Accessibility links
Movies: Movie Reviews and Commentary on New and Classic Films NPR Movies podcast, movie reviews, and commentary on new and classic films. Interviews with filmmakers, actors, and actresses.

Movies

'Civil War' is a doomsday thought experiment — that could have used more thinking

Kirsten Dunst plays a battle scarred photojournalist in Civil War. Murray Close/A24 hide caption

toggle caption
Murray Close/A24

Review

Movie Reviews

'Civil War' is a doomsday thought experiment — that could have used more thinking

Fresh Air

This ambitious thriller comes across as an empty stunt — a democracy dystopia that sidesteps the politics of the present moment. But Kirsten Dunst is excellent as a battle scarred photojournalist.

'Civil War' is a doomsday thought experiment — that could have used more thinking

Listen · 7:18
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1244092650/1244378874" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Civil War' envisions a too-near future

Kirsten Dunst as Lee in Civil War. A24 hide caption

toggle caption
A24

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Civil War' envisions a too-near future

The new film Civil War depicts a contemporary America torn apart by a military conflict between the federal government and an alliance of secessionist states. Directed by Alex Garland (Ex Machina), the film follows a small band of journalists led by Kirsten Dunst's jaded war photographer. They embark on a harrowing journey to the heart of the conflict, encountering brutality and bloodshed along the way.

'Civil War' envisions a too-near future

Listen · 22:50
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197963710/1244175748" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Girls State' provides hope and disappointment for the state of our democracy

Nisha Murali in the Apple TV+ documentary film Girls State. Apple TV+ hide caption

toggle caption
Apple TV+

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Girls State' provides hope and disappointment for the state of our democracy

The new Apple TV+ documentary Girls State asks: how would high school girls do things if they were in charge? The film is a follow-up to 2020's Boys State, and this time, follows an annual high school program that gives hundreds of girls a chance to create a mock government, complete with elections and a Supreme Court. It was made during the 2022 session, which ended days before the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, and the case is very much on the minds of the girls in the program.

'Girls State' provides hope and disappointment for the state of our democracy

Listen · 22:24
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197963674/1243881689" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'A masterclass in how to give terrible answers': Inside that Prince Andrew interview

Prince Andrew's 2019 BBC interview is now the subject of a Netflix film. Steve Parsons/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Steve Parsons/AP

Interview highlights

'A masterclass in how to give terrible answers': Inside that Prince Andrew interview

Sam McAlister was the BBC booker who persuaded Prince Andrew to go on record about his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. It's the subject of new Netflix movie Scoop.

'A masterclass in how to give terrible answers': Inside that Prince Andrew interview

Listen · 8:16
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1243369734/1243370017" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
A guide to Stephen King

Stephen King at a press conference in 2013, in Paris. Eric Feferberg/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Eric Feferberg/AFP via Getty Images

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

A guide to Stephen King

Stephen King is one of the most successful living writers. He's written more than 50 books that have sold hundreds of millions of copies. And his works have been adapted into a number of classic films, including The Shining, The Shawshank Redemption, and It. This month marks the 50th anniversary of his first novel, Carrie, so we are revisiting our guide to Stephen King.

A guide to Stephen King

Listen · 19:29
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197963573/1243408116" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Wait Wait' for April 6, 2024: With Not My Job guest Chris Pine
Phillip Faraone/Getty Images

Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!

'Wait Wait' for April 6, 2024: With Not My Job guest Chris Pine

Chris Pine has done it all, from Star Trek to Wonder Woman to The Princess Diaries. Now, he's written/directed his own movie, Poolman, but can he answer our questions about crisp pine air fresheners?

'Wait Wait' for April 6, 2024: With Not My Job guest Chris Pine

Listen · 45:08
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1243146641/1243242105" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Chris Pine tells us where he ranks on the list of Hollywood Chrises
Phillip Faraone/Getty Images

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

Chris Pine tells us where he ranks on the list of Hollywood Chrises

This week, Chris Pine joins us to talk his new movie Poolman, imitating William Shatner, and where he ranks on the list of Hollywood Chrises.

