It has been 36 years since the first Mad Max filmcrash landed into theaters. David Edelsein says the forth installment of the series is "basically one long chase with ever more insane variables."
It took Queen Latifah more than 20 years to bring the life of pioneering blues singer Bessie Smith to the screen. "Inhabiting her has inhabited me," she says.
Andrew Niccol's film follows an Air Force commander engaged in state-of-the-art drone warfare. Justin Chang says the movie feels more like "a series of talking points than a fully developed drama."
On this week's show: Pitch Perfect 2 is just the beginning of our summer movie preview. Plus, books and music make an appearance as we talk about what's making us happy.
Banks makes her directorial debut with Pitch Perfect2; she talks to NPR's Audie Cornish about breaking into directing, the true meaning of a cappella, and how the Barden Bellas are really Rocky.
More than 35 years after the release of the original Mad Max, a new chapter emerges, starring Charlize Theron in what Chris Klimek calls a doomsday reinvention like nothing since The Matrix.
NPR Film Critic Bob Mondello trips down the rabbit hole as he reviews a film that's both a winning romance and a gentle wake-up call for reviewers who forget their role.
Where the original college a cappella comedy felt fresh and unexpected, the overproduced sequel has the greasy fingerprints of commercial expectations all over it.
Mad Max: Fury Road reboots a testosterone-fueled franchise with some tough new female characters. Director George Miller says women were an organic element as he rethought the original movies.