Is Star Wars' The Acolyte a force to be reckoned with?

Kinds of Kindness is a surprisingly weird, dark, and bleak film. It's directed by Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things) and it re-teams him with Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe, along with Jesse Plemons. Each actor plays different characters in three different stories — which all involve someone going to extreme measures to regain something they've lost.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The new film Fancy Dance offers something all-too-rare on screen: contemporary Indigenous perspectives, front and center. Lily Gladstone plays a woman trying to keep it together under stressful circumstances. Her sister's gone missing, and she steps in to look after her young niece (Isabel Deroy-Olson). The pair take what turns out to be a rocky road trip and a unique bonding experience.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Jim and Pam. Mulder and Scully. Janine and Gregory. Carmy and Sydney. Meredith and McDreamy. You know how it goes: two television characters with obvious chemistry who fight or look at each other longingly. You know that there's only one question: will they, or won't they? Today, we break down the different types of will-they-won't-they couples and discuss some of the best and worst couples in television, including Abbott Elementary, The Bear, Cheers, Grey's Anatomy, Dawson's Creek, and more.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The new Disney+ Star Wars series The Acolyte is a murder mystery. Someone is killing great Jedi masters, and while we learn the killer's identity early on, the real mystery driving the series is why they're doing it. It stars Amandla Stenberg as Force-sensitive twins Osha and Mae, and Squid Game's Lee Jung-jae as Osha's former Jedi master. By the time it's finished its eight-episode run, The Acolyte may shed new light on the nature of the Force, and the hidden history of the Jedi.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Financial scams are an unfortunate phenomenon, but what happens when a fraudster messes with the wrong grandma? The very fun action-comedy Thelma imagines exactly this scenario. The movie stars June Squibb as a woman scammed by someone pretending to be her grandson. She then enlists her old friend (the late Richard Roundtree) to help get her money back.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The brilliant and idiosyncratic new HBO series Fantasmas has a simple plot. Creator and star Julio Torres searches New York City for an earring he lost at a club. In the execution, that quest gets transformed into something epic and surreal and queer in every sense of the word. He keeps bumping into random New Yorkers whose stories play out in a series of sketch-like vignettes. They are played by actors including Emma Stone, Bowen Yang, and Tilda Swinton.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The second half of Bridgerton's latest season just dropped on Netflix, and naturally the course of true love continues to not run smoothly. Colin Bridgerton (Luke Newton) and Penelope Featherington (Nicola Coughlan) may have finally declared their feelings for each other, but there's still a lot left to figure out. We previously talked about the first part of the third season in May, so today, we're diving in everything that happens in the conclusion.We want to hear your opinions about summer snacks. Are you Team Hot Dog or Team Hamburger? What's better: churro or a funnel cake? Click here to cast your votes. The results will be revealed at a virtual live event for Pop Culture Happy Hour+ supporters on Thursday, June 27th at 6 p.m. ET.Sign up for PCHH+ at plus.npr.org/happyhour to get access to the event.(Once you've signed up for PCHH+, make sure to set up your special feed, where you'll see a special bonus episode from May 31st with instructions on how to register for the live event. Email [email protected] for any extra assistance.)Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Whether they're lightly perspiring, gently glowing, or soaked through from sweltering, people in the movies sweat a lot. But what movie has had people sweat the very most? With summer underway, we are debating what is the sweatiest movie of all time — including Do the Right Thing, Dog Day Afternoon, Y tu mamá también, and Body Heat.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Pixar's Inside Out introduced us to the core emotions inside an 11-year-old girl named Riley. We met Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), and Anger (Lewis Black). In Inside Out 2, Riley is experiencing puberty and a whole new crop of emotions have popped up. Most notably Anxiety (Maya Hawke) who has literally bottled up Riley's original core emotions and sent them hurtling into the back of her mind, where they plot to get back and set things right.We want to hear your opinions about summer snacks. Are you Team Hot Dog or Team Hamburger? What's better: churro or a funnel cake? Click here to cast your votes. The results will be revealed at a virtual live event for Pop Culture Happy Hour+ supporters on Thursday, June 27th at 6 p.m. ET. Sign up for PCHH+ at plus.npr.org/happyhour to get access to the event.(Once you've signed up for PCHH+, make sure to set up your special feed, where you'll see a special bonus episode from May 31st with instructions on how to register for the live event. Email [email protected] for any extra assistance.)Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Presumed Innocent was a blockbuster legal thriller as a novel, and then a hit movie starring Harrison Ford. Now, Apple TV+ brings back the story of the accuser turned defendant as a limited series. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the lead this time, as a prosecutor who is accused of the murder of the colleague he'd had an affair with. David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies, The Practice, Ally McBeal) created the show.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy