Film

Film critic John Powers reviews the new film Road to Perdition directed by Sam Mendes, starring Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

Film critic John Powers reviews 8 Mile, starring rap star Eminem.

Film director and writer Todd Solondz. His new film is Storytelling and it has already inflamed some critics more than his previous two features, Welcome to the Dollhouse and Happiness. Those films won prizes at Sundance and Cannes. Storytelling is two separate stories set in high school and college. In one, we meet three college students and their writing professor. The other is about a filmmaker who wants to make a documentary about a high school senior and his family.

He reviews the political documentary, Journeys with George, a behind-the-scenes look at the 2000 presidential race.

Film critic John Powers The Mothman Prophecies starring Richard Gere, Laura Linney, and Alan Bates.

Australian actress Cate Blanchett. In her latest film Charlotte Gray she plays a courier behind enemy lines during World War II, directed by Australian director Gillian Armstrong. She also in three films out now: The Shipping News, Bandits and The Lord of the Rings. Blanchett was nominated for an Academy Award for her starring role in Elizabeth. Her other films include Pushing Tin, Oscar and Lucinda, The Talented Mr Ripley, and The Gift.

Film critic John Powers reviews Black Hawk Down.

Composer Jerry Goldsmith has been writing film and TV music since the 1950s. He won an Academy Award in 1976 for his music for The Omen. His film scores include: Star Trek: The Motion Picture, The Sand Pebbles, Chinatown, and A Patch of Blue. His TV credits include: The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Dr. Kildare, The Waltons, and Barnaby Jones. Theres a new CD collecting his music, The Film Music of Jerry Goldsmith (Telarc).

Actor and producer Bob Balaban has appeared in over 50 movie and television spots, directed for television and produced three full legnth films. His latest project is Gosford Park, a Robert Altman whodunnit set in an English manor. The film is up for several Golden Globe awards. Balaban produced and appears in it.

Philip Furia is currently writing a book on Hollywood's musicals. He discusses the impact of Harry Warren on movie musicals. Furia is the author of The Poets of Tin Pan Alley, and Irving Berlin: A Life in Song. He is chair of the English department at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.