The new Russian film Leviathan chronicles one man's struggle against a greedy mayor confiscating his property, providing an epic and timely portrait of Russian society.
Cooper worked closely with Taya Kyle to turn her late husband's book, about his time as a Navy SEAL, into a film. "We all felt him the whole time we were shooting the movie," Cooper says.
Walter Keane made his name with wistful paintings of big-eyed children — paintings actually done by his wife. Tim Burton directs and Amy Adams stars in Big Eyes, a new movie about the Keanes.
In Shikeith Cathey's short film, faceless strangers answer questions like "What makes you happy?" and "Do you cry?" The artist says, "These questions, as simple as they are ... they aren't discussed."
All 20 nominees in the actor and actress categories are white. The directors and screenwriters nominated are male. David Greene talks to Wesley Morris, who writes for the online magazine Grantland.
Deborah Sathe, head of talent development and production for Film London's Microwave project, talks with NPR's Arun Rath about the project's efforts to recruit and mentor diverse filmmakers.
Desiree Akhavan wrote, directed and stars in the new comedy Appropriate Behavior. It's informed by her life as a bisexual Brooklynite, but the film, like its maker, defies easy categorization.
The movie is based on neuroscientist Lisa Genova's novel about a linguistics professor with early-onset Alzheimer's disease. While Moore is fascinating, the rest of the characters are half-formed.
On this week's show, we look at Ava DuVernay's Selma, and then use some questions about that film to look at the issue of factual accuracy in historical dramas more generally.