Movies

Maysoon Zayid: Should Humor Make Us Uncomfortable?

9:10am March 24, 2017

by NPR/TED Staff

Maysoon Zayid teases herself for all the ways she's different: she has cerebral palsy, she's Muslim, she's Palestinian. By making us laugh at it, she gets us to think about acceptance.

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Negin Farsad on the TED stage at TED2016 in Vancouver, Canada.

Negin Farsad: Can Humor Fight Prejudice?

9:10am March 24, 2017

by NPR/TED Staff

Comedian Negin Farsad traveled all over the U.S. to clear up misconceptions about Islam while making people laugh. She calls this form of activism "social justice comedy."

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Estrangement on a Train: Wilson (Woody Harrelson), Claire (Isabella Amana) and Pippi (Laura Dern) in Wilson.

Arts

A Curmudgeonly Know-It-All Meets The Daughter He Doesn't: 'Wilson'

5:00pm March 23, 2017

by Mark Jenkins

Director Craig Johnson's film, based on the Daniel Clowes graphic novel, wants us to invest in a misanthrope's grumbling attempts to reconnect to humanity. Yet its uneven tone keeps us at a distance.

Zack (Ludi Lin), Kimberly (Naomi Scott), Jason (Dacre Montgomery), Billy (RJ Cyler) and Trini (Becky G) check the time, to determine if conditions are yet favorable for morphin', in Power Rangers.

Arts

In The Agreeably Schlocky 'Power Rangers,' 'Transformers' Meets 'The Breakfast Club'

5:00pm March 23, 2017

by Scott Tobias

"Go, Go Power Rangers!" - but should you? The film's playful, earnest tone and "gung-ho chintziness" slowly won critic Scott Tobias over.

"The needs of the many ...": Astronauts Rory (Ryan Reynolds) and David (Jake Gyllenhaal) in Life.

Arts

'Life' Doesn't Quite Find A Way

5:00pm March 23, 2017

by Chris Klimek

In space, no one can hear you yawn: Technically impressive but dramatically airless, this monster flick set on the International Space Station is powered by "space-movie cliches old and new."

A Grim Portrait of the Murderer as A Young Woman: Mother (Klára Melísková) and Olga (Michalina Olszanska) in I, Olga.

Arts

'I, Olga' Charts One Woman's Path From Alienation To Brutal, Senseless Violence

5:00pm March 23, 2017

by Andrew Lapin

The film about a young woman who ran her truck onto a Prague sidewalk in 1973, killing eight pedestrians, is tough to sit through, and recent events lend it a chilling sense of relevance.

Lee Morgan (left) and Helen Morgan in 1970, subjects of the documentary I Called Him Morgan, directed by Kasper Collin.

Music & Culture

'I Called Him Morgan' Is A Tale Of Marriage, Murder And Jazz, Told From Two Sides

4:43pm March 23, 2017

by Nate Chinen

The brilliant trumpeter Lee Morgan, whose shocking and untimely death at the age of 33 is at the center of I Called Him Morgan, doesn't star in this documentary so much as haunt it.

IMDb Adopts F-Rating Of Women's Contributions To Movies

8:00pm March 22, 2017

by Bob Mondello

The online database has embraced the rating intended to highlight directing, writing and other aspects of filmmaking by women. This expands the rating's reach to the site's more than 4 million titles.

Jennifer Lopez plays singer Selena Quintanilla Perez in the 1997 film Selena.

20 Years Ago, Biopic Helped Give Pop Star Selena Life Beyond Her Tragic Death

11:50pm March 21, 2017

In the 1990s, Tejano music singer Selena Quintanilla Perez made a rare crossover to mainstream American audiences. The movie Selena debuted two years after her murder.

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Getting the band back together: Ewen Bremner, Ewan McGregor, Jonny Lee Miller and Robert Carlyle return for T2 Trainspotting.

Arts

Time Loops Back On Itself (Even Without Heroin) In 'T2 Trainspotting'

4:31pm March 17, 2017

by Kelly McEvers

20 years ago, a low-budget film with a great soundtrack became a huge hit. Now, director Danny Boyle is getting the old (much older, in fact) Trainspotting gang back together for a sequel.

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