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Movie Reviews Reviews of new movies, classic and art films, foreign films, and popular movies. Featuring Bob Mondello, Kenneth Turan, David Edelstein, and Mark Jenkins.

Movie Reviews

'IF' only! These imaginary friends are sweet, but could have been so much more

Bea (Cailey Fleming) and Blue (voiced by Steve Carell) in IF. Paramount Pictures hide caption

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Paramount Pictures

'IF' only! These imaginary friends are sweet, but could have been so much more

Imagine that imaginary friends were real. Now imagine that IF director John Krasinski and star Ryan Reynolds convinced A-list pals to voice them.

'IF' only! These imaginary friends are sweet, but could have been so much more

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'Babes' gives us a funny (and gross) portrait of parenthood

Michelle Buteau and Ilana Glazer in a scene from the film Babes. Gwen Capistran/Neon hide caption

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Gwen Capistran/Neon

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Babes' gives us a funny (and gross) portrait of parenthood

The new movie Babes stars Ilana Glazer and Michelle Buteau as longtime best friends who've made very different life choices. It's also about the inherent joys, stressors, and grossness of parenthood, and what it means to embrace your chosen family. It's the feature directorial debut of Pamela Adlon (Better Things).

'Babes' gives us a funny (and gross) portrait of parenthood

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Looking to the past and future of Black Twitter

Stand-up comic W. Kamau Bell is featured in Black Twitter: A People's History. Hulu/Disney hide caption

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Hulu/Disney

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Looking to the past and future of Black Twitter

For years, Black Twitter was the watering hole. It was where we could pop off jokes about Olivia and Fitz on Scandal. It's also where you could call out social injustices. It was both a state of mind and a state of being online. A new Hulu docuseries called Black Twitter: A People's History puts the massive global reach of that space into perspective. But what's changed now that it's owned by Elon Musk?

Looking to the past and future of Black Twitter

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'Evil Does Not Exist' — or does it? — in this mysterious Japanese eco-drama

Ryô Nishikawa plays Hana in Evil Does Not Exist. via Janus Films hide caption

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via Janus Films

'Evil Does Not Exist' — or does it? — in this mysterious Japanese eco-drama

Fresh Air

The residents of a bucolic woodland community face off against a developer with big plans for the land in a film that will leave you rapt — and profoundly unnerved.

'Evil Does Not Exist' — or does it? — in this mysterious Japanese eco-drama

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'I Saw the TV Glow' is weird and transfixing

Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine in I Saw The TV Glow. A24 hide caption

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A24

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'I Saw the TV Glow' is weird and transfixing

I Saw the TV Glow is a strange and pleasantly unsettling new film from writer and director Jane Schoenbrun. It's about two teenagers (Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine) who bond so strongly over a cult monster-of-the-week TV show that it becomes their entire identities. When the show gets canceled, their bond dissolves – until years later, when one of the teens sweeps back into the other's life, bearing secret knowledge that could change everything.

'I Saw the TV Glow' is weird and transfixing

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'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes' swings us back to a familiar franchise

Owen Teague as Noa in the film, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. 20th Century Studios hide caption

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20th Century Studios

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes' swings us back to a familiar franchise

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes follows Noa (Owen Teague), an extraordinary chimpanzee whose clan is enslaved by a mercenary ape king named Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand). As he sets out to gets them back, he's joined by a sage orangutan (Peter Maykin) and a scavenging human (Freya Allan). The movie is set hundreds of years after the recent Planet of the Apes trilogy, but the spirit of Andy Serkis' revolutionary character Caeser still looms large over this new film.

'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes' swings us back to a familiar franchise

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Is Jerry Seinfeld's 'Unfrosted' a tasty treat, or just a stale old standby?

Melissa McCarthy, Jerry Seinfeld, and Jim Gaffigan in Unfrosted. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Is Jerry Seinfeld's 'Unfrosted' a tasty treat, or just a stale old standby?

