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
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,
A Need-to-Know Guide to The Buccaneers
Was life in the Gilded Age all that gilded? In the HBO Max series, penned by Downton Abbey’s creator Julian Fellowes, the focus is on the class divide between America’s old money aristocrats and new money industrialists, and the often exhausting rules of “society.” Apple TV’s The Buccaneers, which just returned for its second season,
A Watercooler Guide to The Phoenician Scheme: Wes Anderson’s Oil-Baron Fever Dream
Wes Anderson films are easy to spot, but not always easy to describe. Watching them feels like stepping inside a handcrafted diorama of history: symmetrical, stylized, and slightly sentimental. From the wry narration and sharp color palettes to his signature whip pans and deadpan dialogue, Anderson crafts cinematic worlds where emotions are bottled then uncorked
A Need-to-Know Guide to And Just Like That…
It’s been a two year wait, but Carrie Bradshaw and her tribe of fabulous fifty-somethings are finally back with their third season. You’d be forgiven if you lost track of the Sex and the City sequel and its storylines. But with summer’s planes, trains, and automobiles and rained-in weekends, And Just Like That might be
Bring Her Back
A psychological horror film with standout performances, Bring Her Back isn’t just about summoning the dead, it’s about confronting the parts of ourselves we lose in the process. The Philippou brothers have crafted a film that dares to ask whether the true horror lies in what we’re willing to do in the name of love.
The Something for Everyone Show: Poker Face is Back
Can’t agree on what to watch together? Consider putting on your Poker Face. Peacock’s acclaimed mystery-of-the-week series created by Rian Johnson (best known for Star Wars: The Last Jedi and, most relevant here, the Glass Onion films) and starring Natasha Lyonne, is finally back for another season after two long years. That’s great news for
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.
What Lovecraft Country Can Tell Us About Our History
My husband and I first bonded over science-fiction and fantasy. He learned on our first date that I was a Star Wars fan and gave me a Millennium Falcon replica on our second. He had me at “I know.” We still watch sci-fi and fantasy movies and binge TV shows together. From the MCU to
The Forty-Year-Old Version
Blank’s storytelling style embraces the part of everyone that deals with the issues of feeling old, over, but not done yet. It’s a hopeful look at how to persevere in a culture that ignores you.
Agents of Chaos
This documentary leaves no room for reasonable doubt that our democracy fell under attack in 2016, and that it could happen again.
The Good Lord Bird
What can seem like a wild-ride Coen brothers adventure-comedy on one level is actually a stirring exploration of history: a peeling away of the layers of religion, identity, and race that have intertwined to drive some of the biggest events that collectively shaped us.
Bolívar (South America)
“Sex and revolution – what else is there?” This irresistible telenovela is also a biopic about one of the most important figures in world history: Venezuelan liberator Simón Bolívar.
Maria
Kenya’s sweeping family drama has hooked 90% of the population with its tear-jerking story — while throwing East Africa’s rich and poor divide into stark relief.
Utopia
The conspiracy and thriller elements keep the audience guessing, but it’s also comforting to know that the answers have already been sorted out by the writers before the first episode even begins.
Star Trek: Discovery
Stands out from other Trek series by embracing a more serialized storytelling model and incorporating mature themes like the harm of colonialism and the tension between the pursuit of science and the promotion of militarism within the Federation itself.