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
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.
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
Bling Empire
Dramatic, yet still light-hearted and humorous, this reality TV show follows a few simple but entertaining storylines of a group of ultra-rich business moguls, heiresses, philanthropists, and fashion influencers.
Small Axe
The history and stories from this part of the world really have not been told before. It’s a revelation, and in many ways, heartbreaking. The title comes from an African proverb, “If you are the big tree, we are the small axe.”
Dark
A complex, gripping German thriller that unravels a pattern of mysterious disappearances affecting four families across different generations — leading up to a recent hunt for a missing boy.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Adapted from August Wilson’s play, the power of the film comes from the performances of Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman, in his last film, with a story that showcases the depth of their talents.
The Crimson Kimono
Sensitive, raw, refined, and ahead of its time. Released in 1959, they still don’t make films like this stateside. The fact that you probably won’t recognize its stars lets you get to know them properly, without prejudice.
Dead to Me Creator Liz Feldman on Death & Comedy in the Time of Corona
For someone who has spent most of her professional life writing comedy, Liz Feldman, creator of Dead to Me, has had death on her mind for a long time. The Emmy winner wrote jokes for Ellen Degeneres for several years, including for her Oscars hosting gigs, and has been in the world of television since
One Night in Miami
An entertaining and enlightening slice of history that celebrates these giant personalities and their impact on the generations that followed them. Expect to hear a lot about this film as awards season heats up.
Locked Down
Set in the middle of the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, the rom-com wrapped in a heist thriller works as an engaging and relatable time capsule.
How to Max Out Your HBO Max Subscription
Aaron Sorkin classics, addictive comedic thrillers, special episodes — and the most conversation-worthy awards-caliber TV and film.