Opinion Movies Movie-Reality Check: How Real Is 'Real,' Anyway? October 31, 2008 There's a reason people say "based" on a true story: Movies, however scrupulous, tend to heighten reality. Critic Kenneth Turan wonders how true a "true story" can ever really be on the big screen. Movie-Reality Check: How Real Is 'Real,' Anyway? Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/96294653/96369289" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Movie-Reality Check: How Real Is 'Real,' Anyway? Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/96294653/96369289" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Movies 'I've Loved You So Long': In Extremis, Sisters Still October 23, 2008 Juliette Fontaine (Kristin Scott Thomas) has spent 15 years estranged from her family. When her younger sister reaches out to bring her back into the fold, long-buried secrets finally surface. 'I've Loved You So Long': In Extremis, Sisters Still Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/96003616/96070746" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'I've Loved You So Long': In Extremis, Sisters Still Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/96003616/96070746" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Movies Crowe, DiCaprio Clash In Tale of Spies And 'Lies' October 9, 2008 Leonardo DiCaprio, as a CIA field agent, clashes with his spymaster, Russell Crowe, over methods and morals. Ridley Scott's direction is crisp, but this thriller is all surface, no intel. Crowe, DiCaprio Clash In Tale of Spies And 'Lies' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/95473521/95591116" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Crowe, DiCaprio Clash In Tale of Spies And 'Lies' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/95473521/95591116" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Movies 'Rachel Getting Married': Wedding Movie Bliss October 3, 2008 In and out of rehab for a decade, a troubled young woman reunites with her family for her sister's wedding. Jonathan Demme's film dares to mix the bitter with the sweet, and it's suffused with both anxiety and joy. 'Rachel Getting Married': Wedding Movie Bliss Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/95222574/95329885" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Rachel Getting Married': Wedding Movie Bliss Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/95222574/95329885" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Movies 'Appaloosa': Fun With The Guys, Until A Filly Arrives September 18, 2008 With two laconic, unflappable heroes and a nicely psycho villain, Ed Harris' new Western does a lot right. The bit with the pretty young widow, unfortunately, isn't one of them. 'Appaloosa': Fun With The Guys, Until A Filly Arrives Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/94753888/94795846" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Appaloosa': Fun With The Guys, Until A Filly Arrives Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/94753888/94795846" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Movies 'Burn After Reading' — And Repeat As Necessary September 11, 2008 The Coen brothers' latest may be a comedy, but it's a Coen brothers comedy — meaning it's as bleak and hopeless as comedies are allowed to get before the laughter dies bitterly on your lips. 'Burn After Reading' — And Repeat As Necessary Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/94526051/94545586" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Burn After Reading' — And Repeat As Necessary Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/94526051/94545586" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Movies 'Hamlet 2': Something Deliriously Rotten August 22, 2008 Steve Coogan stars as an Arizona drama teacher inspired to save his failing theater program — with a musicalized sequel to the best-known drama in the English language. The results? Tragically funny. 'Hamlet 2': Something Deliriously Rotten Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/93525052/93866199" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Hamlet 2': Something Deliriously Rotten Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/93525052/93866199" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Movies 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona': Woody Allen, Uninspired August 14, 2008 Though Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz almost redeem the film, the director's latest is almost as flat as its title. Critic Kenneth Turan is left wondering: Can't we just have the old Woody back? 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona': Woody Allen, Uninspired Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/93523963/93619359" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Vicky Cristina Barcelona': Woody Allen, Uninspired Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/93523963/93619359" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Arts & Life French Thriller 'Tell No One' Gains Momentum In U.S. August 12, 2008 Tell No One is a French thriller that was a hit in Europe, but it had a hard time finding distribution in the United States. Now it's been out for some weeks, and its audience is growing through strong word-of-mouth. French Thriller 'Tell No One' Gains Momentum In U.S. Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/93522536/93522508" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
French Thriller 'Tell No One' Gains Momentum In U.S. Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/93522536/93522508" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Movies A 'Frozen River,' Treacherous And Deep August 5, 2008 With its bleak landscape and bleaker plot, Courtney Hunt's directorial debut — a Sundance festival favorite — provides a moving portrait of two women's desperation in a Canadian border town. A 'Frozen River,' Treacherous And Deep Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/93280688/93293349" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
A 'Frozen River,' Treacherous And Deep Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/93280688/93293349" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Movies 'The Dark Knight': Through Shadows And Hype July 18, 2008 The Dark Knight, the new Batman film with Christian Bale in the title role, may be the most hopeless, despairing comic-book movie in memory. It creates a world where being a superhero is at best a double-edged sword and any triumph is likely to be short-lived. 'The Dark Knight': Through Shadows And Hype Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/92534170/92663961" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'The Dark Knight': Through Shadows And Hype Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/92534170/92663961" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Movies 'Hellboy II,' Doing Justice To Comics (And Baddies) July 11, 2008 The demon hero's latest adventure definitely packs the comic book's punch — but Guillermo del Toro's latest flick isn't just for fanboys. The filmmaker's prodigious gifts make it an actioner for all ages. 'Hellboy II,' Doing Justice To Comics (And Baddies) Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/92378292/92442890" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Hellboy II,' Doing Justice To Comics (And Baddies) Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/92378292/92442890" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Movies Up In The Air: It's 'Hancock,' Crashing And Burning July 1, 2008 It has summer's most promising premise, but Will Smith's much-hyped superzero fable self-destructs after a plot twist so head-shakingly bizarre that even an indestructible crime-fighter can't shake it off. Up In The Air: It's 'Hancock,' Crashing And Burning Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/92108945/92126573" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Up In The Air: It's 'Hancock,' Crashing And Burning Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/92108945/92126573" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Movies 'Wall-E': A Robot Love Story with Heart to Spare June 27, 2008 Robot love story and human cautionary tale, the film is daring and traditional, groundbreaking and familiar, apocalyptic and sentimental. It's a tonic in these times — and it proves Pixar still has its touch. 'Wall-E': A Robot Love Story with Heart to Spare Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/91896053/91955560" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Wall-E': A Robot Love Story with Heart to Spare Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/91896053/91955560" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Arts & Life 'Get Smart': Still Inept, But in All the Wrong Ways June 20, 2008 TV's beloved secret-agent spoof gets a big-screen update — but like its bumbling hero, the film is constantly trying to be something it's not. The result: an unfunny comedy spliced with an unexciting spy caper. 'Get Smart': Still Inept, But in All the Wrong Ways Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/91646133/91724063" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Get Smart': Still Inept, But in All the Wrong Ways Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/91646133/91724063" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript