'The Polar Express' (2004)
A wondrously imaginative, diverse, and spirited allegory of childhood and the arduousness of adulthood.

Tigran Hamasyan’s Shadow Theater concert at Cité de la musique in Paris captures the pianist at a remarkably creative moment in his career. Recorded on September 5, 2013, the performance blends contemporary jazz with Armenian folk traditions, progressive rock, and intricate rhythmic ideas. Hamasyan moves effortlessly between delicate melodic passages and explosive, highly percussive piano playing. The music draws heavily from the atmospheric and adventurous sound world of his acclaimed Shadow Theater project. Complex time signatures and rapidly shifting dynamics give the concert an unpredictable and exciting character.
A wondrously imaginative, diverse, and spirited allegory of childhood and the arduousness of adulthood.
This live-action Barbie movie brings strong feminism and topics about blondes.
Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion is a fan-favorite, as are some of the more science fiction angled movies like 28 Days Later or World War Z. I recently watched the 1995 Wolfgang Peterson-directed movie, Outbreak for the first time, which is currently available on Netflix.
'My Policeman' simultaneously delighted and disappointed audiences at TIFF, but everyone can agree that the performances and truth of the story will convince audiences that this film is worth the watch.
Netflix’s Shadow and Bone has a complicated relationship with race. It has a diverse cast, but not without its problems. Based on Leigh Bardugo’s two book series, the show features characters from the Shadow and Bone trilogy, which is very straight and white, and the Six of Crows duology, which is much more diverse. When bringing together a cast and writing about these characters, the team behind the show expanded upon some of the representation missing from the first trilogy, then seemed to take away representation from the duology. Shadow and Bone seems to play a bit of a push and pull game when it comes to portraying diversity onscreen.
Kate Winslet and Saorise Ronan deliver stellar performances in a film that doesn't live up to its potential.