Xoan-Carlos Leon

Xoan-Carlos (XC) Leon is a former writer for the Financial Times and currently a UK-based financial editor at a US investment bank. A Film Studies minor, XC has a longstanding interest in European and Latin America film and manages several social media sites specializing on the film of Wes Anderson.
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The French Dispatch

This is the most Andersonian of Wes Anderson’s movies so far, and arguably his most ambitious work to date. You may find yourself craving more and wanting to re-watch it immediately to pick up what you missed amongst the sensory overload.

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Industry

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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. 

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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.

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Encanto

Encanto is a charming and heartfelt musical with beautiful visuals that ought to delight families of all ages.

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Last Chance for Cyber Monday Streaming Deals 

So many streaming services, so many Cyber Monday deals.  But which of these streamers have enough of the shows and movies you will actually watch?  And how much will you really save?

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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.

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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.

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What Franklin Can Teach Us About Diplomacy

As conflicts rage on across the world and the need for diplomacy rises, the new Apple TV+ series Franklin — about America’s first diplomat — offers lessons for our times, as a former speechwriter for the US Ambassador to the UN explains.

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Rising Star: Our Interview with Dune & The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare‘s Babs Olusanmokun

He is best known for his recent breakout sci-fi roles – from the fierce fighter Doctor M’Benga in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds to Jamis – the Freman and best friend to the protagonist Paul – in Dune Parts One and Two.   But Babs Olusanmokun has been acting for two decades. A Nigerian-American who speaks

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From Aristocrat to Waiter in a Grand Hotel: A Gentleman in Moscow

It’s 1920s Moscow, four years after the start of the Russian Revolution. The aristocracy has been put on trial, staring down their inevitable doom. Count Alexander Rostov, a Russian aristocrat, is sentenced by a Bolshevik tribunal for “social parasitism” — the crime of living off of the efforts of others. His fate is surely death,

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The Big Door Prize

A fresh, lighthearted comedy that doubles as a philosophical sci-fi mystery, The Big Door Prize’s biggest question is that regardless of how much we have, are we ever truly satisfied? And that’s a poignant query in our consumer-driven, must-document-every-moment-on-social-media world.

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The Classic Film Education in Colin Farrell’s Sugar 

If you solely go by the trailer, Colin Farrell’s new Apple TV series might seem like a familiar L.A. noir: A private detective named John Sugar gets hired by a legendary Hollywood producer to investigate the disappearance of his granddaughter, and soon finds himself unraveling a wicked web of family secrets. Apple TV+ A genre

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You’re the Worst

Through the eyes of two cynics who seem doomed to be alone, You’re the Worst embraces the complexity of modern relationships and the many emotional layers they surface. It’s also an accurate and empathetic portrait of what it’s like to live with clinical depression.

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The stars of Manhunt on the history we did not learn

It’s a story that none of us learned in history classes, and it unfolds as a taut, complex conspiracy thriller — one that raises all new questions. Set in 1865, Manhunt focuses on the aftermath of one of America’s most tragic events: the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. With all of the biopics, TV shows, and

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Mary & George

A clever, dark and salacious historical drama that brings a much overlooked chapter of European history to vivid life. Mary & George is a richly drawn, rough and raunchy story about the quest for power – and survival – in 16th century England.

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