Bob Mondello

Known as a maverick filmmaker, Peter Bogdanovich made movies that ran the gamut from the bleak, coming-of-age drama The Last Picture Show to zany comedies like What's Up Doc.

The Iranian film A Hero is about a man who becomes a celebrity after doing a good deed. In filmmaker Asghar Farhadi's hands, what seems to be a black and white morality tale becomes more gray.

In a year when many films didn't even open in theaters, there were still plenty worth talking about. NPR film critic Bob Mondello celebrates the best of 2021.

Filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar takes a long, colorful look at motherhood in his melodrama Parallel Mothers, starring Penélope Cruz.

Denzel Washington takes on the title character in Joel Coen's Bard-based film, The Tragedy of Macbeth, with murder-minded Lady Macbeth played by Coen's wife, Frances McDormand.

This past year was a tumultuous one for both the film and TV industries. With that in mind, here's our critics' guide to all the movies and television shows they loved this year.

Marvel's latest superhero film, Spider-Man: No Way Home finds its hero battling foes he thought he'd already vanquished.

Tony and Maria, Sharks and Jets — Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner take a fresh look at the musical theater classic West Side Story.

Riz Ahmed has a pair of films opening this weekend — the sci-fi thriller Encounter in which he stars, and the documentary Flee, which he co-produced.

Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, arguably the greatest artist in the American Musical Theater, has died. He was born March 22, 1930.

Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, one of the most influential figures in the American musical theater, has died. He was 91.

Cooper Hoffman, the son of the late Phillip Seymour Hoffman, stars in Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza, a warmly raucous look at an ambitious teen on the make in 1980s Los Angeles.

More than 30 films are opening between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve. Here's a selective peek at all the wanna-be blockbusters and awards contenders that Hollywood has wrapped up for the holidays.

Familial squabbles fuel two films opening Thanksgiving weekend: House of Gucci, about a family famous for fashion, and The Humans, a pulitzer-winning look at a clan gathering for the holidays.

Chloe Zhao, a director celebrated for intimate indie films, is in charge of the franchise blockbuster Externals. Who wins in that situation: the franchise, the director or fans?

Benedict Cumberbatch and Jesse Plemons play brothers, and Kirsten Dunst the widow who comes between them in Power of the Dog, a western set in 1920s Montana, directed by Jane Campion.

Actor and filmmaker Kenneth Branagh made his name directing cinematic versions of Shakespeare, then Agatha Christie and Marvel movies. Now, with Belfast, he's made his most personal film.

The latest Marvel movie Eternals boasts an Oscar-winning director, Chloe Zhao, and introduces a gaggle of unfamiliar superheroes.

As Halloween approaches, NPR movie critic Bob Mondello remembers scares he had to conjure up in his first job.

Idris Elba, Jonathan Majors, Regina King and Zazie Beetz star in Jeumes Samuel's western, which has a fictional story, but is based on real people.