Search results for

A softly lit oil portrait of a young woman with a pearl earring is one of Johannes Vermeer's best-known paintings. The new film Girl with a Pearl Earring brings the story behind the famous image to the silver screen. Los Angeles Times and Morning Edition film critic Kenneth Turan has a review.

NPR's Bob Mondello says similarities often emerge among movies sharing a season, and that is especially apparent this year. The most obvious are the 19th-century war movies (Master and Commander, The Last Samurai, and Cold Mountain) -- but there are more obscure trends, like films that include a dead child in their plots (Mystic River, In America, 21 Grams).

Art Carney died Sunday at age 85; a small, private funeral service for the the popular actor was held Tuesday. Carney is most fondly remembered for playing Jackie Gleason's pal Ed Norton on The Honeymooners. He later won the 1974 Oscar for best actor in Harry and Tonto.

Thirty years after the publication of his book Cathedral, David Macaulay returns to the construction of sacred spaces with his new book Mosque. NPR's Liane Hansen joins the author for a conversation at the Islamic Center in Washington, D.C.

Los Angeles Times and Morning Edition movie critic Kenneth Turan reviews Elf. Turan thinks that this elf is no turkey. And even though it's weeks before Thanksgiving, Turan says this movie has enough Christmas cheer to spare.

The seafaring adventure Master and Commander, starring Russell Crowe, sails into theaters Friday. Like the Patrick O'Brian novels on which it is based, the film strives for historical authenticity on every last detail, including sound effects. NPR's Michele Norris talks with sound designer Richard King.

Director Tim Burton's new film Big Fish stars Albert Finney as a fable-making father whose stories have caused his son to doubt his every word. NPR's Bob Mondello offers a review.

NPR's Steve Inskeep interviews Tobias Wolff, author of Old School. Set in a prep school attended by many young, would-be writers, the work raises themes of personal identity and literary integrity. It's the first full novel from the author of This Boy's Life.

France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia signed a peace accord several years ago that was never fully implemented. It may prove to be the off-ramp which will end the Ukraine crisis.

NPR's Adrian Florido speaks with Jose Cintron, a middle school teacher in Puerto Rico, about the teachers' ongoing strikes to demand better wages and pensions.