Chris Cookson
Movies to Watch After a Breakup
They say two things in life are inevitable: death and taxes. I argue that there is a third inevitability: Movies for a Breakup. No matter how you protect your heart, if you care for someone you will have your heart broken in time. It doesn’t matter if you are the one ending the relationship or
The Watercooler Guide to Shadow and Bone: Season 2
It has been almost two years since Netflix’s epic fantasy series Shadow and Bone captured 55 million viewers in its first month, hitting #1 in 79 countries around the world, including Australia, Brazil, Germany, Russia, Spain, South Africa, and the U.S. The much-anticipated second season finally arrives Thursday, March 16th, and fans can hardly wait.
The Watercooler Guide to Daisy Jones and the Six
If scoring a voyeuristic backstage pass to the drama and drugs of a world-famous 70s rock band sounds like a dream come true, then here is Guide to Daisy Jones and the Six, Amazon Prime’s limited series Daisy Jones and the Six is a must-see this March. The show stars Riley Keough (Mad Max Fury
12 Book Adaptations to Get Excited About
With each New Year comes a fresh lineup of literary adaptations, and 2023 will not disappoint audiences. Much-anticipated sequels (Dune, Shadow and Bone) finally arrive to satiate followers. Beloved classics (Wonka, The Color Purple) get new spins—and songs. Judy Blume adds another film adaptation to her career as an author, as does Bram Stoker. Whether
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.
Parallels
This French time-travel series on Disney+ has been compared to Stranger Things and Dark, but you can actually watch it with your kids.
The Real History Behind Our Flag Means Death
Our Flag Means Death is based (very loosely) on real historical figures, but the true story of Stede Bonnet and the legendary pirate Blackbeard is even wilder.
Our Flag Means Death
Our Flag Means Death is a fun escape into the absurd, and we could all use a reminder that even in the 1700s people had mid-life crises and needed to escape reality as much as we do today.
Book Adaptations We’re Looking forward to in 2022
As we enter 2022 we have a brand new and substantial slate of literary adaptations coming to big and small screens near you. From romance to horror to war stories, set in worlds both familiar and fantastic (or even both), there’s bound to be something here to appeal to every kind of fan.
Chris Cookson
Summer Escape Binges: The Best Series to Transport You
The best escapist shows and movies with travel and exotic settings.
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
Round the World: Summer Camp Movies for Grownups
Ah, summer camp. Images of wood cabins, elaborate pranks, cringe-y talent show performances, and teens with raging hormones have filled our brains, thanks to what’s become a subgenre of American & Summer Camp Movies.. But summer camp stories take on different depths depending upon the decade and the country where they’re set, and they can
What to Watch with your Roommates
It’s difficult to share your home with someone you don’t share anything else with. But one of the easiest inroads to friendship is television, and one of the joys of living with others is introducing them to the shows you love, and vice versa. Watching Carrie meet Big for the first time with my new-to-the-show
A Watercooler Watch: Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything
Before social media and podcasts, there was one undeniable truth about news-making interviews: if a story mattered, Barbara Walters would be the one to tell it. Landing a one-on-one with her didn’t just mean publicity, it meant you had become part of a national conversation. But while the interview signified that you had made it,
Universal Language
An absurdist dramedy about the clash of two worlds, Universal Language entertains as much as it motivates. Beyond the madness lies an urgent plea for unity, an appeal that resonates with people hoping for a better, more harmonious future.
Industry S1
Industry is a series fueled by greed, drugs, sex, and money, and provides all of these ingredients in Federal Reserve-sized quantities. There’s never a dull moment.
Minx
The streaming series about the intersection between feminism and smut could endear even the most skeptical. And what it might lack in delicacy, it certainly makes up for in swagger.
The Sympathizer
Told through the perspective of a conflicted hero with contradicting loyalties, The Sympathizer is an ambitious examination of a spy who can’t help but sympathize — hence, the title of the series — with the enemy. It might make you rethink everything you were taught about the Vietnam War too.
It’s not HBO, it’s The Pitt: How streamers are embracing old TV network models
“It’s not TV, it’s HBO.” Remember that old tagline? For nearly all of its history, broadcast television has been fighting against the perception that it’s subordinate to film as a storytelling medium. Television was just media for the masses, as opposed to the more erudite aficionados of cinema (who, by the way, poured into theaters
Boyhood
Boyhood captures the importance of moments in time as people grow up and contests the idea that any singular moment is defining to your childhood. It’s a film filled with the full breadth of the emotions of childhood, conveying each one delicately to leave you reflecting on its many pensive conversations.
Why Andor is Luring in Non-Star Wars Fans
An edgier Star Wars prequel with a timely story about rebellion, Andor skips some of the more familiar elements of the franchise — from lightsabers to Jedi to the Force — in favor of a more grounded story with parallels in both history and our current moment. While it sets up the legendary world of
Inside the War Zone: A sit down with Warfare’s director and cast
A harrowing new film from Alex Garland’s production banner, Warfare drops viewers into a real-time combat mission in Iraq. Set in 2006, it follows a team of Navy SEALs on a surveillance mission gone awry. Co-written and co-directed by Garland and Ray Mendoza—whose own platoon was ambushed during the real-life event—the film is both brutal
Black Bag
A taut, stylish and steamy take on the high-stakes espionage thriller, Steven Soderbergh’s Black Bag keeps you second-guessing every character’s motives until the very end. The tension, the suspicion, the sense that the walls are closing in? It’s all here.
The Icon Party: The Cast & Producers on Mid Century Modern
A nostalgic tribute to classic sitcoms that adds some R-rated edge, Mid Century Modern has all the making’s of a breakout hit. It follows three gay best friends – played by Nathan Lane, Matt Bomer, and Nathan Lee Graham – who decide to live out their golden years together in Palm Springs after the unexpected
Lonely Planet
If you’re starting over after a breakup, facing some midlife questions, or looking for a date night movie that might inspire a romantic vacation, add this Moroccan adventure to your watchlist.
A Watercooler Guide to Hollywood Satire The Studio
A perfectly-timed send-up that is already driving more water cooler talk than the blockbuster movie machines it satirizes, Apple’s star-studded new comedy The Studio just dropped its first two episodes, and the series is sure to be watched and discussed all the way to September’s Emmy awards. Created by one of the most prolific producing