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The movies, TV and music we're excited about this fall

Colin Farrell in The Penguin. Macall Polay/HBO hide caption

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Macall Polay/HBO

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The movies, TV and music we're excited about this fall

Fall is beginning, and it's the perfect time to talk about all the great things we're excited to watch and listen to between now and the end of the year. Today, we're offering up a guide to spotlight some of the movies, TV, and music we are looking forward to this fall.

The movies, TV and music we're excited about this fall

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Casa Bonita opened Lakewood, Colo., in 1974.

¡Casa Bonita, Mi Amor! follows Trey Parker and Matt Stone as they renovate a dilapidated, inauthentic, 1970s Mexican restaurant. The labor of love becomes a money-pit as they chase the landmark's former glory. Paramount hide caption

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Paramount

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Movie Reviews

'South Park' creators renovate a beloved restaurant, and find nostalgia is pricey

A new film follows Trey Parker and Matt Stone as they renovate a dilapidated, inauthentic, 1970s Mexican restaurant. The labor of love becomes a money-pit as they chase the landmark's former glory.

Parker & Stone

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Natasha Lyonne, left, Elizabeth Olsen and Carrie Coon playsisters who come together in the final days of their father's life in His Three Daughters.

Natasha Lyonne, left, Elizabeth Olsen and Carrie Coon play sisters who come together in the final days of their father's life in His Three Daughters. Sam Levy/Netflix hide caption

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Sam Levy/Netflix

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Movie Reviews

A dying father brings 'His Three Daughters' together, in a sharply written film

Natasha Lyonne, Elizabeth Olsen and Carrie Coon play estranged sisters saying farewell to their terminally ill dad. It's a familiar plot, but writer-director Azazel Jacobs manages to sidesteps cliché.

A dying father brings 'His Three Daughters' together, in a sharply written film

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Ian McKellen, left, plays a powerful and reviled theater critic in

Ian McKellen, left, plays a powerful and reviled theater critic in The Critic, alongside Gemma Arterton, in the role of an actress who was once one of his targets. Sean Gleason/Greenwich Entertainment hide caption

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Sean Gleason/Greenwich Entertainment

Movie Interviews

Ian McKellen relishes Machiavellian role in new film 'The Critic'

NPR's Leila Fadel speaks with actor Ian McKellen about his starring role as a powerful London theater critic who savages "bad performance" in Anand Tucker's new film The Critic.

THE CRITIC

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Never visit James McAvoy's house, and other lessons of 'Speak No Evil'

James McAvoy in Speak No Evil. Susie Allnutt/Universal Studios hide caption

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Susie Allnutt/Universal Studios

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

Never visit James McAvoy's house, and other lessons of 'Speak No Evil'

Never visit your weird new friends at their enormous isolated country estate. That's a basic rule that an American family fails to follow in the new horror thriller Speak No Evil starring James McAvoy. By the time they figure out they are in way over their heads, it's much much too late.

Never visit James McAvoy's house, and other lessons of 'Speak No Evil'

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'Rebel Ridge' serves up revenge with restraint

Aaron Pierre in Rebel Ridge. Allyson Rigg/Netflix hide caption

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Allyson Rigg/Netflix

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Rebel Ridge' serves up revenge with restraint

In Netflix's new film Rebel Ridge, Aaron Pierre plays Terry, a young Black man who enters a small Southern town to post bail for his cousin. But when the local cops seize his money, he faces off against the corrupt chief of police (Don Johnson). Things escalate, and soon he uncovers a sinister conspiracy that threatens his life.

'Rebel Ridge' serves up revenge with restraint

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Strong performances highlight the scary (and funny) 'The Front Room'

Brandy Norwood in The Front Room. A24 hide caption

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A24

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

Strong performances highlight the scary (and funny) 'The Front Room'

Maybe you think you've seen every scary mother-in-law fiction has to offer — you absolutely haven't. In the new movie The Front Room, a pregnant woman (Brandy Norwood) allows her mother-in-law (Kathryn Hunter) to move in. In a film that's part creepy and part very darkly funny, the two women square off for control of the house and the child on the way.

Strong performances highlight the scary (and funny) 'The Front Room'

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James Earl Jones, pictured here in 2014, followed in the footsteps of actors like Sidney Poitier, Paul Robeson and Canada Lee, all of whom refused to be limited by stereotypical roles.

James Earl Jones, pictured here in 2014, followed in the footsteps of actors like Sidney Poitier, Paul Robeson and Canada Lee, all of whom refused to be limited by stereotypical roles. Jesse Dittmar for The Washington Post/Getty Images hide caption

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Jesse Dittmar for The Washington Post/Getty Images

Obituaries

Actor and beloved baritone James Earl Jones dies at 93

Everything about Jones was big: his stage presence, the intensity of his glance and the brilliance of his craft. From Star Wars to The Lion King to CNN, his voice pervaded popular culture.

Irene Maiorino, left, and Alba Rohrwacher, right, play the adult versions of protagonists Lila and Lenù in the fourth season of

Irene Maiorino, left, and Alba Rohrwacher, right, play the adult versions of protagonists Lila and Lenù in the fourth season of My Brilliant Friend. Eduardo Castaldo/HBO hide caption

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Eduardo Castaldo/HBO

Television

'My Brilliant Friend' returns for final season with two new stars

Alba Rohrwacher and Irene Maiorino discuss their roles as leads in the fourth and final season of the HBO series My Brilliant Friend, based on Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Quartet novels.

