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In 'No Bears', a banned filmmaker takes bold aim at Iranian society

Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi plays a version of himself in No Bears. TIFF hide caption

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TIFF

Review

Movie Reviews

In 'No Bears', a banned filmmaker takes bold aim at Iranian society

Fresh Air

In 2010, Iranian the authorities charged Jafar Panahi with making anti-government propaganda. No Bears, which was filmed in secret, is a brilliant, layered drama — and an idiosyncratic self portrait.

In 'No Bears', a banned filmmaker takes bold aim at Iranian society

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'Wakanda Forever' receives 12 NAACP Image Award nominations

This image released by Sony Pictures shows Viola Davis, left, and John Boyega in "The Woman King." "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" earned 12 NAACP Image Awards nominations on Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023, while "The Woman King" and "Abbott Elementary" will enter next month's ceremony as top nominees. Ilze Kitshoff/AP hide caption

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Ilze Kitshoff/AP

Culture

'Wakanda Forever' receives 12 NAACP Image Award nominations

The awards honoring entertainers and writers of color will air live in Pasadena, California on Feb. 25. The two-hour show will be held in front of an audience for the first time in three years.

Does 'Plane' take off, or just sit on the runway?

Gerard Butler and Mike Colter star in Plane. Kenneth Rexach/Lionsgate hide caption

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Kenneth Rexach/Lionsgate

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Does 'Plane' take off, or just sit on the runway?

What do you need to know about the movie Plane? Well, there's a plane. Specifically, there's a plane that goes down when it's struck by lightning and ends up on the worst possible island. It's then up to a captain, played by Gerard Butler, and his passengers to survive.

Does 'Plane' take off, or just sit on the runway?

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Planet Money Movie Club: It's a Wonderful Life

James Stewart, left, Thomas Mitchell, right, and Donna Reed appear in the 1946 movie "It's A Wonderful Life." (AP Photo) ASSOCIATED PRESS hide caption

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

Planet Money

Planet Money Movie Club: It's a Wonderful Life

Welcome to the Planet Money Movie Club, a regular series from Planet Money+ in which we watch an economics-related movie and discuss! On today's episode, Kenny Malone, Wailin Wong, and Willa Rubin talk about Frank Capra's 1946 classic 'It's A Wonderful Life.' They discuss CPI adjustments, how a copyright lapse helped make the film more popular, and what exactly a 'Building and Loan' is.

Planet Money Movie Club: It's a Wonderful Life

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After 2 years of controversy, the Golden Globe Awards were back on TV

The 80-year-old Hollywood Foreign Press Association handed out its awards with a lavish party emceed by comedian Jerrod Carmichael. Many studios, networks and stars boycotted 2022's ceremony.

After 2 years of controversy, the Golden Globe Awards were back on TV

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The Golden Globes had a lot to prove — and still have a long way to go

Ke Huy Quan poses with the Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture award for Everything Everywhere All at Once during the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards at The Beverly Hilton on Jan. 10, 2023 in Beverly Hills, Calif. Amy Sussman/Getty Images hide caption

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Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Culture

The Golden Globes had a lot to prove — and still have a long way to go

After years of scandal, these awards were about survival not simply ceremony. But the so-called "party of the year" was stunted by a hodgepodge of honors and a host whose caustic comedy didn't fit.

In 'M3GAN,' a high-tech doll gets programmed to k1ll

Violet McGraw and Allison Williams star in M3GAN. Geoffrey Short/Universal Pictures hide caption

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Geoffrey Short/Universal Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

In 'M3GAN,' a high-tech doll gets programmed to k1ll

In the new movie M3GAN, an orphaned 8-year-old girl is given a lifelike interactive doll. The doll in question was designed by roboticist Gemma (Allison Williams) and is programmed with artificial intelligence that allows her to learn, evolve and possibly commit murder. The movie is a cautionary tale about AI, a killer-doll flick, and the source of some truly creepy memes.

In 'M3GAN,' a high-tech doll gets programmed to k1ll

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What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend reading and viewing.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Brendan and Nora Zehetner as Laura in Brick. kpa Publicity Stills/Alamy Stock Photo hide caption

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kpa Publicity Stills/Alamy Stock Photo

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

What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend reading and viewing.

Each week, the guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: Babel or The Necessity of Violence, Sultana's Dream, La última copa/The Last Cup, and Brick.

'Women Talking' is exactly that — and so much more

Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Judith Ivey, Sheila McCarthy, Michelle McLeod, and Jessie Buckley in a scene from Women Talking. Michael Gibson/Michael Gibson hide caption

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Michael Gibson/Michael Gibson

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Women Talking' is exactly that — and so much more

In the excellent new film Women Talking, a group of Mennonite women gather to discuss the abuse they've suffered at the hands of their men. They settle upon two possible solutions: stay and fight – or leave the only world they've ever known. Written and directed by the acclaimed filmmaker Sarah Polley, the movie has a powerhouse cast that includes Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, and Jessie Buckley.

