Bob Mondello

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

Bob Mondello — Sat, 18 May 2013 22:09:00 +0000

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 prime directive and our favorite Vulcan trapped in a volcano.

OK, I'm in. I may not be a fanboy anymore, but I sure was in my youth, and having these guys in their youths again is just as cool at the outset as it was last time.

Chris Pine's baby-Shatner is spitting his lines while Zachary Quinto channels his inner Nimoy.

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

Bob Mondello — Fri, 10 May 2013 20:47:00 +0000

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 Sarah feels her family's narrative has the stuff of drama.

"I'm interested in the way we tell stories about our lives," she says in the film, "about the fact that the truth about the past is often ephemeral and difficult to pin down."

Prophetic words, those.

But let's start from the film's beginning.

At The Movies, A Swirl Of Style And Substance

Bob Mondello — Thu, 09 May 2013 20:34:00 +0000

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 — despite a rep as a playboy — has only one girlfriend, who barely registers on-screen.

You're the producer, so whaddya think?

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

Bob Mondello — Thu, 02 May 2013 20:55:00 +0000

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 smart-alecky Iron Man? He'd appeared inoculated by Tony Stark's reflexive snark from succumbing to a similar ailment — but even he's having anxiety attacks these days.

On Broadway, One Runt To Rule Them All

Bob Mondello — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 23:06:00 +0000

Broadway's newest family-friendly musical, Matilda, based on the Roald Dahl novel about a precocious child who proves smarter than all the adults in her life, opened earlier this month to some of the best reviews of the year.

While it's a brand-new show, seeing it jogged my memory — jogged it all the way back to my very first commentary for All Things Considered exactly 29 years ago.

It was April 25, 1984, and the fact that a revival of Oliver! had just begun previews on Broadway gave me an excuse to share one of my pet theories with the world: that the

Digging Into Ricky Jay's 'Deceptive' Card Tricks

Bob Mondello — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 19:26:00 +0000

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

On The Big Screen, The Tax Guy Can Be Your Buddy

Bob Mondello — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 20:24:00 +0000

It's fair to say that the bakery employees who hooted and jeered "tax maaaaaan" when mild-mannered auditor Will Ferrell showed up in Stranger than Fiction were no fans of the Internal Revenue Service. In that, they're like a lot of us, no?

So it's intriguing that Hollywood generally treats tax inspectors as nice guys. On the big screen, it's typically their IRS bosses who are the bad ones.

"High bracket, low bracket — if Uncle doesn't get his cut we nail your hide to the barnyard door," snarls Tony Randall's boss in the 1959 comedy The Mating Game.

Earnest '42' Buffs Up A Golden Baseball Moment

Bob Mondello — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 21:03:00 +0000

This Monday, every player in Major League Baseball will wear the same number on his jersey: 42, which was Jackie Robinson's number when, in 1947, he became the first black player in the majors, playing first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Today, baseball celebrates April 15 as Jackie Robinson Day. But 66 years ago, not everyone saw his hiring as cause for celebration — and the earnestly grandiose biopic 42 means to illuminate that history-making moment, in which racial vitriol met its match in a ballplayer who let his talent do the talking.

Not without a struggle, of course.

Home Video Review: 'Badlands'

Bob Mondello — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 21:03:00 +0000

Time now for a home viewing recommendation from our critic Bob Mondello. This week, Bob is intrigued by the 40th anniversary of the film that put Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek and director Terrence Malick on the map — Badlands.

The plot's based on a notorious duo and a real-life 1950s killing spree, but when boy meets girl on-screen in Badlands, they're adorable.

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

Bob Mondello — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 21:29:00 +0000

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 on the French Riviera life is serene.

The cyclist, Andree, is on her way to pose for an elderly Impressionist painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (Michel Bouquet), whom she somewhat startles by claiming to be an artist herself.

"An artist," wonders the great man.

"Actress, dancer, singer," she says, smiling, as he chuckles.