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Bond Is Back And Living Up To His Reputation

Istanbul: Somebody's stolen a hard drive with info sensitive enough that ... oh, who cares? Bond is giving chase, and that's all that matters — cars careening through bazaars, motorcycles flying across...

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'Tis The Season For Oscar-Bait Adaptations

It's the sort of juxtaposition that often arises at this time of year: novel adaptations arriving in droves at movie theaters, hunting for Oscar nominations.J.R.R.

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For Pi, A Wonderful 'Life' Finds Its Way To Film

When your dad owns a zoo in India, as Pi's dad does, it's perhaps natural to regard animals as your buddies. Cool if you're talking goats and turtles; less cool if the animal you decide you want to pet...

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Hollywood Heights: The Ups, Downs And In-Betweens

Hollywood can make any actor look imposing by shooting from a low angle or building sets with short door frames. But the fact is that we want our heroes big and our villains bigger, and the average...

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A 'Hobbit,' Off On His Unhurried Journey

The Hobbit's path to the screen may have started out as tortuous as a trek through the deadly Helcaraxe, filled with detours (Guillermo del Toro was initially going to direct), marked by conflict (New...

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Bob Mondello's Best Movies Of 2012

A lot of movie box-office records fell in 2012. The comic-book blockbuster The Avengers had the biggest opening weekend in Hollywood history. Skyfall will be the first James Bond film to top $1 billion...

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Home Video Review: 'Slings And Arrows'

Time now for a home-viewing recommendation from movie critic Bob Mondello. He recently caught an online episode of the Shakespeare-centric comedy Slings and Arrows and says it reminded him how much he...

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Home Video Review: 'Buster Keaton: The Ultimate Collection'

Time now for a home-viewing recommendation from NPR movie critic Bob Mondello. A quiet recommendation — because Bob is touting the Ultimate Buster Keaton Collection, a 14-disc set of classic silent...

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Despite Dark Themes, A Big Oscar Bounce

How much is a best-picture Oscar worth? Not the statuette — winners are required to sell that back to the Academy for a buck if they want to get rid of it. No, what's the Oscar worth at the box...

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Fairy Tales For Grown-Ups? More Are On The Way

Adaptations of fairy tales are everywhere you look. The TV show Once Upon a Time and the police procedural Grimm are in their second seasons. Hansel and his sister Gretel are at the cineplex hunting...

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Hollywood's History Of Putting Gay Rights On Trial

With the Supreme Court hearing arguments this week on same-sex marriage, I'd like to point out a parallel evolution in what I see as a Hollywood mini-genre: films in which gay characters are either...

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A Film So Sumptuous, 'Renoir' Himself Might Have Helped Out

The year is 1915. A beautiful young woman bicycling through sun-dappled woods passes under an effigy of a German soldier and seems entirely unfazed. World War I is raging elsewhere in Europe, but here...

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Digging Into Ricky Jay's 'Deceptive' Card Tricks

When people talk about movie magic, they rarely mean card tricks.

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In 'Iron Man 3,' A Metalhead Gets The Blues

Y'know, I think this bummed-out superhero thing is catching. Depressed Bat-guy, brooding Spider-dude, even the Man of Steel seems existentially troubled in previews of his most recent incarnation.And...

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At The Movies, A Swirl Of Style And Substance

Here's a movie pitch: A celebrated millionaire, known for public extravagance, lives right on the water in a fabulous mansion. He's smooth but reckless, drives like a maniac, has a powerful enemy and —...

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Polley's 'Stories': A Family Saga Strikingly Spun

Sarah Polley grew up the fifth of five children in a Canadian theatrical family. Her father, Michael, is a transplanted British actor; her mother, Diane, was an actress and casting director. No wonder...

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New 'Trek' Goes 'Into Darkness,' But Not Much Deeper

The opening sequence of J.J. Abram's new entry in the Star Trek universe has all the ingredients of the classic franchise.There's Kirk and his crew bellowing on the bridge, everyone worrying about the...

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More Time Together, Though 'Midnight' Looms

Celine and Jesse are sporting a few physical wrinkles — and working through some unsettling relational ones — in Before Midnight, but that just makes this third installment of their once-dewy romance...

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When 'G' Movies Are For Kids, Do Kids Avoid 'G' Movies?

If you're a parent with small children, summer is traditionally a time when there's lots for them to see at the multiplex. That's not untrue this summer. But if you're specifically looking for a film...

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Bullock And McCarthy, Packing 'Heat' (And Laughs) In Boston

Summer movies, as you may have noticed, are overwhelmingly male-dominated.

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