"1920s"

2010 · 5 Seasons · HBO · Crime / Drama / Period

Boardwalk Empire brought Prohibition-era Atlantic City to life with production values that still hold up more than a decade later, and Steve Buscemi's Nucky Thompson remains one of HBO's most fascinating antiheroes. The first three seasons deliver some of the best historical crime drama ever made for television, with a supporting cast that turns real gangsters into compelling characters. A weaker fourth season and a rushed final run prevent it from reaching the heights of HBO's very best. This is a show that aimed for the prestige of its network's finest and came close enough to be worth every hour, even when it stumbles.

1925 · F. Scott Fitzgerald · 208 pages · Literary Fiction

A hundred years after publication, The Great Gatsby still starts arguments. Its prose remains stunning, the symbolism rewards every reread, and its portrait of ambition rotting behind a beautiful facade hasn't lost a step. Characters are hollow on purpose and the plot is thin by design, but that doesn't change the fact that some readers will bounce right off both. It's a book that asks you to care about people who don't deserve it, set against a version of America that hasn't really gone away. That tension is exactly why it endures.

2016 · David Yates · 133 min · Fantasy / Adventure

Fantastic Beasts works best when it follows Newt Scamander into his suitcase and lets the magical creatures steal the show. Eddie Redmayne's gentle, eccentric performance and Dan Fogler's warmth as Jacob Kowalski give the film a charm that the darker subplots can't quite match. The 1920s New York setting is gorgeous and the creature design is inventive, but the Obscurus storyline and a shoehorned franchise setup weigh down a film that would have been better off staying small. It's a pleasant return to the wizarding world that hints at more than it delivers.