Courtney Henley

MANCHESTER BY THE SEA is without a doubt one of the most praised films coming out of this awards season. It's been nominated for six Academy Awards, and has already taken home a Golden Globe and two BAFTAs. Starting Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, and Lucas Hedges, the film tells the story of a man who, in the wake of his brother's death, finds himself named sole guardian of his nephew. The movie, written and directed by four-time Oscar nominee Kenneth Lonergan, will make you cry, and if it doesn't, you need to watch it again because you clearly missed something the first time around.

It's simple: if you don't know Meryl Streep, or think she's overrated, you've been living under a rock for the past 30 years or so. She's dominated THE ACADEMY AWARDS since the early 1980s, earning a whopping 20 Oscar nominations for roles as varied as the colors of the rainbow. She's only won three of those coveted golden statues thus far (slacker), but fans are hoping that come February 26, she'll take home number four.

It only took thirteen episodes, but thinks are finally starting to take shape on TIMELESS. In what is easily the biggest reveal of the series, we learned that Lucy's father is the man behind Rittenhouse - the organization she's been fighting against all this time. Talk about a conflict of interests. To make matters worse, Wyatt realizes that, despite successfully changing history and stopping his wife's killer from being born, his wife is still dead, and there's nothing he can do to change that.

The gang is clearly growing restless after last week's World's Fair incident (you know, the one where H.H. Holmes almost murdered everyone and Houdini was hitting on Lucy). Who can blame them? Rebellion has been hinted at for quite some time now, and that's (finally) starting to come to fruition. Rufus is done helping Rittenhouse, and he doesn't care who knows it. 

They're baaaaack! After a month-long break, TIMELESS finally returns tonight with a tale about Flynn holding Lucy captive and taking her to the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. The last time we saw our crew, they were grappling with the discovery that Rittenhouse, in its infancy, wasn't a group, but an individual man (whaaat?!), and with the revelation that Flynn may not be the ultimate bad guy as they all thought. 

Move over, Bonnie and Clyde - there's a new notorious historical figure in town, and his name is Benedict Arnold. Lucy, Wyatt, and Rufus form an unlikely bond on TIMELESS this week as they travel back to 1780 to pay a visit to good ol' Benedict. While there, they team up with a more modern day traitor - Flynn - to try and stop Rittenhouse in the mysterious group's infancy. 

Last week on TIMELESS, the gang jetted back to the height of space exploration. While we didn't learn much about anyone's motivations or end game goals, we did gain some insight into Flynn's family history - and we got to talk about space for a bit, which is always a win.

Last we saw our heroes, they were just landing back in 2016 after returning from 1754's French and Indian War. Things weren't going so well for the gang during their last expedition: they were pretty darn mad at each other, Flynn was still very much at large, and to make matters worse, they were stranded in the middle of one of the worst time periods of American history.

Last time we saw our time traveling trio on TIMELESS, they were fleeing the deserts of Nevada, chasing after a stolen atomic bomb core. Where do our good friends end up this week? Nazi Germany. Honestly, it was only a matter of time before Lucy, Wyatt, and Rufus made their way to Germany under Hitler's regime - and (naturally) encounter the man behind James Bond, Ian Fleming.

The Hindenburg. Abraham Lincoln's assassination. And now, Rat Pack-era Las Vegas. Our favorite trio on TIMELESS is certainly making their rounds. We're still not sure why Flynn is targeting these specific historical events: aside from Lucy, no one else's timeline has been obviously altered just yet. What we do know is that Connor Mason is up to no good and that he is somehow connected to the mysterious Rittenhouse group.

Last week's premiere of TIMELESS started off the season with a bang. (Ha, see what I did there? Because the Hindenburg blew up?!) This week's journey takes us to Ford's Theater, April 14, 1865. If that date sounds familiar to you, it should: it's the date President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated while enjoying a performance of Our American Cousin. Although Flynn's motives for wanting to go back and alter these specific events in history is still unclear, last week's premiere showed us that every change Flynn makes, big or small, can dramatically impact the course of history. 

