ultimately getting spat out by the system. 

26-year-old Kayleigh Amstutz, better known by her stage name “Chappell Roan,” has become a prevalent face in the public eye over the past few months—even having the opportunity to perform during Coachella’s opening night this year. As with any artist who makes their way into the mainstream, some may wonder what it is about her, particularly, that warrants this attention. The most obvious answers are related to the singer’s aesthetic, the energy she brings to her music, and her presence both on and off the stage.  

The unique character of Hannibal Lecter has captivated audiences in his different novels, films, and television series since the early 1980s. The iconic cannibal’s first appearances can be traced back to two books by Thomas Harris. In this duology, Lecter is introduced to the world in Red Dragon (1981), where he must aid in capturing a murderer named “Tooth Fairy,” who appears for a second time in the novel The Silence of the Lambs (1988). Both books are excellently written, and it’s a shame most don't know Lecter originated within them. 

As some students may know, SUNY Geneseo’s annual GREAT Day takes place on Wednesday, Apr. 24. There will be a plethora of discussions, presentations, and showcases covering a range of topics and major interests. For English majors, something to keep in mind is the roundtable discussion—“Internships for English Majors: A Round Table”—which will take place in Bailey 102 from 4:30-5:45 p.m. During this discussion, five students—myself included—will share our experiences during and before obtaining internships with the department. 

During his book tour in San Francisco, author James Ellroy uniquely introduced himself to his readers, constructing a larger-than-life persona that has defined him as one of America’s finest contemporary crime novelists. When introducing himself to me, a reader diving into his crime novel, American Tabloid (1995), Ellroy uniquely showcases his literary vision of machine gun prose, mixing fiction and historical narrative, and an ever-deepening morass of self-perpetuating violence in his work.

Mike Flanagan is a prolific filmmaker in the horror world, having released his first notable film in 2011 and continuing to release a slew of horror movies—including Oculus (2013), Hush (2016), and Doctor Sleep (2019), amongst numerous others since. His films have become revered for their ability to seamlessly translate text to on-screen movie adaptations with Stephen King even commenting, "hypnotic, horrifying and terrific," in regards to the author’s rough cut viewing of Flanagan’s 2017 film adaptation of his book Gerald’s Game by the same name.

***Spoilers for The Matrix, Fight Club, and Office Space***

As a person born three years after the 1990s ended, that relatively small pocket in time looks to be a completely different planet, but three unforgettable films came out that year—The Matrix, Fight Club, and Office Space (1999)—all of which shared a similar theme: Escapism, specifically escaping from the confines of the mundane present, commonly represented through a bleak and sterile office setting. At the epicenter of these three films is a similar protagonist: a man who feels kept down by those in positions of authority over him, each sharing a feeling of oppression and having a narrative that deals with a distinct type of masculinity—all being shown as remedies to an issue at hand. 

Last summer marked the cultural phenomenon “Barbenheimer,” with the releases of Barbie (2023) and Oppenheimer (2023) occurring on the same day. Following in the footsteps of that legendary day in cinema, this past weekend presented the newest double-movie feature: “The Monkey Omen,” a name to describe the releases of the action film Monkey Man (2024) and the horror prequel The First Omen (2024).