I don’t need to convince you to watch tick tick… Boom!, the film adaptation of the creator of the revolutionary rock musical Rent Jonathan Larson’s autobiographical musical about living in the pressure cooker of eighties New York and trying to make his big break before the age of 30. “Older than Stephen Sondheim and Paul McCartney” when they achieved fame. Gasp!

Wes Anderson is capable of more than his usual fantastical endeavours. In his newest film, he creates something entirely different, even from his nine other films of similar style. The French Dispatch, written, directed, and produced by Wes Anderson, is an anthology of several shorter stories tied together through a writer’s room of the fictional newspaper, Liberty, Kansas Evening Sun. Seemingly inspired by The New Yorker, this film is a tribute to journalism and eccentric storytelling.

My favorite winter tradition as a kid was to watch all the claymation classics, so I adore Community season 2’s take on the holiday genre. In a season ripe with great episodes — like the paintball showdown and meta “Paradigms of Human Memory” — “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas” still manages to distinguish itself as one of the best.

Long ago, in an unknown dimension, Marvel Studios decided to make a film about characters most of us have never even heard of. Behold, the Eternals — an elite team of ancient, all-powerful immortals who hail from the godly world of Olympia, now on a mission to make the planet Earth a better place… or so we thought.

Nothing good can last forever -- including Brooklyn 99. Since the very beginning, I have always been a fan of the 99. From watching it when I was younger with my family, to finishing the final season amongst friends, it has been a constant in my life. I was devastated when Fox cancelled the show but ecstatic when NBC decided to give it another chance. When I heard the news that Brooklyn 99’s eighth season would be the show’s finale one, I understood that all good things must come to an end.

Like his British counterpart Mike Leigh, Danish director Lars von Trier’s movies can be a tough watch. Often concluding unexpectedly and without resolution, they consistently leave you thinking about what you just saw for a long time afterwards. You leave the experience piecing your heart back together after having it ripped out of your chest for two hours. His 2000 Dancer In The Dark, along with his 1996 film Breaking The Waves, solidified von Trier as one of the unique emergent directorial voices to come out of Europe in recent times.

In 108 minutes, Plan B, directed by Natalie Morales, perfectly sums up the utter panic and chaos that is teenagerhood. The film follows two girls on an epically hyperventilating and winding road-trip to find the Plan B pill within their 24-hour window. There is not a ticking clock on the screen, but through the hyperactive dialogue and split-second decisions gone wrong, viewers can feel the powders of the Plan B pill disintegrating grain by grain.

Everyone loves a whodunit — or at least that’s what the steady growth of murder mysteries à la Knives Out and the true-crime rage I’ve written about for nearly 3 years tells me. The newest hit of the sort, stacked with stars from both screen and stage, finds favor across generations and genres. Only Murders in the Building, created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman, follows three unlikely friends as they create a podcast investigating, well, a murder in their building.

Another year, another mad dash to throw together a last minute Halloween costume! To make it easier for you, we’ve compiled some of the year’s most iconic characters from TV shows and movies, as well as a couple of throwbacks, that are sure to win you Best-Dressed.

Squid Game has taken the recipe for a bingeable Netflix show and seasoned it to perfection. The Korean drama follows Seong Gi-hun, a father who has gambled with both his life and his relationship with his young daughter. With little left to lose and everything to gain, he enters to compete in a series of children’s games, along with 455 other debt-ridden and desperate contestants, enticed by a handsome cash prize. The twist? Losing gets you killed.

What is the recipe for success for a half-hour comedy these days? Apparently, it's to take a beloved New Zealand mockumentary about vampires and adapt it to American television.

What We Do in the Shadows, helmed by Oscar-winning Taika Watiti and Jermaine Clement of the original 2014 film of the same name, is a vampire-centric mockumentary-style show entering its third season. For those unfamiliar with the show, the main premise is that a group of centuries-old vampires emigrate to Staten Island from Europe, hoping to conquer the New World, but end up just being roommates in a dilapidated manor, getting into weekly shenanigans.

There is a special characteristic to a work of art that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Jungle Cruise displays this quality supremely well and ensures that regardless of its flaws, we leave the theater with a warm, fuzzy feeling in our hearts. An adventure ride is transformed into a story of mirth and enjoyment, becoming an appropriate panacea for these harsh times.

