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PUNCH

5 Underrated Gin Cocktails, From a Martini Riff to a Tropical Fizz | PUNCH

The article surveys five overlooked gin-based cocktails worth rediscovering, from the Cardinale—an austere aperitivo combining gin, white wine, and Campari—to the Star Daisy with its unusual blend of London dry gin, apple brandy, and dry Curaçao. Lesser-known drinks like the Gin Fizz Tropical (a tropical silver fizz from a 1939 cocktail guide), the Wibble (a London 1990s creation slowly spreading through European cities), and the Obituary (a New Orleans Martini variation enhanced with absinthe) represent a canon of underappreciated classics that bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts are gradually reviving.

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The New Yorker

What to Read This Fall | The New Yorker

This is The New Yorker's Fall Books Issue featuring coverage of major literary releases and the staff's most anticipated autumn reads. The issue includes profiles of authors like Barbara Kingsolver, reviews of forthcoming novels by Hernan Diaz and Tom Brady biographer Lars Anderson, and essays on topics ranging from punctuation to reasons people choose not to have children. Staff writers and editors highlight their most-looked-forward-to books, from Marlon James's epic about gay love in 1980s Jamaica to Kim Stanley Robinson's new novel revisiting a South Pole expedition memoir.

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ComicBook.com

4 Time Travel Movies That No One Talks About, But Won't Break Your Brain From Science - ComicBook.com

This article recommends four underrated time-travel films that prioritize straightforward storytelling and emotional resonance over complex paradoxes and scientific explanations. The selections—Safety Not Guaranteed, Frequency, Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes, and The Fare—demonstrate that engaging time-travel narratives don't require elaborate mechanics or multiple timelines, but instead can explore character relationships and what people wish to change about their pasts.

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ComicBook.com

The Perfect Superhero Cinematic Universe May Already Exist and It Isn't Marvel or DC - ComicBook.com

Black Hammer, a Dark Horse Comics series by Jeff Lemire that debuted in 2016, creates a cohesive superhero universe by blending pastiches of Marvel and DC characters—from a Thor/New Gods hybrid called Black Hammer to a gay Martian Manhunter analogue—and has expanded into a fully realized world with multiple spinoffs, prequels, and sequels that feel like decades of accumulated comic history. Unlike the declining MCU and rushed cinematic universes attempting to replicate its success, Black Hammer balances the mature, grounded storytelling that shows like Invincible and The Boys pioneered with the classic superhero thrills that made audiences fall in love with the genre in the first place. The piece argues that Black Hammer represents the next successful superhero property for adaptation precisely because it honors comic book history while offering something fresh rather than cynically imitating an outdated formula.

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www.nytimes.com

Best Movies of 2024 - The New York Times

This New York Times year-end list by chief critic Manohla Dargis opens by arguing that the mainstream conversation about a dying movie industry overlooks the far wider world of worthwhile films beyond big American studio releases. It then offers a ranked top 10, beginning with Payal Kapadia's "All We Imagine as Light," a tender drama about two nurses and a cook in Mumbai. The page is mostly cluttered with interface text (a "watch list" widget and access-verification notices), so the critic's framing and the opening pick are the parts worth keeping.

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Gold Derby

2026 Telluride Film Festival unveils lineup: 9 must-see award contenders

The Telluride Film Festival, held over Labor Day weekend in Colorado, maintains its prestigious position on the awards circuit through a carefully curated, secretly-announced lineup that has consistently launched Oscar contenders—last year's festival led to nominations for films like Hamnet and Blue Moon. This year's slate features world premieres of films like The Debut with Julianne Moore and Andrew Haigh's A Long Winter, alongside Cannes favorites including Fjord and works from major studios like Netflix and A24, all overseen by director Julie Huntsinger's 20-year tenure that has kept the festival free from the diversity and studio participation problems plaguing other festivals. The festival also includes a guest director program curated by actress Rebecca Hall and restored classic screenings.

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Rolling Stone

The 20 Most Anticipated New TV Shows of Fall

This is Entertainment Weekly's fall preview guide, highlighting 20 new scripted series launching between September and December across Netflix, HBO, Prime Video, and other streamers. The piece offers brief plot synopses and cast information for each show, ranging from reboots like "A Different World" and "Harry Potter" to original dramas like "War" and "The Altruists," helping readers decide which upcoming releases deserve their attention.

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Rolling Stone

The 50 Most Anticipated Movies of Fall 2026

This article previews 50 notable films and limited series scheduled for release between September 2025 and December 2025, highlighting prestige dramas, blockbuster sequels, and unusual genre projects arriving during awards season. The piece emphasizes several major collaborations and franchise entries, including David Fincher directing Brad Pitt in a Quentin Tarantino script, Robert Downey Jr. returning to the MCU as Doctor Doom, and Denis Villeneuve completing his Dune trilogy, alongside smaller character studies and international cinema. It's organized chronologically by release date with brief synopses designed to help readers identify which films warrant their attention.

