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Movie Reviews Reviews of new movies, classic and art films, foreign films, and popular movies. Featuring Bob Mondello, Kenneth Turan, David Edelstein, and Mark Jenkins.

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'Memoria' is a marvelously strange sonic detective story

Jessica (Tilda Swinton) consults an engineer (Juan Pablo Urrego) in an effort to understand the mysterious sound she's hearing in Memoria. Neon films hide caption

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Neon films

'Memoria' is a marvelously strange sonic detective story

Fresh Air

Tilda Swinton plays a botanist who is haunted by a mysterious sound in an intriguing new film. Reviewer Justin Chang says Memoria's climax will leave your jaw on the floor.

'Memoria' is a marvelously strange sonic detective story

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Timely and urgent, 'Happening' is a film that speaks to today's abortion debate

Anamaria Vartolomei stars as a literature student who discovers she's pregnant after a brief fling in Happening. Wild Bunch hide caption

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Wild Bunch

Timely and urgent, 'Happening' is a film that speaks to today's abortion debate

Fresh Air

A 23-year-old literature student discovers she's pregnant after a fling. This movie, based on Annie Ernaux's autobiographical novel, traces her desperate attempt to get an abortion in 1963 France.

Timely and urgent, 'Happening' is a film that speaks to today's abortion debate

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'Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness' serves horror energy

Xochitl Gomez, Benedict Wong, and Benedict Cumberbatch star in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness. Marvel Studios hide caption

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Marvel Studios

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness' serves horror energy

In Marvel's Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness, Benedict Cumberbatch returns as a powerful sorcerer who must protect Earth from mystical menaces. The new film finds Doctor Strange battling an unexpected nemesis as he comes to the aid of America Chavez, played by Xochitl Gomez, who has the power to travel across alternate universes. Directed by Sam Raimi, the film also stars Elizabeth Olsen, Benedict Wong, and Rachel McAdams.

'Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness' serves horror energy

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'Titanic' was king of the world 25 years ago, and for good reason

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in James Cameron's 1997 hit film, Titanic. CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images hide caption

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CBS Photo Archive via Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Titanic' was king of the world 25 years ago, and for good reason

When Titanic pulled into theaters 25 years ago, it quickly became an inescapable cultural juggernaut. Everything about it was huge: Its budget, runtime, box office, and accolades. And it catapulted Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet into a whole new stratosphere of fame. Now that we've got some distance from Leo Mania and "king of the world" jokes, how does James Cameron's epic hold up all these years later? Vote for your favorite American Idol contestants at npr.org/AmericanIdol

'Titanic' was king of the world 25 years ago, and for good reason

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'Petite Maman' is the best — and most surreal — family movie you'll see in a while

Twins Joséphine and Gabrielle Sanz are 8-year-old playmates in Petite Maman. Lilies Films hide caption

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Lilies Films

'Petite Maman' is the best — and most surreal — family movie you'll see in a while

Fresh Air

Identical twin sisters play a pair of mysterious playmates in Petite Maman, an enchanting film that achieves an emotional depth that eludes many movies twice its length.

'Petite Maman' is the best — and most surreal — family movie you'll see in a while

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In 'X,' horror and pleasure are deeply intertwined

Mia Goth stars in Ti West's latest horror flick, X. A24 hide caption

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A24

Pop Culture Happy Hour

In 'X,' horror and pleasure are deeply intertwined

In the terrific horror thriller X, a ragtag film crew sets up shop in a creepy rural farmhouse, where they plan to shoot a porno movie without attracting the attention of their elderly hosts. But it's only a matter of time before things get stabby. Starring Mia Goth and Brittany Snow, and directed by Ti West, X has an arty, stylish feel – as well as larger points to make about filmmaking, aging, exploitation, and sex. Vote for your favorite American Idol contestants at npr.org/AmericanIdol

In 'X,' horror and pleasure are deeply intertwined

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In 'The Northman,' it takes a pillage

Alexander Skarsgård stars as Amleth and Anya Taylor-Joy as Olga in director Robert Eggers' The Northman. Focus Features hide caption

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Focus Features

Pop Culture Happy Hour

In 'The Northman,' it takes a pillage

In The Northman, Alexander Skarsgård plays a Viking prince who flees his island kingdom when his uncle kills his father and marries his mother. It's based on a very old but familiar story that predates Shakespeare's Hamlet by a few centuries. Directed by Robert Eggers, The Northman is a tale of bloody revenge with painstakingly researched historical accuracy surrounding the gods and monsters of Viking culture. Vote for your favorite American Idol contestants at npr.org/AmericanIdol

In 'The Northman,' it takes a pillage

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Nicolas Cage carries 'The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent'

Nicolas Cage plays Nicolas Cage in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Lionsgate hide caption

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Lionsgate

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Nicolas Cage carries 'The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent'

In the action comedy The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent, Nicolas Cage plays a fictionalized Nicolas Cage. This down-on-his-luck version of the actor must get out of a jam after he is offered a million dollars to attend the birthday party of a potentially deadly superfan, played by Pedro Pascal. Also starring Tiffany Haddish, Ike Barinholtz and Sharon Horgan, the movie gets meta as it draws heavily on the Cage's career and long history of eccentric performances. Vote for your favorite American Idol contestants at npr.org/AmericanIdol

Nicolas Cage carries 'The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent'

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'Navalny' documentary spotlights the Russian who dared to take on Putin

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny speaks with journalists during a 2019 rally in Moscow. Navalny premieres April 24 on CNN and CNN+. Maxim Zmeyev/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Maxim Zmeyev/AFP via Getty Images

'Navalny' documentary spotlights the Russian who dared to take on Putin

Fresh Air

Daniel Roher's film about Russian dissident Alexei Navalny offers intimate, sometimes amazing access to the bravery — and human cost — of opposing a despot.

'Navalny' documentary spotlights the Russian who dared to take on Putin

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'Ambulance' is peak Michael Bay, peak meh

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Jake Gyllenhaal star in the new Michael Bay thriller Ambulance. Universal Pictures hide caption

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Universal Pictures

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Ambulance' is peak Michael Bay, peak meh

Ambulance is Michael Bay's latest action movie, and if you think you know exactly what you're going to get — you'd be correct. It's more than two hours of pure, unrelenting adrenaline featuring gun fights, explosions and dizzying camera work. The film stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Jake Gyllenhaal as adoptive brothers who get caught up in a bank heist gone spectacularly wrong. And true to the title, it involves a high-speed ambulance chase.

'Ambulance' is peak Michael Bay, peak meh

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In 'Morbius,' Jared Leto is a living vampire undone by a bloodless script

Jared Leto in a scene from Morbius. Marvel/Sony hide caption

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Marvel/Sony

Pop Culture Happy Hour

In 'Morbius,' Jared Leto is a living vampire undone by a bloodless script

In Morbius, Jared Leto stars as the mysterious and brilliant Dr. Michael Morbius, who was born with a rare and debilitating blood disorder. With the aid of vampire bats, he comes up with a treatment that gives him superpowers, but also gives him a taste for blood. The movie takes place in the Sony wing of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and serves as an origin story for this vampiric antihero.

In 'Morbius,' Jared Leto is a living vampire undone by a bloodless script

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'Nitram' is a deeply unsettling portrait of an Australian mass shooter

In Nitram, Caleb Landry Jones plays the man who killed 35 people and wounded 23 others in a 1996 mass shooting in Australia. IFC Films hide caption

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IFC Films

'Nitram' is a deeply unsettling portrait of an Australian mass shooter

Fresh Air

In 1996, a 28-year-old man went on a shooting rampage in Port Arthur, Tasmania, killing 35 people. This tense film imagines the weeks and months before the tragedy from the shooter's perspective.

'Nitram' is a deeply unsettling portrait of an Australian mass shooter

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Michelle Yeoh gets multidimensional in 'Everything Everywhere All At Once'

Stephanie Hsu, Michelle Yeoh, and Ke Huy Quan in Everything Everywhere All At Once, the latest film directed by the Daniels. A24 hide caption

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A24

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Michelle Yeoh gets multidimensional in 'Everything Everywhere All At Once'

Everything Everywhere All At Once is the kind of movie that lives up to its title. It's a zany and profound sci-fi action comedy set in multiple dimensions, bursting with ideas about the pursuit of happiness, familial duty and the meaning of life. It stars Michelle Yeoh as a businesswoman whose world is turned upside down the day her family attempts to file their taxes. Forced to confront her life choices, she clashes with her daughter, her husband and a cranky IRS inspector in the weirdest of ways.

Michelle Yeoh gets multidimensional in 'Everything Everywhere All At Once'

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Jared Leto is Marvel's bat-man in the vampiric 'Morbius'

Dr. Michael Morbius aims to cure himself of a debilitating illness, but ends up infecting himself with vampirism. Sony Pictures hide caption

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Sony Pictures

Movies

Jared Leto is Marvel's bat-man in the vampiric 'Morbius'

An ailing biochemist aims to cure himself of a debilitating illness, but ends up infecting himself with vampirism in the Marvel movie Morbius.

Jared Leto is Marvel's bat-man in the vampiric 'Morbius'

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Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum have big fun in 'The Lost City'

Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum in a scene from The Lost City. Paramount Pictures hide caption

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Paramount Pictures

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum have big fun in 'The Lost City'

In the new film The Lost City Sandra Bullock plays a romance novelist who is kidnapped by a duplicitous billionaire (Daniel Radcliffe) looking for the real-life lost treasure referenced in her writing. Her cover model (Channing Tatum) embarks on a bumbling quest through the jungle and save her.

Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum have big fun in 'The Lost City'

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There's a multiverse of roads not taken in 'Everything Everywhere All at Once'

Michelle Yeoh stars as a woman who suddenly develops the power to leap between parallel universes in the action-adventure-fantasy Everything Everywhere All at Once. A24 hide caption

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A24

There's a multiverse of roads not taken in 'Everything Everywhere All at Once'

Fresh Air

Michelle Yeoh stars as a Chinese American immigrant who suddenly develops the power to leap between parallel universes in this moving and often exasperating movie.

There's a multiverse of roads not taken in 'Everything Everywhere All at Once'

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2022 Oscars Preview: Who will win and who should win
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Pop Culture Happy Hour

2022 Oscars Preview: Who will win and who should win

The 2022 Oscars are finally upon us. There are always two big questions as we approach the Oscars: Who will win, and who should win. Today, we're offering up a guide to this year's nominations to try to help you win your Oscar pool and see some terrific movies at the same time.

2022 Oscars Preview: Who will win and who should win

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A marriage that's a shell of its former self struggles in 'Deep Water'

Ana de Armas and Ben Affleck star in the Hulu erotic thriller Deep Water. 20th Century Studios hide caption

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20th Century Studios

Pop Culture Happy Hour

A marriage that's a shell of its former self struggles in 'Deep Water'

The new Hulu thriller Deep Water is about unhappily married couple Vic and Melinda, played by Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas. Melinda is involved with other men, and when those other men start to run into some bad luck, suspicion falls on Vic. Directed by erotic thriller king Adrian Lyne, Deep Water delves into the specifics of this particular marriage, the intersection of sex and violence, and one man's lonely devotion to his collection of snails.

A marriage that's a shell of its former self struggles in 'Deep Water'

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