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Queen Latifah, Billy Crystal and others celebrated at Kennedy Center Honors

The Kennedy Center Honorees, pictured L-R top row: Queen Latifah and Barry Gibb. L-R bottom row: Renée Fleming, Billy Crystal, and Dionne Warwick. The 46th Annual Kennedy Center Honors will air Dec. 27 on the CBS Television Network and stream on Paramount+. Mary Kouw/Mary Kouw/CBS hide caption

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Culture

Queen Latifah, Billy Crystal and others celebrated at Kennedy Center Honors

Billy Crystal, Dionne Warwick, Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees, Renée Fleming and Queen Latifah were given the star treatment as they received their Kennedy Center Honors.

Queen Latifah, Billy Crystal and others celebrated at Kennedy Center Honors

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'May December' shines a glaring light on a dark tabloid story

Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore in a scene from May December. Francois Duhamel/Netflix hide caption

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Francois Duhamel/Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'May December' shines a glaring light on a dark tabloid story

In the campy film May December Julianne Moore stars as a tabloid fixture who was at the center of a scandal after she sexually abused a minor she later married. Charles Melton (Riverdale) plays her husband and Natalie Portman plays the famous actress who's preparing to play her in a movie decades later. It's directed by Todd Haynes (Carol) and is streaming on Netflix.

'May December' shines a glaring light on a dark tabloid story

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In 'The Boy and the Heron,' Miyazaki asks: How do we go on in the midst of grief?

Twelve-year-old Mahito journeys into an otherworldly realm in The Boy and the Heron. via Studio Ghibli hide caption

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via Studio Ghibli

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Movie Reviews

In 'The Boy and the Heron,' Miyazaki asks: How do we go on in the midst of grief?

Fresh Air

Hayao Miyazaki's beguiling new fantasy combines the excitement of a boy's grand adventure and the weight of an older man's reflection. The hypnotic story is a partial self-portrait by an anime master.

In 'The Boy and the Heron,' Miyazaki asks: How do we go on in the midst of grief?

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Jon Batiste and Suleika Jaouad share journey of 'two extremes' in American Symphony

Jon Batiste unveiled his first symphonic composition, American Symphony, at New York's Carnegie Hall on September 22, 2022. An eponymous documentary by Matthew Heineman follows his life with his wife. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Jon Batiste and Suleika Jaouad share journey of 'two extremes' in American Symphony

The same day musician Jon Batiste got 11 Grammy nominations, his partner, writer Suleika Jaouad, began chemotherapy. The new documentary American Symphony recounts their journey.

Jon Batiste and Suleika Jaouad share journey of 'two extremes' in American Symphony

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Yippy-ki-yay, it's 'Die Hard' season again

Bruce Willis in a scene from Die Hard. FlixPix/Alamy hide caption

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FlixPix/Alamy

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Yippy-ki-yay, it's 'Die Hard' season again

Since the holiday season is upon us, it's time to talk about an action classic that many consider to be a Christmas classic: Die Hard. The Bruce Willis movie turned 35 this year, so today we're bringing you this encore episode about the film that was recorded back in 2018.

Yippy-ki-yay, it's 'Die Hard' season again

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Sentimental but not soppy, 'Fallen Leaves' gives off the magic glow of a fable

Two lonely souls (Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen) come together in Fallen Leaves. Malla Hukkanen /Sputnik hide caption

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Malla Hukkanen /Sputnik

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Movie Reviews

Sentimental but not soppy, 'Fallen Leaves' gives off the magic glow of a fable

Fresh Air

Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki's melancholy romantic comedy about two lonely souls trapped in dead-end jobs builds to a gorgeous ending — with a great and revelatory final joke.

Sentimental but not soppy, 'Fallen Leaves' gives off the magic glow of a fable

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Disney's 'Wish' conjures up familiar dreams

Ariana DeBose as Asha in Wish. Disney hide caption

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Disney

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Disney's 'Wish' conjures up familiar dreams

It's been said that a dream is a wish your heart makes. But what happens when you entrust your dream to a charismatic but shady leader? That's the premise of Disney's latest animated movie Wish. It's a musical fantasy that stars Ariana DeBose as an idealist who goes head-to-head with Chris Pine's selfish King. There are catchy songs, cute talking animals, and a few heartfelt moments — in other words, the Disney blueprint.

Disney's 'Wish' conjures up familiar dreams

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A musical parody of 'Saw' teases out the queer love story from a cult horror hit

Andrew Caira (left) and Adam Parbhoo (right) star in a performance of Saw the Musical: The Unauthorized Parody of Saw at Manhattan's AMT theater. Natalie Keyssar for NPR hide caption

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Natalie Keyssar for NPR

Culture

A musical parody of 'Saw' teases out the queer love story from a cult horror hit

A love story is not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of the Saw franchise, but that's exactly what a new musical is – and then some.

