Melissa Roth
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.”
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.
Dune‘s Creator on JFK, Catholicism, Tarot and Power
As critical praise and box office success for the new Dune movie draw new audiences into the science fiction epic, its mythic world and timely themes beg some fresh questions: How did the author behind the novels, first published 59 years ago, conceive of this story that foreshadowed so many of today’s biggest issues? From
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.
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.
The Serpent Queen
If you’re looking for some historical context for all the news and fictional obsession with monarchs, The Serpent Queen brings a modern, often funny take on one of the most powerful female rulers in history, one that sheds light on our current preoccupation with all things royal.
Flee
The most urgent and relevant Oscar-nominated film of 2022, Flee is a deeply personal documentary about a man’s childhood as a refugee that inspires as it creates empathy for those forced out of their homelands.
Charlie Wilson’s War
A suddenly timely look back at how the U.S. first escalated involvement with Afghanistan in the 1980s, told through an eye-opening story that feels like it had to be made up by its Oscar-winning screenwriter, Aaron Sorkin.
Sex and Lucía
A cinephile’s choice for a Netflix and Chill night, Sex and Lucia is a sizzling and intoxicating portrait of two lovers … and their other lovers … that explores the blurry lines between reality and imagination, love and lust, tragedy and obsession.
Melissa Roth
The Greatest Show on Earth: Springsteen, E Street and ‘Road Diary’
Having been a music journalist for over 30 years for the likes of Rolling Stone, The L.A. Times, Billboard, Chicago Tribune and pretty much everywhere else, I have been to easily 5000 plus shows. I can safely say there is nothing on earth like being at a Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band show.
Shrinking‘s Christa Miller on Season 2, Dating Advice & Her Watchlist
She’s been a familiar face in living rooms since she broke out as Kate on the hit 90s sitcom The Drew Carey Show, followed by her role as the jaded Jordan Sullivan in Scrubs. More recently she was part of the Cougar Town trio with Courtney Cox and Busy Phillips. And if you’ve been watching
Defying Gravity: Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
Christopher Reeve will forever be remembered as the face of the Man of Steel, yes, despite the many well-known actors who have donned the big blue cape in his wake. But in this stirring, intimate documentary premiering only in theaters, the lesser known story of one of Hollywood’s most enduring icons is revealed, and it’s
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.”
A Career Reinvention Watchlist
As layoffs continue in the wake of a year of ominous headlines about the bots who are replacing us, a recent EY report found that over 70% of employees are reeling from AI anxiety. That actually sounds low. The idea of having to concoct a new livelihood – one that won’t be taken over by
A Watercooler Guide to Emma Stone’s Kinds of Kindness
With so many franchises, sequels and prequels arriving in theaters, we get accustomed to seeing familiar worlds and their predictable three-act structures. Then a three-hour theatrical release comes along that defies any simple explanation, and you have no idea what you’re getting into. Kinds of Kindness is that kind of film. With a top-notch cast
The Boys creator Eric Kripke on the hit show’s timely parallels, his inspirations, and what to watch next
The Boys creator Eric Kripke gives an exclusive interview about hit show and its parallels to our own election, and the inspirations behind its Black female vice president, its homicidal dictator, and Kripke’s mind.
Teen Romance for the Sweltering Summer
There’s a particular teenage feeling of promise to summer for me. School is out, the sun is beating, and the space between June and September seems big enough to live a lifetime in. Even for someone staunchly past teenhood, the tickle of summertime is exciting, Teen Romance For Sweltering Summer and self-transformation– and these are
Why are We So Obsessed with the NXIVM Cult?
As you might have heard, this year has seen the premiere of not one but two premium cable series focused on the rise and fall of NXIVM, the cult (or self-help organization, or pyramid scheme, depending on your point of view) at the center of an ongoing criminal investigation and court battle. First there was
The Women Who Make The Queen’s Gambit Worth Watching
There’s a scene in the new Netflix series The Queen’s Gambit when a Life magazine reporter asks teenage chess prodigy Beth Harmon (played by Anya Taylor-Joy) why the game appeals to her so much. Are the King and Queen pieces stand-ins for the parents she lost? No, she says, it was the board. “It’s an
The Social Dilemma
This doc will make you think twice before picking up your phone to check Twitter for the hundredth time in a hour, and that’s a good thing.
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Within the realm of Sacha Baron Cohen-level absurdity is this coming-of-age story of a young woman who breaks out of a patriarchal cocoon to find that female free will does exist.
Roadkill
Political leaders dedicating their waking hours to dodging scandals are not native to the U.S., but they’re more fun to watch when playing out in a fictional version from the other side of the pond.
Eddie Pepitone – For the Masses
Pepitone helps us see the humor and light in all of this moment’s frightening and confusing nature.
The Trial of the Chicago 7
The Trial of the Chicago 7 offers plenty of precedents, reminding us of philosopher George Santayana’s warning that “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.”
Homeland
The compelling qualities that first drew me to write in the genre are the same attractions that are abundant in Homeland: plot, tension, moral ambiguity, and paradigm-shattering twists.