Reviews

Movies To Watch While Home For The Holidays

December 26, 2008 · Is it time to settle down and watch a good movie that the whole family can enjoy? DVD tips include Nanny McPhee; Hidalgo; The Water Horse; Five Children And It and Tuck Everlasting. ()  

Movies

New Movies With a French Connection

December 19, 2008 · The animated comedy The Tale of Despereaux is about a curious French mouse who loves to read. The French-language drama The Class is about a middle school teacher who aims to inspire. There's a lot of exposition in Despereaux and The Class is more real than most fiction films. ()  

Movies

'The Reader' and 'Doubt' Tackle Generational Divides

December 12, 2008 · Two new movies — Doubt and The Reader — deal with sex with minors. Doubt takes place during a time of change for the Roman Catholic church in the 1960s. The Reader is about two generations of Germans, those who lived through World War II and those who learned about it as history. ()  

Book Reviews By Alan Cheuse

Death's Absence, Writ Large And Small

December 9, 2008 · Two new novels explore the consequences of a personified Death who fails to perform expected duties. Jonathan Carroll's The Ghost in Love focuses on an individual saved from Death, while Jose Saramago's Death with Interruptions examines an entire nation. ()  

Movie Reviews By Kenneth Turan

Baz Luhrmann, Dreaming Big In 'Australia'

November 26, 2008 · What would Thanksgiving weekend be without an epic film opening on the nation's big screens? This year is no exception: Critic Kenneth Turan says Baz Luhrmann's latest is as colorful and expansive as the Outback. ()  

Movie Reviews By Kenneth Turan

'Twilight': For Teens, A Swooningly Risky Romance

November 21, 2008 · 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. ()  

Movie Reviews By Bob Mondello

'Slumdog Millionaire': Mumbai Jackpot

November 12, 2008 · Based on an Indian novel about a TV quiz show contestant from the Mumbai slums, Danny Boyle's film has already sparked Oscar talk. Critic Bob Mondello says that chatter is entirely justified. (Recommended) ()  

Movie Reviews By Kenneth Turan

In 'Stranded,' Survival As A Team Effort

November 7, 2008 · In 1972, a plane carrying a Uruguayan rugby team crashed in the Andes. Of the 45 members, 16 survived — on grit, resolve and the flesh of their dead companions. For the first time, they tell their own story. ()  

Diversions

In Search Of A Better Obama Impersonator

November 4, 2008 · When it comes to political satire, changes in the White House bring changes on our TV screens. Political impressionists are preparing to take on their next big role. We've seen Tina Fey do near-perfect impersonations of Republican Vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, but some performances leave something to be desired. ()  

Movie Reviews By Bob Mondello

In 'Synecdoche, N.Y.,' A State Of Mind Expanded

October 26, 2008 · A theatrical director, driven by ambition and anxiety, restages his own life — on a full-scale New York set he builds in the shelter of a huge warehouse. Bob Mondello says it's one heck of a head-trip. (Recommended) ()  

Summary Judgment

'W.,' 'Bees' And 'Max Payne'

October 17, 2008 · Writer Mark Jordan Legan takes us through three new films: Oliver Stone's W. starring Josh Brolin, the adaptation of the novel The Secret Life of Bees starring Queen Latifah and Dakota Fanning and the crime drama Max Payne starring Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis and Beau Bridges. ()  

Books

The Booker Prize: Our London Cabbie's Review

October 11, 2008 · Who needs the Booker Prize committee when we have our own Will Grozier? The London cabbie reviews the short list of books ahead of Tuesday's announcement of the Man Booker prizewinner. ()