Movies

Steve Coogan acts alongside Judi Dench in Philomena, the story of a woman searching for her son and the cynical journalist helping her find him.

Arts

Steve Coogan, Tacking Toward The Funny Side Of Serious

8:07pm November 15, 2013

by NPR Staff

In Philomena, the British comedian plays a journalist helping an older woman track down the son she was forced to give up for adoption. Coogan tells NPR's Robert Siegel about the project — one with a bit more weight than his usual work.

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David (Will Forte, left) and his father, Woody (Bruce Dern, center), take time out of their quixotic journey to stop in Woody's small Nebraska hometown — where Woody's old business partner, Ed (Stacy Keach), is still nursing a grudge.

Arts

Across 'Nebraska,' On A Journey That Goes Beyond The Trip

5:47pm November 15, 2013

by David Edelstein

Critic David Edelstein calls the film, in which an elderly man sets out to claim a million-dollar sweepstakes prize, a "superb balancing act" from director Alexander Payne.

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Bruce Dern's 'Transcendent Performance' In 'Nebraska'

10:49am November 15, 2013

by Kenneth Turan

It's the letter everyone's received. The one that says you've won $1 million but is actually about selling magazine subscriptions. But what if someone truly believed they'd won that million? And what if that individual was your cranky father and he insisted on going to prize headquarters to collect his money.

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Bruce Dern has been acting for more than 50 years. In Nebraska, he plays a man on a mission to collect $1 million.

Arts

Actor Bruce Dern Gets Up Close And Personal In 'Nebraska'

4:08pm November 14, 2013

by NPR Staff

Dern's new film follows a man named Woody who is starting to show signs of dementia. When Woody falls for one of those junk-mail sweepstakes come-ons, he becomes convinced that he's won $1 million and sets out on foot to collect the cash. Dern tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross, "[Nebraska] is the most personal movie I've ever done in my career."

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After receiving a dubious letter, the aging Woody (Bruce Dern) heads off on a quest to collect $1 million, dragging his son David (Will Forte) along with him.

Arts

Chasing Money, And Meaning, In 'Nebraska'

8:32pm November 13, 2013

by Bob Mondello

A road-trip movie from director Alexander Payne (Sideways) follows a man en route to collect a million-dollar prize that probably never was. NPR's Bob Mondello says the black-and-white film is just the latest achievement from a talented filmmaker. (Recommended)

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Jake Gyllenhaal plays the stoic Detective Loki in Prisoners, trying to track down two missing girls.

Arts

Jake Gyllenhaal, Going After What's Real

8:08pm November 08, 2013

by NPR Staff

On a visit to the set of Nightcrawler, NPR's Audie Cornish talks to the actor about his changing career and his recent crime drama, Prisoners, where he plays a solemn detective in search of two young missing girls.

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This Blockbuster store in Mission, Texas, is franchised by Border Entertainment. The company has 26 stores across Texas and Alaska that will live on after the last 300 or so company-owned stores are closed by early January 2014.

Blockbuster Fades Out, But Some Zombie Stores Will Live On

8:08pm November 08, 2013

by Serri Graslie

Dish Network announced this week that it will shutter the 300 or so remaining Blockbuster stores it owns across the country. But in some places, dozens of the video stores will have an unlikely afterlife.

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Tim (Domhnall Gleeson) learns from his father (Bill Nighy) that he has the ability to travel back and forth through time, a power Tim uses in his pursuit of love.

Arts

This 'Time,' Supernatural Love Story Falls Flat

5:49pm November 02, 2013

by Bob Mondello

About Time, written and directed by Richard Curtis (Love Actually), follows a young man looking for love — with a little help from time-travel. NPR's Bob Mondello says that in this instance, time travel and romantic comedy don't necessarily blend well together.

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In Dallas Buyers Club, Matthew McConaughey takes on the role of Ron Woodroof, a Texas man who, diagnosed with AIDS in the 1980s, begins to smuggle experimental drugs in from Mexico.

Arts

Matthew McConaughey, Fiercely Committed To This 'Club'

6:49pm November 01, 2013

by Bob Mondello

Dallas Buyers Club tells the true story of Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey), a Texas man whose '80s AIDS diagnosis drives him to fight for access to the drugs he believes can save him. Jennifer Garner and Jared Leto also star. (Recommended)

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Arts

The Story Behind The Stunts: Remembering Hollywood's Hal Needham

3:54pm November 01, 2013

Throughout his career, Needham did the kind of stunts that would either end with a spectacular shot ... or an ambulance. On Oct. 25, Needham died of cancer at age 82. We listen back to a 2011 interview, in which he tells the stories behind some of his most daring stunts.

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