It’s time to enjoy the real reason for the season when work slows down, gifts are handed out, and you’re free to take up residence on a comfy couch to binge-watch all of the great movies and TV shows you didn’t get around to viewing because … well, life. Here, in no particular order, our critics round up some of their favorite recommendations, including blockbuster films, fan-favorite shows, and thought-provoking documentaries.
maverick
November 3
the terminal list
july 1
emily the criminal
november 9
nope
november 11
Wednesday
november 13
House Of The Dragon
november 13
the White Lotus
november 17
Fleishman IS In Trouble
november 17
The US And The Holocaust
november 18
Welcome to Chippendales
november 22
wednesday
november 23
willow
november 30
welcome to wrexham
August 24
Lord of the rings
September 2
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Emily The Criminal
Debt is a living thing, a parasite that feeds off its host, swapping ambition and hopefulness for desperation and envy. Director John Patton Ford understands that and paints an absorbing picture of how owing can slowly own a person with Emily the Criminal, which debuted to great acclaim at Sundance and is now streaming on Netflix. Suffocating under $70,000 worth of student debt, Emily (Aubrey Plaza at her absolute best) has swapped dreams of an art career for the draining daily drudge of catering corporate lunches, unpacking spilled pastas and oversized salads for office drones. When a friend turns her on to a just-a-bit-illegal way of making some extra cash, she jumps – reluctantly at first, but soon with both feet, a taser, and an admirable fearlessness that sees her stealing luxury cars and pawning off TVs packed to the brim in her four-door sedan. Plaza is reserved, but there’s a troubling anxiety bubbling beneath her surface that makes every move unexpected. To spoil the ending of Emily’s too-believable descent into a life of crime would be to spoil the entire film, but it’s safe to say, like the rest of this compact thriller, it doesn’t disappoint. — Jessica Toomer
Writers: Brett Michael Dykes, Brian Grubb, Kimberly Ricci, Jason Tabrys, Jessica Toomer,
Design/Build: Daisy James, Carlos Sotelo Olivas, Joseph Petrolis
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Knives Out:
The Glass Onion
Rian Johnson’s Knives Out surfaced in 2019 like razor-sharp, hard-crackling lightning in a bottle. The film served up a buffet of whodunnit goodness, and it also gave us Daniel Craig delighting in leaving Bond behind in favor of Benoit Blanc, Chris Evans wearing a sweater like no other, and Ana de Armas in her breakout role. Now Craig returns as Blanc with a whole new cast of potential murdermakers to relish.
The film dances through mischief and swings bigger and better with a series of bewitching wrinkles and knots that make you forgive the 2+ hour runtime. In fact, I barely noticed the passage of time because this film is fun and cerebral and makes perfect sense when all is revealed. Also, one of the greatest TV murder detectives in history makes a (bittersweet) cameo, for crying out loud. Netflix really should have run with a longer theatrical window, but at least it’s streaming for Christmas. — Kimberly Ricci
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Top Gun: Maverick
That loud whooshing sound you heard this summer could have been one of two things: the sound of jet engines blasting out of movie theaters around the country or the sound of massive crowds rushing into and out of those same theaters to hear those jet engines in Top Gun: Maverick. The sequel to the original movie — released over 35 years later, which is kind of wild — picked up right where the first left off, in spirit if not chronology, with Tom Cruise and a bunch of new hotshot pilots (Miles Teller and Glen Powell leading the way) taking back to the skies and talking trash and sometimes riding motorcycles. It was a lot of fun and better than it had any right to be. One of the first real-deal, must-see movie theater movies we’ve had in a while, it still absolutely delivers now that it’s streaming. — Brian Grubb
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Nope
Floating sinisterly along the peripheral edge of Jordan Peele’s latest horror hit is an angelic extraterrestrial nightmare, one with billowing limbs and a yawning black void at its core, ready to inhale any poor souls who stare at its maw for too long. As with everything Peele does, the unidentified flying object that rains blood from the sky, terrorizing a small horse ranch that caters to Hollywood’s whims, is a metaphor for many things. Our exhausting collective consumption of media. The oppression of Black and Brown people – and the attempts to document that. The greedy push and push of a human species that can’t be bothered to peacefully cohabitate with its natural surroundings. And the knowledge that whoever owns that “perfect shot” dictates history. But all of that is hidden beneath a fun-as-hell sci-fi horror film, one filled with standout performances from Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer, and anchored by the kind of arresting visuals and unsettling undertones Peele has perfected over the years. — Jessica Toomer
