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June Squibb's 'Thelma' is the wrong grandma to mess with

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Magnolia Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

June Squibb's 'Thelma' is the wrong grandma to mess with

Financial scams are an unfortunate phenomenon, but what happens when a fraudster messes with the wrong grandma? The very fun action-comedy Thelma imagines exactly this scenario. The movie stars June Squibb as a woman scammed by someone pretending to be her grandson. She then enlists her old friend (the late Richard Roundtree) to help get her money back.

June Squibb's 'Thelma' is the wrong grandma to mess with

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DJ Frankie Knuckles plays at the Def Mix 20th Anniversary Weekender at Turnmills nightclub on May 6, 2007 in London, England.

DJ Frankie Knuckles plays at the Def Mix 20th Anniversary Weekender at Turnmills nightclub on May 6, 2007 in London, England. Claire Greenway/Getty Images/Getty Images Europe hide caption

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Claire Greenway/Getty Images/Getty Images Europe

Time Machine: The Throughline History Quiz

Who built house music? Test your knowledge with the Throughline quiz.

Electronic dance music is one of the largest and most popular sectors of the music industry. But do you know where it came from? Test yourself with Throughline’s quiz.

HBO's 'Fantasmas' is new and different and uniquely itself

Julio Torres stars in Fantasmas. HBO hide caption

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HBO

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

HBO's 'Fantasmas' is new and different and uniquely itself

The brilliant and idiosyncratic new HBO series Fantasmas has a simple plot. Creator and star Julio Torres searches New York City for an earring he lost at a club. In the execution, that quest gets transformed into something epic and surreal and queer in every sense of the word. He keeps bumping into random New Yorkers whose stories play out in a series of sketch-like vignettes. They are played by actors including Emma Stone, Bowen Yang, and Tilda Swinton.

HBO's 'Fantasmas' is new and different and uniquely itself

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What 'Inside Out 2' got right about anxiety, per a psychologist

Pixar's new movie Inside Out 2 revisits the internal life of Riley, as she hits puberty and copes with a growing range of emotions. Pixar hide caption

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Pixar

Short Wave

What 'Inside Out 2' got right about anxiety, per a psychologist

Pixar's new movie, Inside Out 2 came out Friday. It's the sequel to the 2015 movie Inside Out, which follows the life of 11-year-old Riley and her family as they move to San Francisco. In Inside Out 2, Riley is 13 and thriving in her new city. She has friends and is a star on her hockey team. But when puberty hits one night, four new emotions come into play: Envy, Ennui, Embarrassment and most of all, Anxiety.

What 'Inside Out 2' got right about anxiety, per a psychologist

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The Scadutree towers over The Land of Shadow, a photonegative of the Erdtree in The Lands Between.

The Scadutree towers over The Land of Shadow, a photonegative of the Erdtree in The Lands Between. Bandai Namco hide caption

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Bandai Namco

Video Game Reviews

‘Shadow of the Erdtree’ is a confounding delight that wants to kill you with kindness

You'll need a hug after Shadow of the Erdtree gets its claws around you. The follow-up to the 2022 gaming phenomenon presents a new realm to explore, new mysteries to unravel, and new bosses to get utterly demolished by.

'Bridgerton' closes out a crowded third season

Luke Newton in a scene from the series Bridgerton. Liam Daniel/Netflix hide caption

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Liam Daniel/Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Bridgerton' closes out a crowded third season

The second half of Bridgerton's latest season just dropped on Netflix, and naturally the course of true love continues to not run smoothly. Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) may have finally declared their feelings for each other, but there's still a lot left to figure out. We previously talked about the first part of the third season in May, so today, we're diving in everything that happens in the conclusion.

'Bridgerton' closes out a crowded third season

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We debate the sweatiest movie of all time

Is Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing the sweatiest movie of all time? Anthony Barboza/Getty hide caption

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Anthony Barboza/Getty

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

We debate the sweatiest movie of all time

Whether they're lightly perspiring, gently glowing, or soaked through from sweltering, people in the movies sweat a lot. But what movie has had people sweat the very most? With summer underway, we are debating what is the sweatiest movie of all time — including Do the Right Thing, Dog Day Afternoon, Y tu mamá también, and Body Heat.

