Pop Culture

It's a Trap!: (l to r) Zoey (Taylor Russell), Jason (Jay Ellis), Ben (Logan Miller) and Mike (Tyler Labine) navigate puzzles in Escape Room.

Arts

'Escape Room' Serves Up Bloodless Thrills And Pallid Puzzles

5:00pm January 03, 2019

by Scott Tobias

This flat attempt to map contemporary anxieties over the template of more grisly films like Saw only "recalls the mechanized horror trend while sanding off its serrated edges."

The Masked Singer dares to dangle the question ... who is the Peacock?

Introducing 'The Masked Singer,' Featuring Television's Hottest Peacock-Hippo Battle

3:40pm January 03, 2019

by Linda Holmes

Fox's The Masked Singer, based on a South Korean show, is a little like American Idol — if all the contestants were celebrities hidden inside college mascot costumes.

Toni Tennille, left, and "Captain" Daryl Dragon, of the singing duo The Captain & Tennille, pose during an interview at their home in Nevada in 1995.

Music & Culture

'Captain' Daryl Dragon Of Musical Duo Captain & Tennille Dead At 76

7:56am January 03, 2019

by Matthew S. Schwartz

The '70s pop group was known for hits including "Love Will Keep Us Together," "Lonely Night" and "Muskrat Love." Dragon and musical partner Toni Tennille were married for almost 40 years.

Arts

Super Dave Osborne and 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' Actor, Bob Einstein, Dies At 76

8:03pm January 02, 2019

by Vanessa Romo

Throughout his career, which spanned more than half a century, he delighted viewers as an inept stuntman and as Marty Funkhouser. He died on Wednesday after recently being diagnosed with cancer.

Nice Things 2018 With NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour Host Linda Holmes

6:01pm December 30, 2018

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Linda Holmes of NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast about what gave her joy this year.

Queue Listen Now

In Head, the Monkees made a play for creative and cultural respect. Did it work? No. Was it a strangely great movie? Heck yeah.

The Monkees Tried To Cut Their Strings With 'Head'

7:00am December 29, 2018

by Petra Mayer

Hey, hey, they were the Monkees, and by 1968 they were sick and tired of their manufactured boy-band image, so they took a sledgehammer to it in the surreal, angry, stream-of-consciousness Head.

Fionn Whitehead plays Stefan, programmer creating a mid-'80s adventure game in Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.

Arts

'Black Mirror: Bandersnatch' Makes You Choose Your Own Adventure

6:36pm December 28, 2018

by Linda Holmes

Netflix premiered its first interactive film for adults on Friday — one where you make choices on-screen to decide what happens next. It tells the story of a programmer trapped with his game.

Queue Listen Now

'Holmes & Watson' Shows What It Takes To Earn A Rotten Tomatoes Score Of Zero

6:24pm December 27, 2018

The Sherlock Holmes spoof briefly earned zero percent on the film review site. How did it accomplish this anti-feat, and what are some of the other flops to which it's now being compared?

Queue Listen Now

National

A Viral, Very Inventive Obit That Captured The Internet's Imagination

5:41pm December 27, 2018

When Rick Stein died, his daughter Alex Walsh wrote an obituary notable for its lies — she elaborated on his life to create a life of mystery for her dad.

Queue Listen Now

Ayo (Florence Kasumba, left) and Okoye (Danai Gurira) are members of the Dora Milaje, the elite female warriors of Wakanda, in Black Panther.

Arts

The Fierce Female Characters Of Film In 2018

5:17pm December 27, 2018

by Elizabeth Blair

This year, movies where women starred had Hollywood muscle behind them. So do this year's heroines — conceived before #MeToo, but landing in the moment — mark a change for the industry?