Movies 'Brick' Takes a Clever Look at Suburban Adolescence March 31, 2006 • Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a young outcast trying to find out what happened to his ex-girlfriend in Brick, a hard-boiled noir set in a suburban high school.
Culture Stone, Cold in 'Basic Instinct 2' Fresh Air March 31, 2006 • Sharon Stone returns as a gorgeous novelist (and apparent psychopath) in a sequel to her 1992 smash hit Basic Instinct. This time, she's matching wits and sexual techniques with British actor David Morrissey instead of Michael Douglas. David Edelstein has a review.
Culture 'Devil and Daniel Johnston' Indulges Singer's Fans March 31, 2006 • A new documentary follows Indie singer-song writer Daniel Johnston's decline into mental illness. It combines standard documentary fare with Johnston's own recordings, taped over the course of 20 years. Los Angeles Times and Morning Edition critic Kenneth Turan reviews The Devil and Daniel Johnston.
Culture 'Lonesome Jim,' Buscemi's Loveable Loser March 24, 2006 • The latest directorial effort from actor Steve Buscemi presents Casey Affleck -- Ben's brother -- as a depressed man who returns home to nowheresville and life with his parents after striking out in New York City as a dogwalker.
Culture Slate's Summary Judgment: 'Inside Man,' 'American Gun,' 'Stay Alive' March 24, 2006 • Slate contributor Mark Jordan Legan reviews what critics are saying about his weekend's movie releases: Inside Man, American Gun and Stay Alive.
Culture Prize-Winning'L'Enfant' Fresh Air March 24, 2006 • L'Enfant is a new feature film from Belgian filmmaking brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardennes.
Culture 'Inside Man' Jump Starts the Weekend March 24, 2006 • Los Angeles Times and Morning Edition film critic Kenneth Turan says Spike Lee's Inside Man is a terrific heist movie with a plot that unfolds on a need-to-know basis. Denzel Washington plays a New York City policeman, Clive Owen a brilliant criminal and Jodie Foster a Manhattan power broker.
Movies The Anxiety, and Disaster, of Influence Fresh Air March 22, 2006 • Two new documentaries probe the effects of outside influences on third-world countries. In Our Brand is Crisis, the arrival of U.S. campaign consultants threatens the outcome of a Bolivian presidential election. And Darwin's Nightmare is about the devastation of Lake Victoria in Tanzania.
Culture 'V for Vendetta' or 'W for Wachowskis'? March 18, 2006 • The dark thriller with contemporary political overtones was adapted by the Wachowski brothers, of Matrix fame. But the authors of the graphic novel, written in the 1980s, have distanced themselves from the film, which follows a masked rebel battling a fascist state.
Portman vs. the Man: 'Vendetta' Fresh Air March 17, 2006 • V for Vendetta stars Natalie Portman as Evey, a wallflower who teams up with a superhero to resist an oppressive futuristic government. The movie's producers include the Wachowski brothers, of The Matrix fame.
Culture 'Thank You for Smoking' Displays a Sense of Humor March 17, 2006 • Los Angeles Times and Morning Edition film critic Kenneth Turan reviews Thank You For Smoking. It is a satirical film about a super-lobbyist for the tobacco industry.
Culture Slate's Summary Judgment: 'The Hills Have Eyes,' 'Failure to Launch,' 'The Shaggy Dog' March 10, 2006 • Slate contributor Mark Jordan Legan summarizes what critics are saying about this weekend's movie releases: the horror film re-make The Hills Have Eyes and two comedies, Failure to Launch and The Shaggy Dog.
Beware: 'The Hills Have Eyes' Fresh Air March 10, 2006 • The new film The Hills Have Eyes is a remake of the 1977 Wes Craven horror classic. The new version was directed by French filmmaker Alexandre Aja.
78th Annual Academy Awards Handicapping the Foreign Oscars Field Fresh Air March 3, 2006 • Film critic David Edelstein reviews the films that are up for an Academy award under the Best Foreign Language Film category. They are: Paradise Now, Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, Don't Tell, Joyeux Noel and Tsotsi.
Culture Slate's Summary Judgment: 'Dave Chappelle's Block Party,' '16 Blocks,' 'Ultraviolet' March 3, 2006 • Comedian Dave Chappelle is back on the big screen this weekend as host of a Brooklyn block party -- Slate contributor Mark Jordan Legan looks at what movie critics are saying about Dave Chappelle's Block Party and the action films 16 Blocks and Ultraviolet.