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We check out a lot of things in a given year. Lots of movies, TV shows, and music. It's safe to say we keep busy. And at the end of the year, we get together to talk about some of the things we enjoyed the most wherever we found them. I'm Linda Holmes, and today on NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour, we're talking about our favorite things from 2024. Joining me today are my co-hosts, Stephen Thompson. Hey, Stephen. Hey, buddy. Ayesha Harris. Hey, Ayesha.
You all are some of my favorite things, just so you know. Oh, wonderful. I'm back at you, bud. And Glenn Weldon, you want to tell us the same thing, how much you love us? I'm telling you with my eyes. That's true. He is. I can see it. I can absolutely see it. And, you know, I feel the same way, obviously. We've had the opportunity to discuss many things this year, I feel like. This brought back some memories of some of the shows we've done.
of the amazing things that we've managed to talk about amongst ourselves and with our panelists. Preparing for this always puts me in that mindset of how did that come out in 2024? Argyle was this year. Oh God, it was. Okay. We should mention before we get started, some of the things we're going to recommend today are produced by Amazon. So we wanted to note that Amazon, as you may have heard, supports NPR and pays to distribute some of our content.
We are not, however, starting with something from Amazon. We are starting, perhaps inevitably, with Brat. Given that this is Stephen's pick, I want to point out that it's Brat and not a brat. There we go. See, I saw what you did. You know, bratwurst is often one of my 12 favorite things in any given year, no matter how long it's been since I've left the great state of Wisconsin. Yeah, I wanted to talk about Charlie XCX's brat, which is clearly one of the pop cultural stories.
of the year, but I'm also going to drill down to a specific moment that made me extraordinarily happy and that really felt substantial. For those who are somehow not familiar with Brat or Brat Summer or... brat green or brats or bratwurst charlie xcx a fantastic really innovative electropop star she reached this real culmination of her popularity in 2024 with this collection
of songs that are kind of celebrations of being messy combined with these hyper-pop arrangements that are extremely loud and almost abrasively catchy but also just
Really pleasurable to listen to, whether you're at a party or on the beach or in the car. All the ways that we enjoyed summer, you could enjoy Brat. But I wanted to talk about a specific song on Brat called Girl So Confusing. The lyrics to the song... are about charlie xcx's relationship with another pop star and that pop star in the original release of girl so confusing was unnamed and immediately charlie xcx fans who were digesting brat were
speculating who is that pop star. And a lot of people figured out pretty quickly that she was talking about Lorde. So the song, there's a lot of stuff in there about like, I can't tell if you're my friend. I want to hang out and then you cancel.
It's kind of about one of these relationships where you're constantly trying to figure out what the status of the relationship is, but the only difference is that it's the relationship between these two pop stars. And just a little while later, Charlie XCX drops a... remix of girl so confusing and it's called girl so confusing featuring lord let's hear a little bit of it
And it completely reinvents the song. Unlike so many songs about conflict, and there were many of those in 2024, this was a big year for pop star grievances. It was so refreshing. to hear this song recast in such a deeply empathetic light. to kind of reassess this relationship by communicating and bringing in this other person's perspective. It was so, I think, useful for a lot of people just to be reminded that you're walking through the world carrying grievances about other people.
all do, but every single person out there is living their own life and has this incredibly complex inner life that we can't know about. This song managed to retain everything that was cool and mysterious and appealing about it, while also suddenly becoming much deeper. And that was a process that played out with...
at all year long. She released these dynamite remixes, brought in different guests, allowed these songs to morph into new and different things. And it was just one of my favorite pop cultural stories of 2024, a record I loved that kept evolving. whole thing.
I mean, look, girl so confusing, girl so relatable. And the fact that this album is both a banger but also super personal, it's so hard to walk that line. And a lot of pop stars can either make super... personal music that doesn't necessarily like you don't want to dance to it or you make like the most fluffiest thing ever. And it's a great confection. And finding that balance, I think, has really made this such a great year for Charlie. And I love this song. I love this album.
It's the year of brat. That's just what it is. And I'm glad you chose us. Thank you. She had a good year. All right. Thank you, Stephen. That is Charlie XCX's remix of Girl So Confusing featuring Lorde. Aisha, your first pick is also one of the biggest pop music. And we should warn people, it contains some, I will say, very vulgar language.