We debate the sweatiest movie of all time

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'Inside Out 2' is a Pixar sequel worth celebrating

Amy Poehler as Joy and Maya Hawke as Anxiety in a scene from Inside Out 2. Pixar hide caption

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Pixar

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Inside Out 2' is a Pixar sequel worth celebrating

Pixar's Inside Out introduced us to the core emotions inside an 11-year-old girl named Riley. We met Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), and Anger (Lewis Black). In Inside Out 2, Riley is experiencing puberty and a whole new crop of emotions have popped up. Most notably Anxiety (Maya Hawke) who has literally bottled up Riley's original core emotions and sent them hurtling into the back of her mind, where they plot to get back and set things right.

'Inside Out 2' is a Pixar sequel worth celebrating

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Jake Gyllenhaal's 'Presumed Innocent' updates a legal thriller

Jake Gyllenhaal in the Apple TV+ show Presumed Innocent. Apple TV+ hide caption

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Apple TV+

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Jake Gyllenhaal's 'Presumed Innocent' updates a legal thriller

Presumed Innocent was a blockbuster legal thriller as a novel, and then a hit movie starring Harrison Ford. Now, Apple TV+ brings back the story of the accuser turned defendant as a limited series. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the lead this time, as a prosecutor who is accused of the murder of the colleague he'd had an affair with. David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies, The Practice, Ally McBeal) created the show.

Jake Gyllenhaal's 'Presumed Innocent' updates a legal thriller

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Our favorite graduation moments in pop culture

A graduate in gown and caps and his mother celebrate their graduation. Jens Schlueter/Getty Images hide caption

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Jens Schlueter/Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Our favorite graduation moments in pop culture

This is the time of year when so many students graduate. Whether it's graduation episodes of our favorite TV series, high school songs, or movies about the last wild night of high school, we're revisiting our episode about the best moments about graduation in pop culture.

Our favorite graduation moments in pop culture

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A slipper orchid clonal hybrid known as Paphiopedilum Saint Albans

A slipper orchid clonal hybrid known as Paphiopedilum Saint Albans "Dark Red" from the Smithsonian Gardens Orchid Collection Hannele Lahti/Smithsonian Open Access Collections hide caption

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Hannele Lahti/Smithsonian Open Access Collections

Culture

Darkly romantic goth gardens are having a moment in the sun — here's how to grow one

Gardens are blooming across the country, and while you’ll likely see plenty of roses and brightly-colored zinnias on porches and patios this summer, one much-hyped trend is very, very dark.

GOTH GARDENS

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'Am I OK?' is a coming-out movie for adults

Dakota Johnson in the film Am I OK? Emily Knecht/Max hide caption

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Emily Knecht/Max

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Am I OK?' is a coming-out movie for adults

Am I OK? is a about what happens when you finally come to accept your sexuality much later in life than many do. It stars Dakota Johnson and Sonoya Mizuno as two women in their 30s who have been best friends a long time. But Johnson's character is grappling with the possibility that she's queer – and with the fact that her most treasured friendship is in trouble. Directed by Tig Notaro and Stephanie Allynne, it's streaming on Max.

'Am I OK?' is a coming-out movie for adults

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Dionne Brown as Queenie Jenkins in the show Queenie, based on the novel by Candice Carty-Williams.

Dionne Brown as Queenie Jenkins in the show Queenie, based on the novel by Candice Carty-Williams. Hulu hide caption

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Hulu

What's Making Us Happy: Recommendations From 'Pop Culture Happy Hour'

What's Making Us Happy: A guide to your weekend viewing, listening and reading

Each week, guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: the show Queenie, the song "Kill The Lights," the book The Plot, and the new Knives Out teaser.

Glen Powell's 'Hit Man' won't kill you, but he may seduce you

Adria Arjona and Glen Powell in Hit Man. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Glen Powell's 'Hit Man' won't kill you, but he may seduce you

Netflix's entertaining dark comedy Hit Man is not about a hired killer. It's about a guy who pretends to be a hired killer. Director Richard Linklater co-wrote this film with movie star of the moment, Glen Powell. Based very loosely on a real guy, Powell plays a mild-mannered professor who also works undercover for the police as a fake hitman.

Glen Powell's 'Hit Man' won't kill you, but he may seduce you

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