Chris Pine tells us where he ranks on the list of Hollywood Chrises

Listen · 47:29
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1198908680/1243201935" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
In 'Monkey Man,' Dev Patel gets revenge through gorilla warfare

Dev Patel in Monkey Man. Akhirwan Nurhaidi/Universal Pictures hide caption

toggle caption
Akhirwan Nurhaidi/Universal Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

In 'Monkey Man,' Dev Patel gets revenge through gorilla warfare

The new action film Monkey Man is Dev Patel's film – he serves as star, director, and co-writer. He plays a young man whose village was destroyed and mother murdered by elite members of society. He sets out to infiltrate their corrupt, rarified existence and seek his bloody, bloody revenge. There's plenty of gunplay, knife-play, ax-play, bone-crunching, tuk-tuk chases, and gouts of blood.

In 'Monkey Man,' Dev Patel gets revenge through gorilla warfare

Listen · 24:55
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197963556/1242954947" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Coup de Chance' is a typical Woody Allen film — with one appalling final detail

Niels Schneider and Lou de Laâge star in Coup de Chance. GRAVIER PRODUCTIONS hide caption

toggle caption
GRAVIER PRODUCTIONS

Review

Movie Reviews

'Coup de Chance' is a typical Woody Allen film — with one appalling final detail

Fresh Air

Set in France, Allen's latest film covers familiar territory, including an adulterous romance, a premeditated murder and a darkly cynical consideration of the role that luck plays in human affairs.

'Coup de Chance' is a typical Woody Allen film — with one appalling final detail

Listen · 6:25
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1242679140/1242862512" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'La Chimera' is marvelous — right up to its most magical ending

Carol Duarte and Josh O'Connor in La Chimera. Neon hide caption

toggle caption
Neon

Review

Movie Reviews

'La Chimera' is marvelous — right up to its most magical ending

Fresh Air

An archeological tomb robber wanders Italy, haunted by the memory of lost love. La Chimera is a playful fable that builds to not one but two thrilling scenes of underground exploration.

'La Chimera' is marvelous — right up to its most magical ending

Listen · 7:08
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1242174564/1242290546" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Why haven't NCAA fans always followed the WNBA? Sue Bird has her theories

Women's college basketball is hot, says now-retired WBNA player Sue Bird (shown here in 2022). "If you liked us in college, why didn't you follow us to the WNBA? It is probably one of the more interesting and maybe more difficult questions to answer." Steph Chambers/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Steph Chambers/Getty Images

Sports

Why haven't NCAA fans always followed the WNBA? Sue Bird has her theories

Fresh Air

Bird notes that WNBA players represent society's most marginalized groups. "We're Black, we're women, we're gay," she says. "And those are the groups that are held back in our society."

Why haven't NCAA fans always followed the WNBA? Sue Bird has her theories

Listen · 43:22
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1241930522/1242058764" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Revisiting the movies of 1999

Ron Livingston in Office Space. Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Getty Images

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Revisiting the movies of 1999

Movies had a big year in 1999. Today, we're going back 25 years to talk about some of the most interesting movies released in 1999 — including Drop Dead Gorgeous, Office Space, and The Talented Mr. Ripley. In this encore episode, we'll talk about what holds up, what looks really different, and what we miss the most.

Revisiting the movies of 1999

Listen · 16:32
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197963460/1241606397" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Harvard's TikTok strategy; plus, Shirley Chisholm, the coalition diva

A hand holding a phone displaying the Tik Tok logo; U.S. Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm Dan Kitwood/Getty Images/Ed Tilly/The State Media Company hide caption

toggle caption
Dan Kitwood/Getty Images/Ed Tilly/The State Media Company

It's Been a Minute

Harvard's TikTok strategy; plus, Shirley Chisholm, the coalition diva

TikTok has come under fire for its addictive algorithm and for being a place where misinformation spreads. But still, there is one institution that thinks TikTok actually has the potential to be a source of good in our world: Harvard. To be more specific, it's the Harvard Chan Center for Health Communication.

