Katie Rife

Katie Rife is a writer and film critic based in Chicago. She worked as the Senior Writer for The A.V. Club from 2019-2022, and News Editor from 2014-2019. She currently freelances for outlets like Rolling Stone, Vulture, Indiewire, EW, and Fangoria, and assists with year-round horror programming at the Music Box of Horrors.
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Old Enough!

Though the idea of sending a three-year-old to the supermarket by themselves might seem terrifying, the Japanese documentary series Old Enough! is hardly a white-knuckle experience. It’s a sweet and watchable show showcasing the kids’ natural charisma.

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A Need-to-Know Guide to And Just Like That…

After a two year wait, 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 the inevitable rainy weekends, And Just Like That might be

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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

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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

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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. 

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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

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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

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Top Gun: Maverick

Top Gun: Maverick captures the same excitement and action as the original, if not more. It’s well worth experiencing in the theater on a big screen.

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What You Need to Know about Obi-Wan Kenobi

Obi-Wan Kenobi has had a long and epic journey, but you don’t need to know it all before watching the show. Just use our handy cheat sheet.

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Stranger Things Season 4 Catch-up: Watercooler Guide to the Story So Far

It’s been a while since the last season of Stranger Things, so we’ve got a handy refresher to catch you up on all that’s happened so far in preparation for the upcoming fourth season.

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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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