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7.6

Your Monster deserves some love

By: Tim Stevens

Caroline Lindy expands her short to a feature worth seeing, warts and all.

9.3

A Real Pain a real cinematic joy

By: Tim Stevens

Writer-director Jesse Eisenberg delivers a deeply felt glimpse at family, loss, and regret with help from a perfectly collaborated Kieran Culkin.

6.7

We Live In Time too caught up in clock watching

By: Justin Harrison

John Crowley’s romantic drama boasts a fine pair of lead performances that it repeatedly undercuts with poorly executed timeline hopping.

Unraveling pop-culture one thread at a time

The Spool is an irreverent, informative source for film and television coverage, focused on diverse, thoughtful opinions that seek out a greater understanding of the media we love.

6.2

Before watching, lower your expectations

By: Tim Stevens

A dialed-in Billy Crystal can’t sharpen this meandering series that would’ve played better as a film.

8 Films to Buy During Criterion’s October 2024 Flash Sale

Queer punks and kabuki demons collide in some of the most exciting offerings from Criterion's latest flash sale.

8.6

Woman of the Hour gives true crime trivia a soul

By: Tim Stevens

Anna Kendrick’s confident directorial debut pushes the story of so-called "Dating Game Killer" into something more.

8.8

Shrinking Season 2 invests in self-improvement

By: Tim Stevens

The Jason Segel-led comedy about flawed therapists returns in better shape than we left it.

8.4

Teacup barely contains a tempest of distrust

By: Tim Stevens

Despite only a passing resemblance to the source material, Peacock’s new series is a ripping paranoid tale for the era.

8.5

Eerie Caddo Lake an interesting place to visit

By: Tim Stevens

MAX’s sci-fi drama is being sold on its creeps, but it’s the family dynamics that linger.

The 25 Best Films of 2023

The best films of the year include gritty crime dramas, auteurs returning with bold new works, and quirky comedies.

The 25 Best TV Shows of 2023

From aliens to vampires, this year's TV offered bittersweet goodbyes to acclaimed shows and bold debuts from new voices.

The 25 Best TV Shows of 2022

The ongoing refrain of every TV critic, especially come end-of-year time: There’s too much TV. This year is no exception, with networks and streaming services alike competing for our attention with one big-budget, well-crafted set of eight-to-ten-hour stories after another. It’s the kind of model that doesn’t seem built to last, and 2022 might see ... The 25 Best TV Shows of 2022

The 25 Best Films of 2022

From After Yang to Top Gun, we break down our favorite movies of the year.

How to Watch AEW Rampage without Cable (November 1, 2024)

The November 2 edition of AEW Rampage is taped post-Dynamite at Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The previous week would see Ricochet make his case for International Champion Konosuke Takeshita, by handily defeating “The Prodigy” Nick Wayne. The first match announced for this week’s Rampage is high-flying whirlwind action between Lio Rush and Komander, as ... How to Watch AEW Rampage without Cable (November 1, 2024)

How to Watch AEW Collision without Cable (November 2, 2024)

The November 2 edition of AEW Collision takes place at Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA. The previous week continued Collision’s trend of shining a bigger spotlight on the women’s division than other AEW programming, featuring the AEW return of Penelope Ford after 2 years, a follow-up challenge to Ford by Jamie Hayter, and Anna Jay ... How to Watch AEW Collision without Cable (November 2, 2024)

How to Watch AEW Dynamite without Cable (November 6, 2024)

The November 6 edition of AEW Dynamite takes place at SNHU Arena in Manchester, NH. Fright Night Dynamite the previous week saw Private Party defeat 3-time champs the Young Bucks to become World Tag Team Champions for the first time, plus the debut of Bobby Lashley. The following episode sees AEW originals Jamie Hayter and ... How to Watch AEW Dynamite without Cable (November 6, 2024)

How to Watch WWE NXT without Cable (November 6, 2024)

