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What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend reading, listening and viewing

Group photo of Bakers in the Tent (L to R) (back) Sandro, William, Abdul, Carol, Maisam, Syabira, Maxy (front) James Rebs Janusz, Dawn, Kevin on The Great British Baking Show on Netflix. Mark Bourdillon/Netflix hide caption

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Mark Bourdillon/Netflix

What's Making Us Happy: Recommendations From 'Pop Culture Happy Hour'

What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend reading, listening and viewing

Each week, the guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: Industry, The Great British Baking Show, and more.

'Blonde,' the new Marilyn Monroe biopic, is an exercise in exploitation, not empathy

Ana de Armas plays Marilyn Monroe in the Netflix film Blonde. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Review

Movie Reviews

'Blonde,' the new Marilyn Monroe biopic, is an exercise in exploitation, not empathy

Fresh Air

The Netflix film turns Monroe into an avatar of suffering, brought low by a miserable childhood, a father she never knew and an industry full of men who abused and exploited her until her death.

'Blonde,' the new Marilyn Monroe biopic, is an exercise in exploitation, not empathy

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Wedded bliss gets really creepy in 'Don't Worry Darling'

Florence Pugh and Harry Styles star in Don't Worry Darling Warner Bros. Entertainment hide caption

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Warner Bros. Entertainment

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Wedded bliss gets really creepy in 'Don't Worry Darling'

In the new movie Don't Worry Darling, Florence Pugh plays a woman living with her husband (Harry Styles) in an idyllic planned community that looks like it came out of about 1955. But soon, strange things begin to happen that make her suspect that all is not well. Directed by Olivia Wilde, the film is now in theaters after some behind-the-scenes tensions that put it in the public conversation.

Wedded bliss gets really creepy in 'Don't Worry Darling'

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Fans have wanted Idris Elba to play James Bond for years, but it likely won't happen

Idris Elba poses for photographers upon arrival at the UK special screening of the film 'Beast' in London, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2022. Scott Garfitt/Scott Garfitt/Invision/AP hide caption

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Scott Garfitt/Scott Garfitt/Invision/AP

Fans have wanted Idris Elba to play James Bond for years, but it likely won't happen

Idris Elba has been asked about the James Bond role several times through the years, but said a couple weeks ago it isn't a personal goal of his. Producers of the franchise said they understand.

Will the murder mystery 'See How They Run' keep you guessing?

Sam Rockwell and Saoirse Ronan in See How They Run. Parisa Taghizadeh/Searchlight Pictures hide caption

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Parisa Taghizadeh/Searchlight Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Will the murder mystery 'See How They Run' keep you guessing?

The new comedy See How They Run is a whodunit for people who really like a whodunit. Set behind the scenes at a 1950s production of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, the film is a murder mystery with a big cast that includes Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, David Oyelowo, Ruth Wilson, and Adrien Brody. And it's an entertaining send-up that takes some very meta swings at the very idea of a murder mystery.

Will the murder mystery 'See How They Run' keep you guessing?

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High school is hazardous in the stylish 'Do Revenge'

Maya Hawke and Camila Mendes star in the Netflix film Do Revenge. Kim Simms/Netflix hide caption

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Kim Simms/Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

High school is hazardous in the stylish 'Do Revenge'

The new Netflix film Do Revenge takes its cues from a lot of other films. Some are comedies about the psychology of high school, like Clueless and Heathers. Some are more traditional tales of dark plotting, like Strangers on a Train. Directed and co-written by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, the film stars Camila Mendes and Maya Hawke as two teenagers committed to getting back at each other's enemies.

High school is hazardous in the stylish 'Do Revenge'

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Brad Pitt and Nick Cave make a surprise art debut in Finland

Musician Nick Cave (from left), artist Thomas Houseago and with actor Brad Pitt pose prior to the opening of their joint exhibition, in Tampere, Finland, on Saturday. Jussi Koivunen/Sara Hilden Art Museum, Lehtikuva via AP hide caption

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Jussi Koivunen/Sara Hilden Art Museum, Lehtikuva via AP

Culture

Brad Pitt and Nick Cave make a surprise art debut in Finland

Art works by the American actor and Australian musician are featured in an exhibition of sculptures and ceramics. Both acknowledged being excited and nervous about presenting their art in public.

These are the new movies and TV shows we can't wait to watch this fall

(Clockwise from top left) Seth Gilliam in The Walking Dead, Letitia Wright in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Brice Gonzalez and George Lopez in Lopez vs. Lopez, Susan Sarandon in Monarch, Harry Styles and Florence Pugh in Don't Worry Darling and Dwayne Johnson in Black Adam Jace Downs/AMC, Marvel Studios, Casey Durkin/NBC, Pete Dadds/Fox, Warner Bros. hide caption

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Jace Downs/AMC, Marvel Studios, Casey Durkin/NBC, Pete Dadds/Fox, Warner Bros.

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Culture

These are the new movies and TV shows we can't wait to watch this fall

Our critics' guide lets you search by genre and where to watch — whether on your couch or in the theater. Here's what NPR critics are looking forward to after a busy blockbuster summer.

