This week in Screen Time, I hype up why One Battle After Another is worth a trip to the movies, and why it’s the early frontrunner for Best Picture. I also share what’s all over my FYP, like hilarious reactions to the final trailer for Wicked: For Good. There’s also what we’ve got going on over on BuzzFeed Celeb’s YouTube channel, and I share what I think is the BEST episode of Gilmore Girls of all time, and I want to know what you would pick, too. Let’s go!
Directed and written by Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another follows a group of ex-revolutionaries who reunite after 16 years when an enemy resurfaces and kidnaps the daughter of one of their own. Even before the film’s release, it’s been getting so much Oscar buzz and is an early frontrunner for Best Picture as well as several other categories, like Best Actor for Leonardo DiCaprio. And as of this week, it’s also No. 1 on Letterboxd’s Top 50 movies of 2025. One Battle After Another marks Anderson and DiCaprio’s first collaboration, and it’s outstanding from beginning to end.
The cast is also stacked, with standout performances from DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, and Chase Infiniti, with this movie marking Infiniti’s film debut after starring in Presumed Innocent. I genuinely think it’s DiCaprio’s best (and funniest) performance since The Wolf of Wall Street. The New York Times calls the movie a “startling, present-day American epic,” and I think there’s no better way to describe it. It’s mesmerizing, funny, heartfelt, and I think it’s THE movie to beat for this year’s awards season right now.
From Steven Knight, the creator of Peaky Blinders, comes another drama about a dysfunctional family. This time, Knight trades 1900s Birmingham for 19th-century Dublin to tell the story of the Guinness family, one of Europe’s most famous and enduring dynasties. House of Guinness begins in the aftermath of Sir Benjamin Guinness’s death. Credited with the success of the Guinness brewery, his death has a huge impact on his four adult children, Arthur (Anthony Boyle), Edward (Louis Partridge), Anne (Emily Fairn), and Ben (Fionn O’Shea), as well as the people who work and interact with the phenomenon that is Guinness.
While the show isn’t as explosive as Peaky Blinders, it’s still a solid family drama, especially if you’re like me and you love an upstairs-downstairs dynamic, like Downton Abbey. While the show follows the Guinness family, namely Arthur and Edward, who inherit the massive fortune, property, and more, it also has great storylines featuring the people who work there, like a standout performance from James Norton as brewery foreman Sean Rafferty. The cast really carries this show, which gets a little repetitive in the middle, but is still a great watch.
Gen V — watch for: Perfectly expanding The Boys universe once again
Class is back in session at Godolkin University as Gen V returns with Season 2. When a mysterious new dean (Hamish Linklater) promises a curriculum that will make the students stronger, it’s hard not to feel Homelander’s influence on the school (and world). While Cate (Maddie Phillips) and Sam (Asa Germann) are seen as heroes, Marie (Jaz Sinclair), Jordan (London Thor and Derek Luh), and Emma (Lizze Broadway) return to college and try to somehow get back to some semblance of normal.
While Season 2 doesn’t necessarily pack the same jaw-dropping punch as Season 1 did, it’s still a solid continuation in The Boys universe. The show also reworked storylines to honor Chance Perdomo, who died in 2024, and it kicks off the season with outstanding performances from the cast, who brilliantly honor Perdomo and his character. Also, I am a shipper at heart, and I am swooning over Marie and Jordan so much this season already, and we’re only a few episodes in.
This week, over on BuzzFeed Celeb, we had the iconic and legendary Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon play with puppies while answering questions. To celebrate the return of The Morning Show for Season 4 — a season that’s already so wild and we’re only two episodes in — Jen and Reese talked about working with so many amazing guest stars on the show, and much more. Plus, they shared the items they’ve stolen from set over the years (spoiler: Jen stole something from Courteney Cox on Friends), what TV shows they’d love to guest star on, what’s on their FYPs, and more. Click below to watch all of the adorable chaos:
The big movie news this week was Wicked: For Good, the second and final installment in director Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, dropped its final trailer. I’m going to be honest, it got me so hyped to sit in a theater and watch it when it comes out in November.
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are already bringing it in the trailer — the “Just look at me. Not with your eyes…with theirs” moment as Elphie and Glinda cry hurt me, thank you very much — and we catch a glimpse of Tin Man and Scarecrow. There are also snippets of songs like “For Good” and “No Good Deed,” which I will now be listening to on repeat. So, as you can imagine, fans had some very spot-on reactions to the trailer, so here are some of the best ones:
What’s the best episode of Gilmore Girls?
While there are several of my favorite Gilmore Girls episodes that could claim the top spot, for me it’s “They Shoot Gilmores, Don’t They?” in Season 3. I love the 24-hour dance marathon because, let’s be honest, I always love a Stars Hollow town event, and having it as a backdrop for the Rory, Dean, and Jess love triangle just makes it extra high stakes and juicy. I also adore Lorelai being so competitive with Kirk, but then dropping it all once she realizes how hurt Rory is. Plus, who doesn’t love Dave Rygalski and Lane?! It’s such a good episode. An honorable mention for me is probably “Raincoats and Recipes,” aka the Season 4 finale.
Well, that’s all I’ve got for this week’s edition of Screen Time. Come back every week to get more TV and movie recommendations, find out which celebs we’re working with, and so much more!
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