Film

Writer-director Todd Phillips' new film is School for Scoundrels, starring Billy Bob Thornton as a cross between a self-help genius and a scam artist. Phillips' other films include Old School, Road Trip and Starsky and Hutch.

A new film of Robert Penn Warren's novel All the King's Men stars Sean Penn as political boss Willie Stark, a role that won Broderick Crawford an Oscar in 1949. The remake also features Kate Winslet, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson, and James Gandolfini. It's directed by Steven Zaillian, who won his own Oscar for the screenplay of Schindler's List.

Filmmaker Kirby Dick's new documentary, This Film is Not Yet Rated, peers into the secretive world of the Motion Picture Association of America's film ratings system. MPAA board members are anonymous, deliberations are private, and standards are seemingly arbitrary.

Joan Graves, MPAA board chair is the only member of the board that the MPAA does not keep anonymous. Graves responds to some of the contentions in Kirby Dick's documentary, This Film is Not Yet Rated.

Actress Diane Lane co-stars with Adrian Brody, Ben Affleck and Bob Hoskins in the new film Hollywoodland. The film is based on the real-life mystery surrounding the death of actor George Reeves, who played Superman on TV.

Two new films try something different to find audiences: Idlewild is the musical brainchild of OutKast members Andre 3000 (Andre Benjamin) and Big Boi (Antwan Patton). How to Eat Fried Worms is a family drama based on the popular children's book.

Film critic John Powers reviews the DVD release of Billy Wilder's classic Double Indemnity, starring Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck.

TV critic David Bianculli previews When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts, Spike Lee's two-part HBO documentary about New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Film critic David Edelstein reviews Half Nelson, starring Ryan Gosling. Gosling stars as a young inner-city junior high school teacher who develops a drug habit, and the friendship he strikes up with one of his students.

Actress Maria Bello often seems to find herself playing characters involved with men in trouble -- take the films A History of Violence and The Cooler, for example. She now stars as the wife of a Port Authority officer trapped in the rubble of the Sept. 11 attacks, in Oliver Stone's upcoming film World Trade Center.