Since school ended and the class of 2022 graduated, a lot has happened before school started up again. Many movies, shows, and albums came out while at summer break. These are just some of the very best.

In movies, “Thor: Love and Thunder,” “Top Gun Maverick,” and “The Minions: Rise of Gru’ ‘ were the most notable out of all of them. “Top Gun Maverick” has grossed $1.2 Billion since its release and is currently the highest grossing movie that has come out this year. It has made the most at the box office and is most definitely in the running for not only action movie of the year but also movie of the year. Between the real planes, real action, and the real feelings between the characters this movie had major potential and it definitely delivered it. “Thor: Love and Thunder”, the newest addition to the marvel franchise, only grossed $500 million. The fourth installment in the Thor franchise had some darker undertones, but all of them were taken over by the over the top tier comedy. However, there were some memorable moments within the movie, like the classic Marvel action sequences. The most notable thing in the movie was Christian Bale’s excellent portrayal of Gor the God Butcher. Lastly, The Minions movie, the movie that took over all social media for a month, even hiring up and coming artist Yeat to make a collab with them out of a meme. The whole Minions movie was overall just an experience. Most people did not go out of love for the franchise, but out of the memes and funny moments that came out of it, although the actual movie was very fun and did exactly what it set out to do; be a fun and lighthearted movie. 

This summer was also one for music; not only did hit artist Steve Lacy release an album, but also artists like Giveon, and Harry Styles. Steve Lacy’s newest album titled “Gemini Rights,” is his first album since his musical hiatus in early 2020. Since many of Lacy’s songs have blown up on TikTok he has shot up in popularity, and for good reason. His newest album may not have been amazing, but it still delivered the feeling you would expect from him. It had several notable hits such as “Bad habit” and “Sunshine.” Giveon is yet another artist who exploded in popularity because of social media. He released his newest album “Give and Take” which is about letting go of others. This album had many hits including “Lost Me,” “Another Heartbreak,” and “For Tonight.” Harry Styles also dropped his highly-anticipated album “Harry’s House” at the end of May, setting the mood for the rest of the summer. Songs like “Keep Driving,” “Music for a Sushi Restaurant,” and “Grapejuice” are all fun and lighthearted songs about enjoying life. But do not worry-Styles also came in with his handful of emotional and heartbreak songs to get us through the winter months. 

Many shows also came out over summer break. The newest season of “The Boys” came out at the beginning of summer and consisted of nine episodes all with a run time of about an hour. The Boys is a satirical, serious, and gritty take on the reality of superheroes and what they would really be like in real life. Along with the release of The Boys, “Stranger Things” season four released in a two part season. This season was the most successful season yet. The reaction from the fans was amazing, and it just built even more anticipation for the fifth and final season. Even though the final season will not come out for a couple years, this show will still be talked about until then, simply because it is one of the best of our time. The final show that came out this summer was the Obi Wan Kenobi series. This show was one of the best shows and star wars related content that Disney has put out in a while. Sure, the first couple episodes were slow, some even a little sloppily written. But after episode three the series picked up big time, all building up for that final episode where Vader and Kenobi battle it out and Kenobi finally becomes a jedi again. Overall this series was an amazing addition to the Star Wars franchise and fans cannot wait to see what’s next. 

These are only some of the many entertainment options that came out over summer break. Many more will be in here soon enough.