Narith Nhek

My Recent Work

The News Record •

Ariana Grande finds the light in Eternal Sunshine

Ariana Grande returns with music as she's been filming for the upcoming film adaptation of the theater musical, "Wicked," as Glinda, which comes out Thanksgiving week this year. Due to the SAG-AFTRA strike halting film production, Grande returned to her roots and decided to make an album as she said in a Zach Sang interview that she wasn’t going to release an album till 2027 after the “Wicked” promotional run. While it's been three years since her studio album, "Positions," she has excelled in h...

Bottoms! – Bearcast Media | University of Cincinnati

When Rachel Sennott, who co-wrote the film, first announced its release in February, it felt like it would have to do something with the “gay interpretation” of this word. However, Emma Seligman, director and co-writer of the film, showed the audience it was nothing about positions but about the totem pole.

PJ (Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri) are two long-time best friends known as the least popular and least talented gays in their high school. To put that title to rest, they decided to start
The News Record •

Ariana Grande celebrates ‘Yours Truly’ 10th anniversary

While Ariana Grande has been wrapped up in some controversy, she focuses on what made her a worldwide pop star: her voice. All throughout last week and this week, she released a range of things to celebrate the tenth anniversary of her first album, "Yours Truly."

The release ranged from a new vinyl pressing, a Q&A and new live performances with her "new voice"—in reference to her adopting an improved vocal style as she's preparing for her new role in the musical film adaptation, "Wicked," as Gl
The News Record •

Review | A look into “Renaissance” after Beyoncé’s tour announcement

Beyoncé announced her long-awaited "Renaissance World Tour" earlier this month, and, lucky for her University of Cincinnati (UC) fans, she's stopping at the Cardinal Stadium in Louisville on July 17 this summer – roughly an hour and a half from campus.

Beyoncé's seventh studio album, "Renaissance," was an infused collection of pop, disco, soul and house tracks. It exuded confidence and has a freeing quality that feels fresh in this day of music. Having lyrics like, "I'm too classy for this worl
The News Record •

Mia Goth is our new scream queen in ‘Infinity Pool’

"We're all zombies," Jennifer (Amanda Brugel) said, giggling while waiting for her execution.

That line sums up the new science-fiction-horror film “Infinity Pool,” starring Alexander Skarsgård, Mia Goth and Cleopatra Coleman and directed by Brandon Cronenberg (“The Possessor”). It possesses the audience to question how rich one person can be to continue committing such atrocities and feel nothing.

In “Infinity Pool,” James Foster (Skarsgård), an author, and his wife, Em (Coleman), head to a r
The News Record •

Review | 'My Policeman' is a not-so-revolutionary LGBTQ+ film

Harry Styles stars in the romance drama, "My Policeman" as a homosexual character still in the closet, all while in a love triangle with actors David Dawson and Emma Corrin.

While watching the beginning, it was reminiscent of the 2017 film "Call Me by Your Name," but those feelings faded away as the movie progressed. As a queer person, I decided to cut these types of queer films out of my life for my sanity.

The movie is adapted from a novel by Bethan Roberts under the same name. It follows th
The News Record •

Review | Taylor Swift's “Midnights”

At midnight on Oct. 21, Taylor Swift released "Midnights," which details "the stories of 13 sleepless nights."

It’s considered one of the year's most anticipated albums after her announcement at the MTV Video Music Awards. It was an evident success as "Midnights" topped the Billboard 200, while occupying the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. To top it off, it's become the best-selling album of 2022, with its debut sales of 1.58 million equivalent album units earned in the United States

With all
The News Record •

Review | Revisiting Ariana Grande's 'Positions'

Created during the COVID-19 pandemic, Ariana Grande dropped the cozy and fluffy project "Positions" just over two years ago. When first released, it received a mixed response from critics and the general public as they felt it lacked creativity. Some thought she regressed compared to her last two albums, "Sweetener" and "thank u, next." However, when Ariana drops a new album, there's always an initial backlash, and then people grow to love it. Think of her album, "Sweetener," which people apprec
The News Record •

Horror-comedy perfect for Gen Z: 'Bodies, Bodies, Bodies' is available for streaming

"Bodies, Bodies, Bodies" is a movie perfect for Gen Z. The who-dun-it film, directed by Halina Reijen, is chalked full of gaslighting, toxicity and narcissism. However, these terms aren't thrown around willy-nilly; they are relevant to the film.

