Film

This year's Sundance Film Festival has been a haven for stars -- and those who would like to be stars. Critic-at-large John Powers discusses the festival's scene -- and its movies. Among the standouts: Wrist Cutters: A Love Story and Old Joy.

Steven Soderbergh's Bubble is the source of much hand-wringing in Hollywood. But what has entertainment executives agitated isn't the film's story -- about a murderous love triangle at a doll factory -- but the way it's being released. Columnist Jonathan Bing writes for Variety magazine.

The new low-budget film from director Steven Soderbergh promises to shake things up in the movie industry. Bubble opens in theaters on Friday, Jan. 27, the same day it is broadcast in HDTV. Four days later, it comes out on DVD.

Actor and director Albert Brooks trolls for laughs in Asia and the Middle East in Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World. Playing a version of himself, Brooks is recruited by the U.S. government to help foster a deeper understanding of the region. A comedy tour ensues.

Albert Brooks has a new movie: Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World. In it, he plays himself — and the comedian is sent to India and Pakistan by the State Department to find out what makes Muslims laugh.

Imagine what would go through your mind if your mailbox suddenly became a stream of video, secretly filmed movies that feature you and your family -- and possibly presage a deadly threat. That's the predicament of Cache, starring Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche.

The 1951 film version of the Offenbach opera The Tales of Hoffmann, now on DVD, is recognized as a masterpiece of dark storytelling from the British team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.

The new film Brokeback Mountain has won critical praise for its portrayal of a love affair in the rugged West.

Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner co-wrote the screenplay for the new Stephen Spielberg film Munich. Kushner won a Pulitzer for his 1993-1994 play Angels in America, which was performed in two parts and set in New York in the mid-1980s in the midst of the AIDS epidemic.

Actor, producer, writer, director George Clooney directed and co-wrote the new film Good Night, and Good Luck, about the showdown between legendary journalist Edward R. Murrow and Sen. Joseph McCarthy that took place in 1954. Clooney also has a role in the film, portraying Murrow's producer Fred Friendly. The film is receiving much critical acclaim.

Actor Luke Wilson's new film The Family Stone depicts the annual holiday gathering of a New England family. Wilson plays Ben Stone, a film editor living on the West Coast.

Director and choreographer Susan Stroman makes her screen directing debut with the new film version of The Producers, the screen adaptation of the Broadway hit starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick.

As part of Fresh Air's annual 10 Best edition, film critic David Edelstein offers his take on the year's crop of movies. And as part of his conversation with Terry Gross, Edelstein discusses movies opening this holiday season. David Edelstein is also chief film critic for www.slate.com.

Two documentaries about nature's pristine complexity are out now on DVD The March of the Penguins and Grizzly Man.

In The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, actor Tommy Lee Jones stars as a laconic Texas ranch foreman who sets off on an honor quest to bury his murdered friend in his hometown in Mexico. The film marks Jones' directorial debut and has garnered the Oscar-winning actor accolades for his work behind and in front of the camera. Jones also produced Burials, which was written by Guillermo Arriaga, the screenwriter for Amores Perros.

The new film version of King Kong, the story of a lovelorn giant ape taken from his island home, was directed by Peter Jackson. It's the first release for Jackson since his trilogy of Lord of the Ring films.

The new film Brokeback Mountain, directed by Ang Lee, stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger. Based on a short story by Annie Proulx, it describes the relationship between two young men in the West in the 1960s.

Film historian Rudy Behlmer wrote the CD liner notes for the sound track of the film King Kong.

Two extremely popular versions of the Cinderella story were produced in the 1950s. Both are now available on DVD, and classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz has a review.