MEMETERIA by Thomas May

Arts & Culture Stories from NPR

• 'The Crown' Gets A Fresh Polish
  The cast has changed, but the formula — i.e., heavy hangs the (figure)head that wears the crown — remains comfortingly intact.
• A Surfing Marriage Proposal
  Chris Garth brought his girlfriend back to the Waikiki beach where they first met. He asked her to marry him just as the two surfers were catching a wave. He lost the ring but had a backup.
• In A Rote, Rebooted 'Charlie's Angels,' Only Kristen Stewart Earns Her Wings
  Writer-director Elizabeth Banks' take on the franchise plays "like a campy, under-budgeted 'Mission: Impossible,' " that loses momentum whenever Stewart is off-screen.
• 'The Good Liar,' The Con Is A Pro — As Expected
  In Bill Condon's film set among London's septuagenarian set, Ian McKellan attempts to con Helen Mirren out of her fortune, but we're always one step ahead of the story.
• 'Ford v Ferrari' Will Get Your Heart Racing
  Matt Damon and Christian Bale star in the story of Ford's attempt to create a car that will best Ferrari at Le Mans in this "rollicking" "wildly entertaining" film.
• A Couple Faces The Painful End Of The Line In 'Marriage Story'
  Noah Baumbach draws on excellent performances from Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson in a drama about a wrenching divorce.
• 'The Report': A 7,000-Page Government Study, Brought To Vivid, Horrifying Life
  Both didactic and engrossing, director Scott Z. Burns' film about the investigation into post-9/11 CIA interrogation techniques stars Adam Driver as an idealistic Senate staffer.
• 'I Am Happy Because I Survived': Refugee Writer Is Free After Years In Detention
  Behrouz Boochani won Australia's richest literary prize earlier this year — but the asylum-seeker, detained offshore, couldn't accept in person. Now, he has made it to New Zealand with a message.
• In 'A Warning,' An Invisible Hand Rings A Somber Alarm
  President Trump, we are told in this soon-to-be-published book, has destroyed the guardrails thoughtful people tried to erect around him. Further, he has banished nearly all those thoughtful people.
• 'From Book To Script To Screen,' Reese Witherspoon Is Making Roles For Women
  Frustrated by the lack of leading roles for female actors, Witherspoon decided to start her own production company. Her new project, The Morning Show, takes on sexual harassment in the news industry.