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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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Those chaotic tater tots return in 'Minions: The Rise of Gru'

Minions: The Rise of Gru is the latest movie in the Despicable Me film franchise. Universal Pictures hide caption

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Universal Pictures

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Those chaotic tater tots return in 'Minions: The Rise of Gru'

Minions: The Rise Of Gru is the fifth film in the animated Despicable Me series. Set in the late 1970s, the new movie chronicles the early days of the supervillain Gru (voiced again by Steve Carell) and his relationship with the silly yellow babbling banana-loving henchmen who do his bidding.

Those chaotic tater tots return in 'Minions: The Rise of Gru'

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Ticking down a checklist of qualifications in 'Mr. Malcolm's List'

Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù plays Mr. Malcolm, the most desirable bachelor in 1818 London. Ross Ferguson/Bleecker Street hide caption

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Ross Ferguson/Bleecker Street

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Ticking down a checklist of qualifications in 'Mr. Malcolm's List'

A 19th-century British gentleman's requirements for his bride lead to a scheme with many complications in Mr. Malcolm's List, a Bridgerton-like romance based on Suzanne Allain's 2020 novel.

Ticking down a checklist of qualifications in 'Mr. Malcolm's List'

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Should you pick up 'The Black Phone'?

Ethan Hawke stars in The Black Phone the latest film from Scott Derrickson. Universal Pictures hide caption

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Universal Pictures

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Should you pick up 'The Black Phone'?

In the supernatural horror film The Black Phone, Ethan Hawke plays the Grabber, a sinister masked figure who abducts a series of teenage boys in a Colorado suburb. When 13-year-old Finney (Mason Thames) gets grabbed, he's locked in a dank basement, waiting to be murdered, when suddenly a disconnected telephone on the wall starts to ring.

Should you pick up 'The Black Phone'?

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Let's get small with 'Marcel The Shell With Shoes On'

Jenny Slate voices Marcel in the new film Marcel The Shell With Shoes On. A24 hide caption

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A24

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Let's get small with 'Marcel The Shell With Shoes On'

The new film Marcel The Shell With Shoes On tells the story of a tiny shell who searches for his long-lost family. He's voiced by Jenny Slate and rendered using stop-motion animation. Based on a series of viral YouTube shorts, the feature-length movie is directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, who also appears on-screen as a filmmaker who discovers and interviews Marcel while living in an Airbnb.

Let's get small with 'Marcel The Shell With Shoes On'

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Baz Luhrmann's gaudy 'Elvis' is a shapeless blur of a musical biopic

Fresh Air

Elvis' longtime manager Col. Parker plays an oversized role, but that's not this film's only problem. There may be a great movie hiding in Elvis, but it's buried under an awful lot of visual clutter.

Baz Luhrmann's gaudy 'Elvis' is a shapeless blur of a musical biopic

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'Elvis' is a hunk-a hunk-a burnin' excess

Austin Butler stars as Elvis Presley in Baz Luhrmann's Elvis. Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures hide caption

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Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Elvis' is a hunk-a hunk-a burnin' excess

The legacy of Elvis Presley is often reduced to gaudy iconography and tales of excess: the white jumpsuit, Las Vegas, drugs. So what happens when director Baz Luhrmann takes on the man, the myth, the legend? You get the dizzying biopic Elvis. Austin Butler stars as "the King of Rock and Roll," and Tom Hanks plays Elvis' shady longtime manager Colonel Tom Parker.

'Elvis' is a hunk-a hunk-a burnin' excess

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Austin Butler brings the King's moves, mannerisms and voice in 'Elvis'

Baz Luhrmann's musical biopic, Elvis, stars Austin Butler as a hip-swiveling Elvis Presley and Tom Hanks as his devious, exploitive manager "Col." Tom Parker.

Austin Butler brings the King's moves, mannerisms and voice in 'Elvis'

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In 'Cha Cha Real Smooth,' coming of age takes a little while

Cooper Raiff and Dakota Johnson star in Cha Cha Real Smooth. Apple TV+ hide caption

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Apple TV+

Pop Culture Happy Hour

In 'Cha Cha Real Smooth,' coming of age takes a little while

In Cha Cha Real Smooth, Andrew (Cooper Raiff), an aimless 22-year-old, finds a new direction when he becomes a party motivator at bar and bat mitzvahs in his hometown. He develops a bond with Domino (Dakota Johnson), who's at her own crossroads in life. The film was a breakout hit at Sundance earlier this year and is now streaming on Apple TV+.

In 'Cha Cha Real Smooth,' coming of age takes a little while

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The universal themes of 'E.T.' has kept it relatable and magical the last 40 years

Steven Spielberg's movie "E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial" was released 40 years ago this month. Film critic Alex Dowd explains why it has endured.

The universal themes of 'E.T.' has kept it relatable and magical the last 40 years

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'Cha Cha Real Smooth' is a great calling card for actor-writer-director Cooper Raiff

Cooper Raiff's Cha Cha Real Smooth had to play at the Sundance Film Festival virtually because of the pandemic, so he hasn't heard the applause critics are showering on his bittersweet dramedy.

'Cha Cha Real Smooth' is a great calling card for actor-writer-director Cooper Raiff

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Age is just a number in Sundance hits 'Leo Grande' and 'Cha Cha Real Smooth'

Daryl McCormack plays a sex worker, and Emma Thompson is a retired schoolteacher in the Hulu film, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande. Searchlight Pictures hide caption

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Searchlight Pictures

Age is just a number in Sundance hits 'Leo Grande' and 'Cha Cha Real Smooth'

Fresh Air

Emma Thompson stars as an older woman who hires a younger sex worker in Good Luck to You, Leo Grande. Dakota Johnson is a single mother who's wooed by a recent college grad in Cha Cha Real Smooth.

Age is just a number in Sundance hits 'Leo Grande' and 'Cha Cha Real Smooth'

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In the Pixar prequel 'Lightyear,' Buzz gets his own swashbuckling space epic

Sox (voiced by Pete Sohn) and Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Chris Evans) star in the film Lightyear. Pixar hide caption

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Pixar

Pop Culture Happy Hour

In the Pixar prequel 'Lightyear,' Buzz gets his own swashbuckling space epic

If you've seen any of the Toy Story movies, you know about Buzz Lightyear, the heroic space ranger immortalized in a line of action figures. Now, the character is getting a Disney and Pixar prequel — an origin story starring Chris Evans as the space ranger who started it all. (Take our annual survey at npr.org/podcastsurvey)

In the Pixar prequel 'Lightyear,' Buzz gets his own swashbuckling space epic

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