Chris Klimek : NPR

What's Making Us Happy: A Guide For Your Weekend Watching, Listening And Reading

Bob Odenkirk as Hutch Mansell in Nobody, directed by Ilya Naishuller. Allen Fraser/Universal Pictures hide caption

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Allen Fraser/Universal Pictures

What's Making Us Happy: A Guide For Your Weekend Watching, Listening And Reading

July 9, 2021 • A top-secret cache of sperm is stored under the Space Needle in Hot White Heist. Bob Odenkirk stars as a suburban dad with a secret identity in Nobody. And it's Criterion Collection's neonoir month.

Only You Can Prevent Very Dramatic Fires: 'Those Who Wish Me Dead'

Angelina Jolie stars as Hannah in Those Who Wish Me Dead. Courtesy of Warner Bros. hide caption

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Courtesy of Warner Bros.

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Only You Can Prevent Very Dramatic Fires: 'Those Who Wish Me Dead'

May 14, 2021 • The new movie Those Who Wish Me Dead is a lot of things at once. It's the story of a smokejumper, played by Angelina Jolie, who battles terrifying forest fires. It's the story of a young kid chased by killers. And it's the story of a pregnant woman forced to defend herself. The film is directed by Taylor Sheridan, who wrote 2016's Hell Or High Water, and is now streaming on HBO Max.

Only You Can Prevent Very Dramatic Fires: 'Those Who Wish Me Dead'

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Star Wars action figures are seen for sale at a Target store on September 4, 2015 in Miami, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

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Joe Raedle/Getty Images

'Star Wars' And Other Merchandise

May 4, 2021 • Today is May the 4th, also known as Star Wars Day. The first Star Wars film spawned many sequels, TV series, videogames and a multi-billion dollar merchandise industry. So we thought it would be a good time to revisit our conversation about movie merchandise. In this encore episode, we talk about everything from Jar Jar Binks lollipops and E.T. dolls to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cereal, and more.

'Star Wars' And Other Merchandise

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'Without Remorse': Michael B. Jordan, But Make It Clancy

Jodie Turner-Smith and Michael B. Jordan star in Tom Clancy's Without Remorse. Nadja Klier/Amazon Studios hide caption

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Nadja Klier/Amazon Studios

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'Without Remorse': Michael B. Jordan, But Make It Clancy

April 30, 2021 • Michael B. Jordan has played a range of characters, from sympathetic figures like Wallace on The Wire, to an underdog in Creed and a swaggering antagonist in Black Panther. But Without Remorse marks a new era for Jordan as an action star. Based on Tom Clancy's best-selling 1993 novel of the same name, Without Remorse serves as the origin story for John Clark, an ex-Navy SEAL turned CIA operative.

'Without Remorse': Michael B. Jordan, But Make It Clancy

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20th Century-Fox/Getty Images

Review

'Die Hard': Welcome To The Podcast, Pal

March 29, 2021 • There's no wrong time to talk about an influential Hollywood classic. So that's why we are talking about Die Hard. We will never get tired of Hans Gruber versus John McClane — Alan Rickman versus Bruce Willis — the real clash of the titans. So that's why we are bringing you this encore episode.

'Die Hard': Welcome To The Podcast, Pal

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Beyoncé to Bruce Springsteen: Our Favorite Concert Films

HOMECOMING: A film by Beyoncé captures the artist's process of putting on headlining appearances at the 2018 Coachella Music Festival. Courtesy of Parkwood Entertainment hide caption

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Courtesy of Parkwood Entertainment

Review

Beyoncé to Bruce Springsteen: Our Favorite Concert Films

March 22, 2021 • It's been more than a year since live concerts were a safe way to experience music. We miss the roar of a blissed-out crowd and experiencing art at the moment of its creation. Therefore, it feels like a good time to talk about some of our favorite concert films from Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen, and Aretha Franklin.

Beyoncé to Bruce Springsteen: Our Favorite Concert Films

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Illusion And Identity: 'Derek DelGaudio's In & Of Itself'

Derek DelGaudio on stage during In & Of Itself, now streaming on Hulu. Matthew Murphy/Hulu hide caption

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Matthew Murphy/Hulu

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Illusion And Identity: 'Derek DelGaudio's In & Of Itself'

February 1, 2021 • The off-Broadway show In & Of Itself, performed by Derek DelGaudio, was a one-man show, a magic act and a piece of interactive theater. The show is now available on Hulu and it showcases a series of storytelling vignettes that are punctuated by different illusions. One has card magic, a couple have interactions with the audience, but the focus is really on identity.

Illusion And Identity: 'Derek DelGaudio's In & Of Itself'

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Elizabeth Berkley as Nomi, on the set of 1995's Showgirls. Murray Close/Sygma via Getty Images hide caption

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Murray Close/Sygma via Getty Images

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Revisiting 'Showgirls', 25 Years Later

January 7, 2021 • In 1995, critics howled and self-appointed guardians of good taste were horrified at the release of Showgirls. Directed by Paul Verhoeven with a screenplay by Joe Eszterhas, the NC-17 film was a notorious flop at the time but is now considered a camp classic and a window into a moment of moral panic.