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The US And The Holocaust
Traditionally, we have had a love/hate relationship with Ken Burns. It’s not that he’s a bad filmmaker and/or that his work hasn’t been good and/or important, it’s just that some of his past PBS docuseries have been, well, a little too long and kind of boring. That said, someone must have given him a note from us because the past few series he’s done for PBS have been utterly fantastic, particularly his recent works on Muhammed Ali and Ben Franklin, but culminating with the masterful The U.S. and the Holocaust -- it’s utterly riveting from beginning to end and an incredibly important historical document, not to mention a crash course on some things probably not widely known to most Americans about their country. For instance, did you know that Hitler drew great inspiration for his plans for European Jews from America’s treatment of blacks and native Americans? Well, it's true! – Brett Michael Dykes
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House Of The Dragon
Long live this prequel series that redeems George R.R. Martin’s baby from the depths of Game Of Thrones Season 8. This spinoff lets all of the glorious Targaryen messiness hang out, and why not? We already know where their dynasty ends, so we might as well relish the spectacle. Besides, all of the pettiness of Daemon and Aemond can’t be more delicious to watch while knowing that they’re insanely jealous of leaders who fail. Things will grow ever more calculating and violent between the Hightowers and the Targaryens proper as civil war kicks into another gear, and the audience has answered the call while bowing to Queen Rhaenyra. — Kimberly Ricci
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The White Lotus
The first season of Mike White’s tense, tightly-wound drama saw a group of wealthy, entitled tools descending on a Hawaiian resort to throw the unassuming staff’s lives into utter chaos. Theft, murder, grievances over pineapple suites, and a suitcase defecation climax that will live in the annals of TV’s greatest scenes ensued. And yet, that first season seems like child’s play compared to what White and company pull off this time around. With a returning Jennifer Coolidge acting as a bridge between installments, season two of The White Lotus regales us with the frustrating, bizarre, and completely ostentatious exploits of yet another group of wealthy, entitled tools, this time set to the Vespa-dotted background of Sicily. There are even more memeable moments this time around – from Haley Lu Ruchardson’s unfortunate wardrobe to Sabrina Impacciatore’s “Peppa Pig” improv, and everything Aubrey Plaza does – but there’s enough substance in the story White’s telling here that they’re not its only selling point. — Jessica Toomer
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Fleishman Is In Trouble
I hear what you’re thinking here. The title of this show doesn’t sound particularly fascinating. Maybe it even sounds a little bit pretentious. Yet this show’s actually a satiric little jaunt that turns marriage-divorce drama on its head. Jesse Eisenberg plays the dude whose wife, played by Claire Danes, leaves him and then quite literally leaves the building. He’s suddenly in the midst of awful dating experiences, which wouldn’t be as fascinating if Eisenberg wasn’t so good at being awkward. Meanwhile, Claire's character seems one-dimensional, but give her a moment because those hard edges conceal a lot. Adam Brody also surfaces as an amusing finance bro, but the biggest performance comes from Lizzy Caplan, whose narration collides with her own character in marvelous and shattering ways. Will these four lost souls find their way? The finale is fast approaching, but for now we’ll have fun watching.
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Wednesday
Everyone’s inner goth child may now rejoice because Wednesday is streaming on Netflix. And now that the holidays are almost behind us – and Mike White’s Italian fever dream has released us from its grasp – there’s actually time to enjoy this Addams Family universe spin-off. Pulled from the dark and twisted mind of Tim Burton and carried by a pitch-perfect performance from Jenna Ortega, this bleak mystery drama is filled with droll humor, bizarre monsters, and black. So. Much. Black. Ortega plays the titular outcast, transferred to a boarding school for supernatural freaks after the tiniest of attempted murders. She quickly becomes embroiled in a mystery involving dead students, her family’s murky past, and her own connection to a centuries-old curse. Who said creepy, kooky content should only be confined to one month? Not us. – Jessica Toomer
Knives Out: The Glass Onion
november 4
The Holiday Catch-Up
Films And Shows You Should Watch During The Break