Pop Culture : NPR

Romanian Caper 'The Whistlers': A Surprisingly Fast, Peppy, Complex Tune

Gilda (Catrinel Marlon) threatens to send bullets whistling through the air in The Whistlers. Vlad Cioplea/Magnolia Pictures hide caption

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Vlad Cioplea/Magnolia Pictures

Review

Romanian Caper 'The Whistlers': A Surprisingly Fast, Peppy, Complex Tune

February 27, 2020 • Writer-director Corneliu Porumboiu's crime flick is "brighter and literally more colorful" than the slow-burn, gray-palette fare you might be expecting.

'The Invisible Man': When Danger Is Present — And Clear

Celia (Elisabeth Moss) can't see ya, in The Invisible Man. Universal Pictures hide caption

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Universal Pictures

Review

'The Invisible Man': When Danger Is Present — And Clear

February 27, 2020 • Leigh Whannell's update of the H.G. Wells novel traffics in a "psychological realism that's unusual for the genre," which effectively transforms it into "Gaslight with a horror twist."

'Greed': A Scabrous Satire Of A Megalomaniacal Mogul

Sir Richard McCreadie (Steve Coogan) displays the veneer(s) of pleasantness in Michael Winterbottom's Greed. Amelia Troubridge/Sony Pictures Classics hide caption

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Amelia Troubridge/Sony Pictures Classics

Review

'Greed': A Scabrous Satire Of A Megalomaniacal Mogul

February 27, 2020 • Michael Winterbottom's sardonic tale of an amoral British businessman (Steve Coogan) who throws himself a shameless birthday party goes for the jugular.

Kazuhisa Hashimoto, Creator Of Famous 'Konami Code' Gaming Cheat, Dies

Players would enter up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A and Start on a controller to activate the "Konami code." It was first used in the game Gradius, but later made famous on Nintendo with Contra. William Warby/Flickr hide caption

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William Warby/Flickr

Humor & Fun

Kazuhisa Hashimoto, Creator Of Famous 'Konami Code' Gaming Cheat, Dies

February 26, 2020 • Hashimoto, a programmer for video game company Konami, had said he created the code to help him test the game Gladius. The code later appeared as easter eggs in pop culture.

The Fine Brushstrokes Of 'Portrait Of A Lady On Fire'

Directed by Céline Sciamma, Portrait of a Lady on Fire stars Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel. Neon hide caption

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Neon

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The Fine Brushstrokes Of 'Portrait Of A Lady On Fire'

February 26, 2020 • Portrait Of A Lady On Fire begins with a woman named Marianne assigned to paint a woman named Heloise. It's the second half of the 18th century, and the portrait is the best way to present Heloise to a man who might marry her. In writer and director Céline Sciamma's film, it's relationships between women that are at the center of the story — a story about art, sex and navigating limited choices.

The Fine Brushstrokes Of 'Portrait Of A Lady On Fire'

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Thousands Attend Kobe Bryant Memorial In Los Angeles

Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna Bryant attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 29, 2019 in Los Angeles. Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images hide caption

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Allen Berezovsky/Getty Images

Sports

Thousands Attend Kobe Bryant Memorial In Los Angeles

February 24, 2020 • Some 20,000 people got tickets to say farewell to NBA great Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. People without tickets were being urged to watch at home.

Jessica Simpson Talks Of Alcohol Abuse, Finding Herself Again In Memoir 'Open Book'

Open Book, by Jessica Simpson Dey Street Books hide caption

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Dey Street Books

Author Interviews

Jessica Simpson Talks Of Alcohol Abuse, Finding Herself Again In Memoir 'Open Book'

February 23, 2020 • "There's never been a moment in my life that I've been more honest with myself," the pop singer tells NPR. "I finally feel free of everything that I was holding secret and holding to myself."

Jessica Simpson Talks Of Alcohol Abuse, Finding Herself Again In Memoir 'Open Book'

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'To All The Boys' Star Noah Centineo Has An 'Inner Mr. Potato Head'

Noah Centineo and Lana Condor negotiate life as an established couple in To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You Bettina Strauss/Bettina Strauss/Netflix hide caption

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Bettina Strauss/Bettina Strauss/Netflix

Television

'To All The Boys' Star Noah Centineo Has An 'Inner Mr. Potato Head'

February 23, 2020 • Centineo returns as possibly-perfect boyfriend Peter Kavinsky in To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You. He says meditation — and doodling cartoon characters — has helped him keep a sense of self.

'To All The Boys' Star Noah Centineo Has An 'Inner Mr. Potato Head'

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HBO Max Wants To Know, How You Doin'? As It Teases 'Friends' Reunion

Cast members (from left) David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox, Jennifer Aniston and Matt LeBlanc pose after the show won outstanding comedy series at the 54th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards in 2002. Reed Saxon/AP hide caption

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Reed Saxon/AP

HBO Max Wants To Know, How You Doin'? As It Teases 'Friends' Reunion

February 21, 2020 • WarnerMedia announced the six principal cast members will reunite for an unscripted special in May — 16 years after the iconic sitcom went off the air.

Ben Schwartz voices the titular Sonic in the new movie Sonic the Hedgehog. Courtesy Paramount Pictures and Sega of America. hide caption

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Courtesy Paramount Pictures and Sega of America.

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Sonic The Hedgehog' And Fan Service

February 21, 2020 • The new movie Sonic the Hedgehog is about this hedgehog — who runs fast. Ben Schwartz voices the Hedgehog, Jim Carrey is the evil Dr. Robotnik, and James Marsden is also in there somewhere. When the film's trailer first dropped last fall, Sonic's appearance — the legs! the teeth! — creeped a lot of people out. The studio went back and redesigned the character completely, which got us thinking about the power of fan reaction.

'Sonic The Hedgehog' And Fan Service

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'Young Ahmed' Is A Flawed But Complex Character Study

Louise (Victoria Bluck) comforts Ahmed (Idir Ben Addi) in Young Ahmed. Kino Lorber hide caption

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Kino Lorber

Review

Movie Reviews

'Young Ahmed' Is A Flawed But Complex Character Study

February 20, 2020 • The premise — young Belgian Muslim sets out to murder one of his teachers — has drawn sharp criticism; the film itself is "hugely flawed" but more thoughtful than the controversy surrounding it.

'The Night Clerk': Hitchcockian Premise, Half-Cocked Execution

Bart (Tye Sheridan) takes guest relations to a new level in The Night Clerk. Natalie Cass/Saban Films hide caption

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Natalie Cass/Saban Films

Review

Movie Reviews

'The Night Clerk': Hitchcockian Premise, Half-Cocked Execution

February 20, 2020 • A hotel clerk (Tye Sheridan) hides a secret during a murder investigation in a film that explores the affinity between cinema and voyeurism flatly and without nuance.

Revisiting 'To All The Boys I've Loved Before'

Noah Centineo and Lana Condor star in the Netflix adaptation of the young adult novel To All The Boys I've Loved Before. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Revisiting 'To All The Boys I've Loved Before'

February 19, 2020 • In 2018, Netflix had a big hit with its adaptation of Jenny Han's YA novel To All The Boys I've Loved Before, a high-school rom-com with a big heart. Stars Lana Condor and Noah Centineo are now back in the sequel To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You. Before you check that one out, we wanted to revisit our conversation about the first film. (This episode originally aired on September 5, 2018.)

Revisiting 'To All The Boys I've Loved Before'

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Encore: Reflections From Conversations With Women In Comedy

February 17, 2020 • NPR's Audie Cornish looks back on her series of conversations with women navigating the male-dominated world of comedy.

Encore: Reflections From Conversations With Women In Comedy

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'Slow Burn' Captures The Drip-Drip-Drip Of Watergate

Podcaster Leon Neyfakh leads you through some of Watergate's lesser-known twists and turns on the EPIX series Slow Burn. Cara Howe/Epix hide caption

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Cara Howe/Epix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Slow Burn' Captures The Drip-Drip-Drip Of Watergate

February 16, 2020 • By focusing on figures who "played roles in the story that are larger than history remembers" this gripping adaptation of a hit podcast reminds us how slowly the Watergate scandal unfolded.

Thursday February 27, 2020

Review

Review

Review

Wednesday February 26, 2020

Review

The Fine Brushstrokes Of 'Portrait Of A Lady On Fire'

Monday February 24, 2020

Sunday February 23, 2020

Jessica Simpson Talks Of Alcohol Abuse, Finding Herself Again In Memoir 'Open Book'

'To All The Boys' Star Noah Centineo Has An 'Inner Mr. Potato Head'

Friday February 21, 2020

Review

'Sonic The Hedgehog' And Fan Service

Thursday February 20, 2020

Review

Review

Wednesday February 19, 2020

Review

Revisiting 'To All The Boys I've Loved Before'

Monday February 17, 2020

Encore: Reflections From Conversations With Women In Comedy

Sunday February 16, 2020

Review