Jessica Reedy

Michael Jackson was one of the biggest pop stars on the planet, so it’s only natural that he’s the subject of a glossy, big-budget biopic. In Michael, the singer’s real-life nephew Jaafar Jackson portrays him in his rise to fame. The film leans heavily on the depiction of live performances, but steers entirely clear of the controversies that dogged the singer. Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour

They're calling it the scariest movie of the year. The new horror film Longlegs follows FBI special agent Lee Harker (Mika Monroe) tracking a serial killer in the 1990s. If that sounds like familiar ground, consider this – the clues she follows hint at the involvement of the occult in general and Satanism in particular. And the killer in question: Nicolas Cage, uncaged.

In 2016, 13-year-old Sandra Parks won an award for her essay condemning gun violence. This week, she was killed when a gunman open fired on her home.