Film

The Wrestler is predictable, corny and heavy-handed, says critic David Edelstein, but with Mickey Rourke acting his heart out, the sheer adrenaline-pumping violence of the film gets into your bloodstream.

You'd have to be dedicated to your work to set yourself aflame for "research purposes" — but author Kevin Conley did just that. His new book catalogs his four years spent following Hollywood stuntmen.

The film version of John Patrick Shanley play is a heavy slab of dramaturgy: It's dark, somber, yet unbelievably intense. Even on screen, it has the compressed quality of great theater.

Philip Seymour Hoffman stars in the film Doubt, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play. His character, a priest, provokes suspicion for his attention to a young student.

Critic John Powers says the beautifully shot films of Chinese filmmaker Jia Zhangke register what's getting lost in China's transformation — and why Jia is one of the most eminent directors of our time.

In the film of his play Frost/Nixon, screenwriter Peter Morgan elevates the televised 1977 interviews that Richard Nixon did with British host David Frost into a momentous event.

The actor plays Muddy Waters in the new film Cadillac Records, which tells the story of Chicago's Chess Records, where Waters launched his career alongside Etta James, Chuck Berry and others.

Film critic David Edelstein says the Harvey Milk biopic, starring Sean Penn, is one of the most heartfelt portraits of a politician ever made. "The personal and the political aren't just hand-in-hand," he says: "They dance."

Initially known for his role on the short-lived but critically acclaimed TV series Freaks and Geeks, the actor stars alongside Sean Penn in Gus Van Sant's newest film.

A vampire love story set in high school has Fresh Air's critic feeling like he's 17 again. David Edelstein says "the biochemistry angle" could make Twilight the occasion for mass public swoon-a-thons.

Sean Penn stars in Gus Van Sant's biopic about an out gay politician who inspired a community; screenwriter Dustin Lance Black, who grew up Mormon, says he was among those for whom Harvey Milk made a real difference.

The latest film from Trainspotting director Danny Boyle follows an uneducated Indian youth who hits the jackpot on the Hindi version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

Critic David Edelstein says the new Bond film makes plenty of noise — just not the seductive kind. Actor Daniel Craig, though, holds things together nicely enough.

British director Danny Boyle's newest film, Slumdog Millionaire, tells the story of an orphan boy who wins the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Boyle's previous credits include Trainspotting and 28 Days Later.

Jane Lynch may be most well-known for her recent roles as Sue Sylvester on Glee and as Julia Child's sister in Julie & Julia, but she's a movie and TV veteran, with a long list of delicious character parts under the belt.

Clint Eastwood's film recounts the based-on-a-true-story tale of a Los Angeles woman's struggle to find her missing son — after police return the wrong child to her. David Edelstein has a review.

In Mike Leigh's marvelous comedy Happy-Go-Lucky, a London schoolteacher tackles life's everyday travails with a good dose of the giggles. Film critic David Edelstein reviews.

Once best known as a star of action and Western films, actor (and former mayor of Carmel, California) Clint Eastwood is also acclaimed for his work behind the camera. His latest directorial effort is Changeling, starring Angelina Jolie.

Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Adaption) is known for his disjointed narratives and quirky characters. Now he brings that off-beat sensibility to his directorial debut, Synecdoche, New York.