Harvard's TikTok strategy; plus, Shirley Chisholm, the coalition diva

Listen · 38:49
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197956084/1241730247" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Godzilla x Kong' and 'Godzilla Minus One' revamp the classic monster story

Godzilla in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Warner Bros. Pictures hide caption

toggle caption
Warner Bros. Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Godzilla x Kong' and 'Godzilla Minus One' revamp the classic monster story

Godzilla has been around for 70 years and recently won his first Oscar. The beloved 2023 Japanese production Godzilla Minus One won an Oscar for visual effects. Now, the Hollywood MonsterVerse franchise rolls on with Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which pairs the two titans as they face a common enemy. Today, we talk about both movies and how they offer different takes on the decades-old monster story.

'Godzilla x Kong' and 'Godzilla Minus One' revamp the classic monster story

Listen · 22:03
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197963365/1241447081" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Oppenheimer' finally premieres in Japan to mixed reactions and high emotions

People walk by a poster to promote the movie Oppenheimer on Friday in Tokyo. Eugene Hoshiko/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Eugene Hoshiko/AP

Asia

'Oppenheimer' finally premieres in Japan to mixed reactions and high emotions

The film's release in Japan, more than eight months after it opened in the U.S., had been watched with trepidation because of the sensitivity of the subject matter.

'Oppenheimer' finally premieres in Japan to mixed reactions and high emotions

Listen · 3:55
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1241574530/1241726905" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The piece of wood that saved (only) Rose in 'Titanic' was auctioned off for $718k

The wooden door panel that saves Rose's life in the 1997 blockbuster Titanic was one of hundreds of iconic Hollywood props, and several from the movie, auctioned off in a five-day sale last week. Heritage Auctions hide caption

toggle caption
Heritage Auctions

The piece of wood that saved (only) Rose in 'Titanic' was auctioned off for $718k

The debris that saved Rose's life in Titanic — and sparked a quarter-century of debate — fetched over $718,000 at an auction of iconic Hollywood movie props last week. It's based on a real artifact.

'Love Lies Bleeding' and the fear and allure of strong women

Katy O'Brian and Kristen Stewart star in Love Lies Bleeding. Zoey Kang/A24 hide caption

toggle caption
Zoey Kang/A24

It's Been a Minute

'Love Lies Bleeding' and the fear and allure of strong women

Erotic thrillers are meant to be sexy, bloody, and fun. The best of them also deal with shifts in culture that people are anxious about: Fatal Attraction was about the threat of working single women, and Basic Instinct got into bisexual panic. A hot new erotic thriller takes on women's strength and capacity for rage: Love Lies Bleeding is an 80's fantasia of big muscles and big hair with steamy sexy scenes and thrilling plot twists. It follows the story of a bodybuilder named Jackie, played by Katy O'Brian, who falls madly in love with gym manager Lou, played by Kristen Stewart. Host Brittany Luse sat down with Katy O'Brian to talk about strong women and the fantasy of wielding the rage that lurks just under the surface.

'Love Lies Bleeding' and the fear and allure of strong women

Listen · 12:58
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197956088/1240885941" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Kevin Hart takes home his Mark Twain Prize for American humor

Kevin Hart received the 25th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. on March 24th, 2024. The Kennedy Center hide caption

toggle caption
The Kennedy Center

Pop Culture

Kevin Hart takes home his Mark Twain Prize for American humor

Kevin Hart received the 25th annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at The Kennedy Center Sunday night. Fellow comedians Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld and Chelsea Handler were there to roast him.

Kevin Hart takes home his Mark Twain Prize for American humor

Listen · 3:10
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1239665940/1240640493" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' is a chill hang

Finn Wolfhard, Celeste O'Connor, Paul Rudd, Kumail Nanjiani, Logan Kim and Carrie Coon in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire. Columbia Pictures hide caption

toggle caption
Columbia Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' is a chill hang

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is the latest entry in the blockbuster action-comedy franchise. This time, the crew has set up shop in New York, and, with the help of the surviving original Ghostbusters, tries to stop a demon looking to freeze the world and rule over it. The film is packed with both newer and nostalgic cast members, including Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Paul Rudd, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, and more.

'Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire' is a chill hang

Listen · 15:35
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197963271/1240203053" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Browse archive or search npr.org