Films to Watch This November

Film Editor Rani Jadfa

The Outrun (2024)

The Outrun is a film of turmoil, addiction and recovery, leaning less towards self-discovery and landing on self-grief, as we can often lose our true selves in the loudness of the world we live. But most of all it is a story about healing and the lengths we have to go to as humans to take care of ourselves, putting ourselves first. The adaptation of Amy Liptrot’s novel centres around the character of Rona (played to perfection by the ever-brilliant Saoirse Ronan) as she goes from a raucous life in London to a time of re-centring and recovery within the beauty of Scotland’s Orkney Islands. Director Nora Fingscheidt uses an artistic style that encompasses the intense difficulty of addiction and recovery, whilst using the backdrop of the island, its physicality and community to guide Rona on her journey.

Film Editor Toby Jarvis

Crossing (2024)

Levan Akin’s Crossing is an exploration of what it means to move, that comes from a place of real empathy. Its titular verb refers least of all in this context to the crass spectacle often made of gender transition – which Akin deftly avoids with regard to the trans woman at the centre of his narrative – but more so to how a person changes, in space and in self. We travel from Caucasia to the city where two continents meet in an odyssey shot by a camera happy to wander, following around a deeply human ensemble bound to remain in liminality forever.

Film Editor Joel Bishton

Saltburn (2023)

If you don’t know the plot of Saltburn, you were likely without the internet last year, but I’ll repeat it anyway. Lower-class Oliver (Barry Keoghan) goes to Oxford and falls (somewhat) in love with upper-class Felix (Jacob Elordi), who invites him to spend summer at his family’s country pile: Saltburn. The original film sparked a sensation when it dropped onto streaming, with the internet filling with commentary about those scenes (no one’s ever done that to a grave). It’s worth a rewatch to decide if the film lives up to its own hype or is just a product of its moment.

Games to Play This November

Gaming Editor Tristan Peissel

Tiny Glade (2024)

Sometimes all the shooting and puzzling and real time strategising can really get you down. If only there was a cute sandbox builder game to help you relax. Enter Tiny Glade! A charming little village builder where the most intensive decision you’ll have to make is the colour of the bunting or whether to have the window with the flower box or the window with the washing hanging out of it. Tiny Glade truly is the answer to what if we made the most warming winter stew into a video game. Need I say more?

TV Shows to Watch This November

Print & Features Editor Ash Sutton

WandaVision (2021)

WandaVision was Marvel Studios’ Disney+ debut. WandaVision follows Wanda Maximoff and the Vision from the beloved Avengers franchise as they set up their lives as a mundane married couple in the Utopian town of Westview, playing on infamous sitcoms from through the decades.

While Wanda Maximoff being a favourite character of mine definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the series, the cleverness in using and spinning genre tropes while keeping the heart of a superhero project is ultimately what made me fall head over heels for WandaVision. 

The series was equal parts hilarious, heartbreaking and tense and while the ending could be disputed, the show as a whole was impeccably paced and balanced. It was a refreshing project and an interesting change in direction filled with amazing talent and twists to keep you on the edge of your seat. 

TV Editor Freya Calcluth

Bob’s Burgers (2011-)

Bob’s Burgers is a TV show I can watch whatever mood I’m in. I can pop it on whilst cooking for some background entertainment, listening to the Belcher kids bickering. Or I can binge watch five episodes in one sitting when I’m sad, guaranteed to be cheered up within the first five minutes due to the chaotic-but-wholesome family dynamics portrayed. It’s a perfect comfort show for me.

TV Editor Jasmine Davies

Doctor Who (1963-)

60 years later, this British Sci-Fi series remains as iconic as ever. I have spent most of my life watching this show, and I’ll never get bored of it. Watch the Doctor and their faithful companions travel through time and space – from Victorian England to the end of the universe. You will laugh, you will cry and you will cower in fear. Make sure to catch up with the latest season before the Christmas special hits our screens this December 25th. This year’s special features the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and his new friend Joy (Nicola Coughlan), as we watch the pair of actors go from co-starring in Barbie (2023) to fighting aliens. 

Albums to Play This November

Deputy Editor Hannah Gadd

5 Seconds of Summer – 5SOS5 (2022)

5 Seconds of Summer (5SOS) are a personal favourite band of mine, so I find myself listening to them quite frequently, but, as the nights draw in and that autumnal chill occupies the air, I turn to their fifth studio album 5SOS5 increasingly more often. Released at the end of September 2022, for me the album is synonymous with autumn and the colder months towards the end of the year. From the buoyant bass lines of ‘Bloodhound’ to the rumbling drums of ‘Bad Omens’, 5SOS’ musicality is enough to warm you up on those crisp mornings and dark nights. The album is a sonic and lyrical delight, offering us some of the band’s most nuanced and introspective songs to date. 5SOS5 is a beautifully crafted pop album, and one that will always be in my rotation this time of year.

Music Editor Hope Sikolia

Victoria Monét – JAGUAR II: Deluxe (2023)

Following a highly successful year, winning Best New Artist, Best R&B Album and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical at the 2024 Grammy Awards, Victoria Monét released the deluxe version of her most recent album, JAGUAR II, in early October. Flaunting ten additional songs, Monét solidifies her newly established status as a quintessential R&B female artist in this project. The extra songs do not feel like an attempt to profit off Monét’s recent success. This is a carefully constructed project that invites us to experience the plethora of emotions Monét experiences as she navigates singlehood, heartbreak and success following the album’s initial release. All the while, the deluxe is used as a playground for musical experimentation, with hints of jazz, traditional R&B, soul, and electronic dance heard throughout the songs. If you enjoy R&B and appreciate lyrical innovation, genre-bending and musical storytelling, JAGUAR II: Deluxe is the album for you.

Music Editor Alfie Warner

Church Village Collective – Get Real (2023)

A recent find over the summer, CVC’s (Church Village Collective) 2023 album Get Real has been a mainstay listen for me over the summer and beyond. I’m a bit lost on how to categorise them, it’s kind of a dance-come-synth-come-indie-come-funk marriage. Every track is a beautiful symphony of musical harmonies and intelligent interplays between the band’s many instruments; I’m in awe of the bass on all the tracks, but I may be a little biased. Absolute must-listens are ‘Good Morning Vietnam’, ‘Music Stuff’ and ‘Mademoiselle’. Their newest single ‘The Lowrider (Just About Meant To Be)’ is an evolution of their style, leaning far more on synths for the bedrock of the song – I’m very excited to see what comes next.

For more Editors’ Picks, check out this list from June 2024:

Editors’ Picks: What to Watch and Play June 2024