Review Arts & Life 'Ratatouille:' Nervy, Funny and Thoroughly Tasty June 29, 2007 Kenneth Turan says director Brad Bird did something audacious — made a major motion picture with a rat for a star. The comedy they've created is imaginative, good-spirited, funny — and brave enough to let the rats be ratlike, even as they charm the audience. 'Ratatouille:' Nervy, Funny and Thoroughly Tasty Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/11528654/11529018" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Ratatouille:' Nervy, Funny and Thoroughly Tasty Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/11528654/11529018" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Arts & Life 'Fantastic Four' Simplistic, Inoffensive June 15, 2007 Hollywood puts the planet in peril again with Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer. The comics were hip enough to last for more than 40 years, but the movie treatment is far from must-see cinema. 'Fantastic Four' Simplistic, Inoffensive Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/11103570/11103574" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Fantastic Four' Simplistic, Inoffensive Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/11103570/11103574" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Movies 'Ocean's Thirteen': A Slick Scam, Sure — and Smug June 8, 2007 Ocean's Thirteen is the latest Steven Soderbergh-directed movie, starring George Clooney and Brad Pitt. Clooney plays Danny Ocean, the mastermind behind a gang of thieves who steal from casinos. In this third installment of the franchise, their target is casino owner Willy Bank, played by Al Pacino. 'Ocean's Thirteen': A Slick Scam, Sure — and Smug Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/10856935/10856947" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Ocean's Thirteen': A Slick Scam, Sure — and Smug Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/10856935/10856947" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Movies Cannes Cheers Films from Moore, Coens May 25, 2007 As the Cannes Film Festival marks its 60th year, the premier place for premieres welcomes a pair of American movies: Michael Moore's health-care documentary Sicko and the Coen brothers' violent Western No Country for Old Men. Cannes Cheers Films from Moore, Coens Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/10431177/10431182" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Cannes Cheers Films from Moore, Coens Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/10431177/10431182" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Arts & Life 'Once' With Feeling: Small Musical Has a Big Heart May 18, 2007 John Carney's unpretentious musical romance is completely winning — with appealing characters, an unforced sense of intimacy and a light-fingered way of mixing music and story. 'Once' With Feeling: Small Musical Has a Big Heart Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/10243088/10243589" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Once' With Feeling: Small Musical Has a Big Heart Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/10243088/10243589" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Arts & Life 'Spider-Man' Sequel Spins a Weak Tale May 4, 2007 Sam Raimi spent a fortune, and its stars strive for naturalism, but Spider-Man 3 proves dramatically less than the sum of its expensive, ill-unified parts. 'Spider-Man' Sequel Spins a Weak Tale Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/9983240/9983694" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Spider-Man' Sequel Spins a Weak Tale Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/9983240/9983694" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Arts & Life 'Jindabyne': A Death, and Dark Things Surface April 27, 2007 Jindabyne is a movie in which friends on a fishing trip find a body, but choose not to report it. It's an Australian film based on a short story by Raymond Carver. 'Jindabyne': A Death, and Dark Things Surface Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/9870458/9870461" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Jindabyne': A Death, and Dark Things Surface Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/9870458/9870461" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Arts & Life Unexpected Adventures 'In the Land of Women' April 25, 2007 Jonathan Kasdan's debut feature brings a refreshing human touch to what could be clichéd material about looking for love and finding a way through life. Maybe that gift runs in the family: His dad wrote and directed The Big Chill. Unexpected Adventures 'In the Land of Women' Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/9823362/9833812" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
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Review Arts & Life A Deeply Imperfect 'Perfect Stranger' April 13, 2007 Halle Berry stars as a newspaper reporter in Perfect Stranger, investigating bad guy Bruce Willis. But the facts get fuzzy, and the film may have you asking yourself what's going on — and why it was even made. A Deeply Imperfect 'Perfect Stranger' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/9564599/9564603" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
A Deeply Imperfect 'Perfect Stranger' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/9564599/9564603" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Arts & Life The Lived-In World of 'The Lookout' March 30, 2007 The Lookout, a thriller starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, invests more than the usual amount of effort in developing characters. It marks the directing debut of Scott Frank, known for his writing work. The Lived-In World of 'The Lookout' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/9237346/9237353" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
The Lived-In World of 'The Lookout' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/9237346/9237353" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Arts & Life Wahlberg: One Cool Character in 'Shooter' March 23, 2007 The heroic loner, battling incredible odds. That's the character Mark Wahlberg inherits in Shooter, a thriller about a former Marine set up as a patsy in a political killing. Wahlberg gives a Steve McQueen-style performance. Wahlberg: One Cool Character in 'Shooter' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/9096721/9096724" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Wahlberg: One Cool Character in 'Shooter' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/9096721/9096724" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Arts & Life 'Barley' Explores Angst of IRA's Early Days March 16, 2007 Ken Loach's film The Wind That Shakes the Barley examines the early days of the Irish Republican Army and the radical organization's impact on the Irish people. Some British papers have criticized Loach for making the movie. 'Barley' Explores Angst of IRA's Early Days Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/8951660/8951663" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Barley' Explores Angst of IRA's Early Days Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/8951660/8951663" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Arts & Life Film Contrast: Loud '300,' Quiet 'Silence' March 9, 2007 Two debuts: 300 is a fierce, stylized retelling of Spartans at the Battle of Thermopylae. Into Great Silence is a documentary about a French monastery where a vow of silence is observed. Film Contrast: Loud '300,' Quiet 'Silence' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/7793112/7793117" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Film Contrast: Loud '300,' Quiet 'Silence' Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/7793112/7793117" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Arts & Life 'Amazing Grace' and the Power of Truth February 23, 2007 The film Amazing Grace focuses on William Wilberforce, who led the movement in the British Parliament to abolish slavery. It tells a story of idealism and speaking truth to power. 'Amazing Grace' and the Power of Truth Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/7565623/7565626" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Amazing Grace' and the Power of Truth Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/7565623/7565626" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Arts & Life 'Breach' Spins a Harrowing, Human Spy Tale February 16, 2007 The story of FBI spy Robert Hanssen makes for a film that offers a tale of real-life espionage that doubles as a compelling psychological drama. A cast led by Chris Cooper offers a compelling look at the complexities of human relationships. 'Breach' Spins a Harrowing, Human Spy Tale Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/7445095/7445096" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Breach' Spins a Harrowing, Human Spy Tale Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/7445095/7445096" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript