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Posts published in “Reviews”

(Archive December 2019) The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek

By editorialteam on April 16, 2025

Review of YouTube Duo’s First YA Novel

By Nicholas Papini | Observer Contributor

The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek
Image from Amazon

While the characters and overarching plot of The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek are solid, where the novel truly shines is in its minor characters and moments of world building.

Youtubers Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal of the channel Good Mythical Morning’s first foray into fiction novels follows the story of two teens in the fictional South Carolina town of Bleak Creek. The small town has a rather famous local business which claims to reform troubled children and has an impressive resume with very few failures. However, as teens Rex McClendon and Leif Nelson learn, not all is as it seems with the Whitewood School. read more

(Archive September 2019) Brie Larson Shines Bright in Captain Marvel

By editorialteam on April 15, 2025

By Eliana Mello | Observer Contributor

Image from flickr; Property of Disney and Marvel Studios
Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel introduces a powerful female lead that many will love.  

Brie Larson plays a realistic and relatable female character compared to another female superhero movie, Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman was strong and sure of herself, making few mistakes and lacking character development. 

When Captain Marvel gains access to her full powers, she is sloppy as she learns how to harness her new strength. In comparison, when Wonder Woman accessed her Godly strength, she fully understood and perfectly executed her abilities. Wonder Woman seemed too out of reach for people to fully relate to her. This makes Wonder Women seem idealized where Captain Marvel, though she has superhuman abilities, has imperfections, something that makes her human.  read more

(Archive October 2019) That’s Entertainment!

By editorialteam on April 15, 2025

Student Reviews Local Pop Culture Shop

By Jurrell Pabrezis | Observer Contributor

Photo by Bruce Matsunaga from flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/brucematsunaga/37642160115

Looking for action? Looking for excitement? Looking for…entertainment?!? That’s Entertainment is your one-stop source for all your fandom needs. Whether you’re looking for comic books, video games, action figures, CDs, vinyl, or various other pop culture memorabilia, this is the place to be. That’s Entertainment has two locations; 244 Park Avenue in Worcester and 56 John Fitch Highway in Fitchburg. My journey through the land of pop culture was at the Fitchburg location. The building itself is easy to find, right off the main road in the heart of Fitchburg. Parking was accessible, as the store is located within a group of other businesses. read more

(Archive May 2019) Join the Family – Review: The Sopranos

By editorialteam on April 15, 2025

By Conner Garrity | Observer Contributor

The Sopranos copyright HBO
Image from mezclaconfusa on flickr 

It’s been over twenty years since The Sopranos debuted. There is one lingering question: Does the show still hold up today?

The Sopranos premiered back in January 1999. The mob show was a hit and is considered one of the best television series ever. The show centers around a New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano as he deals with drama surrounding his family and his “work.” On top of that, Tony suffers from panic attacks and mental health issues which stem from his upbringing. read more

(Archive April 2019) Are You the Next Spider-Man?

By editorialteam on April 15, 2025

Review – Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse (Spoilers!)

By Ashley Spring | Observer Contributor

Image from Amazon, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse owned by Sony Pictures Animation

Winning an Oscar and exciting Marvel fans, Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse pays attention to detail and puts a twist on the hero’s story, reminding movie viewers that “you could wear the mask.”

Before the movie begins, the logos help set the mood of the film by showing them in the same art style as the movie itself. The film’s art direction resembles a comic book, and this is further solidified by the comic code logo that you would see on the front page of a comic book. After a quick introduction from Spider-Man himself, we are introduced to the main character of the movie, Miles Morales. Morales is set up to be an average teenager in New York and follows previous Spider-Man movies, showing that anyone can be a hero. read more

(Archive April 2019) Revisiting a Classic: Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots by The Flaming Lips

By editorialteam on April 15, 2025

By Natalia Maltais | Observer Contributor

Image from Amazon, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots owned by The Flaming Lips and Warner Bros.

With catchy sci-fi themes and vivid imagery, Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots by the Flaming Lips is a diamond in the rough.

The album starts with “Fight Test”, a bubbly, yet heavy pop song that’s a call to action. It begins with a passive fighter, “I thought it better not to fight, I thought there was a virtue in always being cool.” As Coyne sings over warped, humming keyboards and a thick bass he begins to realize he’s ready to fight, but still fights his own skepticism. “Cause I’m a man not a boy and there are things you can’t avoid. You have to face them when you’re not prepared to face them.” read more

(Archive December 2018) The…The…The Grinch!

By editorialteam on April 1, 2025

By Cassie Roy | Assistant Editor

The Grinch
Poster from Wikimedia, via Universal/Illumination

The Grinch came out in theaters on November 9th. This is now the third version of Dr. Seuss’ book to be made into a movie. This version is most like the original one that came out in 1966 where the movie is depicted in a cartoon style with the Grinch being slightly more family friendly.

The Grinch has a modern twist as Pharrell Williams, a rap artist, narrates the story and Tyler, the Creator produced the soundtrack. Instead of the songs being sung like the older versions, Tyler raps all of the songs in the movie. By doing this the producers, Janet Healy and Chris Meledandri, can connect to and keep the attention of a larger audience. read more

(Archive November 2018) Review – Call of Duty: Black Ops 4

By editorialteam on April 1, 2025

By Corey Sanderson | Observer Contributor

Promotional cover art for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
Image from  PlayStation.com

After playing through roughly 35 hours of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, I can say that it is one of the best games I’ve seen from the franchise in years.

Black Ops 4 was developed by Treyarch Studios with the help of Raven Software. The Battle Royale mode, Blackout, was developed by Beenox Studios.

This is the first Call of Duty game to not feature a single player campaign. While I have enjoyed playing through Call of Duty’s campaigns in the past, I believe that choosing to not spend resources on a campaign has benefited the game as a whole. read more

(Archive October 2018) Review: The Nun

By editorialteam on April 1, 2025

By Cassie Roy | Assistant Editor

Image from junaidrao from Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0), copyright Warner Bros. Pictures

The backstory to the backstory, The Nun came out in theatres on September 6th of this year. This movie, produced by Peter Safran and James Wan, is a part of a series of Annabelle movies that were released out of order. The first movie to be produced was The Conjuring in 2013, Annabelle in 2014, The Conjuring 2 in 2016, Annabelle: Creation in 2017 and finally The Nun. The actual order of the movies however is The Nun, Annabelle: Creation, Annabelle, The Conjuring, and ending with The Conjuring 2. read more

Black History Month at MWCC: A Capella Singers Debut

By editorialteam on March 23, 2025

By Princess Yeboah | Assistant Editor

Ball in the House
Photo from MWCC

A capella singers went above and beyond by introducing essential black history to Mount Wachusett Community College Community on February 26, 2025 at 12:30 P.M. The performance, “And Now I See: Race, Racism, and American Music” was shown by a men’s a capella group, Ball in the House. They hospitably embraced the community with tunes originally sung by black singers and the history behind them such as “Hound Dog”, (Originally by Big Mama Thorton and sung by Elvis), “A Change is Gonna Come”, (Originally by Sam Cooke sung by Bob Dylan) “My Girl” and “This Little Light of Mine.” read more