Film

The film Hustle & Flow follows the story of a Memphis pimp who dreams of becoming a rapper. Relative newcomer Craig Brewer wrote and directed the film, which won the 2005 Audience Award at Sundance. Brewer and star Terrence Howard discuss the gritty movie.

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz tells why he likes the soundtrack for the Preston Sturges film Unfaithfully Yours, now out on DVD.

Cultural historian Christopher Frayling's new book Once Upon A Time in Italy: The Westerns of Sergio Leone is a large-format, beautifully illustrated book that chronicles the history of the spaghetti western through researched text and interviews with Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese and Eli Wallach.

March of the Penguins is a stunning and endearing documentary about a year in the life of an Emperor penguin flock in Antarctica. Morgan Freeman narrates.

The new documentary Grizzly Man by German filmmaker Werner Herzog tells the story of Timothy Treadwell, who lived for 13 years -- and died -- among the bears in Alaska. Treadwell and his girlfriend were found dead in October 2003, killed by the animals he had grown to love so much.

A Memphis pimp with a midlife crisis tries to make it as a rapper in Hustle & Flow, a film featuring the prodigious acting talents of Terrence Howard. He spent nearly two years researching a role that he initially did not want to accept.

John Leguizamo, who got his start as a stand-up comedian, stars in the new Spanish-language film Cronicas. He plays a tabloid reporter from Miami who travels to Ecuador to track down a serial killer.

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.

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.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews War of the Worlds, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise. Edelstein calls the movie "a masterpiece," combining momentous special effects with a subtle depiction of the human struggle.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Me and You and Everyone We Know, starring performance artist Miranda July.

The latest novel from best-selling English author Nick Hornby, A Long Way Down, focuses on a group of suicidal people who accidentally meet atop a tall building — and how that meeting changes their fates. He also writes "Stuff I've Been Reading," a column for The Believer magazine. Many of Hornby's novels have been made into films, including About a Boy, High Fidelity and Fever Pitch.

Film critic David Edelstein has a review of the Batman installment, starring Christian Bale, Katie Holmes and Michael Caine. Is there room for one more film about the Caped Crusader? As the title suggests, this one goes back to the origins of a classic American character.

He plays Bruce Wayne -- and his alter ego, Batman -- in the new film Batman Begins. Bale's other films include American Psycho, Laurel Canyon, Captain Corelli's Mandolin and The Machinist. He is also the voice of Howl in the new Japanese animated film Howl's Moving Castle.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Howl's Moving Castle, the new Disney film made by Hayao Miyazaki, who made the Academy-Award winning animated film Spirited Away.

Critic at large John Powers has been watching the HBO show Entourage -- about a handsome young movie star and his buddies -- and has some thoughts on the way the rich and powerful are often protected from reality.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the new documentary Rock School. The film depicts the real-life school of rock in Philadelphia.

Academy Award-winning film editor Thelma Schoonmaker has edited every one of Martin Scorsese's movies, from Raging Bull to The Aviator. Schoonmaker has had a front-row seat to see how film editing has changed over the past 30 years.