Mood: Enlighten Me

Rutherford Falls is a clever and sweet satire similar to Michael Schur’s other half-hour comedies. Like Parks and Recreation and The Good Place, it's surprisingly deep and deserves just as much attention.

Like the mythical creature of the title, The Essex Serpent slowly draws you out to sea and before you know it you're in deep, totally immersed.

This isn’t a high-octane spy thriller or a war film in the style of Saving Private Ryan. It’s a quiet piece whose entertainment value is found in the incredulous fact that this really did happen, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable.

Pachinko is a beautiful, sweeping, historic epic spanning generations as one family faces wars, strife, peace, and its own complex legacy.

Heartstopper is, without a doubt, the best film or TV show about gay teenagers I have ever seen. Innocent, romantic, and tenderly wrought, it is the story and the representation that the LGBTQ community has been craving for decades.

Everything Everywhere All At Once is a collage of farce, action, sci-fi, and metaphysical drama that's entertaining, yet not overdone.

Abbott Elementary will catch you off guard and surprise you. It captures the balance between comedy and heart, much like its mockumentary predecessors—but with a new spin, because the work these characters are doing truly matters.

This film is heartwarming and heartbreaking in all the ways you want in a character-driven indie about a subject matter that we need to talk more about.

The Worst Person in the World is a fluidly told story not about love, but instead about self-awareness, acceptance, and the persistent insecurity that accompanies the pursuit of both.

This film might break your heart, but it also has the capacity to inspire you to action. It left me energized by the thought that we can reverse the loss of wildlife and wild places on our planet, and slow the pace of climate change, and that doing these things...

Director George Clooney has created a compelling movie with characters that are relatable and easy to root for. The Tender Bar manages to have the emotional depth of any other Oscar contender, but without the expected sadness, or sturm and drang. It’s a relief, really.

This is the most Andersonian of Wes Anderson’s movies so far, and arguably his most ambitious work to date. If you haven't enjoyed his movies in the past The French Dispatch might not be for you.

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.

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.