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Movies: Movie Reviews and Commentary on New and Classic Films NPR Movies podcast, movie reviews, and commentary on new and classic films. Interviews with filmmakers, actors, and actresses.

Movies

Monday

Obituaries

Celebrated Playwright And Actor Sam Shepard Dies

Sam Shepard was both a prize-winning playwright and an an acclaimed actor. He won a Pulitzer for Drama for Buried Child in 1979 and wrote more than 40 other plays as well as short stories and essays. He died Thursday at his home in Kentucky of complications from Lou Gehrig's disease. He was 73.

Celebrated Playwright And Actor Sam Shepard Dies

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Remembering Actress Jeanne Moreau, Icon Of French New Wave Cinema

Jeanne Moreau appeared in three different films in 1962: Orson Welles' The Trial, Joseph Losey's Eva and Francois Truffaut's Jules and Jim. Reg Lancaster/Getty Images hide caption

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Reg Lancaster/Getty Images

Obituaries

Remembering Actress Jeanne Moreau, Icon Of French New Wave Cinema

Fresh Air

Moreau pursued acting despite her father's disapproval. She told Fresh Air, "I led a double life. ... He discovered it when he saw my picture on the front page." Moreau died Monday at the age of 89.

Remembering Actress Jeanne Moreau, Icon Of French New Wave Cinema

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Sunday

'Atomic Blonde' Director Brings Stuntman Skills To His 'Punk Rock Spy Thriller'

Charlize Theron plays MI6 spy Lorraine Broughton in Atomic Blonde. Jonathan Prime/Focus Features hide caption

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Jonathan Prime/Focus Features

Movie Interviews

'Atomic Blonde' Director Brings Stuntman Skills To His 'Punk Rock Spy Thriller'

David Leitch worked as a stuntman on countless films before jumping into the director's chair. His new film follows a spy, played by Charlize Theron, as she punches her way through 1989 Berlin.

'Atomic Blonde' Director Brings Stuntman Skills To His 'Punk Rock Spy Thriller'

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Friday

Review

Movie Reviews

'Detroit' Dramatizes A Deadly '67 Motel Encounter Between Police And Civilians

Fresh Air

Kathryn Bigelow recreates a true, largely forgotten incident of brutality in her latest film. Critic David Edelstein says Detroit triggers a sense of powerlessness that is visceral.

'Detroit' Dramatizes A Deadly '67 Motel Encounter Between Police And Civilians

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Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets'

Dane DeHaan stars as Major Valerian in Luc Besson's Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Vikram Gounassegarin/STX Entertainment hide caption

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Vikram Gounassegarin/STX Entertainment

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets'

We discuss Luc Besson's big-budget, bonkers-bananapants would-be blockbuster Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, which looks unlikely to bust any blocks.

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets'

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Review

Movie Reviews

Movie Reviews: 'Atomic Blonde,' 'Detroit'

Rachel Martin talks with film reviewer Claudia Puig about two very different movies opening this week: Atomic Blonde, starring Charlize Theron, and Kathryn Bigelow's Detroit, about the 1967 riots.

Movie Reviews: 'Atomic Blonde,' 'Detroit'

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Thursday

'An Inconvenient Sequel' Is An Effective, Cautiously Optimistic, 'I Told You So'

In 2006, Al Gore issued a forceful warning about the threat of climate change in An Inconvenient Truth. More than a decade later, he's followed it up with An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power. Jensen Walker/Paramount Pictures hide caption

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Jensen Walker/Paramount Pictures

Review

Movie Reviews

'An Inconvenient Sequel' Is An Effective, Cautiously Optimistic, 'I Told You So'

In 2006, Al Gore issued a forceful warning about the threat of climate change in An Inconvenient Truth. He's followed it up with a sequel that shows how far we've come — but with plenty of caveats.

'An Inconvenient Sequel' Is An Effective, Cautiously Optimistic, 'I Told You So'

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Filmmaker Dreams Of A Romantic Comedy Set In Rwanda

Rwanda is not exactly the kind of set you might imagine for a romantic comedy. But one filmmaker is dreaming of laughing and falling in love in a country still living in the shadow of genocide.

Filmmaker Dreams Of A Romantic Comedy Set In Rwanda

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Movie: Director Joshua Weinstein Explains The Story Behind 'Menashe'

NPR's Robert Siegel talks with director Joshua Weinstein about his film Menashe. It tells the story of a recent widower, trying to regain his bearings under the rules of Hassidic life.

Movie: Director Joshua Weinstein Explains The Story Behind 'Menashe'

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Whatever The Character, June Foray's Voice Was Warmly Familiar

Now Here's Something We Hope You'll Really Like: An appreciation of the late June Foray, voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel and many others, shown here arriving at an Oscars reception in 2013. Rodrigo Vaz/FilmMagic hide caption

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Rodrigo Vaz/FilmMagic

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Whatever The Character, June Foray's Voice Was Warmly Familiar

Foray voiced a wide variety of animated characters, and she brought the same genial humor and warmth to them all — except one.