Movies 'Match Point' Explores New, Thrilling Terrain December 28, 2005 • Woody Allen leaves both comedy and New York behind for his new movie, Match Point, a thriller set in England. Bob Mondello reviews the new film staring Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Emily Mortimer and Matthew Goode.
78th Annual Academy Awards 'Munich': Spielberg's Most Provocative Film Yet December 23, 2005 • Set after the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, Steven Spielberg's film, Munich, follows a secret Israeli squad assigned to track down and kill the 11 Palestinians suspected of having planned the attack. Critic Kenneth Turan says Spielberg's film is about the "murkiest, most divisive of real world issues."
Movies Exploring Malick's Beautiful 'New World' December 23, 2005 • Reclusive director Terrence Malick's new movie, The New World, tells the story of Captain John Smith and the beginnings of the English presence in the Americas. Critic Bob Mondello says The New World is in some ways a reflection of Malick's career -- languid in pacing, with beauty in every frame.
Movies 'White Countess': Fitting Merchant-Ivory Finale December 21, 2005 • The White Goddess is the last film made by Ismail Merchant and James Ivory before Merchant's death. Set in Shanghai on the eve of World War II, the film stars Ralph Fiennes as a blind, former diplomat and Natasha Richardson as a White Russian refugee.
Culture You Want to See 'The Producers' December 17, 2005 • Mel Brooks' 1968 movie classic The Producers became a Broadway smash. Now comes a new big-screen version that preserves the original's humor and adds the stage show's musical elements.
Culture 'Family Stone': Wake Up and Smell the Dysfunction December 16, 2005 • If you want to escape the holiday fantasies in theaters for a dose of realistic dysfunction, The Family Stone may be for you. The film, starring Diane Keaton, Sarah Jessica Parker and Dermont Mulroney, is an offbeat mixture of comic crises and the bite of the real.
Movies A Revealing 'Mrs. Henderson Presents' December 16, 2005 • It's World War II, the Germans are bombing London and the widowed Mrs. Laura Henderson opens The Windmill Theater, a burlesque club. That's the gist of Dame Judi Dench's latest film, the quirky Mrs. Henderson Presents.
Movies 'King Kong' Strides Back on Screen Fresh Air December 14, 2005 • The new film version of King Kong, the story of a lovelorn giant ape taken from his island home, was directed by Peter Jackson. It's the first release for Jackson since his trilogy of Lord of the Ring films.
Culture 'King Kong': A Beast That's A Beauty December 14, 2005 • Film critic Bob Mondello reviews director Peter Jackson's version of the classic 1933 movie, King Kong. This full-color, digitally generated Kong nearly doubles the length of the original -- and Mondello says it's worth nearly every minute.
'Brokeback' Taboos in Big Sky Country Fresh Air December 9, 2005 • The new film Brokeback Mountain, directed by Ang Lee, stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger. Based on a short story by Annie Proulx, it describes the relationship between two young men in the West in the 1960s.
Culture Slate's Summary Judgment: 'Syriana,' 'Memoirs of a Geisha,' 'The Chronicles of Narnia' December 9, 2005 • Slate contributor Mark Jordan Legan reviews what movie critics are saying about this weekend's new film releases: Syriana, Memoirs of a Geisha and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Culture 'Lion, Witch, Wardrobe' Preserves Book's Tone December 9, 2005 • The epic film version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has some flaws, the reviewer says. But in general, he finds the movie true to the "sincerity" of the C.S. Lewis book.
Culture Slate's Summary Judgment: 'Aeon Flux,' 'Transamerica,' 'The Kid & I' December 2, 2005 • Slate contributor Mark Jordan Legan offers a roundup of what movie critics are saying about the weekend's new releases -- Aeon Flux, Transamerica and The Kid and I.
Culture 'Syriana' Weaves Stories of Oil and Power Fresh Air December 2, 2005 • The new film Syriana is an interwoven tale of terrorism and covert business interests. Written and directed by Stephen Gaghan, the movie stars George Clooney, Matt Damon, William Hurt, Amanda Peet and Chris Cooper.
Movies Slate's Summary Judgment: 'Rent,' 'The Ice Harvest,' 'Yours, Mine & Ours' November 25, 2005 • Slate contributor Mark Jordan Legan offers a roundup of what movie critics are saying about the weekend's new film releases: Rent, The Ice Harvest and Yours, Mine & Ours.