Yes. What did you pick? Okay, this pick made me want to go and look up and see if there's evidence of Dolly Parton ever having dropped a curse word. And she has... here and there but when she does it's very rare and I for one haven't found evidence of her dropping the f-bomb but if she did I'd imagine it would sound like this Sounds like clouds of angels. A million.
tiny angels it just needed a children's chorus look this is of course sabrina carpenter on the number one hot 100 billboard hit please please please from her album short and sweet I have been obsessed with Sabrina Carpenter not having known who she was a year ago. But this line on please, please, please, and the way that Sabrina Carpenter says...
Motherfucker. It's just lodged in my brain. What I love about the way she says this is that this line sort of just encapsulates... how unique she is as a pop star of her caliber and who has reached these heights because her entire short and sweet album is just like double entendre, very snarky, just like so much of Sabrina Carpenter's work.
is very relatable. And that she's talking about men and boyfriends, but in a way that's like, please, please, please, don't embarrass me. Like, I know you're going to, but don't do this. Like, it's so specific.
And yet so many people have dealt with that. You go out with your significant other and you're like, why'd you have to say that? Or just like you shrivel up and you're like, oh, this is embarrassing. Or you've been that person who's just been the one who's embarrassing. Much more the case for me.
So what I love about it, specifically this line, is the way she delivers it. She is given the side eye. She's like, don't, don't, don't, don't do this. And if you watch the video, the music video stars her. Now then boyfriend. They have recently broken up, according to a source who shared the info with People magazine. But it stars her then boyfriend, the movie star Barry Keoghan. If you've seen him in anything, whether it's Sopburn. You know, he's just like...
The ultimate, you can tell he's going to be a problem person. Like he has that look. He's just a swaggering guy who's, you know, he's very hot, but he's going to be a problem. And the music video uses that. its advantage and when you see her say this line, please don't embarrass me. It just works so well. So for me, this is just a standout moment that also says, you know, we can be fun, we can be specific, and we can be very...
just expressive in the way we deliver our lines. And I love that Sabrina Carpenter is one of those pop stars this year who has really honed in on like, we're going to act like I'm actually acting out these words. I'm not just saying these words. She really speaks to the... advantages of the disney channel slash nickelodeon those kind of entertainment
machines or factories that start kids out really young, put them as actors on TV shows as Sabrina Carpenter was, as Olivia Rodrigo was, as Miley Cyrus was. Ariana Grande. Ariana Grande. Our pop stars nowadays are trained for this from childhood, and obviously that has disadvantages, but it...
One of the advantages that it gives somebody like a Sabrina Carpenter and a lot of the people I just named is they're very funny. She has comic timing and it comes through in her phrasing, especially in this. basically perfect song. Yes. All right. So that is Sabrina Carpenter's Please, Please, Please. We are going to take a very quick break. And when we come back, we're going to have a bunch more picks. So don't go away.
From the online trends that dominated 2024. On the spectrum of brat to demure. Where are you right now? To spicy TikTok viral reads. These romance fantasy books about dragons. NPR kept you up to speed on pop culture. Hi, I'm Laurel Wamsley, and I cover personal finance for NPR. That means I report on some of the questions that might keep you or your loved ones up at night. Like will I ever be able to buy a home? What about retirement? As interest rates drop, where should I put my money?
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Welcome back. We are going to get right into our next pick. Specifically, I'm going to get into my first pick. You know, we talk sometimes on this show about we appreciate smaller movies. We appreciate offbeat movies. I was thinking about the fact that I also want better. big movies. And that is one of the reasons why I was a big fan of The Fall Guy, starring Ryan Gosling, directed by David Leitch, who used to be a stuntman himself. Emily Blunt is also in it. And it's kind of an action.
rom-com, which is something that I always really love. It is technically speaking based on the 80s tv series with lee majors but only in the sense that like he's a stunt man who does cool stuff and that's about it really it's about this guy who has suffered an injury so he's been kind of out of the game his girlfriend who he was dating when she
was a camera operator on a movie that he did previously. They got together, but then he got injured. He kind of faded away from her. She is now directing a blockbuster movie, and he comes in as one of the stunt guys. Really, the reason why I love this movie is just that it is so funny and good-hearted. And the action sequences are so much fun. I just watched this movie with a... Big, goofy grin on my face the entire time. There are a couple of sequences that I just think are so...
Just like weird and funny and fun. There's also a great little kind of meta joke about split screen conversations where, of course, Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt are having a split screen conversation. So split screen. Right, do you think that it's like nostalgic super cool or do you think it's a gimmick? I think it could be super cool. She's sitting there sort of thoughtfully with her chin in her hand, as you would in any romantic comedy, except that she has a big, like, rubber creature.
And it's just the kind of completely unnecessary but really delightful touch that I love. This is the kind of movie that I could watch 10 of them a year, and I just loved it. I really, really loved it. And it's made with such... deep affection it's made with affection for the craft of stunt work it's made with affection for its own characters this feels like an action movie that also like feels
A lot of stunt work in this movie. Yeah, so it's great to see that throwback because it does make it feel more like... tactile in that way. So that is The Fall Guy. It is streaming now. You can find it on Peacock. All right, Glenn, you also chose a movie. What did you pick? Yeah, I'm going to be living up to my reputation as the Captain Bringdown of Top Culture Happy Hour.
We got kind of a whiplash here, going from a fun, light, breezy crowd pleaser to a film that is dark and disturbing, but I loved. And that is I Saw the TV Glow, which is a film by Jane Schoenbrunn. I'm talking about the final scene here, which I think.
so that means I've got to spoil the movie, so be warned. In this film, Justice Smith plays this kid who comes to realize that they don't belong where they are, they're trapped in this false reality, and they don't belong in the body that they are in. So it is a very queer film, it is a trans... allegory very specifically. And over the course of this movie, they are given the ability to escape, to, you know, realize their true self and self-actualize.
But the thing that I love about this movie is that we soon come to realize that they're the hero that refuses the call, that never crosses the threshold, that they just stay in their sad little village. In the last scene, they have this moment of realization and defiance. They're in this sad little party room at this fun center arcade that they work at, and they have this moment.
What happens in that moment is that everything around them freezes. But what's actually happened is that that moment of truth has shattered the fake reality around them. They're a glitch in the matrix, right? Because that's what a moment of truth like that does. It has the power to let you break free. Because this is a movie about human beings, of course, what happens most of the time is that when we come to a moment like that...
We could address it, but most of the time we just push it down. And that's exactly what happens to the Justice Smith character. They push it down and the world starts up again around them. And the film ends in a really harrowing way with them just going around this sad little fun center. Apologizing to everyone. You're watching a person apologizing for who they are. For merely existing. That is harrowing, but what keeps this film from being so depressing that you just want to lie on the floor.
is that throughout the film, somebody has been planting messages, clues for this character to find. This chalk message on the street of this... suburban cul-de-sac that just says there's still time. We're not watching the hero who will never take the journey. We're just watching the hero in the throes of refusing the call. There is still time. One day they will make this journey. One day they will find themselves.
such a perfect moment. If it had a perfect little moment of uplift there at the end, it would feel completely false to the film that preceded it. It would feel wrong. I mean, I was on the episode where we covered this film and I was the critic who was like, I don't know how I feel about this, but I will say those last like 10 minutes of that film were to me.
some of the best of this entire year yeah it's a moment that like you can't burn out of your brain in the best way possible and the hope that it is offering feels timely because it's not this kind of hope that descends from on high. It's not something that gets bestowed upon you. The film is telling you, if you want this, you got to work for it. You have to take the journey. You got to cross the damn threshold. The real world is waiting for you.