'Women Talking' is exactly that — and so much more

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Noah Baumbach's 'White Noise' adaptation is brave, even if not entirely successful

Greta Gerwig, May Nivola, Adam Driver, Samuel Nivola and Raffey Cassidy appear in Noah Baumbach's White Noise. Wilson Webb/Netflix hide caption

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Wilson Webb/Netflix

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Movie Reviews

Noah Baumbach's 'White Noise' adaptation is brave, even if not entirely successful

Fresh Air

The 1985 novel has been described as "unfilmable." Baumbach wasn't deterred — and though the movie brims with terrific moments, his White Noise doesn't hold together as well as Don DeLillo's.

Noah Baumbach's 'White Noise' adaptation is brave, even if not entirely successful

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We've got a complicated appreciation for 'Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical'

Alisha Weir as Matilda and Lashana Lynch as Miss Honey in Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

We've got a complicated appreciation for 'Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical'

Roald Dahl's novel Matilda has been adapted many times over the years, including as a 1996 movie directed by Danny DeVito. The newest iteration is now streaming on Netflix. Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical, a feature film based on the hit Broadway show, boasts a cast of talented kids, Emma Thompson as the signature villain Miss Trunchbull, and eye-popping choreography. But does it stand on its own apart from its predecessors?

We've got a complicated appreciation for 'Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical'

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Iran releases a top actress who was held for criticizing the crackdown on protests

Prominent Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti (center) holds flowers as she poses for a photo among her friends after being released from Evin prison in Tehran, Iran, on Wednesday. Gisoo Faghfouri/AP hide caption

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Gisoo Faghfouri/AP

World

Iran releases a top actress who was held for criticizing the crackdown on protests

Taraneh Alidoosti, the 38-year-old star of the Oscar-winning 2016 film The Salesman was released from Tehran's notorious Evin Prison nearly three weeks after her arrest.

The underage stars of a hit 1968 version of 'Romeo & Juliet' sue over their nude scene

"Romeo & Juliet" actors Olivia Hussey, center, and Leonard Whiting, right, are seen in September 1968 with director Franco Zeffirelli after the Parisian premier of the film. Eustache Cardenas/AP hide caption

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Eustache Cardenas/AP

Culture

The underage stars of a hit 1968 version of 'Romeo & Juliet' sue over their nude scene

Olivia Hussey, then 15, and Leonard Whiting, then 16, allege sexual abuse, sexual harassment and fraud, and are seeking more than $500 million from Paramount Pictures.

Three great 2022 movies you may have missed

Emmett Lewis in the documentary film Descendant. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

Three great 2022 movies you may have missed

We talk about a lot of movies on Pop Culture Happy Hour, but we definitely don't talk about all of them. All kinds of films fall through the cracks for all kinds of reasons, but we're here to give them their moments to shine. Today, we're recommending three movies from 2022 that we loved and think you should see.

Three great 2022 movies you may have missed

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He's edited Caro, le Carré and 'Catch-22,' but doesn't mind if you don't know his name

Robert Gottlieb describes editing as a service job: "Our job is to serve the word, serve the author, serve the text." Thomas Victor/Courtesy of the Estate of Thomas Victor, LLC / Sony Pictures Classics hide caption

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Thomas Victor/Courtesy of the Estate of Thomas Victor, LLC / Sony Pictures Classics

Movie Interviews

He's edited Caro, le Carré and 'Catch-22,' but doesn't mind if you don't know his name

Fresh Air

Robert Gottlieb has been working in publishing since 1955. The documentary Turn Every Page, by daughter Lizzie Gottlieb, examines his decades-long editing relationship with author Robert Caro.

He's edited Caro, le Carré and 'Catch-22,' but doesn't mind if you don't know his name

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Sleekly sentimental, 'Living' plays like an 'Afterschool Special' for grownups

Bill Nighy plays a bottled-up bureaucrat who embarks on a quest for meaning in Living. Sony Pictures hide caption

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Sony Pictures

Review

Movie Reviews

Sleekly sentimental, 'Living' plays like an 'Afterschool Special' for grownups

Fresh Air

Bill Nighy plays a bottled-up bureaucrat on a quest for meaning in Kazuo Ishiguro's adaptation of Akira Kurosawa's 1952 film Ikiru. The first film felt inventive and urgent — Living doesn't live up.

Sleekly sentimental, 'Living' plays like an 'Afterschool Special' for grownups

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Millennials in Hollywood are making parents apologize on-screen
Allyson Riggs/A24; Disney; Pixar; Daniel McFadden/Marvel Studios/Allyson Riggs/A24; Disney; Pixar; Daniel McFadden/Marvel Studios; Grace Widyatmadja/NPR

It's Been a Minute

Millennials in Hollywood are making parents apologize on-screen

In this episode from June 2022, guest host B.A. Parker and Vox entertainment critic Emily St. James dive into a trend that was all over Hollywood: parents apologizing on-screen. From miniseries like 'Ms. Marvel' to the indie darling 'Everything Everywhere All At Once,' St. James calls the subgenre the 'millennial parent apology fantasy.' They get into how stories about parents and children confronting gaps in culture, generation and identity could pave the way for new perspectives about trauma and family.

Millennials in Hollywood are making parents apologize on-screen

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What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend viewing, listening and reading

Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy in the film The Menu. Eric Zachanowich/Searchlight Pictures hide caption

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Eric Zachanowich/Searchlight Pictures

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, the guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: The Menu, dancer Kim Hale, "Girlfriend" by Matthew Sweet, Drink Masters and more.

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