Revisiting 'Showgirls', 25 Years Later

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Remembering Sean Connery Through Three Iconic Performances

Sean Connery was the blueprint for James Bond, pictured here in Goldfinger. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption

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Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Remembering Sean Connery Through Three Iconic Performances

November 2, 2020 • Sir Sean Connery has died. He was 90 years old. Though he became a star by creating the role of James Bond onscreen, over the course of his career he played many characters — all with his distinctive, much-imitated, Scottish brogue. We're remembering the life and work of Sean Connery by spotlighting three of his iconic performances.

Remembering Sean Connery Through Three Iconic Performances

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'American Utopia': David Byrne's Coming To My House, Via HBO

American Utopia, directed by Spike Lee, captures a filmed performance of David Byrne's acclaimed Broadway production. David Lee/HBO hide caption

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David Lee/HBO

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'American Utopia': David Byrne's Coming To My House, Via HBO

October 21, 2020 • David Byrne and Spike Lee. Two artists with very defined, very distinct, and yet very different, sensibilities — but when you put them together, it works. The theatrical concert film David Byrne's American Utopia, now streaming on HBO Max, is a career-spanning celebration of Byrne's music, both with Talking Heads and his solo work. Director Spike Lee shoots the stage of Broadway's Hudson Theater from a host of angles to capture the exuberant, rollicking — yet rigorously choreographed energy — of Byrne and his fellow barefoot, silver-gray-suited performers.

'American Utopia': David Byrne's Coming To My House, Via HBO

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'Enola Holmes': Sherlock's Little Sister Gets On His Case

Millie Bobby Brown stars in Enola Holmes, the new Netflix film based on the book series by Nancy Springer. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Review

'Enola Holmes': Sherlock's Little Sister Gets On His Case

September 25, 2020 • The new, bright and breezy Netflix movie Enola Holmes stars Millie Bobby Brown as the 16-year-old sister of Sherlock Holmes. She sets out on an adventure when her eccentric mother (Helena Bonham Carter) goes missing. It also features Sam Claflin as her stuffy brother Mycroft, Louis Partridge as a romantic interest, and Henry Cavill as Sherlock.

'Enola Holmes': Sherlock's Little Sister Gets On His Case

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In 'Star Trek: Lower Decks' Jokes Are The Final Frontier

Ensign Sam Rutherford (Eugene Cordero), Ensign D'Vana Tendi (Noel Wells), Ensign Beckett Mariner (Tawny Newsome), and Ensign Brad Boimler (Jack Quaid) in the new CBS All Access animated series Star Trek: Lower Decks. CBS All Access hide caption

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CBS All Access

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

In 'Star Trek: Lower Decks' Jokes Are The Final Frontier

August 19, 2020 • The mega-franchise Star Trek has produced a slew of movies and ten different TV series — the latest of which is a brand-new animated comedy called Star Trek: Lower Decks. The show was created by Mike McMahan, who worked on Rick And Morty, and it tells the story of some of the least powerful officers on Starfleet's least important starship, the U.S.S. Cerritos. And, because it's animated, we also get epic battles, space zombies, and spectacular mass destruction.

In 'Star Trek: Lower Decks' Jokes Are The Final Frontier

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Keanu Reeves stars as John Wick in John Wick: Chapter 3--Parabellum. Lionsgate hide caption

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Lionsgate

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

John Wick 3: A Popcorn Movie Memory

July 8, 2020 • Once upon a time, a man named John Wick retired from his successful career as an assassin. But then he returned to it. And across what's now a three-film series, he's been having a heck of a week ever since. In the third film, John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Wick, played by Keanu Reeves, is on the run from foes and former friends alike. This episode originally aired on May 17, 2019.

John Wick 3: A Popcorn Movie Memory

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'First Cow': A Profound, Ruminative Western

When Greener Pastures Are Unpasteurized: Two men try to start a business in the Oregon Territory in First Cow. Allyson Riggs/A24 hide caption

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Allyson Riggs/A24

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Movie Reviews

'First Cow': A Profound, Ruminative Western

March 5, 2020 • Two men struggle to eke out a living in the Oregon Territory by stealing the milk of a wealthy landowner in writer-director Kelly Reichardt's film.

'1917' Is Gripping, Visceral And Strangely Beautiful

Schofield (George MacKay) gets entrenched in Sam Mendes' 1917. François Duhamel /Universal hide caption

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François Duhamel /Universal

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Movie Reviews

'1917' Is Gripping, Visceral And Strangely Beautiful

December 24, 2019 • Sam Mendes' technique — stringing together a series of long takes to seem continuous, as if the story's events unfold in real time — makes for a "wholly absorbing cinematic experience."