Movies

Arts

No Joke: Hollywood Comedy Producer Finds Career In Prison Reform

10:03pm March 08, 2015

by NPR Staff

Scott Budnick hit it big in Hollywood as an executive producer of the Hangover movies. Then, in 2013, he decided to leave it all behind and focus full time on helping young people in prison.

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Grace Hopper joined the Navy during World War II and served on and off until 1986.

Arts

Grace Hopper, 'The Queen Of Code,' Would Have Hated That Title

8:45pm March 08, 2015

by NPR Staff

Gillian Jacobs, known for her role as Britta Perry on Community, directed a short documentary on the computer programming pioneer. She says Hopper wasn't fond of the hype over her accomplishments.

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Albert Maysles, Pioneering Documentary Filmmaker, Dies

7:04pm March 06, 2015

by Lynn Neary

Albert Maysles, a documentary filmmaker behind the films "Gimme Shelter" and "Grey Gardens" died Thursday at the age of 88. He was one of the fathers of what was called "direct cinema."

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National

Documentary Filmmaker Albert Maysles Dies At 88

5:23pm March 06, 2015

by Krishnadev Calamur

He is perhaps best known for the films Grey Gardens and Gimme Shelter. The Oscar-nominated director died Thursday in New York.

Being Unoriginal Is Not The Biggest Problem For 'Chappie'

2:52pm March 06, 2015

by Kenneth Turan

Chappie is the new film from director Neil Blomkamp about a robot that becomes humanity's last hope. It echoes everything from Dr. Frankenstein's creation to the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz.

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Arts

In The Northern Ireland Period Thriller '71,' No One Dies Well

1:43pm March 06, 2015

by David Edelstein

The film is about an English private who is cut off from his unit in the middle of a riot in Belfast in 1971. It's a conventional and smashingly good chase melodrama, but it's also a tragedy.

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A drawing of two clinking martini glasses.

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Focus,' Con Men And Rock And Roll

10:02am March 06, 2015

by Linda Holmes

On this week's show, the state of rock and the art of the con — or at least the con-artist film.

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Janice Ledtke and Pacho Lane chat during a speed dating event in The Age of Love.

Speed Dating For Seniors Who Aren't Interested In Slowing Down

6:55pm March 05, 2015

by Ina Jaffe

A new film follows daters ages 70 to 90 looking for love in five-minute intervals. "Speed dating for seniors" may sound funny, but The Age of Love is really about our lifelong need for intimacy.

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Arts

'Maps To The Stars': Either The Funniest Horror Movie, Or The Most Horrific Comedy

3:43pm March 02, 2015

by David Edelstein

In the film about a toxic Hollywood, John Cusack plays a self-help guru whose clients include Julianne Moore. It's full of anxious shoptalk and name dropping, druggy kids and druggier grown-ups.

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Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock in the Star Trek episode "Plato's Stepchildren" in 1968.

Arts

Leonard Nimoy's Mr. Spock Taught Us Acceptance Is Highly Logical

3:20pm March 02, 2015

by Eric Deggans

The Star Trek actor died Friday in Los Angeles, and NPR TV Critic Eric Deggans says Nimoy's signature role taught fans the power of accepting their differences rather than fighting them.