Melissa Roth

The co-founder of the Watercooler, Melissa Roth has written for Rolling Stone, VanityFair.com, Marie Claire, The Washington Post, and other outlets.
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The Icon Party: The Cast & Producers on Mid Century Modern

A nostalgic tribute to classic sitcoms that adds some R-rated edge, Mid Century Modern has all the making’s of a breakout hit. It follows three gay best friends – played by Nathan Lane, Matt Bomer, and Nathan Lee Graham – who decide to live out their golden years together in Palm Springs after the unexpected

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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.  

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Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat

With all of the power and percussion of a Louis Armstrong horns ensemble, Soundtrack to a Coup D’Etat is a visceral must-watch that sheds fresh light on an era through an inventive new documentary format.

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Oscar Contender: How JFK inspired Dune‘s creator

With a Best Picture Oscar nomination and a haul of over $400 million at the global box office, Dune: Part Two continues to draw all new audiences into the science fiction epic based on the landmark 1965 novel.  And the film’s mythic world and timely themes have raised some fresh questions: How did the author

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Irresistible

A post-election escape watch from Jon Stewart, the 2020 political satire works as an entertaining crash course on local campaign organizing while doubling as an expose on the dysfunctions of the “election economy.”

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The Last Letter from Your Lover

A date night movie that transports you to a lush 1960s French Riviera, the adaptation of the JoJo Moyes novel entwines two eras and two sharply contrasted romances, delivering a wistful summer escape watch.

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Sundance from Home: 10 Movies to Stream

The most influential film festival in the U.S. is not just for festival goers anymore. For three days during the festival, viewers at home can stream dozens of the the movies that drive cultural conversations — often throughout the year. Here are 10 picks from across the categories to look for.

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Flora and Son

The power of chords and lyrics to inspire, connect, and entwine us are at the heart of Flora and Son, an ultimately uplifting story from the writer-director behind Once and Sing Street.

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Angel City

A goose-bump inspiring docuseries that takes us on to the field and into the surprising back story of how LA’s new professional women’s soccer team came to be, upending the model behind pro sports teams and finally, truly, changing the game.

Melissa Roth

The co-founder of the Watercooler, Melissa Roth has written for Rolling Stone, VanityFair.com, Marie Claire, The Washington Post, and other outlets.
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Your Seasonal Mood Lift Movie Watchlist

How to cure your Season Mood funk? These 10 movies and TV series will lift you out of your winter blues and inspire your next vacation.

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Transport Me: The Best International Horror Movies

Most horror aficionados have seen the American classics and their derivatives: The Shining, The Exorcist, all the Halloween movies, or the other big franchises. Disturbing in their own ways, American horror often follows predictable patterns and tropes. If you’re ready to explore some new worlds and watch something unexpected, it’s time to head overseas. Each

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A Conversation Guide to Oscars’ Best Picture Contenders

It’s been nearly 30 years since a blockbuster won the big prize at the Academy Awards. The year Titanic won, in 1998, 57 million people tuned in for the awards show. Compare that to the 10.4 million who watched the 2021 ceremony, the year after Covid sunk the theatrical movie business, and you can see

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Lisa Frankenstein

A fresh spin on the campy monster comedy that fully embraces the absurdities of its source material, Lisa Frankenstein subverts familiar tropes and charts its own imaginative path, ultimately moving the genre forward.

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Navalny

In the wake of his death in a Russian prison, Navalny is a timely, tense real life espionage thriller with a call to action.  

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AlRawabi School for Girls

A fun, well-written high school drama, AlRawabi School for Girls brings a fresh perspective to some of the universal challenges facing teenagers today while opening a window into the unique challenges facing Jordanian girls.

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A Valentine’s Day Watchlist for Every Mood

The inescapable Valentine’s Day hype creates tumult for many while opening up a whole new  dimension of decision paralysis: What, exactly, to watch? To help you navigate the overwhelm of new releases and resurfaced romcoms, our writers sifted out the best movies and TV series to watch based on your mood and status. Transport Me

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Killers of the Flower Moon Stars on the Film’s Resonance Today

In a Watercooler interview, two stars of the Killers of the Flower Moon share how they connected with their characters, how the film resonates with the issues of today, and which movies shaped them the most growing up.

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Eye-Openers: Oscar’s Best Documentary Contenders

Often overlooked in the sea of awards season glitz, the Academy’s finalists in the Best Documentary category become history’s time capsules. Many of them have also proven to be prophetic, exposing insights and issuing forewarnings from the front lines of urgent issues, from climate change (An Inconvenient Truth) to gun control (Bowling for Columbine) to

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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,

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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,

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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

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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

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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.

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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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