Pop Culture Happy Hour

In the new Pixar film Elio, a lonely kid dreams of being abducted by aliens. And then one day, it happens. Eager to find a place to belong, Elio (voiced by Yonas Kibreab) volunteers to save the aliens from a dangerous enemy. Along the way, he makes a friend and starts to think about Earth a little differently. The film was directed by Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi (Turning Red) and Adrian Molina (Coco).Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopcultureTo access bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Pop Culture Happy Hour, subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour+ at plus.npr.org/happy.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The new apocalyptic horror film 28 Years Later takes place in the same world as 28 Days Later, where a deadly virus transformed the citizens of the U.K. into rabid blood-spewing creatures. The new film brings back the original's director and screenwriter, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland. It's set on a small island where a group of survivors (including Jodie Comer and Aaron Taylor-Johnson) eke out a modest existence. A desperate expedition reveals new allies and new horrors – because the infected have evolved.Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The new HBO documentary Pee-Wee As Himself isn't the boilerplate Hollywood profile you think it is. You get the biographical details you expect – how young avant-garde artist Paul Ruebens created the persona of Pee-Wee Herman, and the meteoric rise and fall that followed. But you also get a sense of what it cost Reubens to insist that Pee-Wee wasn't simply a persona, but in fact a real person. It's streaming now on Max.Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Stephen King's work has often contemplated the inevitability of death. But his latest adaptation, The Life of Chuck is a life-affirming film that challenges the cynic in everyone. It has a big cast including Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jacob Tremblay, Mark Hamill, and Nick Offerman. The film was directed and written for the screen by Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass). Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopcultureLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Should you date for love or financial security? That's the central premise of the new movie Materialists. It stars Dakota Johnson at the center of a love triangle with Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans, and is directed by Celine Song (Past Lives). Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Disney has been remaking its animated classics for years to great financial success– Lilo & Stitch has been dominating the box office for weeks now. So it's no surprise that DreamWorks is now getting in on the action with a remake of How to Train Your Dragon. It's full of epic battles, majestic countrysides and, of course, dragons galore. Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In Almost Famous, writer and director Cameron Crowe looks at the ecosystem surrounding a rising rock band in the early '70s. Starring Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson, Frances McDormand, and many more, the movie is a coming-of-age story that touches on journalism, sex, rock 'n' roll, parenthood, and the perils of trying to be cool. Almost Famous turns 25 this year, so today we are revisiting our conversation about the movie.Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Fifty years ago Steven Spielberg's Jaws was released in theaters, kicking off the summer blockbuster phenomenon. And you know a summer blockbuster when you see one: It's a film that's hugely popular and as a result, financially successful, and seen by lots of people. But not everyone has seen every last one of them. Today, we fill in some personal blockbuster gaps, and finally see a movie that absolutely everyone saw, except for us — including Armageddon, Beverly Hills Cop II, Ghost, The Fast and the Furious.Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Wes Anderson's new film The Phoenician Scheme is classic Wes Anderson, complete with a great cast delivering heightened dialogue and stylized cinematography. It stars Benicio del Toro as one of Europe's richest men, an amoral industrialist, who, along with his daughter (Mia Threapleton) and a tutor (Michael Cera), travels to convince his business partners to fund his latest venture. But where does the film rank among Anderson's past movies?Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

John Wick's back in a spinoff new film, Ballerina, starring Ana de Armas. She plays a ballerina-turned-assassin making her way through the international criminal underworld, and crossing paths with some new and familiar faces — including the one and only Keanu Reeves.To access bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Pop Culture Happy Hour, subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour+ at plus.npr.org/happy. Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Every generation gets its versions of a "20-somethings hang out and make mistakes" sitcom, such as Living Single, Friends, New Girl and Broad City. Now Gen Z's got the FX/Hulu series Adults. The silly new series is about a group of friends cohabitating in Queens, New York and it makes for fun and possibly all-too-relatable TV fodder.To access bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Pop Culture Happy Hour, subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour+ at plus.npr.org/happy. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Succession creator Jesse Armstrong is back with Mountainhead, a new movie with characters who are just as wealthy, powerful, and insecure as the Roy family. Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Ramy Youssef and Cory Michael Smith star as four tech moguls gathering for a low-key guys' weekend of poker. But business and unchecked, overinflated egos quickly lead them all down a very dark path. To access bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Pop Culture Happy Hour, subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour+ at plus.npr.org/happy. Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The hit Australian horror movie Talk To Me was both very good and deeply unsettling. Now its directors (Danny and Michael Philippou) have returned with Bring Her Back, which ups the ante when it comes to disturbing, nightmarish storytelling. The film stars Sally Hawkins as a woman whose grief manifests in terrifying, ugly ways.To access bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Pop Culture Happy Hour, subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour+ at plus.npr.org/happy. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Karate Kid has been sequelized, serialized, spun off and rebooted, and now it's back, as Karate Kid: Legends. The new film stars Ben Wang as a kid who's mentored by Jackie Chan and Ralph Macchio, reprising their roles from the franchise. But at its heart, the movie is about a kid who must train hard, learn life lessons, and kick a bully hard in the face.In honor of Toy Story's 30th anniversary, we're ranking the Pixar movies. What do you think is the best Pixar feature? Vote now! We'll talk about the results in an upcoming episode. Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopcultureLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Online discourse has become a fun part of enjoying and dissecting big pop culture events. But after seeing all the commentary around Ryan Coogler's Sinners, our pal Brittany Luse has one question: are we in a media literacy crisis? Difference of opinion is one thing, but it feels like some viewers are missing important clues or misreading the film entirely - and it doesn't stop with Sinners. Today we've got an episode of the podcast It's Been A Minute that explores what this could mean for the way we engage with the world at large.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The new Lilo & Stitch is mostly live-action and retells the original Disney animated film's story of two orphaned Hawaiian sisters and the chaotic alien who upends their lives. The movie deviates from the original in many ways, but the central story is a tale of sisterhood and found family with lots of rowdy chaos along the way. The cast includes Maia Kealoha, Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Zach Galifianakis, and Chris Sanders returns as the voice of Stitch.In honor of Toy Story's 30th anniversary, we're ranking the Pixar movies. What do you think is the best Pixar feature? Vote now! We'll talk about the results in an upcoming episode.Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Season two of The Last of Us just ended, and to say the story has gone in some new directions is an understatement. The HBO series starring Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal continues to push forward with its complex story while still and always putting the "ick" in "post-apocalyptic."In honor of Toy Story's 30th anniversary, we're ranking the Pixar movies. What do you think is the best Pixar feature? Vote now! We'll talk about the results in an upcoming episode. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Tom Cruise has to save the world (again). But this time, as the movie stresses repeatedly, the stakes are really, really high. Higher than the buildings Tom sprints across or the planes he fights bad guys on. There's an AI that wants to destroy humanity, and Tom and his allies try to pull off the feat of all our lifetimes. Will he? Does it even matter? It's Tom Cruise doing Tom Cruise things in London, the Bering Sea, and beyond. In honor of Toy Story's 30th anniversary, we're ranking the Pixar movies. What do you think is the best Pixar feature? Vote now! We'll talk about the results in an upcoming episode.Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The movie ends, and the credits roll. That used to be your cue to start heading to the parking lot to debrief with your friends. That was before the era of the post-credits scene, which often teases the next installment, or offers one last joke or thrill that you'll miss if you don't stick around. But is it really worth it to stick around? Today we're talking about the state of the post-credits scene, including Sinners, Pixar and Marvel movies, and more.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Murderbot is a very smart, very funny new sci-fi comedy series on Apple TV+. It stars Alexander Skarsgård as a cyborg who works security for a team of hapless, bumbling scientists exploring a dangerous planet. He's hacked his own system and gained free will – a fact he tries to hide from them, even as he sardonically judges their naïve and foolhardy actions, and craves nothing more than to be left alone to watch his soap operas.To access bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening for Pop Culture Happy Hour, subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour+ at plus.npr.org/happy. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy