'Life During Wartime': Squirm-Worthy Storytelling
[30 Jul 2010 at 9:52am]
Todd Solondz's latest deadpan comedy, Life During Wartime, stars Shirley Henderson, Ally Sheedy and Allison Janney as three sisters struggling to find meaning in a bleak world filled with David Lynchian grotesques. Critic David Edelstein says it's the "feel-bad movie of the year."
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Disney Sells Miramax For $660M
[30 Jul 2010 at 3:43am]
The New York Times and Los Angeles Times report that Disney signed the agreement late Thursday with Filmyard Holding. The investor group is led by construction magnate Ronald Tutor.
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'Get Low' With Robert Duvall
[30 Jul 2010 at 3:00am]
Don Gonyea talks to actor Robert Duvall about his latest movie, Get Low. It's based on the true story of a Tennessee recluse who throws himself his own funeral. It opens in theaters July 30.
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A 'Dinner' Invitation You Can Safely Decline
[29 Jul 2010 at 4:05pm]
On paper, Dinner for Schmucks seems to have it all: a star-studded cast that includes reliable funnymen like Steve Carell and Paul Rudd, a veteran comedy director (Jay Roach) at the helm, and a premise lifted from a great French farce. But in reality, Schmucks is much less than the sum of its parts.
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'Get Low': Greeting Death With A Deadpan Smirk
[29 Jul 2010 at 4:00pm]
Bill Murray and Robert Duvall go head to head in this high-concept comedy about an aging man who throws a funeral party -- for himself. Critic Ella Taylor says that the veteran leads are perfectly cast as a pair of terse and cranky Southerners and commends the film for its sepia-tinged cinematography. (Recommended)
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Seafaring 'Charlie St. Cloud' Keeps To The Shallows
[29 Jul 2010 at 4:00pm]
Charlie St. Cloud purports to grapple with matters of life and death. But this ode to "moving on" from grief packs so little genuine emotion that it will touch only the most susceptible of viewers -- that is, the teenage girls who will flock to see heartthrob Zac Efron cry while not wearing a shirt.
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'Dry Land': Where PTSD Prevails (And Formula Fails)
[29 Jul 2010 at 4:00pm]
Ryan Piers Williams directs a drama about an Iraq veteran (Ryan O'Nan) who struggles to reconnect after returning to his Texas hometown. America Ferrera, Melissa Leo and Wilmer Valderrama also star -- but critic Scott Tobias says the screenplay lets them down.
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Hugh Hefner: A Radical, And Not Just In The Bedroom
[29 Jul 2010 at 2:21pm]
Most of us hear "Hef" and think of an overdressed, oversexed octogenarian with oodles of cash and even more Viagra. A new documentary sets out to change all that -- and critic Jeannette Catsoulis argues that it's a great success, revealing a committed social reformer -- the "libertarian inside the libertine."
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Jay Roach, Steve Carell Pair Up For 'Schmucks'
[29 Jul 2010 at 11:00am]
Actor Steve Carell stars as an amateur taxidermist who enjoys creating elaborate dioramas with his stuffed rodents in the new Jay Roach film, Dinner for Schmucks. The two comedy vets talk improv, pathos and more.
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Disasters In Reel Life: It's About Time (And Suspense)
[27 Jul 2010 at 5:26pm]
This summer's movies are a diverse bunch, but there's one popular genre that's been left out of the mix this year: the disaster movie. You could call this lucky timing, since with the Gulf oil spill, we're experiencing some actual disasters this summer. And that's got critic Bob Mondello thinking about the differences between movie disasters and the real thing.
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Imprisoned In Mexico And 'Presumed Guilty'
[27 Jul 2010 at 12:00pm]
In December 2005, Tono Zuniga was charged with murder in Mexico and sentenced to 20 years in prison. But Zuniga knew nothing about the crime, and had eyewitnesses to support his claim. Presumed Guilty, a film about Zuniga's plight, exposes a criminal justice system that often assumes guilt rather than innocence.
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Jonah Hill Crosses Creepy Characters With Comedy
[27 Jul 2010 at 12:00pm]
Jonah Hill has carefully crafted a reputation for playing memorable characters in not-quite-slapstick comedies. From the creepy kid at the eBay store in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, to his role as Cyrus, the brooding, bottled-up son from hell, Hill makes awkward oddly compelling.
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For Kevin Kline, The Beard's (Sometimes) The Thing
[24 Jul 2010 at 4:00pm]
Academy Award winner Kevin Kline has worn many hats -- and many different styles of facial hair -- on film, the stage and television. His latest role is that of Henry Harrison, an eccentric playwright, in The Extra Man. He speaks with Liane Hansen about how his film is like Midnight Cowboy and what his mustaches say about his characters.
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Originality In Dream Sequences A Challenge For Films
[24 Jul 2010 at 2:00pm]
With the success of the dream-within-a-dream-within-a-dream concept behind the film "Inception," NPR's Bob Mondello talks to guest host Audie Cornish about Hollywood's long obsession with the dream sequence.
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