Film

Film Critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Parenthood," a comedy starring Steve Martin and Rick Moranis, and directed by Ron Howard. Howard's previous films include two hits and a flop: "Splash," "Cocoon" and ""Willow."

Dancer and choreographer Marta Renzi. Typical of her work is "Mountainview," a half-hour dance narrative that premieres this Thursday, August 3 on the PBS program "Alive From Off Center." "Mountainview" is set at the bar of rundown resort run by three generations of the same family. The families loves and jealousies are played out to the sounds of the jukebox, which features the music of Bruce Springsteen, Tammy Wynette and Aretha Franklin. RENZI choreographed the dances and other movements and collaborated with filmmaker John Sayles on the camera work.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews "Turner and Hooch," the new comedy starring Tom Hanks as a man who's life is turned upside down when he inherits a huge, slobbering dog.

Filmmaker Wayne Wang. With the films "Chan is Missing," "Dim Sum," and "Slam Dance" to his credit, Wang is the first Chinese-American film director to make an impact in the American film industry. Wang has focussed his work around the problems of identity and assimilation, and other issues in the lives of Chinese-American immigrants. He made his first film, "Chan is Missing," on a budget of only $22,000, but the mystery set in San Francisco's Chinatown became both a critical and box-office success.

Film Critic Stephen Schiff reviews "When Harry Met Sally," the new romantic comedy by director Rob Reiner ("Stand By Me," "This is Spinal Tap") that stars Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews the new James Bond movie, "License To Kill," starring Timothy Dalton as Agent 007.

Comic Andrea Martin. She was an original member of the Canadian SCTV comedy troupe and one of its brightest stars for seven years. Her co-stars included John Candy, Eugene Levy and Martin Short. Martin brought to life the neurotic talk show host Libby Wolfson, cleaning lady Pirini Scleroso, and, perhaps her best known character, the TV station manager Edith Prickley. Martin recently starred in her own cable TV comedy special on the Showtime channel.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews a few of the current crop of summer movies - "Great Balls of Fire," "Lethal Weapon II," and "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids."

Pennebaker, who died Aug. 1, pioneered a cinéma vérité style of filmmaking in documentaries like Bob Dylan: Don't Look Back and The War Room. Originally broadcast in 1989.

Filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker. One of America's foremost documentary producers, Pennebaker has brought his cinéma verité approach to subjects ranging from Castro's Cuba, to Jimmy Carter's energy policy, to Bob Dylan's first tour of Britain. Music has been the source of much of Pennebaker's work. His films have featured the likes of Pablo Cassals, Van Cliburn, jazz singer Dave Lambert, rocker David Bowie, John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Director and actor Paul Bartel. Bartel's acting credits include roles in "Fame" and "L.A. Law," but he's best known for his direction of several black comedies, such as "Eating Raoul," which he also co-wrote and acted in. Bartel's new film, "Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills," has just been released. It stars Ed Begley Jr. and Jacqueline Bisset.

Critic Ken Tucker recommends the home video release of the recent thriller. He says the premise -- a demon-possessed doll terrorizes a family -- is absurd, but the movie features characters with surprising depth. And while Child's Play is violent, it doesn't rely solely on gore to terrify its audience.

Unlike other film critics, Stephen Schiff isn't so troubled by the ambiguous ending of Spike Lee's third movie. Schiff admires the way Do the Right Thing smartly grapples with race relations, but he's frustrated by how inconsistent the characters are, a directorial flaw that serves the sometimes twisting plot.

Spike Lee's new movie, about a neighborhood's response to the murder of a black man, climaxes in a violent ending that many believe sends an ambiguous message about race relations in the U.S. Lee disagrees, and tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross that the movie's intent is clear.

Film critic Stephen Schiff says that the new take on the comic book superhero is downright Wagnerian. Despite minor pacing issues and a few weak plot points, it's a bleak, operatic take on film noir, with excellent performances throughout.

The new Batman film has spawned two soundtrack albums -- one of Danny Elfman's orchestral score, and the latter a collection of songs written and performed by Prince. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the artist doesn't quite succeed in crafting the rock opera he strove for, but it's refreshing to hear hear him loosen up and let it all hang out.

The French filmmaker started making movies before the New Wave movement, and without having a vast knowledge of film history. Her latest, Kung Fu Master, is about forty-year-old woman who falls in love with an adolescent boy. Varda cast her son as the male lead.

Coppola has written the music for several films of his son, Francis Ford Coppola, including the Godfather I and II. He has written a new score for the silent film Napoleon; he'll soon conduct a live performance of that music during a screening at Radio City Music Hall.

Film critic Stephen Schiff reviews Ghostbusters II. He says the movie relies too much on prior knowledge of the original. But he enjoyed the performances, particularly Bill Murray's weird take on domesticity.

Part II of the Fresh Air interview with Danny Elfman. He talks about writing the score for Tim Burton's new Batman movie. He sees his film composing as entirely distinct from his work in the rock band Oingo Boingo. The different approaches, he says, serve both efforts.