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Can You Double Your Holiday Pleasure With Netflix's 'The Princess Switch'?

Vanessa Hudgens as both Stacy and Margaret in the Netflix holiday confection The Princess Switch. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Review

Can You Double Your Holiday Pleasure With Netflix's 'The Princess Switch'?

November 16, 2018 • Vanessa Hudgens plays both a Chicago baker and an engaged European duchess in a holiday romance meant to muscle in on a surprisingly robust cable genre.

Viva Las Vegas: Elvis, Adelson Honored With Presidential Medal Of Freedom

President Trump awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to American Football hall-of-famer Alan Page at the White House on Friday. Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images

Viva Las Vegas: Elvis, Adelson Honored With Presidential Medal Of Freedom

November 16, 2018 • President Trump awarded the nation's highest civilian honor to seven people Friday, including Elvis Presley, Babe Ruth and GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson.

Viva Las Vegas: Elvis, Adelson Honored With Presidential Medal Of Freedom

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Pop Culture Happy Hour: We Talk About Julia Roberts in 'Homecoming'

Sam Esmail, the creator of Mr. Robot, directs every episode of the new Amazon thriller Homecoming. Amazon hide caption

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Amazon

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour: We Talk About Julia Roberts in 'Homecoming'

November 16, 2018 • In the Amazon thriller Homecoming, Julia Roberts plays a caseworker at a facility that helps soldiers re-adjust to civilian life. Or at least that's what she thinks it does. But calls from a mysterious boss and sessions with a young soldier make her question everything.

Pop Culture Happy Hour: We Talk About Julia Roberts in 'Homecoming'

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'Girl': Belgian Drama About A Young Trans Ballet Student Is On Point

Lara (Victor Polster) is impatient to become the girl she knows herself to be, in Lukas Dhont's Girl. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Review

'Girl': Belgian Drama About A Young Trans Ballet Student Is On Point

November 15, 2018 • A precise performance from young Victor Polster grounds this closely observed tale of Lara, a trans girl impatient with the process of transition.

'Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald': Beasts? Check. Crimes? Check. Fantastic? Not Quite.

Back on my beast: Eddie Redmayne returns to his old, squirrelly tricks as Newt Scamander in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros. Pictures hide caption

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Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros. Pictures

Review

'Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald': Beasts? Check. Crimes? Check. Fantastic? Not Quite.

November 15, 2018 • The second installment of J.K. Rowling's follow-up Potter franchise is as overstuffed as the first, but it's less muddled. It dutifully advances the story, but fails to deliver thrilling set-pieces.

'At Eternity's Gate': Dafoe Is Van Gogh, And You Should Go

The Ear of Living Dangerously: Willem Dafoe is Vincent Van Gogh in Julian Schnabel's At Eternity's Gate. Lily Gavin/CBS Films hide caption

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Lily Gavin/CBS Films

Review

'At Eternity's Gate': Dafoe Is Van Gogh, And You Should Go

November 15, 2018 • Julian Schnabel's "bold, blissful and deeply sad" film about Vincent Van Gogh's final days is as textured as the artist's canvases; Willem Dafoe delivers "one of the finest performances of the year."

A Heist, And A Whole Lot More, As Viola Davis Delivers In 'Widows'

Viola Davis stars as Veronica, a woman who loses her husband and gains a heist gang in Widows. Merrick Morton/Twentieth Century Fox hide caption

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Merrick Morton/Twentieth Century Fox

Review

A Heist, And A Whole Lot More, As Viola Davis Delivers In 'Widows'

November 15, 2018 • The exciting, engaging, entertaining Widows is the rare fun heist film that also functions as a solid drama, thanks largely to the lead performance from Viola Davis.

'Toxic' Is Oxford Dictionaries' Word Of 2018

Toxic gases rise from cracks in the Leilani Estates subdivision near Pahoa, Hawaii, during this year's eruption of the Kilauea volcano. Jae C. Hong/AP hide caption

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Jae C. Hong/AP

'Toxic' Is Oxford Dictionaries' Word Of 2018

November 15, 2018 • The publisher's research found "the sheer scope of its application" made "toxic" stand out this year.