But you got to make the effort. And that's why this movie just left me feeling inspired. Yeah. Awesome. Thank you very much, Glenn Weldon. That is the harrowing final scene of I Saw the TV Glow. Stephen Thompson, what is your second pick? Well, I'm going to go with one of my favorite movies of 2024, Challengers. A fantastic sports movie, weird love triangle, a story that...
kept me guessing, and yet still gave me a lot of the excitement that I've experienced when I watch sports. It manages to check so many boxes, and I wanted to talk specifically about the way Luca Guadagnino directs this film. And I'm going to use a phrase that Linda Holmes used when we talked about challengers on this show back in the spring. I was trying to get at the heart of one of the things that I really appreciated about this film.
talking about the way the different characters in this film are shot, specifically the love triangle among these characters played by Mike Feist, Josh O'Connor, and Zendaya. And this film has this lusty way of... And Linda, you used the phrase pansexually shot to describe this film. I remember on the show using like 600 words and you came in there with two that summed up exactly what I was trying to say.
say there are many shots in this film of the tennis balls perspective and it's one of the things that people remember from the film one of the other things that stand out most about the way this film is shot is the number of shots there are of thighs dripping with sweat just rippling thigh muscles and i'm not purely speaking about this from kind of a lustiness standpoint so much as this film loves looking at everybody's thighs and the way they are
And it's part of what gives this film the tension. It gives you a rush. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross gives you a rush. The tennis... action is shot in a way that is viscerally exciting. The way these relationships in this film are constantly putting you on edge and trying to figure out where these people are coming from and where they might be going next. Even just the results of the big match at the end, you're left guessing until the final second of the film. I so appreciated...
Everything this film was trying to do. I think Zendaya, this is probably Zendaya's best performance. I think she is magnificent in this film. I dug this movie from start to finish, really was kind of edge of the seat. And I still...
just have individual images from this film kind of stuck in my head. Yeah, I came to this film late after the culture had kind of churned it up and spat it back out. So I was thinking, this can't possibly live up to everything I've heard about it and the memes and everything. It did. It totally did. I was a big fan of this movie too and all of its extraordinarily sexy shooting. That is true. All right. So that is Challengers. It is streaming on Prime Video.
We like this one, too. Also streaming on Prime Video, this is the show Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which I... Absolutely loved starring Donald Glover and Maya Erskine. It is essentially an adaptation of the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie movie, which I think is mostly remembered as a chapter in the story of Brad Pitt.
Angelina Jolie more than as an actual movie. But all that remains is the idea of these married spies. In this case, they are strangers who are brought together to go undercover as a couple and act as spies and do various missions and things. like that and they are kind of forced to live together it's kind of in many ways a classic romance trope but they play it in a way that is so cool i love how cool this show is it's cool like
cat burglar movies in the 60s were cool. It's like that. It's gloriously art directed and it's really beautifully acted. So this is a scene in the first episode. where they have been brought together into this house, and they are getting to know each other, and they're not sharing a room, and he comes into her room to say goodnight, and he, for whatever reason... and doesn't have a shirt on, and this conversation ensues. I was warm downstairs. That's why I had no shirt. It's colder, period.
The heat rises. You probably turned the air on. I didn't. But it was warm. I was working. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Okay. Bye. So awkward. And the thing is, like the way that that all starts is he comes in and she says, you lost your shirt. And so by the time they're having that conversation, like he's now justifying why he doesn't have a shirt on. And you know that he doesn't have a shirt on because he looks really good without a shirt and they kind of like each other.
But like, he doesn't want to say I came in here without a shirt on to impress you. And it's a really, really fun thing. This series also unfolds with a lot of wonderful guest stars. I recommend this show so much. I was so pleased to have it sort of do well. get a lot of kind of good notices. I really admire both of these actors and the work that they do in it, but also it's just so good looking. It's just delicious. It's delicious. I loved this show. Probably will be.
watching it again very soon. So that is Mr. and Mrs. Smith, which you can find on Prime Video. Aisha, we're going to go to your next pick. I haven't seen this one. Tell me about this one. Well, this is for me at least one of the most bewildering and also moving things I've witnessed this year on TV or movies in general.
It's Gerard Carmichael reality show. It's streaming on Max. And look, if you're familiar with Gerard Carmichael, you remember him. I think his breakout was, of course, Rathaniel, which was a stand-up special where he wasn't standing up. sitting down and it was more like a therapy session than it was actually comedy, but it had humorous moments. But that was where he came out publicly for the first time as gay. And he also really dug deep into his family and the fact that his father had...
an entire other family that he didn't know about for years growing up and siblings that he didn't know about. Gerard Carmichael reality show picks up. So basically this is like a full-length documentary series that shows him navigating his life after Rathaniel. This show is him trying to repair his relationship with his parents and other things, but like that's kind of one of the central things.
