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.
Featured Image

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.

Featured Image

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.

No items found
Featured Image

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.

Featured Image

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

Read More »
Featured Image

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,

Read More »
Featured Image

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.

Featured Image

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

Read More »
Featured Image

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.

Featured Image

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

Read More »
Featured Image

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.

Featured Image

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

Read More »
2
Featured Image

The Magician’s Elephant

An uplifting family movie night film, The Magician’s Elephant is a richly animated adventure tale about the search for family, belonging and hope.

Featured Image

Where to Stream the Oscar Nominated Films

The Oscars are fast approaching, and if you’re anything like us, you have more fun watching when you’re invested and have a favorite to root for. So, we’ve collected a list of ways to watch all the award heavy hitters in case you have some catching up to do. We’ve also linked guides and recommendations

Read More »
Featured Image

Oscar’s Weekend Watercooler Guide

Hard to believe it’s been an entire year, but the Academy Awards are finally back, so set your (sprung ahead) clocks for 8pm ET / 5pm PT Sunday nights — or as early as 1pm ET if you want to catch red carpet coverage. To get get up to speed on the contenders, see our

Read More »
Featured Image

The Watercooler Guide to Daisy Jones and the Six

If scoring a voyeuristic backstage pass to the drama and drugs of a world-famous 70s rock band sounds like a dream come true, then here is Guide to Daisy Jones and the Six, Amazon Prime’s limited series Daisy Jones and the Six is a must-see this March. The show stars Riley Keough (Mad Max Fury

Read More »
Featured Image

Oscars Countdown: Four Under the Radar Films

You have just over a week to catch up on Oscar nominees. And while much of the coverage of the contenders has been focused on big names and bigger movies, the real gift of the Academy Awards are the under the radar films it can bring to our attention. We’ve zeroed in on three nominees

Read More »
Featured Image

A Millennial Nostalgia Watchlist

2023 promises to reenact many Millennials pop culture milestones. If you’re feeling all that nostalgia, here are the best TV series to watch to take you back…and make you see how far you’ve come.

Featured Image

The Mandalorian Refresher

If the notoriously fractious Star Wars fandom can agree that The Mandalorian is a worthy torchbearer as the franchise heads into an uncertain future, it’s got to be worth checking out. 

Featured Image

Aftersun

A deeply felt, slow-burning indie film about a 30-something woman looking back on her last vacation with her father 20 years earlier, it’s a work that’s true impact sneaks up on you after the credits roll.

Featured Image

The Watercooler Guide to Hello Tomorrow!

Apple’s new futuristic TV series combines nostalgia, sci-fi and Billy Crudup to ask big questions about the cost of all of the hype around tech, space, and “the future” can cost us all.

Scroll to Top