JR Atkinson

JR Atkinson is a co-founder and editor of Midriff Magazine and Reverberations, and a former contributor to New City Chicago and Untitled Magazine. A recent graduate of Wesleyan, she is currently a writer and performer based in Brooklyn.
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Teen Romance for the Sweltering Summer

There’s a particular teenage feeling of promise to summer for me. School is out, the sun is beating, and the space between June and September seems big enough to live a lifetime in. Even for someone staunchly past teenhood, the tickle of summertime is exciting, Teen Romance For Sweltering Summer and self-transformation– and these are

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The Curse

As strange as it is funny and as thoughtful as it is surprising, The Curse is as unique a viewing experience as they come. I was first drawn in by the sharp satire and stayed for the company of its richly envisioned characters. 

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20-Something & Figuring it Out: A Post-College Watchlist

I’ve grown accustomed to seeing people my age on screen. The problem is, 23-year-olds are usually playing high schoolers. And while I’ve relished the avalanche of shows and movies about high school’s clique-ridden trials, and even the few that explore college’s rich landscape by College Watchlist, I was ready for something that reflected my own

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If You Were the Last

Though it’s squarely a rom-com, If You Were the Last will pique the curiosity of the sci-fi lover. It’s a date night movie with an undeniable sweetness that never crosses over to cheesy. 

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Fair Play

A psychosexual thriller with equal parts boardroom and bedroom drama, Fair Play has elements of a gender issue parable in the vein of Promising Young Woman while feeling truer to the thriller genre. With plenty of Watercooler-worthy moments, it has already inspired plenty of social media discourse. Get in while the getting’s fresh.

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Bottoms

For lovers of the classic teen sex comedy, Bottoms has much to offer: well-played comedy, over-the-top antics, and underdogs to root for. But those in the market for something fresh will be even more rewarded, as the film flips the script on a well-worn genre. Deservedly so, because anyone who’s been an awkward teen girl

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Telemarketers

Telemarketers mixes stranger-than-fiction characters, high-level mystery, and drug-fueled thrills, with the intrigue of a pulpy true crime flick. It’s as journalistically interesting as it is entertaining. Anyone who’s been on the receiving end of a telemarketing call (which is virtually everyone) is in for a shocking treat, as the scene you might imagine is on

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The Best of the Barbie Watercooler

This weekend was the biggest of the year for water cooler conversations across the country – and even the world. I saw Barbie on Thursday, the first day it was in theaters in New York City, and I had to get tickets a week in advance.  Part of me was annoyed to be participating in

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Theater Camp

Theater Camp is a treat for those who remember what it’s like to be young and to have a dream, and who haven’t forgotten all the sweat and ambition that comes with it, and how it can feel like the most important thing that has ever happened. The world of AdirondACTS is richly envisioned, and

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JR Atkinson

JR Atkinson is a co-founder and editor of Midriff Magazine and Reverberations, and a former contributor to New City Chicago and Untitled Magazine. A recent graduate of Wesleyan, she is currently a writer and performer based in Brooklyn.
Featured Image

The Greatest Show on Earth: Springsteen, E Street and ‘Road Diary’

Having been a music journalist for over 30 years for the likes of Rolling Stone, The L.A. Times, Billboard, Chicago Tribune and pretty much everywhere else, I have been to easily 5000 plus shows. I can safely say there is nothing on earth like being at a Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band show.

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Shrinking‘s Christa Miller on Season 2, Dating Advice & Her Watchlist

She’s been a familiar face in living rooms since she broke out as Kate on the hit 90s sitcom The Drew Carey Show, followed by her role as the jaded Jordan Sullivan in Scrubs. More recently she was part of the Cougar Town trio with Courtney Cox and Busy Phillips. And if you’ve been watching

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Defying Gravity: Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

Christopher Reeve will forever be remembered as the face of the Man of Steel, yes, despite the many well-known actors who have donned the big blue cape in his wake. But in this stirring, intimate documentary premiering only in theaters, the lesser known story of one of Hollywood’s most enduring icons is revealed, and it’s

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Irresistible

A post-election escape watch from Jon Stewart, the 2020 political satire works as an entertaining crash course on local campaign organizing while doubling as an expose on the dysfunctions of the “election economy.”

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A Career Reinvention Watchlist

As layoffs continue in the wake of a year of ominous headlines about the bots who are replacing us, a recent EY report found that over 70% of employees are reeling from AI anxiety. That actually sounds low. The idea of having to concoct a new livelihood – one that won’t be taken over by

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A Watercooler Guide to Emma Stone’s Kinds of Kindness

With so many franchises, sequels and prequels arriving in theaters, we get accustomed to seeing familiar worlds and their predictable three-act structures. Then a three-hour theatrical release comes along that defies any simple explanation, and you have no idea what you’re getting into. Kinds of Kindness is that kind of film. With a top-notch cast

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The Boys creator Eric Kripke on the hit show’s timely parallels, his inspirations, and what to watch next

The Boys creator Eric Kripke gives an exclusive interview about hit show and its parallels to our own election, and the inspirations behind its Black female vice president, its homicidal dictator, and Kripke’s mind.

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Teen Romance for the Sweltering Summer

There’s a particular teenage feeling of promise to summer for me. School is out, the sun is beating, and the space between June and September seems big enough to live a lifetime in. Even for someone staunchly past teenhood, the tickle of summertime is exciting, Teen Romance For Sweltering Summer and self-transformation– and these are

Read More »
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The Home Edit

Though organizing and tidying can be stress-inducing, The Home Edit experts demonstrate that the key to taking control of your space again is to have a system that works for you and your workflow.

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The Essex Serpent

Like the mythical creature of the title, The Essex Serpent slowly draws you out to sea and before you know it you’re in deep, totally immersed.

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Operation Mincemeat

This isn’t a high-octane spy thriller or a war film in the style of Saving Private Ryan. It’s a quiet piece whose entertainment value is found in the incredulous fact that this really did happen, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable.

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Why We’re Still Obsessed with The Golden Girls 30 Years Later

It is impossible to overstate the lasting success of The Golden Girls, which enjoys a level of popularity and staying power few shows have ever reached.

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What’s So Funny about Hacks?

Hacks is one of the best comedies on TV right now. And if you don’t believe us, we’ve got the receipts to prove it.

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Pachinko

Pachinko is a beautiful, sweeping, historic epic spanning generations as one family faces wars, strife, peace, and its own complex legacy.

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Watercooler Guide: What You Need to Know about The Staircase

Our Watercooler guide to The Staircase will help you jump right into the conversation about HBO Max’s new true-crime series.

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Star Trek: Strange New Worlds

If you love the idea of an old-fashioned Star Trek that lives up to today’s standards of inclusion and diversity (so, minus the ‘60s sexism), this is going to be right up your alley.

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Heartstopper

Heartstopper is, without a doubt, the best film or TV show about gay teenagers I have ever seen. Innocent, romantic, and tenderly wrought, it is the story and the representation that the LGBTQ community has been craving for decades.

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