Halftime Leisure

The Voice’s takes on all things media and culture.

Halftime Leisure

Let Black horror haunt your screens this Halloween

Black horror is booming. Several films released this summer to overwhelmingly positive reviews and streaming success.

By October 7, 2023

Halftime Leisure

Don’t Choose Love: Choose Peace

Regardless of your decisions, Choose Love presents a lukewarm story, barely one-dimensional characters, and unsatisfying conclusions.

By September 24, 2023

Halftime Leisure

“Winner” by Conan Gray is a devastating deep dive into familial abandonment

Conan Gray's new single “Winner” takes on the form of a vulnerable declaration—this time revealing the scars dealt by an absent parent. 

By September 22, 2023

Halftime Leisure

A Case for the Classics: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Nightmare’s prevailing influence in pop culture and commentary on the horror of life in the ’80s is sufficient to justify its classic status.

By September 22, 2023

Halftime Leisure

Netflix’s One Piece is a treasure trove among a sea of anime adaptations

The live-action One Piece replicates the joy, authenticity and absurdity of its classic source material without falling into common pitfalls.

By September 16, 2023

Halftime Leisure

Good Omens season two is a tale of queerness and Christianity

Good Omens season two expands upon the queer undertones of its predecessor by exploring queer love, loyalty, and the potential for change.

By September 8, 2023

Halftime Leisure

Heartstopper season two is tender and unapologetically queer

In Heartstopper season two, high schoolers Nick and Charlie learn to navigate something entirely new: sincere and unapologetic queer love

By September 8, 2023

Halftime Leisure

What One Piece can teach us about queer identities

Although unintentional, One Piece can teach us lessons on the complexity of trans identity and the position of queer identities in society.

By and August 30, 2023

Halftime Leisure

Hollywood: the intersection between corporate greed and exploitative labor

In a historic walkout, writers and actors are drawing the picket lines and fighting for higher pay and better protections in Hollywood.

By and August 29, 2023

Halftime Leisure

From blood-suckers to Barbies, strong female leads thrive in fantasy

The fantastical allows filmmakers and audiences to envision more creative, progressive storylines for women.

By May 27, 2023

Halftime Leisure

Meet Daisy Jones & The Six, the best 70s band you’ve never heard of

It’s 1977. A ragtag band of musicians—fronted by their wavy-haired, waif-life singer-songwriter and suave guitarist—plays to a sold-out stadium of screaming fans. The chemistry between these two lead musicians is... Read more

By , and May 15, 2023

Halftime Leisure

Culture Brief: What’s feeding the Hunger Games renaissance?

The Hunger Games is experiencing a pop culture revival. Fifteen years after the publication of the first book and eleven years after the first movie’s premiere, the young adult (YA)... Read more

By May 8, 2023

Halftime Leisure

A Case for the Classics: But I’m a Cheerleader

When you think of the greatest rom-coms of the late 20th century, what do you think of? 10 Things I Hate About You (1999)? Clueless (1995)? When Harry Met Sally... Read more

By April 29, 2023

Halftime Leisure

Season 2 of Abbott Elementary is a masterclass in community storytelling

Season two of Abbott Elementary does not disappoint. Everything that garnered praise for the first season has held true for the second as it retains all the charm and humor... Read more

By April 29, 2023

Halftime Leisure

On “A&W,” Lana Del Rey Will Be An American Whore, Despite Your Objections

Content warning: This article includes references to sexual violence. “Do you really think I give a damn what I do after years of just hearing them talking?”  The question kicks... Read more

By April 19, 2023

Halftime Leisure

Love and Loss in the Apocalypse: The Last of Us Season Review

Content Warning: This article discusses self-harm and suicide. Since it began airing this past January, The Last of Us (TLOU) has truly become a juggernaut of the small screen. The... Read more

By April 19, 2023

Halftime Leisure

The enduring magic of Sex and the City, 25 years later

I started watching Sex and the City when my childhood best friend, Emily, came to visit. She arrived in the last breath of September, the end of the beginning of... Read more

By April 18, 2023

Halftime Leisure

Reflections from Shadow and Bone, and a love letter to the fantasy genre

A privateer, a Sun Summoner, and a gang leader walk onto a battlefield—it almost sounds like the beginning of a “walks into a bar” joke. Shadow and Bone returned to... Read more

By April 18, 2023

Halftime Leisure

If you go down, I’m goin’ down too

Solidarity—standing up for a group you do not belong to and putting your own comfort aside in the process—is the linchpin to social justice. Historically, however, celebrities have dropped the... Read more

By April 17, 2023

Halftime Leisure

Taylor Swift’s “All of the Girls You’ve Loved Before” is a love letter to her partner’s past loves

Most people probably wouldn’t thank their lover’s exes. But Taylor Swift does just that in, “All of the Girls You’ve Loved Before,” a new single released to kick off her... Read more

By April 3, 2023