The new Netflix film Unfrosted tells a fanciful invented version of the Pop-Tart's origin. The film was directed and co-written by Jerry Seinfeld, who also stars as a Kellogg's executive who's in a race to release a new breakfast idea before their rival beats them to it. Seinfeld is joined by a big cast of funny people including Melissa McCarthy, Amy Schumer, Jim Gaffigan, and Hugh Grant. But is the movie as satisfying as the Pop-Tart itself?

Is Jerry Seinfeld's 'Unfrosted' a tasty treat, or just a stale old standby?

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Fall for 'The Fall Guy' and its truly amazing stunts

Ryan Gosling stars in The Fall Guy. Eric Laciste/Universal Pictures hide caption

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Eric Laciste/Universal Pictures

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Fall for 'The Fall Guy' and its truly amazing stunts

In the entertaining new film The Fall Guy, Ryan Gosling plays a down-on-his-luck stunt performer who gets a big new opportunity to get his career on track. And maybe get back the woman (Emily Blunt) whose heart he broke. Directed by David Leitch, it's a knowing comedy about action movies, and a character study of a man who likes to think he's invincible. And the movie has amazing stunts.

Fall for 'The Fall Guy' and its truly amazing stunts

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Rappers took the White House. Now what?

A crowd of White House press looks on as Kanye West and then-President Donald Trump meet in the Oval Office on Oct. 11, 2018. Ron Sachs/Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images hide caption

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Ron Sachs/Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images

Music Features

Rappers took the White House. Now what?

A new documentary, Hip-Hop and the White House, considers rap's association with presidential politics — and in so doing, reveals a persistent misunderstanding of how both operate.

Ryan Gosling is 'The Fall Guy' in this cheerfully nonsensical stuntman thriller

Ryan Gosling is Colt Seavers in The Fall Guy. Universal Pictures hide caption

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Universal Pictures

Ryan Gosling is 'The Fall Guy' in this cheerfully nonsensical stuntman thriller

Fresh Air

Though it might have benefited from tighter editing, there's no denying the pleasure of this gloriously overwrought film.

Ryan Gosling is 'The Fall Guy' in this cheerfully nonsensical stuntman thriller

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Anne Hathaway finds love with a pop star in 'The Idea of You'

Nicholas Galitzine and Anne Hathaway in The Idea of You. Prime Video hide caption

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Prime Video

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Anne Hathaway finds love with a pop star in 'The Idea of You'

The new movie The Idea Of You tells the story of a boy band star (Nicholas Galitzine) who falls in love with an older divorced mother (Anne Hathaway). It's based on a hit novel that's at least partially inspired by Harry Styles' life and career.

Anne Hathaway finds love with a pop star in 'The Idea of You'

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The movies, TV and music we're excited about this summer

Glen Powell stars in the new movie Hit Man. Brian Roedel /Netflix hide caption

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Brian Roedel /Netflix

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The movies, TV and music we're excited about this summer

Today, we're offering up a guide to spotlight some of the movies, TV, and music we are most excited about this summer.

The movies, TV and music we're excited about this summer

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A dying father looks for the perfect family to adopt his son in 'Nowhere Special'

Daniel Lamont, left, and James Norton in Nowhere Special. Peter Marley/Cohen Media Group hide caption

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Peter Marley/Cohen Media Group

A dying father looks for the perfect family to adopt his son in 'Nowhere Special'

John (James Norton) is a young single dad who has just a few months to live and no family to turn to. So he goes out in search of the perfect family for his 4-year-old son.

A dying father looks for the perfect family to adopt his son in 'Nowhere Special'

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Watch a tense romantic triangle play out on the tennis court in 'Challengers'

Art (Mike Faist), Tashi (Zendaya) and Patrick (Josh O'Connor) are embroiled in a love triangle in Challengers. Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures hide caption

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Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures

Watch a tense romantic triangle play out on the tennis court in 'Challengers'

Fresh Air

Three superb actors — Zendaya, Mike Faist and Josh O'Connor — star in this sweaty, sexy, entertaining drama about tennis stars with a very complicated past.

