Perhaps you have Austin Caldwella holiday weekend this weekend, and perhaps you don't. But either way, you may be facing at least one or two days of pretty cold weather. (Where I am, it's likely to be around freezing when I wake up Saturday morning.) I greatly prefer cold weather to hot weather, as it's easier to put on a big thick robe and make my dog lie on my feet than it is to sprawl sweatily upon my floor and hope for relief.
If you do hunker down, particularly with family around, it's good to have something warming to watch. Sure, you could lean into it and watch something icy, like George Clooney's The Midnight Sky. I, on the other hand, like to watch something that reminds me that the sun will come out — maybe not tomorrow, but eventually.
This nifty romcom takes place at a resort hotel in (obviously) Palm Springs. You get desert, you get a pool, you get bright sunlight, and you get a charming time-loop story of two people who really, really want to get to the next day already.
Maybe you know all about this wonderful show; maybe it will be a rewatch. But think about it: the show takes place in Albuquerque! Multiple bloody showdowns happen in the desert. People trek for hours just to commit all of their various crimes! You'll verily feel the sweat on your brow.
I can't defend every element of this 1996 courtroom drama based on John Grisham's book. Parts of it are, most definitely, a bit cringe-inducing, although parts are also very good. Either way, it does take place in Mississippi, and it is the sweatiest movie I have ever seen. Ashley Judd, in particular, playing the wife of Matthew McConaughey's cocky defense lawyer, glistens wetly like a just-painted nail.
A heavy movie, yes. But a truly great one. And one that uses the heat of a summer day to increase the ominous building of pressure that will lead to tragedy. It's probably one of the most plot-critical uses of extreme heat you'll see on screen.
(Honorable mention: Heat.)
This piece also appeared in NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour newsletter. Sign up for the newsletter so you don't miss the next one, plus get weekly recommendations about what's making us happy.
Listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
2025-05-01 17:33364 view
2025-05-01 17:031782 view
2025-05-01 16:212321 view
2025-05-01 16:00597 view
2025-05-01 15:581111 view
2025-05-01 15:382768 view
WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI should have done more to collect intelligence before the Capitol rioteven
Pipe Dreams: Third in a continuing series on whether capturing carbon is a climate solution or a dan
The De Niro family has suffered an unimaginable loss.Robert De Niro's grandson Leandro De Niro Rodri