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ComicBook.com

These 3 Upcoming Sci-Fi Books Have Us So Excited We Need an Adaptation (And One Is Already In The Works)

Three upcoming science fiction novels—*The Fist of Memory* by Wole Talabi, *Under Story* by Chloe Benjamin, and *Exit Party* by Emily St. John Mandel—are generating excitement for their potential as screen adaptations even before publication. *The Fist of Memory* combines hard sci-fi with a first-contact narrative featuring an assassin, witchdoctor, and astronomer racing to understand mysteriously silent alien spacecraft; *Under Story* is a character-driven love story set in Antarctica that explores parallel universes and second chances through the reunion of estranged scientists; and *Exit Party*, already in development as a television series with Emma Stone's production company attached, follows a woman navigating fractured timelines and doppelgangers in a post-collapse Los Angeles. All three exemplify how science fiction can tackle both grand concepts and intimate human stories in ways that translate compellingly across media.

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How-To Geek

collider.com

25 Best Books of All Time

A rundown that pits centuries-old canon against pulpy favorites and openly acknowledges its own snubs, ranking works from Nineteen Eighty-Four and Dracula down through pop staples like Infinite Jest, A Storm of Swords, and Hitchhiker's Guide. It's notable for slipping in two nonfiction picks—Empire of Pain on the Sackler opioid scandal and Nicholas Pileggi's Wiseguy, the basis for Goodfellas—alongside the usual literary heavyweights, treating them as equally worthy "books" rather than a lesser category. Worth keeping for its blunt, personal-taste-driven commentary rather than a consensus-driven list.

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www.southernliving.com

www.nytimes.com

Five Action Movies to Stream Now

"Dhamaka" is a Mumbai-set action thriller starring Kartik Aaryan as a washed-up radio newscaster who receives a bomb threat targeting the city's major bridge and sees it as his chance to reclaim fame. Directed by Ram Madhvani and adapted from the South Korean film "The Terror Live," the movie functions as a morality tale examining how Arjun's ambition leads him to exploit a genuine crisis for career advancement, while his cutthroat boss exploits it for ratings. The film maintains relentless pacing despite character depth, delivering the bomb-threat intensity of "Speed" filtered through the media-ethics critique of "Network."

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www.mentalfloss.com

The 30 Greatest Action Movies of All Time

This article traces the evolution of action cinema from its roots in early silent films to the present day, arguing that action emerged as its own standalone genre rather than merely serving as set dressing for Westerns, spy thrillers, and sci-fi adventures. The piece presents thirty essential action films spanning from 1953 to 2018, organized chronologically, with the caveat that it focuses primarily on movies made after 1970 when action truly crystallized as a primary genre, while briefly acknowledging influential precursors like *The Wages of Fear* and *Seven Samurai*. Each entry describes how the film either pioneered specific action techniques, influenced subsequent filmmakers, or achieved a perfect balance between visceral spectacle and emotional or character-driven storytelling that defines great action cinema.

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www.looper.com

Underappreciated Netflix Gems You Need To Watch

This article is a curated guide to overlooked films and shows worth watching on Netflix, organized as short reviews that explain what makes each title distinctive. Rather than simply listing popular titles, the piece highlights underrated gems across genres—from international sci-fi like *The Wandering Earth* to horror films like *Apostle* and *Gerald's Game*—explaining their unique angles and why they deserve attention. The summaries are designed to help viewers distinguish between similarly-titled works and understand what made each film worth saving to a watchlist.

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www.indiewire.com

Bong Joon Ho’s Favorite Movies: 47 Films the Director Wants You to See

This article is a comprehensive guide to Bong Joon Ho's favorite films spanning from 1936 to 2021, compiled from interviews, awards ballots, and public statements the director has made throughout his career. The selections reveal Bong's cinematic influences and aesthetic priorities, ranging from canonical works by Hitchcock, Welles, and Bergman to contemporary pieces by emerging filmmakers, with particular emphasis on Asian cinema and socially conscious storytelling. The piece demonstrates how Bong uses film curation as a form of criticism and cultural advocacy, repeatedly championing underrepresented directors and highlighting how specific films inspired his own directorial choices and thematic preoccupations.

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www.giantfreakinrobot.com

The 10 Netflix Sci-Fi Series With A 100% Rotten Tomatoes Score

This article lists 11 science fiction shows across Netflix and other platforms that have achieved near-universal acclaim (100% ratings on review aggregators), ranging from the comedy of Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Return to prestige animated dramas like Scavengers Reign and Pluto. Each entry briefly explains the show's core premise and why it stands out—whether through innovative time-travel mechanics in Travelers, thought-provoking themes about AI and technology in Osmosis and Pantheon, or character-driven storytelling in Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. The recommendations span different formats and genres within science fiction, from anthology series to animated dramas, all positioned as shows that transcend typical sci-fi fandom gatekeeping by appealing broadly.

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