Glen Weldon

As ever, the Summer Movie Season is dominated by sequels and special effects. But if you're prepared to look for them, you'll find some smaller, quirkier films flying beneath the radar.

Amazon's The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle is no lifeless retread — it captures the anarchic, slightly sardonic tone of the original, and delivers solid gags that stand on their own.

For the 10th year in a row, NPR's Glen Weldon reviews the 52 free comic books you'll be able to pick up in comics shops across the nation on Saturday, May 5th.

This post contains spoilery speculation (and term-coinage) about the ending of the record-breaking film, and what it means for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. You were warned.

The Avengers try to keep a space-tyrant from bedazzling his space-glove and performing cosmic genocide. The film doubles down on character interactions both familiar (good) and unfamiliar (less good).

This week, Action Comics becomes the first American comic book to reach #1000, though that numbering comes with an asterisk. More important: the return of Superman's red trunks — and yellow belt.

They're the major MacGuffins of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — but there's a lot of them, and you need a scorecard to keep track of which does what. We're here for you.

To talk about the PBS institution that celebrates used crap and how much it may or may not be worth, we're joined by the host of NPR's Bullseye — and lifelong used-crap devotee — Jesse Thorn.

Netflix's remake of the campy 1960s series is everything that show was not: dark, suspenseful, with great-looking special effects. It gets a bit repetitive, but it's worth sticking with.

Showrunner Noah Hawley's defiantly trippy and visually stunning not-quite-a-superhero series returns to FX for a second season. Critic Glen Weldon says there's real substance beneath all that style.

We review, with as few spoilers as possible, the beginning of the end of FX's starkly intimate series about: 1. Spycraft, 2. Marriage, 3. The 1980s and 4. Wigs.

Spielberg returns to his cinema-as-thrill-ride roots in this adaptation of Ernest Cline's YA novel. The nostalgia gets a bit overwhelming — and, frankly, sad — but the visuals are compelling.

Judd Apatow directs a documentary about the life, comedy and spirituality of his late friend and mentor. The two-night HBO event is built around excerpts from the comedian's revealing diaries.

Guillermo Del Toro isn't in the directing chair for this return to the world he built in 2013's Pacific Rim, but that film's most gleefully goofy qualities remain.

Love, Simon is only the latest in a surprisingly long line of films that have explored what it's like to come out in high school. Here's some of the smaller, quirkier films that paved the way.

Come for the rom-com elements, familiar and dutiful though they are. Stay for the film's sensitive, specific and closely observed coming-out storyline, which feels new — and important.

The website The Awl and its sister site The Hairpin are shutting down. The two sites always valued lively, thoughtful writing — even as the media landscape shifted around them.

NPR's Kelly McEvers and Pop Culture Happy Hour's Linda Holmes and Glen Weldon sit down to talk about this era of TV and movies, many of which are catering to Gen X nostalgia — from Stranger Things to the latest Star Wars film.

The the new show from Amazon takes place in late 1950s New York. Midge Maisel's life falls apart and she has to figure out what she's good at. So she goes from housewife to stand-up comic.

Amazon Studios is bringing an ongoing Lord of the Rings prequel series to television. The deal includes an option for "a potential additional spin-off series." Tom Bombadil, call your agent.