Full disclosure: I'm a sucker for a good historical, science fiction time travel television romp. Few things make me happier than watching a confused character walk into a time machine for the first time and discover a world full of new possibilities. That being said, few shows manage to pull off the delicate balance of hokey era-specific references and honest to goodness drama. One of two things usually ends up happening: either the cheesy one-liners about time travel and the scientific explanations of how it's possible overwhelm the audience, or both of those things are ignored and we're left with a regular, run of the mill drama. TIMELESS, NBC's newest primetime headline, manages to strike that hokey/honest balance and takes viewers along for the ride through time. 

Think back to your high school years for a moment. Hopefully, for the most part, the memories are good, funny, positive thoughts of friends, parties, graduations, and dreams of the future. The laws of being a teenager, though, more than likely ensured that bouts of self doubt, insecurity, and self consciousness creeped their way into daily life, making those already awkward years even more awkward. The new film LITTLE MISS PERFECT, written, directed, and produced by Marlee Roberts, takes and in depth look at these insecurities and how they can so easily grab hold of the teenage mind and wreak havoc if left unchecked.

You know how some people make you feel very unaccomplished because they've already had so much success with their careers, but they're a few years younger than you and you feel like you're behind the eight ball as a result? That's the feeling that Saoirse Ronan gives me. Make no mistake: I mean that as a huge complement. To have already achieved so much at such a young age is something to be proud of; something that will inevitably make the rest of us feel like we should get up off of the couch, turn off Netflix, and be productive. 

It all started with 13 Going on 30. At least, it did for me. (This makes it sound like I'm about to write a cheesy romantic novel. My apologies.) I, along with basically every girl in my 8th grade class, fell in love with the adorable, slightly nerdy best friend of Jennifer Garner in the coming of age hit of 2004. I took to IMDb (as one does) and instantly decided that Mark Ruffalo was a pretty cool guy, and a pretty cool actor. Fortunately, it wasn't long after that that Mark Ruffalo started appearing in some of the biggest blockbusters in Hollywood: Zodiac, Where the Wild Things Are, Shutter Island, and The Avengers. Hollywood thankfully agreed with me.

It's the final countdown!! Tonight's the night, ladies and gents: the ultimate EVO showdown. It's make or break for brother/sister duo Tommy and Malina. They either save the world, or they fail miserably and send everyone into oblivion. No pressure, though. None at all.

New year, new...clones?  Alright, fine, it may not be the catchiest slogan ever, but it does sum up last week's episode of HEROES REBORN quite nicely. Our beloved EVOs started off 2016 by really pumping up their powers and showing the corporate gang who's boss, and if the previews are any indication, they'll continue sticking it to the man in tonight's episode, too. Take that, big business.

Tonight's the night, folks! Hours of lost sleep, too many close calls to count, and it all comes down to this: the AMAZING RACE Season Finale, where one team will take home the million dollar prize - as well as some of the biggest bragging rights ever. Justin and Diana have fallen from grace as they begin the final legs in in the back of the pack, behind Logan and Chris and Kelsey and Joey. Will The Reporters finally see their coveted first place win and take it all, or will the Green Team come back from the bottom and reclaim their spot at the top? 

If there was ever a most important leg of the Race, this one is it. Well, aside from the very final million dollar leg, of course. This one, though, determines which three teams make it to that final million dollar leg, and which team has their most precious hopes and dreams crushed before their eyes. Alright, so it's not that dramatic, but it was a pretty eventful finale-determining round.

Lots of celebrating going on during this leg of THE AMAZING RACE. Well, at least for the Green Team and all of those wedding guests. In general, this leg was pretty much uneventful and predictable. Sure, there was yet another U-Turn (a first-time-ever third U-Turn, to be exact), but it didn't really shake anything up. The Green Team still dominated, the Paparazzi still yelled at each other, and the Cheerleaders still looked adorable, yet slightly confused.