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Movies: Movie Reviews and Commentary on New and Classic Films NPR Movies podcast, movie reviews, and commentary on new and classic films. Interviews with filmmakers, actors, and actresses.

Movies

Wednesday

Lucasfilm Deal Represents Shift In Hollywood

Audie Cornish speaks with Steven Zeitchik, who covers entertainment for the Los Angeles Times, about the recent Disney deal that bought out filmmaker George Lucas' production company Lucasfilm Ltd. for over $4 billion. The company is behind one of the most beloved, profitable and iconic movie franchises of all time, Star Wars.

Lucasfilm Deal Represents Shift In Hollywood

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In 'Nobody Walks,' Lena Dunham's Lost 'Girls' Relocate To Heavier Drama

Martine (Olivia Thirlby) is either oblivious to or apathetic toward the chaos she causes in the lives of those around her. Magnolia Pictures hide caption

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Magnolia Pictures

Pop Culture Happy Hour

In 'Nobody Walks,' Lena Dunham's Lost 'Girls' Relocate To Heavier Drama

Like her character in Girls, Lena Dunham might well wonder whether she's the voice of her generation. She co-wrote the screenplay for Nobody Walks, a dramatic film that demonstrates that taken out of their comedic context, her lost characters lose some of their resonance.

Twenty Stories That Will Absolutely Run The Week 'Star Wars: Episode VII' Is Released

In this Oct. 15, 2011 file photo, "Darth Vader" accepts the Ultimate Villain award from Star Wars creator George Lucas during the 2011 Scream Awards. Chris Pizzello/AP hide caption

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Chris Pizzello/AP

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Twenty Stories That Will Absolutely Run The Week 'Star Wars: Episode VII' Is Released

Yesterday, Disney announced that it was purchasing Lucasfilm for four billion dollars and would be putting out new Star Wars films. The good news is that we already know what some of the headlines of 2015 will look like.

Sunday

John C. Reilly Wrecks It In 'Ralph'

Tired of being overshadowed by Fix-It Felix Jr., the "good guy" star of their game, Ralph (John C. Reilly) sets off on a quest to prove he's got what it takes to be a hero. Walt Disney Pictures hide caption

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Walt Disney Pictures

Movie Interviews

John C. Reilly Wrecks It In 'Ralph'

Reilly voices a video-game character in the new animated film Wreck-It Ralph. Sick of playing the bad guy onscreen, his character escapes from his video game to explore other gaming worlds and what it means to be the "hero."

John C. Reilly Wrecks It In 'Ralph'

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Saturday

'Lemon': From Rikers To N.Y.'s Famous Public Theater
Cinema Libre

Movie Interviews

'Lemon': From Rikers To N.Y.'s Famous Public Theater

Lemon Andersen discovered poetry while serving time at Rikers Island. The new documentary Lemon tells his story from public housing to the stage.

'Lemon': From Rikers To N.Y.'s Famous Public Theater

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Horror Movies Surge Back To Mainstream Audiences

Paranormal Activity 4 was the number one movie in the U.S. last weekend, and it's no surprise since Halloween is around the corner. Beth Accomando of member station KPBS reports that, after decades of slasher films dominating horror, the pendulum has swung back to favor paranormal movies.

Horror Movies Surge Back To Mainstream Audiences

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Friday

'Cloud Atlas': You're Better Off Reading The Book

Zachry and Meronym are only two of the combined 12 characters Tom Hanks and Halle Berry play in Cloud Atlas. It is a challenge that bests both actors, according to David Edelstein. Jay Maidment/Warner Bros. hide caption

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Jay Maidment/Warner Bros.

Review

'Cloud Atlas': You're Better Off Reading The Book

Fresh Air

David Mitchell's exquisite novel Cloud Atlas has been adapted for the screen by the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer. The film is never dull, but critic David Edelstein found that unlike the book, the film fails in its attempt to tie six distinct stories together.

