Lauren Vanderveen
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.
Love & Gelato
Love & Gelato is pretty corny but it’s the exact kind of sweetly innocent confection that will melt in your mouth. What’s more, the film offers a slightly more authentic ending than the average rom-com fare.
Becoming Elizabeth
Becoming Elizabeth goes beyond mere court intrigue and makes a testimony to the influence of the powerful over the powerless. It’s assisted majorly by an eager and incredibly telling arrangement of sounds that stitches the lofty narrative together. In short, it’s a bold entry in the arena of historical dramas.
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.
Outlander: What We Talk About When We Talk About Assault
It’s no coincidence every major character in Outlander has experienced some form of assault. I’d argue that’s what the whole show is about.
The Adam Project
The Adam Project is one of those movies you go into imagining big explosions and kids hilariously making life-or-death decisions (like Zathura, for example). And, to be sure it throws everything it has at the wall and then some: time-travel jiu jitsu soldiers, a stacked all-star cast, and lots of heart.
The Alpinist
Joie de vivre never looked so effortless as it does in The Alpinist. While the spectacular cinematography wows the senses, the beautiful character portrait at its core of an eccentric, backwoods mountain climber stirs the humanity in us all.
The Best New Movies and TV Shows in February 2022
Love, history, and choices well off the beaten path are arriving on streaming platforms this month. See our picks in categories you won’t find anywhere else.
The Best New Movies and Shows to Stream in December 2021
This month’s picks include big stars, highly anticipated returns, sci-fi epics, and an international Oscar contender—all for your streaming pleasure!
Lauren Vanderveen
Transport Me: Holiday Movies from Around the World
If you and your family are getting tired of the same old Christmas stories year after year, why not dig a little deeper and try these picks from around the world?
From SNL to the Director’s Chair: Kyle Mooney Talks Nostalgia, Freestyle Raps & Y2K
He stood out for hilariously awkward and offbeat SNL characters like the eccentric Bruce Chandling and the painfully relatable Chris Fitzpatrick. Whether parodying cringeworthy YouTube personalities or channeling the overly sincere energy of ’80s public access TV, Kyle Mooney’s knack for finding humor in the bizarre and uncomfortable has always set him apart. Beyond SNL,
Romance Me: Meet Your Holiday Streaming Date
Single this holiday season? Luck-y you. You’re free to binge – and fall for – all the charming, seductive, irresistible protagonists across the streamers. Check out these holiday-themed stories for starters.
The Holdovers
A cross-generation comedy drama that’s earned five Academy Award nominations, The Holdovers will tug at your heartstrings as it wrestles with themes of grief and loneliness, and it will ultimately nurture hope.
Dune: Part Two
A mesmerizing immersive experience, Dune: Part Two is a film you won’t quickly forget. From the collective talents of its high wattage ensemble cast to the stunning cinematography, costumes and sound design, its a blockbuster that will stimulate all the senses along with your emotions.
What to Watch (and Avoid) with Friends and Family over Thanksgiving
What to watch – and what to skip – if you’re spending Thanksgiving with kids, teenagers, older generations, or all of them under one roof? Your 2022 Watercooler Guide to holiday movies.
Tokyo Vice
On one level, Tokyo Vice is the story of one man’s kamikaze mission to bring down the Yakuza. But it’s also a mesmerizing noir drama that unfolds into a tense thriller — and ultimately serves as an important reminder that freedom of the press is worth fighting for.
Awards Season Catchup: A Watercooler Guide to Shōgun
An immersive must-watch embraced by critics, the new Shōgun brings a new perspective on the epic historical drama about the battle between East and West in 17th century Japan.
What the Netflix Hit The Diplomat Can Teach Us All
In the midst of all the hype about a dating show (Love is Blind) and a dark, LA-set comedy (Beef), a complex political drama that requires undivided attention rose to the top of the Netflix chart in 2023. At its core, The Diplomat is a series about bureaucratic machinations, yet the show ups the ante
How to Jump in to Yellowjackets (Season 2)
Trying to understand all the buzz around Yellowjackets? The Watercooler created a guide to help you figure out why it’s captured such a following and how to catch-up before Season 2.
Lucky Hank
An antidote to the darker worlds currently trending across the streamers, Lucky Hank also delivers a refreshingly new Bob Odenkirk character, a guy whose meltdown might just deliver your own much-needed catharsis — leaving you laughing and pondering and lingering to see what comes next.
Extrapolations
An urgent, provocative, all-star sci-fi series that imagines a near future impacted by climate change, Extrapolations will grab your attention and make you think — while ultimately prompting you to act.
The Glory
An often-riveting South Korean revenge thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat, The Glory is also a thoughtful meditation on power, wealth, and the rigid hierarchies that make school bullying systemic — all around the world.
What’s New to Watch?
As we recover from the Oscars, it’s a ripe time to re-up on some fresh content. This weekend is jam-packed with new series premieres, and if you’re not too busy with Ted Lasso’s return, we’ve got four new shows ranging from raunchy animation to sobering thinkpiece to vie for your attention this weekend. Agent Elvis
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.
A Ted Lasso Catch-Up Guide
If your family group chat hasn’t already buzzed you about it, Ted Lasso is back on AppleTV+ tomorrow for its third and likely last season. Jason Sudeikis’s title character became an unlikely pandemic-era hero: a character with boundless goodness and optimism, far from our brooding Walter Whites and Don Drapers, or even cringe-comedy icons like
The Most Memorable Lines of the Oscars
This year’s Oscars may have been long and missing the element of surprise, but it delivered on music performances, Kimmel comedy, and stirring speeches. We’ve gathered the most memorable lines to sum up the highlights of the big event. “How could the Academy not nominate the guy who directed Avatar? What do they think he
The Magician’s Elephant
An uplifting family movie night film, The Magician’s Elephant is a richly animated adventure tale about the search for family, belonging and hope.