It has been nearly three years since the last season of the Netflix original series “Strangwer Things” graced our screens, in July 2019. That time was not wasted. After the success of season three, hints of what was to come for the show’s beloved characters kept rolling in. From casting announcements to the news that the season would be released in two volumes, things felt different this time around. The stakes became higher following confirmation from show creators Matt and Ross Duffer that season four would be the second to last of the show: “The beginning of the end,” as they put it. With the season’s plot taking place across two countries and spanning decades, it was poised to be either the best season yet or the most scattered. Lucky for us, the roll of the 20-sided dice has played in our favor. The first episode picks up roughly nine months after the events of the previous season. While the majority of the original cast of characters have tried to regain normalcy for their lives in Hawkins, Will (Noah Schnapp, “Hubie Halloween”), Joyce (Winona Ryder, “The Cow”) and Jonathan Byers (Charlie Heaton, “The Souvenir: Part II”), along with Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown, “Godzilla vs. Kong”), have relocated to the sunny town of Lenora Hills, California. Each tries to move on from the effects of the Upside Down in their own way. Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin, “The Boys Presents: Diabolical”) joins the Hawkins High School basketball team, Will learns to paint and Nancy (Natalia Dyer, “Things Heard & Seen”) leads the school newspaper. But then their classmates start dying, and our gang once again ends up in the center of it all as they work to learn the secrets of the creature in the Upside Down that they believe is the source of the killings: Vecna. As they pry into Vecna’s past, some startling revelations about the origins of the Upside Down and Eleven’s powers begin to be revealed. While Hawkins may be cursed with ever-appearing problems, thank goodness the “Stranger Things” writers’ room is not. Wednesday, June 15, 2022 — 3 Arts The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ is a reboot done right When I was in high school, my mom constantly teased me about my refusal to watch “Top Gun.” She always talked about how good of a movie it was and knew that a young Tom Cruise in a military uniform would be a strong selling point for me since I had loved “A Few Good Men.” But I was a spiteful teen — the more she made fun of me not having seen it, the less I wanted to. One winter night, my parents cornered both my sister and I, and I will admit the movie was better than I had expected (though a small part of me isn’t too willing to say that out loud). A few years and one global pandemic later, “Top Gun: Maverick” is finally gracing our movie screens after being pushed back several times. This time around, I was much more openly excited to see a “Top Gun” film, and I’m happy to say that the reboot exceeded my expectations — and even the original movie. My sister and I are already itching to see the film again with the rest of my family in tow, and we’re even brainstorming our own call signs. Tom Cruise returns as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, who has spent the last few decades working as a Navy test pilot. He doesn’t appear to have grown up much since the ’80s — he’s still cocky and reckless, pushing the limits of both his ability and his commander’s patience. Just as Maverick is about to be grounded permanently, his old friend Tom “Iceman” Kazansky (Val Kilmer, “Batman Forever”) calls him back to Top Gun as an instructor for an urgent mission: He must choose an elite team to destroy a uranium enrichment plant before it becomes fully operational. Among the younger pilots hoping to be chosen for the mission are Jake “Hangman” Seresin (Glen Powell, “Set It Up”), Natasha “Phoenix” Trace (Monica Barbaro, “The Good Cop”) and Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Miles Teller, “Whiplash”) — the son of Maverick’s late wingman, Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards, “ER”). Rooster still holds a grudge against Maverick, both for his father’s death and for setting back his own career as a pilot. Right away, the movie lays the nostalgia on thick. The opening credits are almost identical to the original, from the iconic main theme to the title card outlining the real life Top Gun program to shots of planes flying off the runway while Kenny Loggins’s “Danger Zone” plays in the background. But “Maverick” isn’t a total nostalgia grab, nor is it a reboot that completely copies the original material (looking at you, Star Wars). In fact, I’d argue that this film has more of a plot than the original. Instead of new Top Gun students competing to see who’s the best, the ensemble cast makes up Top Gun graduates, already the best, tasked with a mission that races against time and even gravity. The work that everyone does at Top Gun is dangerous, but the stakes are much higher when there’s an actual mission to complete — one that everyone may not come back alive from. Tessa Bailey’s ‘My Killer Vacation’ should be your next beach read Tessa Bailey’s new novel, “My Killer Vacation,” is a fun, funny and killer vacation (get it?) from all other thoughts and responsibilities. Known for novels like “It Happened One Summer” and “Hook, Line, and Sinker,” Bailey pulls off another successful romance novel that will surely be a summer favorite. The story combines the murder mystery genre with romance, which may be a combination that readers don’t see often. The novel’s main character, Taylor, is the reason why this seemingly odd mix of genres works. She is, in many ways, a traditional romance novel lead — brown hair, green eyes and a sunshiny smile to match her second-grade-teacher personality. However, she’s also a fan of true crime podcasts and harbors the need to prove to herself that she can be brave, which is why she hops on the investigation train after discovering a dead body in the vacation home she rented for herself and her brother. Taylor is paired with Myles, a bounty hunter love interest (complete with tattoos and a tragic backstory) who is intent on keeping her away from the investigation and the danger that comes with it. In these two characters, we see how two utterly different genres can come together in a puzzle that showcases the best qualities of both romance and mystery. The novel’s success lies in its characters. As is the case with many romance novels, the side characters are a blast — especially Taylor’s brother Jude. He’s a hilarious addition to the book, constantly making remarks about the man in his sister’s life, while also being Taylor’s number one defender, protector, confidante and supporter. The scenes with Taylor, Myles and Jude are consistently entertaining because their dynamic works so well. Taylor and Myles fit the stereotypical “grumpy/sunshine” romance novel trope, but their interactions rarely seem cliché or predictable. The murder mystery at hand allows readers to see them outside of a completely romantic context. They also both have external worries, concerns and insecurities, ensuring that they are not solely defined by each other. A romance novel’s greatest downfall is when its characters are so wrapped up in each other that they forget everything else in their lives, often losing the parts of their personalities that made them lovable at the start. Thankfully, we don’t run into that issue with Taylor and Myles — they do learn from each other and change as a result, but never at the cost of losing themselves fully. SABRIYA IMAMI Daily Arts Writer ‘Stranger Things’ Season 4 Volume 1 proves the series can evolve, just like its villain MALLORY EDGELL Daily Arts Writer HANNAH CARAPELLOTTI Daily Arts Writer This image is from the official trailer for “Top Gun: Maverick,” distributed by Paramount. Read more at michigandaily.com Read more at michigandaily.com This image is from the official trailer for “Stranger Things 4,” distributed by Netflix. Read more at michigandaily.com