MY BRILLIANT FRIEND

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Turns out Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) hasn't changed much in 30-odd years — he's less of a villain, but still a pain in the neck.

Turns out Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) hasn't changed much in 30-odd years — he's less of a villain, but still a pain in the neck. Parisa Taghizadeh/Warner Bros. Pictures hide caption

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Parisa Taghizadeh/Warner Bros. Pictures

Review

Movie Reviews

Beetlejuice is back, in a supernatural screwball sequel

Director Tim Burton seems more interested in updating than duplicating his 1988 hit. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice demonstrates affection for the characters and genuine curiosity in how they’re doing now.

Beetlejuice is back, in a supernatural screwball sequel

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Is there any juice left in 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice?'

Michael Keaton in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Warner Bros Pictures hide caption

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Warner Bros Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Is there any juice left in 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice?'

There's a reason Beetlejuice was a hit back in 1988: it delivered both the spectacle and big stars of a major studio film, and the hilarious, weird vision of director Tim Burton. Now he returns with the sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice — which stars Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Michael Keaton, and Jenna Ortega. But does Beetlejuice Beetlejuice capture any of the original's silly, surreal, singular magic? Should it even try?

Is there any juice left in 'Beetlejuice Beetlejuice?'

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Tyrese Gibson

Tyrese Gibson in 1992 Courtesy of Lionsgate hide caption

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Courtesy of Lionsgate

Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

Tyrese Gibson

Tyrese Gibson is a renaissance man. He's a Grammy-nominated singer, blockbuster actor, an accomplished author, and model. His latest project is a crime drama–1992. It's set in Los Angeles, the day four police officers charged with beating Rodney King were acquitted. We talk about the film and the commercial that jump started his career. Plus, Tyrese presses pause mid-interview to take an important call from a rap legend.

Tyrese Gibson

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Movie Interviews

Celebrating movie icons: Spike Lee

Lee's first film, 1986's She’s Gotta Have It, helped make him a central figure in independent and Black cinema. In 2017, he talked about adapting that film into a 10-part Netflix series.

Celebrating Movie Icons: Spike Lee

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'American Pie', and the bygone era of raunchy teen comedies

Jim (Jason Biggs) Is Caught In An Embarrassing Moment By His Mom (Molly Cheek) And Dad (Eugene Levy) In "American Pie." (Photo By Getty Images) Getty Images/Getty Images hide caption

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Getty Images/Getty Images

Consider This from NPR

'American Pie', and the bygone era of raunchy teen comedies

Raunchy sex comedies had a moment at the end of the 20th century. And perhaps the king of them all, was American Pie. Even people who have never seen the movie probably know the most memorable scene has something to do with a sex-obsessed teenage boy doing something unseemly with a homemade apple pie.

'American Pie', and the bygone era of raunchy teen comedies

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'Afraid': A not-OK computer

John Cho in Afraid. Glen Wilson/Sony Pictures hide caption

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Glen Wilson/Sony Pictures

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Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Afraid': A not-OK computer

The new movie Afraid is latest in the well-established genre of "the computer is alive" stories. John Cho plays a dad who has a chance to try out a very advanced AI system at his home — and it does a lot more than talk back.

'Afraid': A not-OK computer

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Movie Interviews

Celebrating movie icons: Western stunt double Hal Needham

Needham, who died in 2013, worked as a Hollywood stuntman for over 40 years. In this 2011 interview, he detailed some of his most death-defying feats — and why he disliked modern special effects.

Celebrating movie icons: Western stunt double Hal Needham

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'The Crow' puts the ick in gothic

Bill Skarsgård in The Crow. Larry Horricks/Lionsgate hide caption

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Larry Horricks/Lionsgate

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'The Crow' puts the ick in gothic

In the new film The Crow, Bill Skarsgård plays a man who gets brutally murdered alongside his soulmate (FKA twigs). He returns to life as an unstoppable figure of vengeance, hunting down their killers. It's not a remake of the 1994 cult classic; the filmmakers are pitching it as a brand new reimagining of the comic book series that inspired the original film. But how does this new movie stack up?

'The Crow' puts the ick in gothic

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Movie Interviews

Celebrating movie icons: Meryl Streep

In 2012, the Oscar-winning actor talked about shifting accents for various roles, including her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady: "It's work, but it's not a struggle; it's fun."

Celebrating movie icons: Meryl Streep

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This photo shows two actresses from the movie

Critics have said the promotional materials for the film It Ends With Us glamorize domestic violence. Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images

National

The movie 'It Ends With Us' faces criticism for glamorizing domestic abuse

Critics say the film, an adaptation of Colleen Hoover's bestselling novel of the same title, paints a love story — not a picture of domestic abuse as portrayed in the original work.

The movie 'It Ends With Us' faces criticism for glamorizing domestic abuse

Movie Interviews

Celebrating movie icons: Molly Ringwald

Ringwald represented teen angst in '80s films like Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club. She's also worked as a jazz musician, an author and a translator. Originally broadcast Feb. 12, 2024.

Celebrating movie icons: Molly Ringwald

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