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'Deadpool & Wolverine' is a feast of inside jokes

Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman in Marvel's Deadpool & Wolverine. Jay Maidment/20th Century Studios/Marvel hide caption

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Jay Maidment/20th Century Studios/Marvel

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Deadpool & Wolverine' is a feast of inside jokes

In the highly meta Deadpool & Wolverine, Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman finally meet up for their own big movie. Deadpool is still smarmy, Wolverine is still tragic, and they have to get together to save the world. Along the way, Deadpool continues his usual routine of endless wisecracking. The movie is jam-packed with fan service and Easter eggs. But how will casual Marvel fans like the movie?

'Deadpool & Wolverine' is a feast of inside jokes

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Jon M. Chu directs Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande on the set of Wicked.

Jon M. Chu directs Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande on the set of Wicked. Universal
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Movie Interviews

'Wicked' director Jon M. Chu says creativity isn't magic — it's hard work

Chu takes his inspiration from his dad, a Chinese immigrant who worked both the front room and the kitchen of their family-run restaurant: "The guy that in the back of the kitchen, that was my hero."

'Wicked' director Jon M. Chu says creativity isn't magic — it's hard work

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The Fall Guy features a film-within-a-film, which requires stuntman Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) to film while hanging from a crane.

Ryan Gosling plays a stuntman in the action movie The Fall Guy. Universal Studios hide caption

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Universal Studios

Movie Interviews

Stunt performer turned director walks away mostly unscathed from fights, flipped cars

Filmmaker David Leitch says it's easier to do stunts himself than direct his stunt performer friends. "You are responsible for their safety," he explains. "Your heart goes through your chest."

David Leitch

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Visitors watch Jesus VR: The Story of Christ during the 73rd Venice Film Festival in 2016.

Visitors watch Jesus VR: The Story of Christ during the 73rd Venice Film Festival in 2016. Andreas Rentz/Getty Images hide caption

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Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

This could be the way we watch movies in the future

Watching a movie is all about kicking back in a comfy chair with a bucket of popcorn and letting the story unfold. But that might change thanks to virtual reality.

IMPACT OF VR ON TV AND FILM

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'Twister,' 'Twisters' and the actual practice of storm chasing

Daisy Edgar-Jones stars as Kate in the new movie Twisters. Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures hide caption

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Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures

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'Twister,' 'Twisters' and the actual practice of storm chasing

A plucky meteorology heroine; a male rival with no shortage of hubris; and some very, very big storms: that's the basic formula behind the new disaster action movie Twisters, which follows storm chasers around Oklahoma amid a tornado outbreak.

'Twister,' 'Twisters' and the actual practice of storm chasing

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Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones play rival storm chasers in Twisters.

Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones play rival storm chasers in Twisters. Universal Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures & Amblin Entertainment/Universal Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures & Amblin Entertainment hide caption

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Universal Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures & Amblin Entertainment/Universal Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures & Amblin Entertainment

Review

Movie Reviews

'Twisters' swirls an old-fashioned rom-com into an effects-happy action movie

This follow-up to the 1996 blockbuster Twister updates the original by making its heroine — not its hero — the center of gravity, but alas, the script doesn’t let her be a whole lot of fun.

'Twisters' swirls an old-fashioned rom-com into an effects-happy action movie

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The rise of the AR-15; plus, why do comedians play so many cops?

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence reprise their roles in Bad Boys: Ride or Die - a return to their star-solidifying roles as Miami cops. Sony Pictures hide caption

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Sony Pictures

It's Been a Minute

The rise of the AR-15; plus, why do comedians play so many cops?

Last Saturday, former president Donald Trump was speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania when a gunman shot at him – killing one spectator and clipping Trump in the ear. The response? Outrage, condemnations, and prayers on all sides... but there's been less chatter about the gun that shot at him. And this gun has a lot of symbolism: The AR-15. Host Brittany Luse is joined by The Wall Street Journal's Zusha Elinson, co-author of the book American Gun, and Jennifer Mascia, senior news writer and founding staffer at The Trace, a nonpartisan nonprofit newsroom that covers guns. Together, they discuss how the AR-15 style rifle went from an outcast in the gun world to the one of the biggest pro-gun symbols and why that actually reflects bigger cultural shifts.

The rise of the AR-15; plus, why do comedians play so many cops?

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'Twisters' has us spiraling

Glen Powell in Twisters. Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal hide caption

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Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Twisters' has us spiraling

Twister was one of the biggest disaster movies of the '90s. Now, it's finally got a sequel — one with an all-new cast, state-of-the-art effects, and a whole lot of tornadoes. The new film stars Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones as rival storm-chasers who have a habit of running into tornadoes while everyone else is fleeing. Twisters was directed by Lee Isaac Chung, who also directed the Oscar-nominated Minari.