And this was such a weird rollercoaster of a ride because with Nathaniel, he had so much goodwill because it was just him on stage. you know, pouring his heart out in a very therapeutic way. And here now he decides, I'm going to bring my family into this on camera. Whether they want to or not. Yeah, exactly. And he's a lot more confrontational now. He's a lot more prickly. What I loved about seeing this, even though.
A lot of the times I was cringing and felt, should we be seeing this? Why are you doing this in front of a camera? But I also think there's something important to be said about seeing someone confront their family members in ways. And one of those moments really comes out very clearly when he takes a road trip with his dad, Joe, and he starts pelting him with questions about why he did what he did, having a secret.
affair and having an entire different family, whether or not he felt any remorse. And then they have this exchange like in front of a campfire. It's not then. Stop saying it. It's also now. I thought this trip was going to be about you and I and bonding. Let's stop talking about my past and move on forward. That is...
Almost always the response when people are confronted with their wrongdoings or with anything they might have done that might have hurt someone else. Seeing someone at least be confronted with it. on screen in real time there's just something so magnetic about it empowering and
For all of like the uncomfortableness. And again, I don't think any therapist would recommend that you do all this in front of cameras to be shown on, you know, prestige TV. I still think there is value in seeing this. And I hope. that it might help others who might be in similar situations feel comfortable enough to have those conversations with their family. I think that's why I was so drawn to this. And I think...
More people should watch it, even though it is very uncomfortable to watch over the course of several episodes. I'm still thinking about it, you know, all these months later. And it's just really, really powerful. I'm so glad you picked this because I was almost gonna. because this is a stage of a lot of people's coming out process where once the relief is done and you're out to everyone,
And you start to remember every slight that has happened to you over the course of your life. And you start to roll up your sleeves and you go, well, let's talk. And inevitably, as you say, people will say, well, why are we talking about not my mistakes? Why are we talking about the past? They will say. You always think.
This is another stage of the coming out process where you think there's going to be accountability. There's not accountability. So you have to kind of make your own piece with it. And the way he's doing it in this house of mirrors where there's just layers and layers and layers of like him. cheating on his
boyfriend and then having people film him cheating on his boyfriend. And you realize that every conversation everybody's having is miked, right? So they had to strap into a mic pack before they had this heart to heart. These were choices, conscious choices made. There's craft service. tables there's a craft services table just off screen yeah it's a fascinating often frustrating but always fascinating
show. Yeah. All right. That is Gerard Carmichael reality show streaming on Max. Thank you very much, Aisha. So if that is about reckoning with your past, we are going to flip over to Stephen, who brought a pick about reckoning with your future, possibly. Tell me about this one, Thompson. Well, I haven't seen...
You know, I certainly haven't seen every movie that came out in 2024. I haven't even seen all the awards contenders that are coming out in 2024. But my favorite movie of the year so far, an absolutely exquisite film called My Old Ass. And this film, which is like 90 minutes long, written and directed by Megan Park, who is very much somebody I will be watching going forward. It stars Maisie Stella as an 18-year-old who...
takes mushrooms with her friends, and she's out in the woods, and she encounters herself, but in her late 30s, played by Aubrey Plaza, and is understandably skeptical, and they have this conversation. Your teeth. Those aren't my teeth. What about my teeth? What? There's a gap in your teeth. I don't have a gap in my teeth. Yeah, dude, wear your retainer. And your hair. It's so dry and it's dark. Take it easy. You have bangs. Yes.
I love this scene so, so much. One, because it feels real. But what I love so much about the line, where your retainer. First of all, it's just. It's exactly what an older version of yourself would say to you. It's what an older sibling would say to you. You know, just as I would tell the younger version of myself to wear earplugs at concerts, this is a good piece of advice. But you know what else this particular moment does?
speaks to what I love the most about this film, which is its economy. They could have easily spent 40 minutes of runtime coming up with lore for how she encounters her older self. Oh, there's this portal and every time there's a full moon, this happens.
It doesn't need any of that. It just happens. You didn't have to explain it. I just love this film. Wear your retainer. Wear your retainer. And also wear your retainer. Absolutely. Thank you very much, Stephen Thompson. That is my old ass currently. streaming on Prime Video. I'm sure you can find it. Glenn, we are going to you next. Tell me about this. Okay, I'm talking about the film Problemista, but more specifically, I'm talking about The Light.
on Tilda Swinton's iPhone in the film Problemista. Problemista is a film written and directed by Julio Torres. It's about a young man played by Torres who becomes the assistant to an art critic played by Swinton. Swinton's character in this is a mess. She's a monster. of a very specific East Coast art world type. And this film is about, you know, two generations of people together. It is told from the point of view of Torres' generation, but in several scenes.
We just notice that the light on Swinton's iPhone is on and it stays on. And the important thing, the reason I'm talking about it here at the end of the year is that no one ever. comments on it once. It's just there. It is just a tiny character beat that is treated as part of the scenery, as like part of the production design, right? And, you know, she's become attached to this one specific...
kind of software. In her case, FileMaker Pro, she says. And so that's it. These are small observations. These are not broad. overplayed cliches. There's nothing hack about these observations. They're actually new. And that's why this film and that moment and that light on Tilda Swinton's iPhone is so great. All right. Thank you very much, Glenn Weldon. That was The Light. on Tilda Swinton's iPhone in Problemista.
Well, I am delighted that Netflix decided to do a fresh adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith novel The Talented Mr. Ripley. As you may know, if you have seen the film adaptation, you have seen Matt Damon. As Tom Ripley. And by the way, this movie is over 20 years old, but we love you. So we're going to warn you. We are going to talk about what happens to Tom Ripley and the people who are foolish enough to be his friends.
casts Andrew Scott, who is older and very different as Tom Ripley, a more sort of experienced con artist version of Tom as opposed to the kind of sweet, young, doomed. sociopath, Tom. As you will know if you have seen the movie or read the book, Tom Ripley ends up eventually murdering his friend Dickie. And the scene that I want to talk about...
that is the focus of my love for this Netflix series adaptation, is the one where Tom and Dickie go out on the boat and they have this little conversation. You're taking this better than I thought you would. Why wouldn't I? I don't know. Maybe because all I've offered you is my friendship and respect and ask for nothing in return? That's the issue. What else would it be? Do you want me to say it?
Yeah, Dickie doesn't know that he's doomed, but we all know he's quite doomed. And shortly thereafter, Tom kills Dickie, as he must, in the boat. What follows is an 18-minute sequence approximately with no dialogue. It is just Andrew Scott trying to figure out what to do with the body and the boat.
It seems like, you know, it could be very easy, attach something to the body, throw it out over into the water, and, you know, you're all done. It gets very complicated trying to get rid of this body. There is a sequence that I think is Bugs Bunny-like. where the boat kind of gets away because he has in a very kind of slapsticky moment ended up falling out of the boat and then the boat is running with nobody in it.
It's so funny and I kept giggling and it's so terrible. This is also to me one of the most haunting performances of the year from Andrew Scott. It's always so great. And yet.
It's also so funny. And this episode, when I watched this episode, I said, that's going to be one of my very favorite episodes of anything that I see this year. I thought that the minute that I watched it, I loved it. One of my favorite shows of the year. This is so... gorgeously filmed in black and white it is so cold and and his eyes oh my god his eyes in this just look like
Like shark's eyes. Little black marbles. Beady. Little black marbles. Beady as hell. It's just such a great testament to the power of adaptation. It won me over very, very quickly. So that is Ripley. It is streaming on Netflix. Glenn, you are also going to... to talk about a performer that I really loved this year. Speaking of people who don't always need dialogue to do the things that they do, talk to me about this pick.
