
R.J. LaForce

Why Nomadland Would be a Worthy, Definitive Best Picture Winner for 2021
Chloe Zhao’s lyrical, masterful film about those forgotten on the fringes of American society has ratcheted up the momentum to be the favorite going into “Hollywood’s biggest night.” And it should be.

Robert Redford’s Impact: Four Films to Watch
He was “one of the lions,” as Meryl Streep put it, an American touchstone who changed filmmaking and opened the gates for new generations of storytellers, becoming a central force in independent cinema. To understand the impact his films have had – on previous generations, on our culture, on so many other films – we’ve

The Back-to-College Binge Watch Playlist
Remember when you could sleep until noon, stumble to class in pajamas, and stay up until 2am watching weird art films? Fall is when many of us become wistful about that bumpy chapter of extended adolescence, when you start to discover who you truly are and make some truly regrettable choices. In honor of all

Eddington is a pandemic parable. But what is it trying to say?
Set in May 2020 in a fictional New Mexico town, Pedro Pascal and Joaquin Phoenix’s new film Eddington draws some parallels to two of the biggest breakout shows of the past decade: The Last of Us and The Walking Dead. It’s a story about a virus that’s less about death and more about exposing the living.

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,

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,

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

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.

What to Watch When You’re Starting Over
The beginning of a new year offers us a chance for a clean slate and the golden opportunity to start over. With the new day and new calendar year comes fresh perspectives, strength, and a renewed sense of purpose. Of course, if you’ve suffered a breakup, a job loss, someone’s passing, or the financial brink,

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.

What to Watch on Your Flights This Holiday Season
Airline entertainment options can seem like the discount racks at Marshall’s — a hodge podge of last season’s cast offs and Weird Barbie concoctions that haven’t exactly considered your frame of mind and fellow flyers. But dig a little deeper, and you’ll find some treasures. They’re just hard to spot based on those one sentence

Best of the Watercooler: Movies & Series to Watch Now
The start of December ushers in a flurry of new releases, a mix of crowd-pleasing holiday movies and awards season fare that can make the scrolling and app jumping feel especially overwhelming. So we’ve sifted out six of the most exciting, engrossing, and transporting new films, shows, and even a podcast — each of which

Under the Radar Holiday Movies for Every Mood
Holiday Movies For Every Mood. It’s already happened, friends. I was driving around, six weeks from Christmas, the radio on, when I heard it. That one song. The one that tells us to brace ourselves, the holidays are coming: Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You.” And I am not ashamed to admit

Napoleon
A stunning, riveting, and surprisingly funny biopic, Ridley Scott’s Napoleon is a cinematic tour de force: a visual masterclass in humanity and all its ills.

Rescue in the Philippines
A chilling yet inspiring documentary about an often-overlooked act of kindness that ultimately changed the course of history.

How to Jump Into The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
It has been 11 years since Katniss and Peeta were introduced in New Hunger Games Movie, the film that broke box office records and kicked off a dystopian blockbuster trilogy. The duo were dragged back into the arena in the sequels Catching Fire and Mockingjay: Part One before they finally found some semblance of peace

A Need to Know Guide to Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
The first streaming series in the Godzilla monsterverse is an epic story that straddles two timelines and three generations — explaining the origin story of the people who have studied the colossal creatures over the past 70 years.