We're first introduced to Sophie (Amandla Stenberg) and Bee (Maria Bakalova), smooching it up on the screen. After the smooch, we're taken to David's (Pete Davidson), Sophie's best friend, house party at his parents' extravagant mansion. We're then intr
The News Record •

REVIEW | ‘Pearl’ is best horror film to start the fall

Serving as a prequel to "X," a film released six months ago, the malicious killer Pearl is finally provided a backstory to the audience. Ti West and Mia Goth team up to write the melodrama horror flick, "Pearl."

Going into this film, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. All I knew was that we would better understand Pearl, as "X" didn't delve deep into her character. This film, however, does just that; we see Mia Goth returning to star as Pearl, and she's just as stellar as she was in "X" as Max
The News Record •

REVIEW | 25 years later, Mariah Carey’s ‘Butterfly’ remains one of her best albums yet

On Sept. 16, 1997, exactly 25 years ago, Mariah Carey’s personal life and career shifted. In her fifth studio album, “Daydream,” Carey began toying with her voice’s airiness and subtlety. Yet, it came to full effect only when “Butterfly” was released. Her tone, lyricism and musicality were unmatched; everything fit cohesively compared to her previous projects.

The record proved to be a turning point in Carey’s career. In a 1997 MTV interview, she said she had “gone through a lot during the reco
The News Record •

Review | ‘Three Months’ is a modern gay story needed in LGBTQ media

“Three Months” is a coming-of-age dark comedy set in 2011, showcasing how H.I.V. isn’t a death sentence the way it’s usually depicted in gay films.

Based in Florida, our main character Caleb – played by Troye Sivan – tells his story, who learns on the eve of his high school graduation that he might have been exposed to H.I.V. due to a broken condom. This revelation leads him to a support group where he meets Estha – played by Viveik Karla – a South-Asian gay teenager who also may been exposed t
The News Record •

Opinion | Why do I have to come out?

“You have to come out,” my straight cousin said to my 16-year-old self. It’s almost a no-brainer that I have to “come out of the closet,” but why do I have to? I’ve always wondered if this was some sort of unspoken gay rule. Is it mandatory for us to come out?

There have been countless gay films and television shows when the protagonist comes out, and it's the most powerful moment, sometimes displaying the darkness of “coming out.” But it's a bit difficult when that's still considered the highl
The News Record •

Review | Is r.e.m beauty worth the hype?

Celebrity beauty brands have been announced like no other. Rihanna, Selena Gomez and Kylie Jenner all have beauty brands that are highly lucrative and popular. Ariana Grande has also launched a beauty brand, r.e.m. beauty, but is it worth it?

In an interview with Allure, Grande announced r.e.m. beauty is a collaboration with Forma Brands, a curator for another popular brand, Morphe. The brand has been rolled out in sections, the first drop consisting of eye shadow, mascara, false lashes, mascar
The News Record •

Review: Adele’s ‘30’ takes back the narrative, shares experiences with love and loss

Adele's fourth studio album, "30," released Nov. 19, is the artist's first since the release of "25" six years ago. She recently sat down with Apple Music's Zane Lowe to discuss the emotion that went into this album following a divorce and other significant life changes.

In their chat, Lowe described "30" with a metaphor that perfectly captured its essence in comparison to her prior albums; "' 19' is about you, '21' is about her, '25' is about we, and '30' is about me." Adele doesn't mope aroun