Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

A year after the Battle of Crait, Kylo Ren discovers that, somehow, Emperor Palpatine is still alive. Initially hoping to kill him, Kylo is persuaded to join Palpatine after he sees that the latter has, somehow, by himself, created an entire fleet of Star Destroyers. He also learns that Rey is Palpatine’s granddaughter, and that Palpatine wants to kill and/or convert her, depending on what scene he’s in. Meanwhile, Rey learns that Palpatine is alive, and so she, Finn and Poe set off to find a dagger, which will help them find a thing, which will lead them to the Emperor. I think. Will they do any of that? Watch the movie to find out.

The Little Stranger (2018)

In 1947, Dr. Faraday, a humble country physician, is summoned to Hunter’s Hall, the Opulent Estate of the Ayers family. Faraday went there once when he was a child, and has not been back since. As such, he is shocked to see that the Estate has grown decrepit in his absence, and the Ayers family have fallen on hard times. He learns that they’ve lost all their money, and are looking to sell the land in order to pay off their debts. More disturbing than that, he discovers that the son, Roderick, a former RAF Pilot, is suffering, not just from PTSD, but what appears to be a ghostly haunting as well. Things slowly, and I mean slowly, devolve from there, with Rod getting committed to an insane asylum, Mrs. Ayers committing suicide, and Caroline, the daughter and Faraday’s love interest, slowly losing her mind.

Black Mirror (Seasons 1-3)

What if you could build a man, based on his social media posts? What if you could watch memories, like movies, on a screen? What if a signal was sent out that turned half the world into passive spectators, and the other half into murderous hunters ? These questions, and more, are what get asked and explored in Black Mirror, a British anthology series that’s streaming on Netflix. Each episode features a different cast, a different story, and a different reality. But all feature the recurrent motif of technology, and a dry, nihilistic sense of humor. The series might best be described as half science fiction, half satire.

Ex Machina (2014)

The best way for me to describe Ex Machina is, what Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory would look like if Ridley Scott directed it. That might sound like a silly description, until you learn the film’s premise. A mysterious billionaire lives out where no one can get to him, he holds a lottery to give a person the chance to come visit his house, the person does so, and then crazy shit happens. Seriously, throw in some dancing orange dwarves and you’ve got the same film.