Movies

Chris Rock wrote, directed and stars in Top Five, a film about a standup comedian who is trying to reshape his career.

Arts

Chris Rock On Finding The Line Between Funny And 'Too Far'

1:52pm December 08, 2014

"No comedian wants to have to analyze and defend" jokes, says Rock, who wrote, directed and stars in the new film Top Five. He adds: "I'm not a politician; I'm not a thinker. I'm a comedian."

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Arts

A Surprisingly Effective Trailer For 'The Last Five Years'

9:28am December 08, 2014

by Linda Holmes

The trailer for the upcoming film The Last Five Years shows lots of Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan singing to each other, because ... that's the movie. It's good, though.

Before becoming a monk, Nicky Vreeland apprenticed with the great photographers Richard Avedon and Irving Penn.

Arts

From Chic Manhattanite To 'Monk With A Camera'

11:51am December 06, 2014

by NPR Staff

A new film tells the story of how Nicky Vreeland — a trained photographer and grandson of a fashion icon — used his camera to help rebuild the Tibetan Buddhist monastery he now leads.

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Nicolas Cage stars as rogue CIA agent Evan Lake in the spy thriller Dying of the Light.

Arts

'Dying Of The Light': A Disputed Production, A Disappointing Product

2:06pm December 05, 2014

by Tomas Hachard

The film, disavowed by its director and writer Paul Schrader after clashes with the studio, stars Nicolas Cage as a CIA officer who believes the agency has lost its moral direction.

Arts

Prayers And Holy Water Can't Exorcise The Terrifying 'Babadook'

1:42pm December 05, 2014

by David Edelstein

In the Australian chiller, a bogeyman announces himself in a rhyming, pop-up book on a 7-year-old's shelf. But the real horror is that the boy's mom, a grieving widow, is battling psychic demons.

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Aksel Hennie and Wes Bentley star as offshore divers in Pioneer.

Arts

A Claustrophobic 'Pioneer' From A Land Suddenly Grown Rich

1:36pm December 05, 2014

by Ella Taylor

The Norwegian thriller follows divers deep beneath the sea, where powerful forces above drive those trapped together to question nearly every aspect of their experience.

Reese Witherspoon plays Cheryl Strayed in Wild.

Arts

A 'Wild' Trek Made A Bit Too Neatly

1:25pm December 05, 2014

by Mark Jenkins

The film adaptation of Cheryl Strayed's memoir about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail takes Reese Witherspoon into new territory but never quite achieves the fierceness to which it aspires.

In Inherent Vice, Joaquin Phoenix (left) plays a burned-out hippie private eye, while Josh Brolin is a Los Angeles Police Department detective -- Lt. Detective "Bigfoot" Bjornsen -- who is investigating a murder and kidnapping case.

Arts

After Decades Acting, Josh Brolin Still Wonders If He's 'Good Enough'

9:34am December 05, 2014

Brolin co-stars in an adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's novel Inherent Vice. He says as an actor he's always wondering: "Can I live up to what this person has written? There's always a fear around that."

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Philae Comet Landing Reminiscent Of 'Armageddon,' 'Deep Impact'

8:46am December 05, 2014

by Bob Mondello

Bob Mondello listened to reports about spacecraft Philae landing on comet 67P, and it reminded him of certain movies.

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(From left) British actress Naomi Harris, French actress Lea Seydoux, British actor Daniel Craig, Italian actress Monica Bellucci and Austrian actor Christoph Waltz pose during an event to launch the 24th James Bond film, Spectre, at Pinewood Studios near

World News

James Bond Will Be Back Next Year — And He's Battling An Old Enemy

1:56pm December 04, 2014

by Krishnadev Calamur

Director Sam Mendes announced today that the 24th film in the franchise will be called Spectre, named for the organization 007 has battled since his first screen outing in Dr. No in 1962.