Movies

National

'F9' Success Might Indicate Audiences Are Ready To Return To Theaters

4:45pm June 28, 2021

by Bob Mondello

F9, the latest installment in the Fast & Furious franchise set a pandemic era record this weekend. Does that mean audiences are ready to come back to theaters?

50 Years Ago, A Group Of Child Actors Helped To Make Movie History

6:19am June 28, 2021

Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory was released in theaters on June 30, 1971. To celebrate the film's 50th anniversary, NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with some of the actors who were in the film.

Christian Vázquez as Gerardo and Armando Espitia as Iván in I Carry You with Me.

Arts

'I Carry You With Me' Blends Reality And Drama In A Wrenching Gay Love Story

4:24pm June 25, 2021

by Bob Mondello

Iván and Gerardo can't be gay in Mexico, and can't be undocumented in the U.S. Filmmaker Heidi Ewing tells this real-life story with documentary footage and a swooning fictionalized drama.

Sexy Beasts comes to Netflix on July 21.

Books
Arts

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

9:00am June 25, 2021

Every Friday, Pop Culture Happy Hour hosts and guests share the shows, movies, books and music that brought them joy. This week: Sexy Beasts, Launchpad shorts, a Hunchback history and Mythic Quest.

Lucy (Ilana Glazer) undergoes a procedure in Hulu's False Positive.

Arts

Pregnancy Horror 'False Positive' Doesn't Deliver

7:01am June 25, 2021

by Glen Weldon

Hulu's horror-thriller about a woman (Ilana Glazer) who begins to suspect there's something sinister about her pregnancy grasps at many ideas without developing them.

Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and Dom (Vin Diesel) are still together in F9, 20 years after the franchise began.

Arts

'Fast & Furious' Owner's Manual: A Guide As The Best Worst Franchise Turns 20

7:01pm June 24, 2021

by Linda Holmes

Critic Linda Holmes argues that as mindless as The Fast & The Furious may seem, it's also brilliant for surviving and thriving in Hollywood for 20 years.

Review: 'F9' Puts The Pedal To The Metal To Restart The Hollywood Blockbuster

4:39pm June 24, 2021

by Bob Mondello

F9, the latest film in the Fast & Furious franchise is also the film that's supposed to restart the Hollywood blockbuster.

How Film Has Shaped The American Image Of Democracy

7:58am June 19, 2021

NPR's Scott Simon speaks to film critics Wesley Morris and Mark Harris about the movies that have shaped how Americans think of democracy for our series "We Hold These Truths."

From left, Russell and Ron Mael, who record as Sparks, photographed in 1982 during the cover shoot for their album Angst In My Pants.

50 Years Of Sparks: The World Ain't Big Enough For The Both Of Them

4:35pm June 18, 2021

by Bob Mondello

The eclectic, prolific and beloved brother-brother pop duo is marking 50 years this year – but, somehow, you've never heard their music? Let's fix that.

Arts

Remembering Character Actor Ned Beatty

1:51pm June 18, 2021

by Terry Gross

Beatty, who died June 13, made his film debut in Deliverance and then went on to appear in scores of movies, including Network, All the President's Men and Superman. Originally broadcast in 1987.

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