Due to the US presidential elections on November 5, NXT moves to Wednesday, November 6 held at Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena, better known to wrestling fans as the ECW Arena. The previous episode saw NXT Heritage Cup Champion Charlie Dempsey, and NXT Tag Team Champions Nathan Frazer & Axiom defend each of their titles successfully; plus ... How to Watch WWE NXT without Cable (November 6, 2024)

How to Watch Smackdown without Cable (November 1, 2024)

The November 1 edition of WWE Smackdown is pre-taped at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY (ahead of Crown Jewel live in Saudi Arabia the next day, November 2nd). The previous week saw a shock title change when MCMG became the new WWE Tag Team Champions, and more matches added to the Crown Jewel card, such ... How to Watch Smackdown without Cable (November 1, 2024)

How to Watch Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury 2 without Cable

Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury 2 takes place Saturday, December 21 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This bout is for Usyk’s Ring Magazine, WBC, WBO, and WBA World Heavyweight Titles, and is a rematch from their bout in May this year where Usyk defeated Fury by split decision for the undisputed title. Usyk ... How to Watch Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury 2 without Cable

How to Watch AEW Rampage without Cable (November 1, 2024)

The November 2 edition of AEW Rampage is taped post-Dynamite at Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The previous week would see Ricochet make his case for International Champion Konosuke Takeshita, by handily defeating “The Prodigy” Nick Wayne. The first match announced for this week’s Rampage is high-flying whirlwind action between Lio Rush and Komander, as ... How to Watch AEW Rampage without Cable (November 1, 2024)

How to Watch AEW Collision without Cable (November 2, 2024)

The November 2 edition of AEW Collision takes place at Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, PA. The previous week continued Collision’s trend of shining a bigger spotlight on the women’s division than other AEW programming, featuring the AEW return of Penelope Ford after 2 years, a follow-up challenge to Ford by Jamie Hayter, and Anna Jay ... How to Watch AEW Collision without Cable (November 2, 2024)

How to Watch AEW Dynamite without Cable (November 6, 2024)

The November 6 edition of AEW Dynamite takes place at SNHU Arena in Manchester, NH. Fright Night Dynamite the previous week saw Private Party defeat 3-time champs the Young Bucks to become World Tag Team Champions for the first time, plus the debut of Bobby Lashley. The following episode sees AEW originals Jamie Hayter and ... How to Watch AEW Dynamite without Cable (November 6, 2024)

How to Watch WWE NXT without Cable (November 6, 2024)

Due to the US presidential elections on November 5, NXT moves to Wednesday, November 6 held at Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena, better known to wrestling fans as the ECW Arena. The previous episode saw NXT Heritage Cup Champion Charlie Dempsey, and NXT Tag Team Champions Nathan Frazer & Axiom defend each of their titles successfully; plus ... How to Watch WWE NXT without Cable (November 6, 2024)

How to Watch Smackdown without Cable (November 1, 2024)

The November 1 edition of WWE Smackdown is pre-taped at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY (ahead of Crown Jewel live in Saudi Arabia the next day, November 2nd). The previous week saw a shock title change when MCMG became the new WWE Tag Team Champions, and more matches added to the Crown Jewel card, such ... How to Watch Smackdown without Cable (November 1, 2024)

How to Watch Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury 2 without Cable

Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury 2 takes place Saturday, December 21 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This bout is for Usyk’s Ring Magazine, WBC, WBO, and WBA World Heavyweight Titles, and is a rematch from their bout in May this year where Usyk defeated Fury by split decision for the undisputed title. Usyk ... How to Watch Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury 2 without Cable

The Best Live TV Streaming Services With Free Trial

The praises of live TV streaming services don’t need to be further sung. By now, we all know that compared to clunky, commitment-heavy cable, live TV is cheaper and much easier to manage. But just in case you’re still on the fence about jumping over to the other side, or if you’re just unhappy with ... The Best Live TV Streaming Services With Free Trial

The Cheapest Live TV Streaming Services (< $40)

Cord-cutting once carried the promise of reducing live TV costs, but with most services nearing a $100 per month, that statement checks less every day. That said, there is a handful of cord-cutting services with reasonable monthly prices. Below we list them.

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