'Cloud Atlas': You're Better Off Reading The Book

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Chess Prodigies Shine In 'Brooklyn Castle'

Documentary film has developed a new minigenre in the past few years: kids in competition. In Spellbound it was a spelling bee, and in First Position it was ballet. Now, chess in Brooklyn Castle. Critic Kenneth Turan has this review.

Chess Prodigies Shine In 'Brooklyn Castle'

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Thursday

Restless 'Sleep' Under The Gaze Of A Sociopath

Cesar's (Luis Toscar) twisted obsession with ruining his tenants' lives is the stuff of urban legend. Dark Sky Films hide caption

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Dark Sky Films

Review

Restless 'Sleep' Under The Gaze Of A Sociopath

Unlike his [REC] films, Jaume Balaguero's Sleep Tight is designed as a sophisticated thriller rather than a jolting found-footage horror. Critic Jeannette Catsoulis describes a film whose villain's twisted need for control comes directly from the nightmares of every modern urbanite. (Recommended)

A Crime Drama In Need Of A Push

In Pusher, a drug dealer's (Richard Coyle) life is on the line when a botched deal lands him in the clutches of a ruthless crime lord (Zlatko Buric). Radius-TWC hide caption

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Radius-TWC

Review

A Crime Drama In Need Of A Push

Pusher, Luis Prieto's remake of a 1996 Danish film, is a typical crime drama about a drug deal gone bad in almost every way. Joel Arnold believes the film's passive hero embodies the title literally but not metaphorically, getting pushed through his life of crime instead of forging his own path.

Navigating The Shift From Complex To Cineplex

Halle Berry's characters in Cloud Atlas crisscross time and space. The actress plays six roles, including German intellectual Jocasta Ayrs (above) and an Asian man. Reiner Bajo/Warner Bros. hide caption

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Reiner Bajo/Warner Bros.

Review

Navigating The Shift From Complex To Cineplex

A combined effort from the Wachowski siblings and Tom Tykwer, Cloud Atlas adapts David Mitchell's seemingly unfilmable novel. NPR critic Bob Mondello explains that despite its all-star cast, which includes Tom Hanks and Halle Berry, the film highlights the downside to making the literary literal.

Navigating The Shift From Complex To Cineplex

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Masculinity Crisis In The Caucasus Mountains

An engaged couple (Gael Garcia Bernal and Hani Furstenberg) backpacks through the Caucasus Mountains with their guide (Bidzina Gujabidze), but their bond is soon tested by fate. IFC Films hide caption

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IFC Films

Review

Masculinity Crisis In The Caucasus Mountains

The Loneliest Planet explores the line between romantic playfulness and the maturity fostered by shared crisis. As Mark Jenkins explains, the film's subtle approach to themes of trust and masculinity lend it ambiguity and quiet power.

Rejecting Barbie Pink For Sass Of Another Color

Bethany runs away to live with her father after growing tired of living under her mother June's (Anna Gunn) thumb. Phase 4 Films hide caption

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Phase 4 Films

Review

Rejecting Barbie Pink For Sass Of Another Color

Sassy Pants follows a teenager's fight to establish her identity when she leaves her overbearing mother to live with her father and his boyfriend. Critic Ian Buckwalter says the characters make the film hard to dislike, but it tells her coming-of-age story with a heavy hand.

Mothers' Love Transcends Security Checkpoints

Jews Alon and Orith Silberg (Pascal Elbe and Emmanuelle Devos) and Palestinians Leila and Yacine Al Bezaaz (Areen Omari and Mehdi Dehbi) find out that their sons have been switched at birth. Cohen Media hide caption

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Cohen Media

Review

Mothers' Love Transcends Security Checkpoints

In The Other Son, two families — one Jewish, the other Palestinian — discover that their sons were switched at birth, raising questions of identity and familial bonds. As Ella Taylor explains, the film evokes the burden and intensity of its sometimes violent, always strained surroundings.