A musical parody of 'Saw' teases out the queer love story from a cult horror hit

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Bradley Cooper's 'Maestro' fully captures Bernstein's charisma and complexity

Bradley Cooper plays composer Leonard Bernstein in Maestro. Jason McDonald/Netflix hide caption

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Jason McDonald/Netflix

Review

Movie Reviews

Bradley Cooper's 'Maestro' fully captures Bernstein's charisma and complexity

Fresh Air

Cooper plays the legendary composer and Carey Mulligan is his wife, Felicia Montealegre, in a new drama that exquisitely renders Bernstein's musical brilliance and human flaws.

Bradley Cooper's 'Maestro' fully captures Bernstein's charisma and complexity

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It's Been a Minute: Pressing pause on 'Killers of the Flower Moon'

Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio in Killers of the Flower Moon. Apple TV+ hide caption

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Apple TV+

Pop Culture Happy Hour

It's Been a Minute: Pressing pause on 'Killers of the Flower Moon'

Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon is everything an Oscar contender might be: long, epic, morally complicated and expensive. While many movie-goers left theaters moved, others called the film a problematic disaster. Today, we're bringing you an episode of NPR's It's Been A Minute, where host Brittany Luse and guests talk about what Killers of the Flower Moon got wrong and how it fits into a broader history of Native Americans on screen.

It's Been a Minute: Pressing pause on 'Killers of the Flower Moon'

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Kel Mitchell tells NPR what to expect from the 'Good Burger' sequel

They're back and more burgery than ever. Vanessa Clifton/Nickelodeon/Paramount+ hide caption

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Vanessa Clifton/Nickelodeon/Paramount+

Interview highlights

Kel Mitchell tells NPR what to expect from the 'Good Burger' sequel

It's been more than 25 years since the '90s cult classic came out. Now, the burger-slinging duo is back.

Kel Mitchell tells NPR what to expect from the 'Good Burger' sequel

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'Maestro' chronicles the brilliant Bernstein — and his disorderly conduct

Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein and and Carey Mulligan as Felicia Montealegre in Maestro. Jason McDonald/Netflix hide caption

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Jason McDonald/Netflix

Review

Culture

'Maestro' chronicles the brilliant Bernstein — and his disorderly conduct

Actors Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan give warm, deeply sympathetic performances as wide-ranging musician Leonard Bernstein and his wife, Felicia Montealegre Cohn, in a biopic directed by Cooper.

'Maestro' chronicles the brilliant Bernstein — and his disorderly conduct

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'Leo' is an animated lizard with an SNL sensibility — and the voice of Adam Sandler

In Leo Adam Sandler voices a 74-year-old lizard who learns he has a gift for helping kids sort through their problems. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Movie Interviews

'Leo' is an animated lizard with an SNL sensibility — and the voice of Adam Sandler

If the pets in a 5th grade classroom could talk, what would they say? That's the premise of Leo, the new coming-of-age movie musical from Netflix.

'Leo' is an animated lizard with an SNL sensibility — and the voice of Adam Sandler

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'Napoleon' has big battles and a complicated marriage

Vanessa Kirby and Joaquin Phoenix in Napoleon. Aidan Monaghan/Apple hide caption

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Aidan Monaghan/Apple

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Napoleon' has big battles and a complicated marriage

In the new film Napoleon, director Ridley Scott tells the story of French leader Napoleon Bonaparte (Joaquin Phoenix). It's a lavish war epic that tracks Bonaparte's rise to power through epic military battles, and explores his tumultuous marriage to the love of his life Joséphine (Vanessa Kirby).

'Napoleon' has big battles and a complicated marriage

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'Saltburn' basks in excess and bleak comedy

Barry Keoghan and Archie Madekwe in Saltburn. MGM and Amazon Studios hide caption

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MGM and Amazon Studios

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Saltburn' basks in excess and bleak comedy

Saltburn is a provocative and fun thriller. Barry Keoghan plays Oliver, an outcast at Oxford University who befriends one of his popular and posh classmates, Felix (Jacob Elordi). When Felix invites Oliver to spend the summer at his family's lush estate, a twisty game of obsession and manipulation ensues. The film is written and directed by Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman), and it seems safe to say it will leave audiences in heated debate.

'Saltburn' basks in excess and bleak comedy

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'The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes' is two movies in one

Rachel Zegler and Tom Blyth in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Murray Close/Lionsgate hide caption

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Murray Close/Lionsgate

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

'The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes' is two movies in one

The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes is the latest adaptation in the beloved blockbuster franchise. The new prequel film follows the early life of Coriolanus (Tom Blyth), the man who would one day become the evil President Snow, and Lucy Gray Baird, (Rachel Zegler), the singer who becomes his mentee.

'The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes' is two movies in one

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Artist, actor and restaurateur Mr. Chow on his driving creative force: 'To be true'

You might know this artist and actor better as Mr. Chow. Dominik Bindl/Getty Images hide caption

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Dominik Bindl/Getty Images

Main Character of the Day

Artist, actor and restaurateur Mr. Chow on his driving creative force: 'To be true'

Michael Chow has worn many hats in his 84 years. A new documentary about his life, a.k.a. Mr Chow, paints the portrait of a man who has endured hardship, and found creative outlets to cope.

Artist, actor and restaurateur Mr. Chow on his driving creative force: 'To be true'

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