Movies

Arts

A Filmmaker's 'Quest' For A Quiet Family Portrait Is Pierced By Unforeseen Trauma

1:41pm December 20, 2017

Jonathan Olshefski spent 10 years filming Christopher Rainey and his family, who run a recording studio in a working-class African-American section of North Philadelphia. Then their daughter was shot.

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Pop Culture Happy Hour: Our Hanukkah Special

6:01am December 20, 2017

by Linda Holmes

While you may have wrapped up your Hanukkah celebrations, we wanted to share a conversation about the role that Hanukkah plays for kids and adults, and some of the pop culture that surrounds it.

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Arts

A Slow-Moving Disaster Of Immodesty: Cameron's 'Titanic,' 20 Years Later

4:58pm December 19, 2017

by Linda Holmes

Twenty years ago today, the James Cameron movie "Titanic" opened in theaters in the U.S. It was a, forgive us, titanic success and, apparently, a cultural moment for many.

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Call Me By Your Name, Get Out, The Florida Project, The Big Sick, Coco and Girls Trip all made NPR's top list.

Arts

NPR's Favorite Movies Of 2017

10:26am December 19, 2017

You may not agree that a given film belongs on this list, or we might have left your favorite off. But movies are meant to inspire discussion and debate; why shouldn't year-end lists do the same?

Researcher Elizabeth Currid-Halkett says celebrity can be boiled down to a simple formula.

Arts

Never Go To Vegas, And Other Unspoken Rules Of Being An A-Lister

9:00pm December 18, 2017

It can seem arbitrary the way certain people fascinate us. But researcher Elizabeth Currid-Halkett says celebrity has a formula. So does being part of any social group — perhaps even your own.

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In A Year Of Heartbreak And Reckoning, 12 Films Remind Us Of Cinema's Greatness

3:04pm December 18, 2017

by Justin Chang

Film critic Justin Chang picks his top 12 movies of the year, pairing them thematically, from Call Me By Your Name and The Florida Project, to War For The Planet of the Apes and Dunkirk.

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What's 'Casablanca' Without Nazis? After WWII, German Audiences Found Out

6:42pm December 17, 2017

by Isabelle Ross

The original Casablanca was passionately anti-Nazi. But when it was dubbed for German audiences, Warner Bros. deleted all scenes with Nazis in them, and almost all mention of the war.

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Arts

How The TV And Movies Are Using Gen X Nostalgia

4:23pm December 15, 2017

NPR's Kelly McEvers and Pop Culture Happy Hour's Linda Holmes and Glen Weldon sit down to talk about this era of TV and movies, many of which are catering to Gen X nostalgia — from Stranger Things to the latest Star Wars film.

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Arts

'Last Jedi' Puts The Smarts — And The Heart — Back Into The 'Star Wars' Franchise

1:39pm December 15, 2017

by David Edelstein

The late Carrie Fisher makes her final appearance — now as General Leia — in Star Wars Episode VIII. Critic David Edelstein says The Last Jedi is nothing short of terrific.

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Film director Rian Johnson at the premiere of Star Wars: The Last Jedi in London.

Arts

'Last Jedi' Is Only The Beginning For The New 'Star Wars' Team

9:12am December 15, 2017

by Mandalit del Barco

Director Rian Johnson and producer Ram Bergman have worked together for 15 years. Their new film, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, will kick off the first of four Star Wars movies they'll work on together.

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