Movies: Movie Reviews and Commentary on New and Classic Films : NPR

'Top Gun: Maverick' boasted a record opening weekend. Where'd the numbers come from?

May 31, 2022 • When film companies report their opening weekend box office figures, they often include what are called "previews." 'T'wasn't always thus.

'Top Gun: Maverick' boasted a record opening weekend. Where'd the numbers come from?

Listen · 3:55 3:55

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1102260593/1102260600" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

DeLorean is back (to the future) with an electric car, and some caveats

The DeLorean Motor Company released images and specs of its forthcoming electric vehicle on its website this week. DeLorean Motor Company/Screenshot by NPR hide caption

toggle caption

DeLorean Motor Company/Screenshot by NPR

DeLorean is back (to the future) with an electric car, and some caveats

May 31, 2022 • The DeLorean Motor Company — the latest corporate iteration of the brand and not the creator behind the iconic 1980s model — is previewing an electric vehicle that will debut at a car show in August.

'Evil Dead: The Game' gets the band back together for a modern horror makeover

The video game is the latest iteration of the cult classic Evil Dead franchise. Saber Interactive hide caption

toggle caption

Saber Interactive

'Evil Dead: The Game' gets the band back together for a modern horror makeover

May 31, 2022 • The team behind the new video game talks about adapting the sounds and music for this cult-classic horror film for a new audience.

'Evil Dead: The Game' gets the band back together for a modern horror makeover

Listen · 4:40 4:40

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1101444794/1101445808" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Vstock/Getty Images/Uppercut RF

Our favorite graduation moments in pop culture

May 31, 2022 • This is the time of year when so many students graduate from so many schools in so many caps and gowns. Whether it's graduation episodes of our favorite TV series, high school songs, or movies about the last wild night of high school, we're here to commence a show about commencement.

Our favorite graduation moments in pop culture

Listen · 24:23 24:23

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1101528698/1101717280" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

A preview of this summer's biggest movies

May 30, 2022 • Here's a selective look at the would-be blockbusters and awards contenders Hollywood will release before Labor Day.

A preview of this summer's biggest movies

Listen · 8:09 8:09

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1102070630/1102070631" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

'Triangle of Sadness' wins Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Fest

Writer/director Ruben Ostlund, winner of the Palme d'Or for 'Triangle of Sadness,' poses for photographers during the photo call following the awards ceremony at the 75th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Saturday, May 28, 2022. Vianney Le Caer/Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP hide caption

toggle caption

Vianney Le Caer/Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP

Culture

'Triangle of Sadness' wins Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Fest

May 29, 2022 • Swedish director Ruben Ostlund's class warfare comedy "Triangle of Sadness" won the Palme d'Or at the 75th Cannes Film Festival, giving Ostlund the prize for the second time.

Will the soundtrack to 'Top Gun: Maverick' stack up against the original?

May 27, 2022 • The sequel to Top Gun opens in theaters over Memorial Day weekend. The soundtrack from the original movie was a major success. The music for Top Gun: Maverick has a lot to live up to.

Will the soundtrack to 'Top Gun: Maverick' stack up against the original?

Listen · 4:23 4:23

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1101701848/1101701849" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

These are the summer movies NPR critics are looking forward to

Movie stills from Cha Cha Real Smooth, Fire Island, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, The Princess, Thor: Love and Thunder, and NOPE. Apple TV+, Searchlight, Hulu, Marvel, Universal hide caption

toggle caption

Apple TV+, Searchlight, Hulu, Marvel, Universal

Pop Culture Happy Hour

These are the summer movies NPR critics are looking forward to

May 27, 2022 • The Bob's Burgers Movie, Jordan Peele's Nope, and Fire Island with Bowen Yang and Joel Kim Booster are all on our critics' lists.

Black artists have always led AIDS activism. This tribute wants to give them credit

Still from Ira Sachs's film Last Address. Last Address hide caption

toggle caption

Last Address

Culture

Black artists have always led AIDS activism. This tribute wants to give them credit

May 27, 2022 • Activist Pamela Sneed says this year's walk will honor Black artists' contributions that have been erased from AIDS narratives.

Black artists have always led AIDS activism. This tribute wants to give them credit

Listen · 3:48 3:48

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1100477569/1101701910" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

'Top Gun: Maverick' puts Tom Cruise back in the cockpit, 36 years later

Tom Cruise stars as Pete "Maverick" Mitchell in Top Gun: Maverick. Scott Garfield/Paramount Pictures hide caption

toggle caption

Scott Garfield/Paramount Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Top Gun: Maverick' puts Tom Cruise back in the cockpit, 36 years later

May 27, 2022 • Top Gun first hit theaters in 1986, starring Tom Cruise as a cocky fighter pilot who trains in an elite military program. Now, there's finally a sequel called Top Gun: Maverick, in which Cruise returns to train a new generation of pilots.

'Top Gun: Maverick' puts Tom Cruise back in the cockpit, 36 years later

Listen · 27:03 27:03

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1101500031/1101556743" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Obituaries

'Goodfellas' actor Ray Liotta has died at age 67

May 26, 2022 • Actor Ray Liotta, who rocketed to film stardom in Goodfellas, has died in his sleep at a hotel in the Dominican Republic where he was filming a movie. He was 67.

'Goodfellas' actor Ray Liotta has died at age 67

Listen · 2:42 2:42

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1101570028/1101570029" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Review

Movie Reviews

Tom Cruise returns to the danger zone in 'Top Gun: Maverick'

May 26, 2022 • Three Decades after the original Top Gun, Tom Cruise returns to lead a fresh squadron of Navy fighter pilots in Top Gun: Maverick.

Tom Cruise returns to the danger zone in 'Top Gun: Maverick'

Listen · 4:19 4:19

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1101568192/1101570083" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Liotta's acting spanned four decades, where he put his stamp on crime and gangster films. Phillip Faraone/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Phillip Faraone/Getty Images

Obituaries

'Goodfellas' star Ray Liotta dead at 67

May 26, 2022 • According to his publicist, the actor died in his sleep in the Dominican Republic, where he was shooting a movie.

Kevin Spacey charged with sexual assault in Britain

Kevin Spacey faces criminal charges in Britain on multiple allegations of sexual assault. Pool/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Pool/Getty Images

Law

Kevin Spacey charged with sexual assault in Britain

May 26, 2022 • Police in London say they have charged the actor with five counts involving three men. One count accuses him of "causing a person to engage in penetrative sexual activity without consent."

In 'Men,' the men are definitely not alright

Jessie Buckley stars in Men. Kevin Baker/A24 hide caption

toggle caption

Kevin Baker/A24

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

In 'Men,' the men are definitely not alright

May 24, 2022 • In Men, Jessie Buckley plays Harper, whose estranged husband (Paapa Essiedu) has recently died in a horrific manner. To decompress, she rents out a quiet stately home in the English countryside from Geoffrey (Rory Kinnear). It doesn't take long before her trip is disturbed by increasingly strange and invasive occurrences. The film was written and directed by Alex Garland, whose previous features include Ex Machina and Annihilation.

In 'Men,' the men are definitely not alright

Listen · 25:09 25:09

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1099506418/1100827331" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript