Pop Culture : NPR

Kristen Bell as Eleanor, William Jackson Harper as Chidi, Ted Danson as Michael and D'Arcy Carden as Janet. Colleen Hayes/NBC hide caption

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Colleen Hayes/NBC

Review

A Goodbye To 'The Good Place'

January 31, 2020 • The NBC afterlife comedy ended Thursday after four seasons, and it did so in a rich, emotionally satisfying, provocative fashion.

Will Smith And Martin Lawrence Reunite In 'Bad Boys For Life'

Will Smith returns as Mike Lowrey in the hit movie Bad Boys For Life. Kyle Kaplan/Columbia Pictures hide caption

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Kyle Kaplan/Columbia Pictures

Review

Will Smith And Martin Lawrence Reunite In 'Bad Boys For Life'

January 31, 2020 • In 1995, while Will Smith was on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Martin Lawrence was on Martin, the two teamed up for the cop buddy movie Bad Boys. They reunited in 2003 for Bad Boys II, and now, almost 17 years later, they're back in Bad Boys For Life. Bad Boys For Life comes to theaters in a very different atmosphere around policing than existed in 1995. And the cops in the film have changed, too: There are still car chases and guns and bad guys, but there are also grandkids and deteriorating vision, and there's even Vanessa Hudgens.

Will Smith And Martin Lawrence Reunite In 'Bad Boys For Life'

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'The Assistant': When A Workplace's Silence Can't Be Broken

Jane (Julia Garner) slowly comes to realize something terrible about her boss in Kitty Green's The Assistant. Bleecker Street hide caption

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Bleecker Street

Review

'The Assistant': When A Workplace's Silence Can't Be Broken

January 30, 2020 • In this "quietly shattering drama," a young woman (Julia Garner) learns that her new boss is a serial sexual predator; her efforts to call him out meet with indifference and hostility.

2 Friends Scarred By War Attempt To Heal In 'Beanpole'

Iya (Viktoria Miroshnichenko) looks on in the grim but ultimately warm-hearted Beanpole. Liana Mukhamedzyanova/Kino Lorber hide caption

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Liana Mukhamedzyanova/Kino Lorber

Review

2 Friends Scarred By War Attempt To Heal In 'Beanpole'

January 30, 2020 • In post-WWII Leningrad, two women bonded by grief, guilt and hardship set out to make their futures brighter than the horrors of their shared past.

A Super-Assassin Named Stephanie: Blake Lively looks pensive in The Rhythm Section. Paramount Pictures hide caption

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Paramount Pictures

Review

'The Rhythm Section' Misses A Beat

January 30, 2020 • Stephanie (Blake Lively) trains to become a super-assassin to avenge the murder of her parents in this well-paced, well-directed, but poorly scripted Bond knockoff.

Reflections From Conversations With Women In Comedy

January 30, 2020 • For the past six months, NPR's Audie Cornish has held a series of conversations with women navigating the male-dominated world of comedy. Here are some highlights.

Reflections From Conversations With Women In Comedy

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The Not-So-Life-Changing Magic Of Self-Help Books

Cover of the upcoming book How to Be Fine. Courtesy of Kristen Meinzer hide caption

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Courtesy of Kristen Meinzer

The Not-So-Life-Changing Magic Of Self-Help Books

January 30, 2020 • Are self-help books actually helpful? That's the question Kristen Meinzer sought to answer in her upcoming book, How to Be Fine: What We Learned From Living by the Rules Of 50 Self-Help Books.

Billie Eilish swept the major categories at the 62nd Grammy Awards. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for The Recording Academy hide caption

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Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Our 2020 Grammys Recap

January 27, 2020 • We've just gotten done watching the 62nd Grammy Awards. Billie Eilish swept the night's four biggest categories and won five Grammys overall. But two major news events cast shadows over the ceremony: the death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, and a scandal inside the Recording Academy which includes allegations of vote rigging and sexual misconduct.

