Movies: Movie Reviews and Commentary on New and Classic Films : NPR

Roman Polanski Opinion Roundup

September 30, 2009 • Roman Polanski awaits extradition to the U.S. 30 years after his conviction for having sex with a 13-year-old girl. While some in Hollywood and abroad embrace the director, others call Polanski a fugitive who must now face justice.

Getting 'An Education' (And More) From Nick Hornby

Fresh Air

September 30, 2009 • Author and screenwriter Nick Hornby joins Fresh Air host Terry Gross to discuss his new novel, Juliet, Naked, and his screenplay for the new movie An Education.

Polanski Case Goes Past Victim's Wish To Move On

September 29, 2009 • While Roman Polanski remains in custody in Switzerland, where he was arrested over the weekend, questions are swirling in Los Angeles about his victim's desire to see the case dropped. But prosecutors say it's not that simple.

In 'Love' And War: Documentarian Michael Moore pulls one of his (in)famous stunts by declaring all of Wall Street a crime scene. Overture Films hide caption

toggle caption

Overture Films

Michael Moore's 'Capitalism' Love Story

September 29, 2009 • For his film, Capitalism: A Love Story, Michael Moore knocked on the doors of the country's biggest financial institutions, and surrounded Wall St. with crime scene tape. He did it because he believes capitalism is evil.

Polanski's Arrest, Possible Extradition Examined

September 28, 2009 • Director Roman Polanski was arrested over the weekend in Switzerland on an international warrant for having sex with a 13-year-old girl more than three decades ago. Polanski's lawyer has vowed to fight efforts to extradite the filmmaker, who has lived in France since 1978, to the U.S. Matthew Belloni, editor of The Hollywood Reporter's entertainment law blog, says previous efforts to arrest Polanski have failed.

Students At 'Fame' School Nervous About Remake

September 28, 2009 • The remake of the 1980 film Fame has its roots in an authentic setting — and many students at the school say they are afraid the new version will make LaGuardia students look lightweight.

Students At 'Fame' School Nervous About Remake

Listen · 2:53 2:53

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/113284046/113284028" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Fashion, A La Mode Again At The Multiplex

Coco Before Chanel, starring Audrey Tautou, explores the early life of the iconic French designer who changed fashion history with her classic tweed suit. Sony Pictures Classic hide caption

toggle caption

Sony Pictures Classic

Fashion, A La Mode Again At The Multiplex

September 28, 2009 • Hollywood and haute couture have always been a good fit: From the cinematic runways of Stanley Donen's Funny Face to the behind-the-scenes tastemaking of The September Issue, fashion and the business of it have long been favorite topics on film. Bob Mondello charts the trend.

Polanski Arrested In Switzerland On U.S. Warrant

September 28, 2009 • Oscar-winning director Roman Polanski was arrested in Switzerland over the weekend. He faces possible extradition to the United States to be sentenced on charges of having sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977. He fled the U.S. a year later, after pleading guilty in the case, and has lived in France for the past 30 years.

Oprah, Tyler Perry And A Painful, 'Precious' Life

September 28, 2009 • The queen of all media and the king of the "urban-audience" comedy have lined up to make sure you'll want to see Lee Daniels' wrenching drama, the story of a hideously abused teenager and the people who help her find a way out of her nightmare. It's already one of fall's most talked-about films.

A Brief Interview With The Makers Of 'Hideous Men'

September 27, 2009 • Host Liane Hansen talks to actors John Krasinski and Dominic Cooper about their performances in Brief Interviews of Hideous Men. Krasinski wrote and directed the film adaptation of the late David Foster Wallace's short story collection of the same name.

Chasing 'Fame,' In The Clumsiest Possible Way

At the New York City High School of Performing Arts, artistically gifted students spend four years perfecting their games, performing every chance they get — including at the school's Halloween carnival — in their pursuit of stardom. Saeed Adyani/MGM hide caption

toggle caption

Saeed Adyani/MGM

Review

Chasing 'Fame,' In The Clumsiest Possible Way

September 25, 2009 • A far cry from Alan Parker's original, Kevin Tancharoen's Fame remake shows the director's inexperience — and a scandalous screenwriterly laxity about story and character. Jeannette Catsoulis says this is a kind of Fame you can live without.

In The Center Ring: Michael Moore Vs. 'Capitalism'

Twenty years after his groundbreaking film Roger and Me, Michael Moore pays a visit to a much-humbled General Motors. Overture Films hide caption

toggle caption

Overture Films

Review

In The Center Ring: Michael Moore Vs. 'Capitalism'

Fresh Air

September 25, 2009 • Thoroughly one-sided — and riveting nonetheless — Moore's broadside is a barbed comic monologue with big jolts of pathos. And it's the film he's been building to in all his other polemics.

Movie Interviews

Oliver Stone Profiles Power 'South Of The Border'

September 25, 2009 • In a new documentary, Stone goes behind the scenes with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez but doesn't ask the hard questions. NPR's Robert Smith says "never has a revolutionary strongman seemed so lovable and cuddly."

'Brief Interviews' Get Muddled In Translation

Subject 14: Ben Shenkman plays one of many nameless men who confess dirty deeds to Sara Quinn (Julianne Nicholson). IFC Films hide caption

toggle caption

IFC Films

Review

'Brief Interviews' Get Muddled In Translation

September 24, 2009 • In his big-screen retelling of David Foster Wallace's stories about men's sordid emotional lives, writer-director John Krasinski faced a choice between honoring his inspiration and telling his own story. Critic Ian Buckwalter says the director shoots straight down the middle — and misses both targets.

A Down-Under Tale, With A Trio Of Grieving Lost Boys

Boys' Life: Teenage Harry (George MacKay) joins younger half-brother Artie (Nicholas McAnulty) and their dad (Clive Owen) after a death throws the family into turmoil. Matt Nettheim/Miramax Films hide caption

toggle caption

Matt Nettheim/Miramax Films

Review

A Down-Under Tale, With A Trio Of Grieving Lost Boys

September 24, 2009 • After a sportswriter (Clive Owen) loses his wife, he and his two sons go through a painful process to become a family again. Unfortunately, says critic Mark Jenkins, director Scott Hicks spends more time on cinematography than characters in The Boys Are Back.

Movies

Opinion

Roman Polanski Opinion Roundup

Author Interviews

Getting 'An Education' (And More) From Nick Hornby

Fresh Air

Law

Polanski Case Goes Past Victim's Wish To Move On

Michael Moore's 'Capitalism' Love Story

World

Polanski's Arrest, Possible Extradition Examined

Education

Students At 'Fame' School Nervous About Remake

Students At 'Fame' School Nervous About Remake

Fashion, A La Mode Again At The Multiplex

Law

Polanski Arrested In Switzerland On U.S. Warrant

Movie Interviews

Oprah, Tyler Perry And A Painful, 'Precious' Life

Movie Interviews

A Brief Interview With The Makers Of 'Hideous Men'

Review

Chasing 'Fame,' In The Clumsiest Possible Way

Review

In The Center Ring: Michael Moore Vs. 'Capitalism'

Fresh Air

Movie Interviews

Oliver Stone Profiles Power 'South Of The Border'

Review

'Brief Interviews' Get Muddled In Translation

Review

A Down-Under Tale, With A Trio Of Grieving Lost Boys