Web Series/Podcast: Critical Role

Beginning as a web series on Twitch in 2015, Critical Role continues to provide laughs and thrills both on and offline today. Critical Role features a group of well-known voice actors within the video game and animation industries, such as Matthew Mercer (McCree in Overwatch), who share their love for the tabletop role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons. Through the use of pens, dice and imagination, the group crafts stories about Tolkein-inspired adventures. Critical Role can be viewed Thursday nights live on Twitch or YouTube. Critical Role in podcast format is available on the Critical Role website, Apple Podcast and Spotify. -DF

TV Show: The Haunting of Bly Manor

The show The Haunting of Bly Manor is a supernatural drama that premiered on Netflix on Oct. 9. The show follows the lives of a little boy named Miles, a little girl named Flora and a young woman named Danielle, a foreigner who takes a job as a live-in nanny. Danielle is thrown into a series of unexplained events that begin to happen from the start of her arrival to the home of the Wingraves. She discovers that there is trauma and evil that lurks around the house. This show is spooky, shocking and thrilling, leaving viewers wanting to know what happens next. -YG

Movie: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Amazon Prime’s Borat Subsequent Moviefilm is a satirical follow-up to the 2006 film Borat. The film pokes fun at the current political climate of the United States through Borat’s exaggerated remarks and silly situations. Viewers are introduced to a new character, Maria, who steals the show through her own witty humor. One of the unique things about this film is that it relies on non-staged narratives to help drive its political statement. Many of the scenes in this film are a mix between Borat’s strange persona and real people’s reactions to him. Viewers will find themselves feeling every emotion when watching this film. -AC

Song: “Beautiful Noise”
Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile teamed up for the song “Beautiful Noise,” a powerful piano ballad about the importance of making your voice heard. The song was co-written by eight women and premiered on Oct. 29. The empowering song’s message is encourage people to fight together against injustice, empathize with others’ pain and use their voice by voting. In the duet, each singer plays a piano and takes turns singing solo before their voices harmonize beautifully. Keys and Carlile’s vocals complement each other perfectly and the simple yet strong melody exemplifies the song’s message. -AE