Steve Baltin
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.
Norah Jones’ Streaming Watchlist
After three long years, Grammy-winning star Norah Jones is going back on tour. She tells the Watercooler’s Steve Baltin what she’s been listening to and watching — and what she’s up to on her podcast.
Meet The Real Beatles: Get Back and the Human Side of the Mythical Band
Veteran music journalist Steve Baltin analyzes the Beatles doc ‘Get Back’ and sees their human side, their joy — and the truth behind their split.
Community
At its best, this show is high art, mixing creativity, believability, thoughtfulness, and heart into some of the finest individual episodes of TV you can find.
Steve Baltin
Station Eleven
A stupendously prescient and relevant post-pandemic drama with a strong undercurrent of hope and a clear faith in humanity. When the novel debuted a half-decade ago, it felt like a wonderful work of science-fiction. Not anymore.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
If you’re a fan of Spider-Man in any form, No Way Home is not to be missed. Just be prepared for an emotional workout, with wild swings worthy of the web-slinger himself.
West Side Story (2021)
Steven Spielberg manages to make this West Side Story both retro and modern at the same time. The movie doesn’t lose any steam in this reboot, 60 years in the making.
Passing
A nuanced and beautiful look at the way race and the constructs of race shapes our lives, with wonderful performances by its two leading ladies.
The Center Seat
A combination of a deep dive and a crash course into Star Trek from its inception up through the early 2000s, covering the shows, movies, and the phenomenon itself.
The Sex and The City Effect: What We Took From The Show
In the 23 years since Sex and the City first premiered, what impact did the show really have on generations of women? Kanene Ayo Holder looks at what’s changed, what hasn’t, and what she took away from the hit show.
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!
Belfast
Belfast benefits from a stellar cast and skilled direction in its depiction of a personal story with a fresh perspective on a complicated moment in history.
Procession
Experimental, controversial, and heartbreaking. Procession hammers home the necessity of reclaiming one’s own story from the grips of time and those who don’t wish to hear it.
Holiday Movies to Watch with Each Generation
Deciding what to watch with your family over the holidays is akin to playing Mario Kart. You can be in first place, cruising along when BAM! One of those pesky red shells hit you and now you’re in last place. One minute, you’re sitting down for dinner and everything’s running smoothly, then someone turns on
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?
What to Watch (and Skip) with Thanksgiving Guests
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.
Universal Language
An absurdist dramedy about the clash of two worlds, Universal Language entertains as much as it motivates. Beyond the madness lies an urgent plea for unity, an appeal that resonates with people hoping for a better, more harmonious future.
Industry S1
Industry is a series fueled by greed, drugs, sex, and money, and provides all of these ingredients in Federal Reserve-sized quantities. There’s never a dull moment.
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.
The Sympathizer
Told through the perspective of a conflicted hero with contradicting loyalties, The Sympathizer is an ambitious examination of a spy who can’t help but sympathize — hence, the title of the series — with the enemy. It might make you rethink everything you were taught about the Vietnam War too.
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
Itaewon Class (Itaewon Keullasseu)
A colorful, ultimately inspiring tale for budding entrepreneurs, restauranteurs, and empire-builders. It also works as a vicarious adventure in Seoul.