Our 2020 Grammys Recap

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The Netflix documentary series Cheer follows the squad at Navarro College as they prepare to compete for a national title. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Review

Tumbling Into 'Cheer' And 'Dare Me'

January 24, 2020 • Competitive cheerleading is on a pop culture roll. Netflix recently dropped the documentary series Cheer, about a highly successful Texas squad. And USA is midway through the series Dare Me. Based on Megan Abbott's book of the same name, Dare Me is a moody thriller about a charismatic cheer coach and the best friends who are at odds over her influence.

Tumbling Into 'Cheer' And 'Dare Me'

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'Zombi Child': When The Real Horror Is Colonialism

The story of a man (Mackenson Bijou) who was brought back from the dead casts a long shadow into the present in Zombi Child. Film Movement hide caption

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Film Movement

Review

'Zombi Child': When The Real Horror Is Colonialism

January 23, 2020 • Writer-director Bertrand Bonello uses the tale of a Haitian zombie to explore intergenerational racial trauma in this quiet, moody film.

No Love, Little Craft In Pulpy Body-Horror Flick 'Color Out Of Space'

An alien force adjusts reality's tint for Nathan Gardner (Nicolas Cage) and family in Color Out Of Space. RLJ Entertainment hide caption

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RLJ Entertainment

Review

No Love, Little Craft In Pulpy Body-Horror Flick 'Color Out Of Space'

January 23, 2020 • In this loose, grisly adaptation of an H.P. Lovecraft story, a family undergoes a series of mutations while Nicolas Cage gets increasingly unhinged; the result is "a gory mess."

A Drug Kingpin Worries Over His Imminent Regicide In 'The Gentlemen'

Rosalind (Michelle Dockery) and Mickey (Matthew McConaughey) in The Gentlemen. Christopher Raphael/STX Films hide caption

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Christopher Raphael/STX Films

Review

A Drug Kingpin Worries Over His Imminent Regicide In 'The Gentlemen'

January 23, 2020 • Guy Ritchie returns to the genre he made his bones on, and the film's "rigorous and largely circular" plot is fun; more fun than McConaughey's undercooked performance, anyway.

'Nora From Queens' Is, And Is Not, Awkwafina

Awkwafina, Lori Tan Chinn and BD Wong in Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens. Zach Dilgard/Comedy Central hide caption

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Zach Dilgard/Comedy Central

Review

'Nora From Queens' Is, And Is Not, Awkwafina

January 23, 2020 • Awkwafina's career has ranged from rap to Crazy Rich Asians to a Golden Globe for The Farewell. Now, she's putting down a lot of her old habits in a new Comedy Central series.

Juice WRLD Cause Of Death Was Accidental Overdose

Juice WRLD, pictured performing at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in June, died on Dec. 8, 2019. Amy Harris/Amy Harris/Invision/AP hide caption

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Amy Harris/Amy Harris/Invision/AP

Juice WRLD Cause Of Death Was Accidental Overdose

January 22, 2020 • The rapper's unexpected death at Midway International Airport was caused by an overdose of opioids, according to the medical examiner.

A Very Naughty Boy: Remembering Monty Python's Terry Jones

Terry Jones performs the famous "Spam" sketch during 2014's Monty Python Live (Mostly) stage show. Jones died at the age of 77 after suffering from dementia. Dave J Hogan/Getty Images hide caption

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Dave J Hogan/Getty Images

Obituaries

A Very Naughty Boy: Remembering Monty Python's Terry Jones

January 22, 2020 • Comedian, author and filmmaker Terry Jones has died at the age of 77 after suffering from dementia. As part of Monty Python, he was known for his drag characters and for co-writing the "Spam" sketch.

A Very Naughty Boy: Remembering Monty Python's Terry Jones

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Transcript

Friday January 31, 2020

Review

Review

Will Smith And Martin Lawrence Reunite In 'Bad Boys For Life'

Thursday January 30, 2020

Review

Review

Review

Reflections From Conversations With Women In Comedy

Monday January 27, 2020

Our 2020 Grammys Recap

Friday January 24, 2020

Review

Tumbling Into 'Cheer' And 'Dare Me'

Thursday January 23, 2020

Review

Review

Review

Review

Wednesday January 22, 2020

A Very Naughty Boy: Remembering Monty Python's Terry Jones