Lauren Vanderveen

Lauren Vanderveen covers news for CinemaBlend, with a heavy emphasis on pop culture trends and streaming titles. She has also written reviews for AllMovie.com.
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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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

Lauren Vanderveen covers news for CinemaBlend, with a heavy emphasis on pop culture trends and streaming titles. She has also written reviews for AllMovie.com.
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Beastie Boys Story

Money and fame be damned, it’s our relationships that sustain us and love that will save the day.

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Unorthodox

A surprising and moving thriller about an unhappily married young Hasidic woman who dares to flee her suffocating life and marriage in an ultra-orthodox Brooklyn community.

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The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Defying cultural expectations, Midge Maisel breaks new ground as a newly single mom turned stand-up comic in 1950s New York, and gives us an eye-opening history lesson along with the laughter.

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Living Single

A 90s hit starring Queen Latifah, Living Single delivered a smart and funny portrayal regular 20-something-year-olds in New York City doing regular things like dating, navigating the corporate world and adjusting to life as newlyweds.

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Palm Springs

Set at a destination wedding, Palm Springs is silly, twisted, clever, violent, bold, sweet, and hip. It will make you laugh, think and feel (in that order).

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Lucifer

This sexy devil is not the Prince of Lies or the incarnation of evil as commonly depicted in media, but a self-indulgent fallen angel working out his daddy issues on Earth.

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Avatar: The Last Airbender

Avatar paints a beautiful picture, both literally and figuratively, of a group of flawed yet lovable characters, who often act unpredictably but are always relatable.

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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?

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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,

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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