Pop Culture Happy Hour

Digger is a loud, surprising, audacious, and sure-to-be-polarizing entry in this year’s Oscars race. The film stars Tom Cruise as a powerful oil baron who’s helped unleash an existential threat on the world — but that’s only the beginning. The looming devastation attracts the attention of the president (John Goodman) and a well-intentioned scientist (Riz Ahmed). The film takes some pretty big narrative swings along the way. But will Digger work for everyone?

Want more Tom Cruise? Check out these episodes:
In 'Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning,' Tom Cruise is too controlled

'Top Gun: Maverick' puts Tom Cruise back in the cockpit, 36 years later

'Mission: Impossible' is back, but will you accept it, or will it self-destruct?

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The TV series A Different World has loomed large in the culture since ending in the ‘90s, and now school is back in session in a new sequel series on Netflix. The show welcomes a new generation of students to the fictional HBCU Hillman College, and brings back notable alumni like Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy) and Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison). And while the world is a lot different than it was 30-plus years ago, in a lot of ways, it’s also kind of the same.

If you’re looking for more nostalgia, Check out these episodes:
‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ is a comfy nostalgia trip

‘Practical Magic 2’ wants to cast a spell of '90s nostalgia

How you feel about 'Bel-Air' may depend upon how you feel about CW dramas

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Forgotten Island is a wonderful new animated feature from the team that brought you Kung Fu Panda 2 and Puss In Boots: The Last Wish. We’re introduced to childhood friends Jo (H.E.R.) and Raissa (Liza Soberano). One is a free spirit, the other an aspiring scientist, and they’re both getting ready to go their separate ways. But during their last night together, they’re transported to a magical island. The film is full of mythological creatures and fantastical settings, but it’s also rooted in friendship and memory.

If you’re looking for more animated epics, check out these episodes:
Nature needs a little help in the inventive Pixar movie ‘Hoppers’
'The Wild Robot' is grand and gorgeous, with big feelings
'The Super Mario Galaxy Movie' remembers every Nintendo moment ever

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The Love Hypothesis brings the beloved trope of fake dating to the world of science and academia – but does it bring a fresh take to the bestselling book by Ali Hazelwood? The new Prime Video movie follows Stanford graduate student Olive (Lili Reinhart). Her best friend Anh (Rachel Marsh) is holding back from pursuing a guy because she thinks Olive is interested in him. Olive wants Anh to follow her heart, so she lands in a fake-dating situation with a notoriously harsh post-doc Adam (Tom Bateman), who for reasons of his own agrees to be her pretend boyfriend. 

If you’re looking for more romantic comedies, check out these episodes:
Olivia Wilde is a problematic dom in 'I Want Your Sex'
‘Office Romance’ stars J.Lo as a CEO with a bad case of Brett Goldstein
‘You, Me & Tuscany' has got us lost in the pasta sauce

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The new docudrama Primetime is a weird and highly fictionalized account of the meteoric rise of To Catch a Predator. Robert Pattinson plays host Chris Hansen, who is struggling to get bigger ratings. Hansen and his team work with local law enforcement to drag the accused sexual abusers of minors before the camera and arrest them. But does director Lance Oppenheim’s highly stylized approach work, or leave viewers feeling empty? 

If you’re looking for more dramas loosely inspired by real people, check out:
‘Tony’ is a biopic that cooks
In 'Marty Supreme,' Timothée Chalamet is good at being supremely annoying
‘Blue Moon’ will bewitch, bother and bewilder you

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Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

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