Lincoln's Screen Legacy, Decidedly Larger Than Life
He's a statue in many a monument, a profile on the penny, a face on the $5 bill, and an animatronic robot at Disneyland. He's even carved into a mountain in South Dakota. So, of course, Abe Lincoln has...
View ArticleBond Is Back And Living Up To His Reputation
Istanbul: Somebody's stolen a hard drive with info sensitive enough that ... oh, who cares? Bond is giving chase, and that's all that matters — cars careening through bazaars, motorcycles flying across...
View Article'Tis The Season For Oscar-Bait Adaptations
It's the sort of juxtaposition that often arises at this time of year: novel adaptations arriving in droves at movie theaters, hunting for Oscar nominations.J.R.R.
View ArticleFor Pi, A Wonderful 'Life' Finds Its Way To Film
When your dad owns a zoo in India, as Pi's dad does, it's perhaps natural to regard animals as your buddies. Cool if you're talking goats and turtles; less cool if the animal you decide you want to pet...
View ArticleHome Video Review: 'Lawrence Of Arabia' On Blu-Ray
Time now for some home-viewing advice from our movie critic, Bob Mondello. This week, a 50th-anniversary Blu-ray release of the ultimate sand-and-sandals picture: Lawrence of Arabia.Sand dunes for...
View ArticleHollywood Heights: The Ups, Downs And In-Betweens
Hollywood can make any actor look imposing by shooting from a low angle or building sets with short door frames. But the fact is that we want our heroes big and our villains bigger, and the average...
View ArticleA 'Hobbit,' Off On His Unhurried Journey
The Hobbit's path to the screen may have started out as tortuous as a trek through the deadly Helcaraxe, filled with detours (Guillermo del Toro was initially going to direct), marked by conflict (New...
View ArticleShedding Grim Light On A 'Dark' Story
With the screen pitch-black at the start of Zero Dark Thirty, we hear the confusion and alarm of Sept.
View ArticleBob Mondello's Best Movies of 2012
A lot of movie box-office records fell in 2012. The comic-book blockbuster The Avengers had the biggest opening weekend in Hollywood history. Skyfall will be the first James Bond film to top $1 billion...
View ArticleHome Video Review: 'Looper'
Welcome to a future when time travel has been outlawed, meaning only outlaws like Joe, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, travel through time.
View ArticleHome Video Review: 'Slings And Arrows'
Time now for a home-viewing recommendation from movie critic Bob Mondello. He recently caught an online episode of the Shakespeare-centric comedy Slings and Arrows and says it reminded him how much he...
View ArticleHome Video Review: 'Buster Keaton: The Ultimate Collection'
Time now for a home-viewing recommendation from NPR movie critic Bob Mondello. A quiet recommendation — because Bob is touting the Ultimate Buster Keaton Collection, a 14-disc set of classic silent...
View ArticleIn Prison And Among Zombies, Shakespeare's Reflection Shines
The Italian art-house film Caesar Must Die and the teen zombie-comedy Warm Bodies do not, at first glance, appear to have much in common. But they share a bit of creative DNA, both being inventive...
View Article'Identity Thief': Nearly Two Hours, Stolen
The new road-trip comedy Identity Thief— about a guy who confronts a woman who's wrecking his credit rating — is such a catalog of missed opportunities, it probably makes sense just to list them.The...
View ArticleSay Yes To 'No': Retro Political Thriller Packs A Timely Punch
In 1988, Chile's brutal military dictator, Augusto Pinochet, was facing international pressure to legitimize his regime.
View ArticleHome Video Review: 'On The Waterfront'
Time again for a home-viewing recommendation from NPR movie critic Bob Mondello. Today, Bob suggests a tale of moral crisis— On the Waterfront, in a freshly restored Blu-ray version from Criterion.Mugs...
View ArticleDespite Dark Themes, A Big Oscar Bounce
How much is a best-picture Oscar worth? Not the statuette — winners are required to sell that back to the Academy for a buck if they want to get rid of it. No, what's the Oscar worth at the box...
View ArticleFairy Tales For Grown-Ups? More Are On The Way
Adaptations of fairy tales are everywhere you look. The TV show Once Upon a Time and the police procedural Grimm are in their second seasons. Hansel and his sister Gretel are at the cineplex hunting...
View ArticleFrom 'Oz,' A Less Than Magical Prequel
Oz the Great and Powerful tells the story of how the Wizard came to Oz, answering a question I suspect no one was asking, but with considerable digital wizardry.The prequel begins in black and white,...
View Article'Ginger & Rosa': Life And Times In Cold War London
Two young actresses with substantial Hollywood pedigrees have the title roles in the new film Ginger & Rosa. Ginger is played by Dakota Fanning's 13-year-old sister, Elle, who already has more than...
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