You know that scene in Pretty Woman when Julia Roberts is eating a croissant that is suddenly a pancake? Continuity issues like that crop up all the time. Whether you let it distract you is your call.
Does climate change exist? And does a character know it? Barbie,Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part Oneand Nyad met the criteria for a new challenge inspired by the famous Bechdel Test.
Dune: Part Two is a more exciting and eventful journey than Dune: Part One. But even here, the high points are over too soon, and the movie quickly moves on.
The sci-fi film Dune: Part Two is out in theaters now. The movie takes place on the harsh desert planet, Arrakis, where water is scarce and giant, killer sandworms lurk just beneath the surface. But what do planetary scientists and biologists think about the science of these worms, Arrakis and our other favorite sci-fi planets?
Today on the show, Regina G. Barber talks to biologist (and Star Trek consultant!) Mohamed Noor and planetary scientist Michael Wong about Dune, habitable planets and how to make fantasy seem more realistic.
Want more of the science behind your favorite fictional worlds? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.
Dune: Part Two is a sweeping, soaring space epic and this year's first big movie. Starring Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya, and directed by Denis Villeneuve, the film delivers plenty of spaceships and big explosions like any good sci-fi blockbuster should. But it also tackles themes of rebellion, religion, and the use and abuse of political power.
From war to injustice and religious extremism, the documentary finalists are thematically harrowing stories from around the world. Each is a triumph of storytelling and craft.
Villeneuve remembers watching the 1984 movie version of Frank Herbert's 1965 sci-fi novel Dune and thinking, "Someday, someone else will do it again" — not realizing he would be that filmmaker.
They range in themes, languages and political urgency, but this year's stellar five nominees for the Best International Feature Film Oscar are each deserving of your time for their distinct pleasures.
Philipps plays Mrs. George, a "cool mom" seeking the approval of her teen daughter in the new movie musical version of the 2004 film. Philipps got her start as a teen on the series Freaks and Geeks.
Da'Vine Joy Randolph just keeps winning — she's won best supporting actress for her role in The Holdovers at the BAFTAs, the Golden Globes, and Critics Choice Awards, and now she's up for an Oscar. And her performance as Mary Lamb, the head cook at a boy's boarding school in 1970's Massachusetts, really is awards worthy. Mary is no-nonsense, but loving, and grieving a son who's been killed in the Vietnam War. It's a moving and subtle portrayal of grief. Da'Vine says part of the success of her performance is owed to the quality of the script and of her collaborators, but she also has an awe-inspiring character creation process. Host Brittany Luse sat down with Da'Vine to chat about how she conveys a character's spirit – and the personal stories she drew from to build this particular performance - while at the same time battling Hollywood stereotypes about curvy Black women.
Philip Gefter's Cocktails with George and Martha traces the evolution of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? — from Broadway sensation, to Oscar-winning film starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton.
Oppenheimer tells the story of the brilliant physicist (Cillian Murphy) who oversaw the construction of the first atomic bomb. It goes on to chart the dark, complicated legacy of what he made – a technology that has gone on to irrevocably change the world, and that retains the real possibility of ending it. Christopher Nolan's film was a blockbuster hit last summer, and it earned 13 Oscar nominations – including best picture and best director. Today, we are revisiting our conversation about the movie.
Oppenheimer dominated at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards on Saturday, as several winners paid tribute to last year's actors' strike. Barbra Streisand was given a lifetime achievement prize.