Are Women Really Missing From Film Criticism?
()Are women really being shut out of film criticism? One recent study claims that they're worse off in the online world than they were in print.
Movie Reviews
More Time Together, Though 'Midnight' Looms()
May 25, 2013 Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke return for the third in Richard Linklater's loosely peerless Before series, and they've never been more persuasive — nor has the storytelling. (Recommended)
Movie Reviews
'Plimpton!': A Fond Look At A Man Of Letters()
May 23, 2013 An affectionate documentary portrays the Paris Review founder as a man devoted to illuminating how talent and creativity work — both for himself, and for the rest of us.
Movie Reviews
'We Steal Secrets': A Sidelong Look At WikiLeaks ()
May 23, 2013 The latest documentary from the prolific Alex Gibney digs into the genesis — and the implications — of what creator Julian Assange describes as "an intelligence agency of the people." (Recommended)
NPR's Backseat Book Club
'Lunch Lady' Author Helps Students Draw Their Own Heroes()
May 23, 2013 Can you imagine your own superhero? That's the question author and illustrator Jarrett Krosoczka posed to kids on a recent afternoon at a school in Washington, D.C. Krosoczka also described how he overcame a difficult childhood to become the author of the beloved Lunch Lady series.
Movie Reviews
To 'Fill The Void,' A Choice With A Personal Cost()
May 23, 2013 Rama Burshtein's ravishing family story is a love poem to life in an insular community — the ultra-Orthodox Hasidim of Tel Aviv, where the director lives. Studiously nonpolitical, it's a low-stakes story with the emotional punch of high drama. (Recommended)
Movie Reviews
'Fast 6': Silly, Speedy And Certain To Cash In()
May 23, 2013 Fast & Furious 6 pits Dominic's crew against a wily terrorist in a high-tech battle royale — but it has a devil of a time explaining why everyone should hop into their cars.
Pitbull Gets 'Epic': 'You Constantly Have To Defend Your Success'()
May 23, 2013 Armando Christian Perez — better known as Pitbull or Mr. Worldwide — has sold five million albums and had No. 1 hits in more than 15 countries. He tells NPR's Michel Martin about using music as an escape and playing a well-dressed toad in the animated film Epic.
Movie Interviews
Julianne Moore, Relishing Complicated Characters()
May 23, 2013 In What Maisie Knew, Moore plays a troubled rock star who might initially seem like a rotten person, but Moore's performance humanizes the character, highlighting her human frailties — something Moore has done in many parts.
Television
Douglas, Damon Illuminate HBO's 'Candelabra'()
May 23, 2013 Steven Soderbergh's latest film is a showbiz story about Vegas icon Liberace and his secret lover — played, respectively, by Michael Douglas and Matt Damon, both terrific in their roles. It premieres Sunday on HBO.
Monkey See
'Before Midnight': Jesse And Celine Are Older Now, And So Are We()
May 23, 2013 It took Jesse and Celine 18 years to find themselves back where they started in the lovely third installment of the series that began with 1995's Before Sunrise.
The Two-Way
Book News: Lydia Davis Wins Man Booker International Prize()
May 23, 2013 Also: Amazon to begin publishing fan fiction; Paul Ryan and Elizabeth Warren are writing books; Keith Richards' exorbitant library fines.
Monkey See
Really Most Sincerely Bad: Fox's Nasty 'Does Someone Have To Go?'()
May 23, 2013 A distasteful new show forces employees to turn on each other in a phony display of power.
Monkey See
Breakin' The Rules: 20 General Principles Suspended In 'Fast And Furious 6'()
May 23, 2013 There are many principles of day-to-day life that don't make their way into the Fast, Furious universe.
Monkey See
Cannes Diary: Delusions Of 'Gatsby' (And Dreams Of Notoriety) ()
May 22, 2013 All is Gatsbyish excess on the Croisette, where the Cannes Film Festival's early tone might well have been set by Baz Luhrmann's lavish film — and by Sofia Coppola's accomplished The Bling Ring.
Movie Reviews
This Time, It's A Dull Ache Of A 'Hangover'()
In dumping his formula, director Todd Phillips has thrown out just about everything else that made the surprise-hit first movie even a little likable.
