I wasn’t sure I wanted to watch the final season of The Crown, because Princess Diana’s death is freaking sad. But the series was stellar, and moving . For suspense with plenty of humor, I turned to the latest season of the British spy thriller series Slow Horses, because who doesn’t love the unkempt, obnoxious, flatulent, intelligence agent Jackson Lamb? In the mood for heart-warming family flick? Somewhere in Queens about a blue-collar Italian American family might be your ticket.
Here are three other must-sees:
If the psychological thriller writer Patricia Highsmith were alive today, surely she would approve of Saltburn, a movie that is a modern-day retelling of Highsmith’s The Talented Mr. Ripley. Saltburn is not for the squeamish. The infamous bathtub scene—eewww— may leave you squirming, but this dark comedy takes you to unexpected places as it satirizes aristocratic wealth and extravagance, and it’s always entertaining. Bravo to actress, filmmaker and writer Emerald Fennell who wrote and directed Saltburn.
Black Cake is an absorbing miniseries that follows two estranged Black American siblings who are brought together when their Caribbean mother dies, leaving behind a flash drive that reveals untold stories of her journey from Jamaica to America. Based on the acclaimed novel by Charmaine Wilkerson, Black Cake has some soapy elements, sure, but it's enticing as the tale spans multiple countries, unearthing family secrets through heartbreak and healing.
In the apocalyptic thriller Leave the World Behind starring Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, and Ethan Hawke, a family's vacation in the Hamptons is interrupted by two strangers who arrive bearing news of a worldwide cyberattack. The two families are forced to survive under the same roof as increasingly freaky events occur. No zombies or big-budget disaster porn. This movie is based on relationships and societal tensions, and the acting is superb.