Watch a tense romantic triangle play out on the tennis court in 'Challengers'

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The Zendaya-led 'Challengers' is much more than a sexy tennis movie

Zendaya stars as Tashi in Challengers. Niko Tavernise/Amazon MGM Studios hide caption

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Niko Tavernise/Amazon MGM Studios

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The Zendaya-led 'Challengers' is much more than a sexy tennis movie

The terrific new film Challengers is about being intense about tennis, sex, and competition. Directed by Luca Guadagnino, the film stars Zendaya as Tashi, a tennis coach and object of desire to two men. She's married to Art (Mike Faist), who is facing his old friend Patrick (Josh O'Connor) at a Challengers event. This reopens all the trio's old wounds, and they excavate all of their relationships with each other.

The Zendaya-led 'Challengers' is much more than a sexy tennis movie

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What makes a good sex scene?

Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon star in the 1996 film Bound. Alamy hide caption

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Alamy

Pop Culture Happy Hour

What makes a good sex scene?

It's easy to notice when a sex scene is bad. But what makes a sex scene good? Today, we are recommending films with good sex scenes, including Bound, Love & Basketball, Magic Mike's Last Dance, and Oppenheimer.

What makes a good sex scene?

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'The Beast' jumps from 1910, to 2014, to 2044, tracking fear through the ages

Gabrielle and Louis (Léa Seydoux and George MacKay) meet in 1910 Paris, 2014 Los Angeles and again in 2044 in The Beast. Carole Bethuel/Kinology hide caption

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Carole Bethuel/Kinology

'The Beast' jumps from 1910, to 2014, to 2044, tracking fear through the ages

Fresh Air

This wildly original adaptation of the Henry James novella The Beast in the Jungle follows human alienation and anxiety, asking why, in every era, we disengage from life and the people around us.

'The Beast' jumps from 1910, to 2014, to 2044, tracking fear through the ages

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'Civil War' is a doomsday thought experiment — that could have used more thinking

Kirsten Dunst plays a battle scarred photojournalist in Civil War. Murray Close/A24 hide caption

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Murray Close/A24

'Civil War' is a doomsday thought experiment — that could have used more thinking

Fresh Air

This ambitious thriller comes across as an empty stunt — a democracy dystopia that sidesteps the politics of the present moment. But Kirsten Dunst is excellent as a battle scarred photojournalist.

'Civil War' is a doomsday thought experiment — that could have used more thinking

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'Civil War' envisions a too-near future

Kirsten Dunst as Lee in Civil War. A24 hide caption

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A24

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Civil War' envisions a too-near future

The new film Civil War depicts a contemporary America torn apart by a military conflict between the federal government and an alliance of secessionist states. Directed by Alex Garland (Ex Machina), the film follows a small band of journalists led by Kirsten Dunst's jaded war photographer. They embark on a harrowing journey to the heart of the conflict, encountering brutality and bloodshed along the way.

'Civil War' envisions a too-near future

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'Girls State' provides hope and disappointment for the state of our democracy

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Apple TV+

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Girls State' provides hope and disappointment for the state of our democracy

The new Apple TV+ documentary Girls State asks: how would high school girls do things if they were in charge? The film is a follow-up to 2020's Boys State, and this time, follows an annual high school program that gives hundreds of girls a chance to create a mock government, complete with elections and a Supreme Court. It was made during the 2022 session, which ended days before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and the case is very much on the minds of the girls in the program.

'Girls State' provides hope and disappointment for the state of our democracy

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A guide to Stephen King

Stephen King at a press conference in 2013, in Paris. Eric Feferberg/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Eric Feferberg/AFP via Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

A guide to Stephen King

Stephen King is one of the most successful living writers. He's written more than 50 books that have sold hundreds of millions of copies. And his works have been adapted into a number of classic films, including The Shining, The Shawshank Redemption, and It. This month marks the 50th anniversary of his first novel, Carrie, so we are revisiting our guide to Stephen King.

A guide to Stephen King

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