A new year brings a new group of Moviegoers! From horror to comedy and every genre in between, this year’s new staff writers bring a wide range of taste in films, and they’re excited to share their all-time favorite movies.

Not a fan of horror? Well, this is the perfect ghost-themed show for you. Full disclosure: I hate horror movies. Whether it’s because of the jump-scares, eerie music or avoidable bad choices made by the protagonist, horror movies have never been my style. I have, however, always been fascinated by the idea of spirits and ghosts and can’t help but ask the same question whenever I watch a horror movie: what happens to all the normal people who die? Are all ghosts really vengeful spirits or creepy kids?

If you haven’t seen Feel Good, let me put you on to Netflix’s most chronically underrated series: an LGBTQ+ dark comedy about gender identity, addiction, and love. Canadian comedian Mae Martin writes and stars in the semi-autobiographical tale. The show’s cynical, self-aware humor mirrors that of Fleabag, and it similarly spans two seasons, each containing six perfectly packaged episodes. While the second season, released this year in June, falters on the comedic front in favor of a bolder, darker storyline, you’re certain to fall in love all over again with the complex characters and genuine relationships Martin so beautifully curates.

When my roommates told me they wanted our next viewing project to be an animated superhero show, I was ... hesitant. An adult cartoon? Those aren’t really my thing. Eventually I gave in because, after all, I had forced them to watch Survivor with me.

Cultures throughout human history have been able to unite around a simple fact: Dragons. Are. Awesome. Raya and the Last Dragon takes inspiration from Southeast Asian culture to tell the story of Raya, a battle-hardened princess fighting to unite the divided land of Kumandra. The movie is Walt Disney Animation’s first original feature film since Moana in 2016.

Following the success of the apocalyptic Naked (1993) and the harrowing Secrets & Lies (1996), at the end of the nineties Mike Leigh turned to a smaller, more intimate subject, the nostalgia for youth. Leigh’s been vocal about his motivation for Career Girls, explaining that he was interested in the large life differences in what happens to us between ages 20-30.

Reviewing Season 3 of Shtisel brings back memories, since the series was the very first thing I wrote about for The Moviegoer! At the time of my initial review, Shtisel was one of my favorite shows. It had the cultural intrigue of Hasidic Jews without the sensationalism that usually characterizes other shows about these ultra-Orthodox communities. Instead of exoticizing the Hasidic community, the series sought to familiarize the audience with it by telling raw, human stories that touch on universal experiences.

Cultures throughout human history have been able to unite around a simple fact: Dragons. Are. Awesome. Raya and the Last Dragon takes inspiration from Southeast Asian culture to tell the story of Raya, a battle-hardened princess fighting to unite the divided land of Kumandra. The movie is Walt Disney Animation’s first original feature film since Moana in 2016.

WandaVision, starring Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany, concludes with a dramatic ending, inducing surprise, joy, grief, and for some eager fans, disappointment. The 9-episode Disney+ series combines sci-fi, drama, comedy, fantasy, mystery and of course, action. Its weekly serialized format makes room for eager Marvel geeks around the world to take to the internet to predict what comes next for the show that starts in a very confusing, open-ended way.

Nomadland, directed, written, and edited by newcomer Chloé Zhao, is a quiet study of grief, solitude, and the unspoken promises we make to ourselves and others. The film follows Fern (Frances McDormand), a recently unemployed widow, as she embarks on a solo expedition through the American west. She has no set destination, simply wandering from campsite to campsite, job to job, meeting eclectic yet oddly familiar characters; untethered nomads seeking temporary comfort in endless desert expanses, vast seaside cliffs, and each other.

2020 made us understand our need for intimacy, contact, and company. Normal People came at the perfect time to fulfill that need. The series elevates an evocative, layered book by Sally Rooney into a visual adaptation of astounding depth and virtuosity.

The show tells the story of the relationship of Connell and Marianne, two ambitious teenagers from the Irish town of County Sligo. It spans their evolution and growth during the span of 5 years, as they leave high school and go to university at Trinity College, Dublin.

Let me start by acknowledging how unusual the plot is. The movie centers around a lonely teenage girl becoming an outcast after being shamed and bullied about losing her virginity. Not exactly Ferris Bueller's Day Off material. With that said, Emma Stone brings a certain sense of perky wit and sarcasm that makes the journey enjoyable and pleasant.

Cinema Paradiso is a film engrained with the sweet and sentimental feeling of nostalgia. It is one that evokes memories and moods reminiscent of times when movie theaters and gatherings were places of great joy and shared camaraderie. It is a movie with personality, taking its viewers through the highs and lows of life, within which we see our own experiences and personal connection. What follows is an introspection of the reasons why I believe this film is an Academy Award winner and said to be one of the best foreign-language movies of all time.

I Blame Society is a terrifyingly brilliant satirical film that touches upon many important issues of our time: sexism, art, crime, and Hollywood disillusion. Directed by Gillian Horvat & co-written by herself and Chase Williamson, the semi-fictional story follows ‘Gillian’ (a semi-fictional character played by Horvat herself), as she works on a film based on a semi-compliment from a few of her friends that she would make a good murderer. Frustrated by the constant rejection and belittling of her talent, Gillian decides to take the film to the finish line completely on her own, exploring how far her character can go in planning murders, while taking a camera with her wherever she goes no matter how her friends or boyfriend feel about it.

I think we can all agree that there’s something uniquely, well, peculiar about the Coen brothers’ movies. And yet, Joel and Ethan Coen are considered two of the greatest writers and directors of American cinema -- and for good reason. Their films combine quirky and lovable characters, laugh-out-loud humor, and an intriguing aesthetic. O Brother, Where Art Thou? presents all of these and more. Still, our modern understanding of race and representation require us to examine it with a critical lens.

The Greek philosopher Aristotle once said, “Give me a child until he is 7 and I will show you the man.” This serves as the central premise of Michael Apted’s groundbreaking independent documentary series, Up.

Running in the UK since 1964, it has followed the lives of a diverse group of English seven-year-olds, with the loose goal of looking into the development of the country’s leaders in the year 2000. In 1971, we checked in with them at 14 Up, and every seven years since, all the way through to the most recent installment, 63 Up, with many of the original participants now retired, no longer with us, all contemplating the lives they’ve led.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have entered the pulp noir renaissance. It’s no secret that the crime genre is booming, with countless films and television shows garnering extreme view counts and high ratings on streaming services, such as Netflix’s new series Night Stalker. People love to see thrilling chases, genius detectives, and justice in action. Director John Lee Hancock steps up to the plate with The Little Things, featuring an Academy Award-winning cast of Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, and Jared Leto.

Want to watch a romantic comedy this Valentine's Day but you're too overwhelmed with the sheer number of options? The Moviegoer's got you covered - here are our favorites!

Easily one of the most tender yet acerbic, loving yet sarcastic, and hysterical yet desperate stories you’ll ever watch, Bruce Robinson’s 1987 autobiographical Withnail and I has always been one of my top five all-time movies. The story of two out-of-work and down-on-their-luck actors in London’s Camden Town at the tail end of the sixties features some of the best (and most quotable) dialogue ever to be put on screen, as well as outstanding performances from the two main protagonists: Richard E. Grant (The Player, Gosford Park, The Rise of Skywalker) as the entitled, dramatic Withnail, and Paul McGann (Doctor Who, Alien 3, Holby City) as ‘I’, who is never referred to by name in the movie, but who we know from Robinson’s screenplay is called Marwood.

I’m convinced Big Mouth is written by hyper-self-aware 13 year olds. It’s unapologetic in portraying some of the most embarrassing parts of growing up and its characters feel like honest middle schoolers — “I don’t like movies. I prefer watching YouTube 2 inches from my face,” says Nick. Over its four-season run, the Netflix animated series has perfectly captured the woes and wonders of puberty through inventive storylines and a signature raunchy humor that only preteens (and me, and all the reviewers who’ve given three seasons a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, and probably you) find funny. In season 4, each of Big Mouth’s flawed and lovable tweens work on forging their identities as adolescents, a struggle all of us can empathize with.

To paraphrase Alan Bennett’s The History Boys, the best moments in watching movies are when you come across something – a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things – you'd thought was special, particular to you. And here it is, set down by someone else, a person you've never met, maybe even someone long dead, as if a hand has come out and taken yours.

German director Wim Wenders’ 1984 movie Paris, Texas is precisely one of those experiences that stays with you long after the credits have rolled. It certainly has for me. Both his immigrant’s sense of wonder and amazement at the wide open spaces of the southern American landscape, and the personal stories of those who travel through them, are something that, as an immigrant myself, deeply resonate with me.