'Twisters' has us spiraling

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Longlegs

Lauren Acala plays a girl who encounters the satanic serial killer known as "Longlegs." Neon hide caption

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Neon

Review

Movie Reviews

'Longlegs' is a terrifying serial killer — who never touches his victims

Nicolas Cage plays a satanic murderer, and Maika Monroe is the clairvoyant FBI agent on his trail, in this tense and frightening horror movie.

'Longlegs' is a terrifying serial killer -- who never touches his victims

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'Longlegs' is a (satanic) panic

Maika Monroe in a scene from Longlegs. Neon hide caption

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Neon

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Longlegs' is a (satanic) panic

They're calling it the scariest movie of the year. The new horror film Longlegs follows FBI special agent Lee Harker (Mika Monroe) tracking a serial killer in the 1990s. If that sounds like familiar ground, consider this – the clues she follows hint at the involvement of the occult in general and Satanism in particular. And the killer in question: Nicolas Cage, uncaged.

'Longlegs' is a (satanic) panic

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'Fly Me to the Moon' soft launches Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum

Channing Tatum in Fly Me to the Moon. Apple TV+ hide caption

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Apple TV+

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Fly Me to the Moon' soft launches Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum

The cheeky new romantic dramedy Fly Me to the Moon stars Scarlett Johansson as a NASA publicist at the height of the space race. She must stage a top-secret fake version of the moon landing as backup, just in case the real attempt fails. No one else at NASA can know about it — especially the upstanding launch director, played by Channing Tatum. The pair clash (and flirt) as they prepare for Apollo 11 to launch.

'Fly Me to the Moon' soft launches Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum

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Actor Maika Monroe plays FBI agent Lee Harker in the new film Longlegs.

Actor Maika Monroe plays FBI agent Lee Harker in the new film Longlegs. NEON hide caption

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NEON

Movie Interviews

'Longlegs' draws from 'Silence of the Lambs,' but stands on its own terrifying feet

In the new Nicolas Cage horror film Longlegs, an FBI agent is assigned to an unsolved serial killer case that takes an unexpected turn, revealing evidence of the occult.

The plot of 'Longlegs' may sound familiar but it stands on its own 2 terrifying feet

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We recommend three great sports documentaries

Lance Armstrong celebrates during the Tour de France in 2004. He is the subject of the documentary The Armstrong Lie. Doug Pensinger/Getty Images hide caption

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Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

We recommend three great sports documentaries

Sports aren't just games. They're intertwined with epic stories about struggle, human behavior, historic greatness and grand emotions. In other words, sports make for great documentaries. And if you're looking for some good ones, we've got recommendations: Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks, The Armstrong Lie, and Athlete A.

We recommend three great sports documentaries

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Corky (Gina Gershon) and Violet (Jennifer Tilly) in Bound.

Corky (Gina Gershon) and Violet (Jennifer Tilly) in Bound. AJ Pics/Alamy Stock Photo hide caption

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AJ Pics/Alamy Stock Photo

Before Hollywood handled sex with care, this lesbian neo-noir focused on authenticity

Before making The Matrix, the Wachowskis enlisted a sex educator to help with their 1996 thriller. Bound's place in the queer canon has been redefined, and is now part of the Criterion Collection.

Years before intimacy coordinators on Hollywood sets, there was the 1996 film Bound

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'Despicable Me 4' serves up 90 minutes of bankable mayhem

Steve Carell voices Gru in Despicable Me 4. Universal Pictures hide caption

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Universal Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Despicable Me 4' serves up 90 minutes of bankable mayhem

Despicable Me 4 is the latest film in an animation franchise that made household names of reformed supervillain Gru (Steve Carrell) and his army of nattering Minions. The franchise has grossed billions of dollars, and the latest movie topped the weekend box office. But are these films growing up with their audience, or continuing to cater to young kids? And does that matter?

'Despicable Me 4' serves up 90 minutes of bankable mayhem

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Lupita Nyong’o as “Samira” in A Quiet Place: Day One from Paramount Pictures.

Samira (Lupita Nyong’o) and her cat Frodo try to avoid alien attack in A Quiet Place: Day One. Gareth Gatrell/Paramount Pictures hide caption

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Gareth Gatrell/Paramount Pictures

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Movie Reviews

This 'Quiet Place' prequel is a little too mum on backstory

In the Quiet Place films, blind aliens attack, hunting anyone who makes a sound. But the details of the premise are fuzzy, and this prequel neglects to give a clearer picture of the global invasion.

This 'Quiet Place' prequel is a little too mum on backstory

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