Movies

Director Damien Chazelle's second film centers on the agony of a drummer in a high-powered music school. The movie ties you into knots: The fear of failure is omnipresent. So is the jazz vibe.

Ben Affleck says playing a character shrouded in suspicion was liberating, because "likability was sort of thrown out of the window." He also looks back on where his career began: Voyage of the Mimi.

NPR's Bob Mondello says David Fincher's screen adaptation of the marriage-in-trouble thriller Gone Girl offers all the twists and jolts of the original novel, but gets a little pulpy toward the end.

Bolivar liberated six countries from Spanish rule in the early 19th century. A new film about his life features epic battles, rousing speeches and stunning landscapes in the spirit of Braveheart.

On this week's show, we talk about how The Equalizer fits into the arc of Denzel Washington's long and full career, and we consider absurdist sitcoms as Gilligan's Island turns 50.