Spanish 'Dracula' finds new blood, more than 90 years after its release

Carlos Villarías and Lupita Tovar starred in the 1931 Spanish language version of Dracula. Mike Gallegos for NPR hide caption

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Mike Gallegos for NPR

Latinos in Hollywood

Spanish 'Dracula' finds new blood, more than 90 years after its release

In 1931, an entire new cast and crew reshot Dracula into Spanish on the Universal Studios lot.

Spanish 'Dracula' finds new blood, more than 90 years after its release

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What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend reading, listening and viewing

Sheryl Lee Ralph accepts the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series for Abbott Elementary onstage during the 74th Emmy Awards. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

What's Making Us Happy: Recommendations From 'Pop Culture Happy Hour'

What's making us happy: A guide to your weekend reading, listening and viewing

Each week, the guests and hosts on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour share what's bringing them joy. This week: Sheryl Lee Ralph, Kenan & Kel, and more.

Here are the breakthrough films that premiered at this year's Toronto Film Festival

Pakistani filmmaker Saim Sadiq's debut feature film Joyland is a lyrical portrait of repressed desire and longing set in contemporary Lahore, making its North American premiere in Toronto. Courtesy of TIFF hide caption

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Courtesy of TIFF

Culture

Here are the breakthrough films that premiered at this year's Toronto Film Festival

The first fully reopened edition of TIFF concludes this weekend. But with a film industry still reeling from box office declines and changing audience habits, the award season remains in flux.

Here are the breakthrough films that premiered at this year's Toronto Film Festival

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Viola Davis is 'The Woman King' in an epic story inspired by true events

Nanisca (Viola Davis) wields a sword and hacks her way through the many men who get in her way in The Woman King. Ilze Kitshoff/CTMG hide caption

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Ilze Kitshoff/CTMG

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Movie Reviews

Viola Davis is 'The Woman King' in an epic story inspired by true events

Fresh Air

Gina Prince-Bythewood's latest film is a rousingly old-fashioned action-drama about women warriors in 19th-century West Africa.

Viola Davis is 'The Woman King' in an epic story inspired by true events

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'The Woman King' reigns supreme

Viola Davis and Thuso Mbedu star in The Woman King. Sony Pictures hide caption

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Sony Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'The Woman King' reigns supreme

The new movie The Woman King tells the story of the Agojie, a real-life group of women warriors who protected a West African kingdom in the 1820s. Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, the film stars Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, and John Boyega – and it mixes bloody battle scenes with discussions of leadership and chosen family.

'The Woman King' reigns supreme

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Latino legends helped pave the way in Hollywood, but the road is still rocky

John Leguizamo (left), Rita Moreno, Dolores del Rio, Katy Jurado, Edward James Olmos and Ariana DeBose (top) are Hollywood legends. Mike Gallegos for NPR hide caption

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Mike Gallegos for NPR

Latinos in Hollywood

Latino legends helped pave the way in Hollywood, but the road is still rocky

Latinos have been part of Hollywood since the silent film era but are still underrepresented in front of and behind the camera.

Latino legends helped pave the way in Hollywood, but the road is still rocky

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Our pop culture picks for this fall

Quinta Brunson and Daniel Radcliffe star in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. The Roku Channel hide caption

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The Roku Channel

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Our pop culture picks for this fall

Today, we're telling you what new shows, movies and albums we're excited about this fall.

Our pop culture picks for this fall

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Irene Papas, celebrated Greek actress from 'Zorba' to 'Iphigenia,' has died

A 1952 portrait of Greek actress Irene Papas taken in Paris. Papas died Wednesday at age 96. International News Photos/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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International News Photos/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

Irene Papas, celebrated Greek actress from 'Zorba' to 'Iphigenia,' has died

Papas catapulted to international fame in such films as Zorba the Greek, Z and The Guns of Navarone. She also earned acclaim for her work in classical Greek plays. She died Wednesday at age 96.

Halle Bailey's 'Little Mermaid' is already making waves among young Black girls

Dozens of parents of young Black girls are posting videos across social media of their children's reactions to the newly released trailer of Disney's live action "Little Mermaid" starring Halle Bailey as Ariel. Screenshot by NPR/Walt Disney Studios hide caption

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Screenshot by NPR/Walt Disney Studios

Culture

Halle Bailey's 'Little Mermaid' is already making waves among young Black girls

Social media has been filled with videos of Black children watching the teaser of the trailer for the new Little Mermaid movie, which stars Bailey.

Film director Jean-Luc Godard of the French New Wave has died at 91

Film director Jean-Luc Godard at Cannes festival in 1982. He was a key figure in French New Wave cinema. He died at 91, according to French media. Jean-Jacques Levy/AP hide caption

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Jean-Jacques Levy/AP

Film director Jean-Luc Godard of the French New Wave has died at 91

Godard, the "enfant terrible" of the French New Wave who revolutionized popular cinema in 1960 with his debut feature Breathless, stood for years as one of the most vital and provocative directors.

Film director Jean-Luc Godard of the French New Wave has died at 91

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