Wedding Crashers stars Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson as two divorce mediators spending their spare time pursuing women at weddings. The comedy features what the reviewer describes as "crackerjack timing" by the co-stars.
Critic-at-large John Powers says that two current blockbusters, Batman Begins and War of the Worlds, are deeply influenced by America's post-Sept. 11 obsession with terrorism.
Linguist Geoff Nunberg reflects on the use of the phrase "stiff upper lip" when referring to the British, especially in reports of the July 7 London bombings.
Rock critic Milo Miles reviews She Sang California, a new CD from singer songwriter Judy Henske. She was popular in the 1960s, but it's been 28 years since she released an album.
Don Roos wrote and directed the new film Happy Endings, starring Tom Arnold, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Lisa Kudrow and Laura Dern. Roos, who also directed The Opposite of Sex and Bounce, is known for creating dysfunctional characters who bump into one another in unpredictable ways.
Charles Sennott is the London bureau chief for the Boston Globe. He was in London during the Underground and bus bombings on July 7. He discusses British reaction to the events and compares it to the American reaction to Sept. 11, 2001.
Dr. Francis DuFrayne is a gastroenterologist in his 50s at the Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. He is also a captain in the U.S. Navy Reserve. He recently returned from a six-month tour of duty in Iraq, where he was called up to treat wounded soldiers. While he was in Iraq, his son was also serving there in the Marines.
Francis DuFrayne, Jr., is a captain in the Marine Corps reserve. He is the son of Dr. Francis DuFrayne. He is now a research associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., after his service in Iraq.
Evan Hunter died Wednesday at the age of 78. Under the pen name Ed McBain, he was best known for his finely detailed "87th Precinct" novels. Mystery fans call McBain's books "procedurals" for their close attention to police procedures.
British journalist Michael Smith writes about defense issues for the Sunday Times of London. He's the journalist to whom the so-called Downing Street memo was leaked. The memo -- the minutes of a July 23, 2002, meeting of Britain's War Cabinet -- reveals that President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair began the war on the Iraq before Bush received congressional approval and before a U.N. vote.
Actress Lauren Ambrose plays daughter Claire Fisher on the HBO drama series Six Feet Under. Her other roles include a teen introvert turned popular surfer chick with multiple personality disorder in the film Psycho Beach Party and a star student of Kevin Kline's in the film In and Out. Also a classically trained opera singer, Ambrose appeared on stage last year in the Sam Shepard play Buried Child at London's National Theatre.
Journalist and historian Martin Meredith has written extensively on Africa and its recent history. His new book is The Fate of Africa: From the Hopes of Freedom to the Heart of Despair.
Michela Wrong's new book is I Didn't Do It For You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation. She presents a case study of the nation of Eritrea, but the problems she writes about, including colonialism and border wars, are prevalent on the entire continent. Wrong is also the author of the PEN award-winning book, In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu's Congo. She has been a correspondent for Reuters news agency, the BBC and the Financial Times of London.
