Reverbiage: Stories from NPR tagged 'movies'

What Would Happen If SAG Striked...

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:00:00 EST

Hollywood could see another strike soon. The Screen Actors Guild and movie studio representatives are holding their first contract talks in four months with a federal mediator, but expectations of a deal are low.

Dogs And Superheroes Hit The Movie Theater

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:00:00 EST

What's it going to be this weekend? The animated film Bolt, about a dog who lives his whole life on the set of a TV show, Twilight about a teenage girl who falls in love with a vampire or superhero spoof Special? We take a tour through the reviews.

Jack Bauer's Compressed, Two Hour 'Redemption'

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:16:00 EST

A two-hour self-contained 24 movie on Fox follows Jack Bauer to Africa, where he's hiding out from his own government and working at a charity boys' school. But as reviewer David Bianculli reports, wherever Bauer is, trouble surely follows.

'Twilight' Madness At The Midnight Movie

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:24:00 EST

Fans of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight books lined up Thursday night to get an early look at the new big-screen adaptation — bringing with them lawn chairs, sleeping bags and cheerleader-style chants in honor of the story's heroes.

Some Movies Shouldn't Be Watched On A Computer

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:00:00 EST

More feature-length films are available on the Internet. However, some epic films may never be truly appreciated on a laptop. Critics have come up with a list of top ten movies that should never be watched online.

'Twilight': For Teens, A Swooningly Bloody Romance

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:08:00 EST

Morning Edition's movie critic is not, and never has been, a 13-year-old girl. But Catherine Hardwicke's dead-on screen take on Stephenie Meyer's vampire books makes him wish he could be — if only to get the full effect.

'Twilight' Fans Destination: Forks, Wash.

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:00:00 EST

The teen vampire movie "Twilight" opens in theaters on Friday. The movie follows the best-selling series of romance-thriller novels, set in the small and rainy hamlet of Forks on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. Despite its remoteness, the town has become a pilgrimage destination for readers from around the world.

Car Ditty One Reason Sherman Bros. Honored

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 06:00:00 EST

The movie "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" is about a magical car. Songwriting brothers, Richard and Robert Sherman, were honored at the White House Monday for that theme song, and all the other songs they've written for family movies.

American Films Dubbed For European Audiences

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:00:00 EST

U.S. box office numbers are what make the headlines in the U.S., but what makes a lot of the cash is overseas sales. And in much of Europe, that means American films dubbed into the native language. Susan Stone visits a German studio that's dubbing the new James Bond movie.

Iraq's Drama: An Easier Sell On The Stage...

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:00:00 EST

Iraq-war movies always seem to flop: Stop Loss, Redacted, Rendition, In the Valley of Elah — all were box-office disappointments. But several plays about Iraq have been hits. Why does Iraq work on stage but not on screen?

Bond, 'Slumdog' Or 'Christmas'...

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:00:00 EST

Mark Jordan Legan takes us through reviews of the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace starring Daniel Craig and Judi Dench, Slumdog Millionaire about a Mumbai orphan who wins on on the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and Christmas Tale a French film about mental illness starring Catherine Deneuve.

Danny Boyle's Mumbai: 'A City In Fast-Forward'

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 00:19:00 EST

The director of the wildly acclaimed Slumdog Millionaire says the Mumbai he discovered during his movie shoot is a city on the move. And in India, he found, life is a study in contradiction and connection.

Bond With A Broken Heart: Defending Daniel Craig

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:00:00 EST

NPR's Madhulika Sikka doesn't care that critics don't like the new Bond movie — she loves Daniel Craig's brooding, heartbroken 007. In Quantum of Solace, Craig portrays a spy who is emotionally shaken (and stirred).

Charlie Kaufman's Brain Teaser Movies

Sat, 08 Nov 2008 11:40:00 EST

The screenwriter is best known for films that make the human mind the landscape of the story, like Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and the new film Synecdoche, NY.

'Striped Pajamas': Genocide In His Backyard

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:00:00 EST

Adapted from John Boyne's novel, Mark Herman's movie is a Holocaust film for younger audiences. And though the naive perspective may work in print, Bob Mondello says it doesn't lend itself to the realities of film.

Political Films A Good Finale For Election Season

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 12:00:00 EST

Election Day is here, and for some it couldn't have come any sooner. With a tense presidential race, many voters complain of election burnout. But for those who are not ready to let the election excitement go just yet, renting a classic political film might be worth considering. Fox television critic Shawn Edwards weighs in on the best political movies of all time.

The Modern Vampire: Bloodthirsty, But Chivalrous

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:00:00 EDT

A new generation of vampire heroes is dominating best-seller lists, movies and TV. The modern-day vampire gentleman is eerily alluring in all the old-fashioned, bloodsucking ways but reins in his baser instincts in an impressive display of control.

The Scariest Movies You Haven't Seen

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 08:03:00 EDT

Forget Nightmare On Elm Street. In honor of Halloween, Slate.com's Mark Jordan Legan goes to the celluloid vault and shines a light on some of the most frightening films ever made.

Movie-Reality Check: How Real Is 'Real,' Anyway...

Thu, 30 Oct 2008 17:47:00 EDT

There's a reason people say "based" on a true story: Movies, however scrupulous, tend to heighten reality. Critic Kenneth Turan wonders how true a "true story" can ever really be on the big screen.

A Spirited Sprint Through A Marathon Movie History

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:49:00 EDT

Film critic David Thomson blends eccentricity and common-sensibility in "Have You SeenÂ�?", his insightful (and sometimes scathing) assessment of 1,000 classic films.

Alphabet-Soup Cinema: A Letter-Perfect Watch List

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:02:00 EDT

In his review of W., critic Bob Mondello suggested that if someone had made a movie about the presidents Adams, it could have been called Q. That got us thinking: Could you make a Netflix queue worth of one-letter movies? As it turns out ...

Small-Town Festival Focuses On Films, Not Stars

Fri, 24 Oct 2008 00:09:00 EDT

Movie buffs don't have to travel to the south of France to get a film festival fix. Small towns across the country have launched down-to-earth offerings and film festivals for the rest of us.

'Let the Right One In': Lyrical, If Well-Chewed

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:00:00 EDT

In his Swedish vampire fable, director Tomas Alfredson constructs a biting narrative without going overboard on the blood. For all its finesse, though, the movie's still essentially a genre exercise.

In Hollywood, Hard Times May Mean Good Times

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:12:00 EDT

The only bromide in Hollywood older than "boy meets girl" is that "movies are recession-proof." And it seems to be true — local theaters can offer a cheap getaway from life's troubles. John Ridley says that often, the boost in box-office sales seems to inspire some great movies.

Films About Journalists, Picked By Murray Horwitz

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 13:04:00 EDT

Film expert Murray Horwitz talks about movies that chronicle the chroniclers — films about journalism. He discusses classic portrayals of journalists in cinema and how these depictions have changed over time.