Yeah, but when she gets it, she knocks it out of the park. This is the great Catherine Hunter. She's having a moment this year. She's been around for a long time as a theater actor and director. She's getting more and more screen work now. I first noticed her in Joel Cohen's The Tragedy of Macbeth, where she played the witches.
as kind of a contortionist. She also played Cyril's mother in Andor. She was hilarious in that. She was the brothel keeper in Poor Things. This year she had a couple where she just nailed it. First she played the... tiny, creepy, racist mom, Solange, in the front room. That must be my Norman's Belinda. It's lovely to meet you, Solange. I didn't say you were expecting. And the pastor says the days of miracles have come and go. No, so long. Oh, snap.
You know, if you listen to this show, you know that Jordan Cruciola and I talked about how much we loved this movie and how unexpected it was for both of us. It is your basic, like, Brandi Norwood is this pregnant woman. woman who moves in with her mother-in-law and her kind of useless husband and she ends up having to kind of defend herself I think Brandi Norwood's quite good in it but the reason to see this is this absolutely
Off the charts, crazy, good Catherine Hunter performance. It's everything. It's the physicality. It's the way she talks. It's the face. The voice. Again, it's Bugs Bunny level. kind of slapstick, but also she's scary. Oh my gosh. Anyway, talk about the rest of it, Glenn. She also plays a small-time London mob boss named Lenny in the Netflix series Black Dubs, which we just talked about on the show earlier in the week.
It's not a big role. She just doesn't do much than sit in various restaurant booths in a tracksuit. and be intimidating. That's all she needs to do, but she nails it. Because you didn't deal with him when I asked you, and now he's a problem. He's a problem for everyone, and everyone knows that I'm the prick who sent the prick to kill the prick, and you didn't.
She has quickly become an actor that you just seek out because that voice, that physicality, that whole approach are unlike anyone else. This is idiosyncratic. This is only... hurt. She never just punches in and punches out. She leaves her mark. She changes the thing around her and makes it better. It is hunter season. Absolutely. Thank you very much, Glenn, for all of this. Aisha, you are bringing us home with your final pick.
Oh, my goodness. Tell us all about it. All right. Well, this is a very specific scene in the movie Evil Does Not Exist. This was written and directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi, whose last film was Drive My Car. Love that film. This is also a really great film, although the ending is very confounding. Months later, I still have no idea what happened. In Evil Does Not Exist, there are multiple storylines. It's set in a small Japanese mountain town, and all these storylines kind of converge.
including one about a widower who's living with his daughter. But the central plot sort of revolves around this big developer who plans to turn the village into a glamping site to attract tourists. And of course, the villagers are all wary of this proposal. Around 35 minutes into the movie. Hamaguchi drops us in on a community meeting that's being led by the company's talent agent representatives. Multiple residents are expressing their concerns about the site.
There's tension, but it's like a very matter-of-fact tension. I kind of liken it to watching C-SPAN, except it manages to be the most riveting thing you could watch. It just draws you in. And what I loved about this scene... is the way that it... really proves that sometimes the least flashy and the simplest scenes can still hold so much drama. As soon as I saw that scene and when I realized how long it was going on, but it didn't feel like it was going on for long.
I was just like, oh, this is one of the best crafted scenes of the year. Like it does it so well. It places the villagers into context. And the movie overall is like a really fascinating study. of the most basic thing that affects us all, which is like real estate. A small change can change the climate. It changes the inhabitants in different ways, but ways that can have huge consequences. And I just really, really loved it. So that is Evil Does Not Exist. It's streaming on the...
Criterion channel, but also available on VOD. Y'all, we did it. It's another year. We did it. So much weird stuff. So much good stuff. So much crowd-pleasing stuff. Yeah. So much I haven't gotten to. Stuff I haven't gotten to, which is my most.
exciting part yeah absolutely i think it's a good mix which is what we always go for some stuff you probably know about and maybe some stuff that you didn't know about and uh in the case of katherine hunter in the front room something that maybe you don't know about and
you should know about and you might regret knowing about, but that's okay because it's in the fun way. All right. Well, we want to know about your favorite things from the year. Find us at facebook.com slash PCHH. That brings us to the end of our show. Stephen Thompson, Glenn.
Weldon, Aisha Harris. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you. This episode was produced by Mike Katziff and edited by Jessica Reedy. Hello, Come In provides our theme music. Thank you for listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR. I'm Linda Holmes and we'll see you all tomorrow.
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