Film

The Singing Cowboy was one of the country's most popular and prolific film stars during his career; he also gained fame as a radio star, producer and TV personality. Biographer Holly George-Warren traces Autry's lengthy career in Public Cowboy No. 1.

One humble, one humongous, these movies couldn't be more different. Larry Crowne is low-tech with human-scaled characters. Transformers: Dark of the Moon is like War of the Worlds on steroids. But in their own way, each one is perfect for the holiday weekend, says critic David Edelstein.

How bad is this teacher? Director Jake Kasdan stuffs ineptness and inappropriateness into the lesson plan in equal measure. But critic David Edelstein says that the film's moral turpitude is also the source of its charm.

The director's latest film follows a Mexican immigrant living illegally in Los Angeles who tries to evade immigration officials and the city's pervasive gang culture. It's a far cry from Weitz's earlier films, the blockbusters The Golden Compass and New Moon.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz says these operettas on DVD are indispensable for people who love G&S, and might just change the minds of those who don't.

Cindy Meehl's documentary Buck tells the story of the horse trainer who overcame years of abuse to become the inspiration for the book and movie The Horse Whisperer. Critic David Edelstein says he's never seen a film that so vividly depicts the "link between a trauma and its transmutation."

The Trip, a British comedy featuring two comedians trading their best celebrity impersonations, got critic John Powers thinking about memorable voices from the movies. Famous celebrity voices, he says, are not what they used to be.

Super 8 director J.J. Abrams says the inspiration for his latest science-fiction thriller came from his own childhood obsession with filmmaking. He shares his thoughts on the film industry and on trying to make movies more enjoyable for audiences.

J.J. Abrams' science-fiction thriller Super 8 was inspired, in part, by Steven Spielberg's earliest works. Critic David Edelstein says the film hits home in a way more impersonal franchise pictures don't.

British comedians Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon trade barbs and impressions in the new comedy, The Trip. Coogan, best known for his character Alan Partridge, talks about the improvisational film, which sends the two comedians on a road trip in Northern England.

Ewan McGregor stars in Mike Mills' film about a young man who learns that his 75-year-old father (Christopher Plummer) is gay. Critic David Edelstein says the movie, based on Mills' own life puts the filmmaker in a category alongside Woody Allen and Charlie Kaufman.

The movie Beginners stars Ewan McGregor as a young man who learns that his 75-year-old father, played by Christopher Plummer, is gay. The movie is based on filmmaker Mike Mills' own life. Mills explains what happened when his own dad came out.

Fischer, one of the greatest chess players of all time, was also a recluse who made anti-American and anti-Semitic statements and seemed increasingly lost in the depths of his own mind. Filmmaker Liz Garbus examines the life of the troubled genius in the documentary biopic, Bobby Fischer Against the World.

Terrence Malick's film, part creation epic and part Oedipal family drama, recently won the Palme d'Or -- the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Critic David Edelstein says reaction to the film has been mixed, but he "recommends the experience unreservedly."

Bradley Cooper starred as a schoolteacher heading to Vegas for a wild bachelor party in the 2009 raunchy bromance The Hangover. He reprises his role for the sequel, alongside actors Zach Galifanakis and Ed Helms -- and a drug dealing money named Crystal.

The film critic reports his impressions of this year's Cannes Film Festival. On Powers' list of notable films: Terrance Malick's Tree of Life, about a young boy growing up in 1950s Texas, and an Iranian film by a director who was explicitly told by the Iranian government not to make films.

The director's latest comedy stars Owen Wilson as a time-traveling writer who winds up in Paris, in the 1920s, alongside Fitzgerald, Hemingway and Stein. Critic David Edelstein says Wilson's acting is superb -- and the film recalls Woody Allen's earliest days in film.

After six years on Saturday Night Live and many supporting film parts, Kristen Wiig has her first starring role in the romantic comedy Bridesmaids, which has been touted as a Judd Apatow movie for ladies. Critic David Edelstein says it's likely to be a hit with both women and men.

David Edelstein's friends all say they just won't see a Mel Gibson movie. But Edelstein says the actor's new film The Beaver, directed by Jodie Foster, might be worth a look -- if only for a certain cameo appearance.

A trio of rousing adventure flicks -- Fast Five, 13 Assassins and Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen -- all opened this past week. David Edelstein says each one is pretty singular, in its own way.