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Wednesday, May 13, 2026
The Observer

Scene


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Animation recommendations: 'If Anything Happens I Love You'

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Whether sudden or expected, the death of a loved one is something we can never prepare for. Grief is not easy. Imagine you stumble across an old item — a beloved sweatshirt, a collar with a bell on it or a trinket in the back of a cabinet. You start to remember all the good memories associated with them — your uncle’s laugh, the hours spent playing with the family cat, your grandma’s tendency to collect Jesus figurines. For a second, you run through every memory associated with this person, from the minute detail of your first meeting with each other until … you remember why you are remembering them in the first place. They’re gone.



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In memory of Queen Elizabeth II

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Dickens, Austen, Shakespeare, Downton Abbey, Queen Elizabeth II: all of them filled the walls of my Irish-Italian household. What was it that made Queen Elizabeth so important to us? What made her the one who led me to be named Rose Elizabeth Androwich and my younger sister to almost be named Elizabeth instead of Emily?


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"Different Man", different music

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Kane Brown has carved out a niche for himself in the music industry, straddling the line between pop and country. His collaborations with popular pop artists like Khalid, Blackbear, Marshmello and others only solidify that position. His new album, “Different Man,” is no different. Tracks like “One Mississippi,” “Losing You,” “See You Like I Do,” “Go Around” and “Dear Georgia” possess Brown’s typical pop production with country influences.

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'Petite Maman': Like mother, like daughter

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They say that great things come in small packages. In just 73 minutes, French film "Petite Maman" (translated “Little Mom"), directed by Céline Sciamma, tells a touching story of motherhood and memory.


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'Juniper': The emotional exploration of friendship

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Notre Dame alum Katherine Dudas ‘14 just wrote and directed her own feature film, “Juniper.” That alone should be enough to convince you to see it, but ignoring the Notre Dame school pride part, this film is fantastic in its emotional evolution of grief and what we cling to when remembering lost loved ones, as well as the harsh reality that sometimes our memories aren’t always the full picture.



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'I Love You Jennifer B': Regret in the future

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I know, Jockstrap sounds like the name of some late 70s British punk band whose lead singer thinks that not taking a shower for a month is giving a middle finger to the system … which is exactly what this band is! Actually, I lied, sorry to disappoint you, you were probably jumping out of your seats to grab your headphones, now you probably hate me. In actuality, Jockstrap is a collaboration between songwriter Georgia Ellery and producer Taylor Skye. Their debut album “I Love You Jennifer B” is an eclectic scrapbook of electronic sounds, glitchy synths, blown-out drums and a full 18-piece orchestra. Sounds epic, right? Yes, it is.


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Fred again.. and the sounds of 'Actual Life'

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You’ve known about Fred John Philip Gibson (aka Fred again..) for far longer than you might think. The 29-year-old multitalented music producer and songwriter has spent the better part of the last decade helping some of the biggest artists in the world create their own work, for the most part opting to remain behind the scenes. But since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, Gibson has finally stepped into the spotlight. 





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2022: The year of the prequel

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The trend of endless movie sequels is by no means a recent one. Ever since the 70s and the birth of summer blockbuster franchises like Jaws or Star Wars, the sequel has been a staple in yearly releases to the joy of some fans and the detriment of others. Indeed, the market dominance of big-budget sequels has always been contentious, with some arguing that they are lazy and unnecessary additions to already completed stories. While the sequel tradition stands strong even today, 2022 has seemingly marked a shift in Hollywood’s mindset, with more and more prequels being released as opposed to straight-up sequels.



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‘Tell Me Lies’: A train wreck

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On Wednesday, Sept. 7, the first three episodes of the new Hulu series “Tell Me Lies” was released. While the first episode begins in the present, the director takes us back to Lucy’s first year of college.



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Murder and Mediocrity Overshadow ‘Where the Crawdads Sing’

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Topping the charts of Goodreads and receiving endorsements from the likes of Reese Witherspoon and Taylor Swift, Delia Owens’s 2018 novel “Where the Crawdads Sing” was an instant success. The much-anticipated release of its film adaptation, however, has not come without scrutiny.


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J.I.D’s triumph over circumstance: ‘The Forever Story’

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Since signing to J. Cole’s Dreamville Records in early 2017, Atlanta rapper J.I.D (real name Destin Choice Route) has built a name for himself not through the absurd style, vapid lyricism and obscene amounts of bass that defined the “Soundcloud rap” era in which he came up, but through a commitment to two things too often lost in modern hip-hop: honesty and craft. The rapper whose stage name originates from his grandma’s description of him as “jittery” has never lost that same restless swagger from when he was young, and J.I.D’s latest album “The Forever Story" puts on display his most vulnerable, cohesive and thoughtful work to date without losing sight of the hard-hitting beats and elaborate flows that put him on the map.


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‘Jurassic World: Dominion’: A disappointment 6.5 million years in the making

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Dinosaurs divide the population into two types: those who love them and those who couldn’t care less. Somehow, “Jurassic World: Dominion” doesn’t inspire either stance. With its unfocused story and bloated plot, the movie plods to its conclusion as if anticipating extinction at the hands of other summer films. Even the resurrection of fan-favorite characters Drs. Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), Sattler (Laura Dern) and Grant (Sam Neill) failed to salvage it.


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Fifty years on the Scene

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In honor of the 50th Anniversary of women at Notre Dame, Scene has created the ultimate female-powered playlist filled with Notre Dame alumnae, your favorite artists, the future generation and artists who paved the way for women in music…