Comedian Neal Brennan on Stand-Up, Chappelle's Show and PC Culture

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Courtesy of Neal Brennan

What's Good with Stretch & Bobbito

Comedian Neal Brennan on Stand-Up, Chappelle's Show and PC Culture

November 14, 2018 • You might not know his name, but if you're a fan of comedy you definitely know his work. Neal Brennan found immense success in his early 20s by co-creating Chappelle's Show and writing the movie Half Baked with fellow comedian Dave Chappelle. But more recently Brennan has been getting back on stage as a stand-up comedian. He joins Stretch and Bob for a conversation about his days as a comedy club doorman in New York, why he's not concerned with PC culture and what to expect from his stand-up tour "Here We Go."

Comedian Neal Brennan on Stand-Up, Chappelle's Show and PC Culture

40:38

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Opinion: How Stan Lee Helped This Blerd Find His Superhero

Comic book writer Stan Lee and actor Chadwick Boseman attend the world premiere of Marvel Studios Black Panther. Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Valerie Macon/AFP/Getty Images

Opinion: How Stan Lee Helped This Blerd Find His Superhero

November 13, 2018 • For one black nerd growing up in Indiana, Stan Lee's world was an amazing step forward.

In 'Let's Go,' Wilco Frontman Jeff Tweedy Details His Struggles And Joys

Jeff Tweedy of Wilco performs at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival at Fair Grounds Race Course on May 5, 2017, in New Orleans, La. Josh Brasted/Getty Images hide caption

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Josh Brasted/Getty Images

Review

In 'Let's Go,' Wilco Frontman Jeff Tweedy Details His Struggles And Joys

November 13, 2018 • The singer-songwriter tells the story of how a kid from a Midwestern, working-class family became an idol to country-punk and alternative rock fans — and the obstacles and celebrations along the way.

Pop Culture Happy Hour remembers writer and comic book icon Stan Lee. Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for IMDB hide caption

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Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for IMDB

Remembering Stan Lee

November 12, 2018 • Stan Lee helped create some of the most indelible comic book characters in American popular culture, including Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, and Black Panther. He died Monday. He was 95.

Remembering Stan Lee

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Stan Lee, American comic book writer, editor, publisher and former President of Marvel Comics, attends the premiere of Doctor Strange in 2016. Lee died Monday at the age of 95. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images hide caption

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Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

A True Believer Remembers Stan Lee

November 12, 2018 • Stan Lee — born Stanley Martin Lieber — co-created many beloved Marvel Comics characters, but he became the company's tireless, beloved figurehead. NPR's Glen Weldon offers a remembrance.

A True Believer Remembers Stan Lee

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Comic book legend Stan Lee poses at the opening reception for "Stan Lee: A Retrospective" presented by the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art on Feb. 23, 2007 in New York City. Mat Szwajkos/Getty Images hide caption

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Mat Szwajkos/Getty Images

Obituaries

A Marvel Of A Man: Stan Lee Dead At 95

November 12, 2018 • Lee gave us over six decades' worth of superheroes we could identify with, characters like Spider-Man and The Incredible Hulk, who reacted to superpowered crises in believably flawed, human ways.

A Marvel Of A Man: Stan Lee Dead At 95

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Dan Crenshaw Mocks Pete Davidson And Robert De Niro Returns As Mueller On 'SNL'

Saturday Night Live said goodbye to Jeff Sessions with Robert De Niro as Robert Mueller and Kate McKinnon as Sessions Saturday. Saturday Night Live via YouTube/Screenshot by NPR hide caption

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Saturday Night Live via YouTube/Screenshot by NPR

Television

Dan Crenshaw Mocks Pete Davidson And Robert De Niro Returns As Mueller On 'SNL'

November 11, 2018 • Pete Davidson made fun of newly elected congressman Dan Crenshaw's eye patch last week. Crenshaw stopped by this week to say Davidson "looks like if the meth from Breaking Bad was a person."

'Postcards From London': Rent Boys Will Be Rent Boys In A Stylized, Neon-Lit Soho

Having A Great Time, Wish You Were Queer: Jim (Harris Dickinson) in Steve McLean's stylized, whimsical Postcards From London. Strand Releasing hide caption

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Strand Releasing

Review

Movie Reviews

'Postcards From London': Rent Boys Will Be Rent Boys In A Stylized, Neon-Lit Soho

November 8, 2018 • Writer/director Steve McLean's "lovely piece of whimsy" about a gay sex worker in 1970s London examines "the mixed blessings of sex, art, beauty and authenticity."

'The Front Runner' Stumbles Into Familiar Territory

Hugh Jackman, and wig, play Gary Hart in Jason Reitman's The Front Runner. Sony Pictures hide caption

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Sony Pictures

Review

Movie Reviews

'The Front Runner' Stumbles Into Familiar Territory

November 8, 2018 • The film follows Gary Hart (Hugh Jackman) through his three-week presidential bid that fell victim to monkey business, but what director Jason Reitman brings to it is familiar — even quaint.

'The Girl In The Spider's Web' Struggles To Break Free Of Techno-Thriller Cliches

"Welcome to my pallor, said the spider to the fly": Lisbeth Salander (Claire Foy) goes beyond the pale in The Girl in the Spider's Web. Sony Pictures hide caption

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Sony Pictures

Review

Movie Reviews

'The Girl In The Spider's Web' Struggles To Break Free Of Techno-Thriller Cliches

November 8, 2018 • Claire Foy takes over the role of Swedish super-hacker Lisbeth Salander in a reboot that reheats stale ideas from many previous spy/hacker movies.

In Netflix's War Epic 'Outlaw King' There's Plenty Of War, But Not Much That's Epic

Robert the Bruce (Chris Pine) surveys his phalanx in Outlaw King. David Eustace/Netflix hide caption

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David Eustace/Netflix

Review

Movie Reviews

In Netflix's War Epic 'Outlaw King' There's Plenty Of War, But Not Much That's Epic

November 8, 2018 • Director David Mackenzie (Hell or High Water) keeps the scale too small and the stakes too low in this retelling of the rebellion of Scotland's Robert the Bruce (Chris Pine).

Death Wears A Pleasing Face In The Swoony, Stylized 'El Angel'

Marisol (Malena Villa) and Carlos (Lorenzo Ferro) get triggered in El Angel. Marcos Ludevid/The Orchard hide caption

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Marcos Ludevid/The Orchard

Review

Movie Reviews

Death Wears A Pleasing Face In The Swoony, Stylized 'El Angel'

November 8, 2018 • Writer/director Luis Ortega invests the tale of a brutal but beautiful young serial killer who terrorized Argentina in the 1970s with an intoxicating sense of glamour.

Death Wears A Pleasing Face In The Swoony, Stylized 'El Angel'

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'Nobody's Fool': Tiffany Haddish, Tyler Perry, And Learning To Love A Man With Abs

Tiffany Haddish is the standout of Tyler Perry's Nobody's Fool. Chip Bergmann/Paramount Pictures hide caption

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Chip Bergmann/Paramount Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Nobody's Fool': Tiffany Haddish, Tyler Perry, And Learning To Love A Man With Abs

November 7, 2018 • Nobody's Fool is a Tyler Perry movie, but maybe more important at the moment, it's a Tiffany Haddish movie. Haddish plays Tanya, who fears her sister is being catfished in an online relationship.

'Nobody's Fool': Tiffany Haddish, Tyler Perry, And Learning To Love A Man With Abs

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Mira and her raccoon pal BK. Spoiler alert: He's kind of a jerk. Annapurna Interactive hide caption

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Annapurna Interactive

Reading The Game

Reading The Game: Donut County

November 5, 2018 • Our occasional series on storytelling in video games returns with a trip to Donut County — which is about doughnuts, yes, but also giant holes, cranky raccoons, and learning not to be a jerk.

No, Athletes Will Not 'Shut Up And Dribble' — And They Never Have

Oscar Robertson is one of the athletes who's interviewed in the new documentary series Shut Up and Dribble. Showtime hide caption

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Showtime

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

No, Athletes Will Not 'Shut Up And Dribble' — And They Never Have

November 5, 2018 • A new documentary series on Showtime, executive produced by LeBron James, offers a direct, pointed, emphatic response to commentator Laura Ingraham and her admonition to him to stay out of politics.

All Is Not As It Seems As Julia Roberts Leads A 'Homecoming'

Julia Roberts plays a caseworker at a mysterious government facility treating veterans with PTSD in Amazon's Homecoming. Amazon Prime Video hide caption

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Amazon Prime Video

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

All Is Not As It Seems As Julia Roberts Leads A 'Homecoming'

November 2, 2018 • Julia Roberts headlines Amazon's thriller about a mysterious government program offering treatment to veterans. Sam Esmail, fresh off creating Mr. Robot, brings a thoughtful visual style.