| |
| Newsletter continues after sponsor message |
|
| The MCU may be all over the map these days, but the DC Extended Universe is no slouch in the “Wait, what?” department either. It’s recently been taken over by Guardians of the Galaxy’s James Gunn, which suggests a move away from Snyderian gloom (yay!) but augurs a drift toward cynical glibness (resigned sigh). But I’m greatly encouraged by his stated fondness for Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, a recent comic by writer Tom King and artist Bilquis Evely now collected in trade paperback. It’s a vastly different take that relocates Superman’s cousin to a faraway planet and turns her into a fantasy/sci-fi version of True Grit’s Rooster Cogburn. A big swing, but it works.
I gave up on Elden Ring after a few months of dying, er, trying. I loved roaming the vast landscapes, but hated all the boss battles, with their rote memorization of attack patterns that only let you chip away at the bad guy’s health in depressingly wee increments before having to endlessly lather, rinse and repeat. It sent me scurrying back to the warm embrace of my old standby, the Assassin’s Creed series. I’d beaten Valhalla a month after it came out, but it was therapeutic to return to those familiar shores in such an overpowered capacity, making mincemeat out of anyone foolish to cross my path as I amassed all the gold, armor and weapons I didn’t have time to collect before. It was so satisfying to scour the map clean of all its previously overlooked glowing dots of treasure, like some kind of cartographical Viking Roomba. I’d skipped Valhalla’s precursor, Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, but I just downloaded it and have started to sail the wine-dark seas of Ancient Greece while flirting with hot locals. Heaven. Or, more precisely, Elysium.
Our pal Chloe Veltman had a terrific piece on Morning Edition about how performing arts groups are being forced to change how they work – and how they think.
Bill Nighy’s up for a best actor Oscar for Living, and he’s quite good in it, which made me remember some of his previous performances, big and small. One I’d forgotten about completely was his uncredited cameo at the end of the Doctor Who episode “Vincent and the Doctor,” in which he’s an art curator called to explain the legacy of Vincent Van Gogh to … an incredulous Van Gogh himself. That Who episode was one of the first things I’d talked about on the first episode of Pop Culture Happy Hour 13 years ago now. And while I maintain that the episode’s Monster of the Week (a giant invisible space-turkey) is hilarious, I’d forgotten how much gravitas Nighy brought to a tiny role, which made the ending of a mostly very silly episode land with the power it needed to.
|
|
Mia Goth and Alexander Skarsgård star in Infinity Pool/NEON |
|
On Monday, Stephen, Anastasia Tsioulcas and Kiana Fitzgerald broke down the Grammys.
And Stephen wrote up some Grammy takeaways.
On Tuesday, Linda, Aisha and I rhapsodized about Poker Face, which manages to be Peak Rian Johnson, Peak Natasha Lyonne, and, not coincidentally, Peak Us.
On Wednesday, Aisha and Jordan Crucchiola swam laps in Infinity Pool.
On Thursday, Stephen, Daisy Rosario and Ella Cerón wondered if 80 for Brady would leave audiences feeling … deflated.
On Friday, Stephen, Linda, Aisha and Christina Tucker asked Magic Mike’s Last Dance to hold them, to scold them, cause when they’re bad they’re so, so bad. |
|
| Every week on the show, we talk about some other things out in the world that have been giving us joy lately. Here they are: |
Stream your local NPR station. |
|
| Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| | | What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: pchh@npr.org |
|
|
|
| | Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. |
|
|
|
|
|
| | | You received this message because you're subscribed to Pop Culture Happy Hour emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002
Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy |  |
| |
|
|
|
| |
