Disney Plus has big plans for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the first show to arrive from its slate of Phase Four projects is WandaVision. Wanda's got magic powers, Vision's a synthetic android and together, they're trapped in a series of simulations of comedies from decades past. However, slowly but surely, the superhero world you know and love begins to creep back in.
Jan 21
23 min
In Locked Down — a movie to be filmed and released during the pandemic — Chiwetel Ejiofor and Anne Hathaway play a couple sheltering in London together. The film takes them on an adventure that might not have been possible in normal circumstances, answering the question: What do bored and frustrated people do during a pandemic?
Jan 20
9 min
When The Karate Kid ended with a crane kick in 1984, it seemed like it was all over. But then came sequels. Then came a remake. And now we have Cobra Kai, a surprisingly good series that catches up with the film's hero Daniel and villain Johnny many years later. In this encore episode, we revisit our conversation about Cobra Kai from back in 2018 when it premiered on YouTube Red. The show just dropped its third season earlier this month Netflix.
Jan 19
17 min
Promising Young Woman is a revenge thriller, and a dark comedy, and a few other things, too. It stars Carey Mulligan as a woman who spends her evenings in bars being picked up by men who misunderstand who they're dealing with. Directed by Emerald Fennell, the film has been billed as a #MeToo tale, but its perspective feels timeless, and there are surprises each step of the way.
Jan 18
24 min
Regina King has won an Oscar and a collection of Emmys as an actor. Now, she's making her debut as a feature film director with One Night In Miami. The film imagines what might have happened in a real night in 1964 when Malcolm X, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown hung out with Cassius Clay. The men talk about success, celebrity, responsibility and history.
Jan 14
24 min
Every year, NPR brings together some of the best books of the year in a searchable, explorable guide called the Book Concierge. Today, we're highlighting books about the United States from this year's guide.
Jan 13
14 min
Despite its preponderance of bustles and bonnets, the Apple TV+ series Dickinson is not some fusty old biopic. It casts Hailee Steinfeld as a young Emily Dickinson: a feminist free-thinker and iconoclast, chafing against the rigid social and sexual mores of her time.
Jan 12
15 min
The cheerleading film Bring It On recently turned 20. It spawned direct-to-video sequels and a Broadway musical. And with an all-star cast of Kirsten Dunst, Eliza Dushku, and Gabrielle Union, the movie remains a quotable classic. But a lot has happened in the past 20 years that might make it feel very timely, or very dated.
Jan 11
19 min
Sylvie's Love follows a relationship that blossoms in the late 1950s between a spirited young woman who loves television and a gifted saxophone player. Written and directed by Eugene Ashe, Sylvie's Love has all the swoon and the style of old Hollywood but this time, it places a Black couple at its center.
Jan 10
14 min
We spent a lot of time watching movies in 2020. Plenty of our favorites ended up on this show, but with release schedules scrambled and publicity scattered, there are still things that manage to slip through the cracks. Today we are recommending a few of the films we really think you should see.
Jan 7
25 min
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