Feb 18th, 2010 · In Martin Scorsese's latest mystery-thriller, Leonardo DiCaprio investigates the disappearance of a patient from an insane asylum. Critic Jeannette Catsoulis says that, for all its savvy camera work, stellar cast and seductive visual imagery, Shutter Island fails to connect.
Dec 15th, 2009 · Avatar, James Cameron's first movie since Titanic, opens Friday, and for it, he's created a new world known as Pandora — and a race of tall blue aliens, too. The expensive visual effects have gotten a lot of attention, but Cameron also commissioned an entire language for the Na'vi. Linguist Paul Frommer is the man who built it for him.
Dec 11th, 2009 · The new Google Goggles service lets you send it a pic from your cameraphone. The photo is then analyzed and turned into a search query, and you're given links that might explain that new/weird thing you're staring at.
Nov 27th, 2009 · Sensations on the skin can help people understand speech, according to a study in the journal Nature. The study builds on decades of research showing that the brain often uses visual information to augment hearing — making people "whole-body perceiving machines," says one researcher.
Nov 25th, 2009 · The group One eskimO is an audio-visual endeavor, and its self-titled debut album includes a full animation. But while the band's idiosyncratic, self-produced videos are a notable component of its work, its expressive music is the heart and soul of the enterprise.
Nov 24th, 2009 · Based on Cormac McCarthy's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Hillcoat's new movie is a dystopian tale of survival in a physically and morally ravaged world. The director talks to NPR's Steve Inskeep about the challenges of visualizing a post-apocalyptic landscape — and why the bleak tale is really a story of human goodness.
Nov 13th, 2009 · The Academy Awards aren't until February, but cinematographer Gordon Willis is receiving his honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement award this fall. Willis is the visual mastermind behind classic films like Annie Hall, The Godfather, and Pennies From Heaven. We tip the hat in his direction with a rebroadcast of a 2002 conversation about his life behind the lens.
Oct 29th, 2009 · The noted cinematographer has shaped the visual vocabulary of films including The Shawshank Redemption and every Coen Brothers picture since 1991's Barton Fink. He talks to Melissa Block about the joys of the simple image — and takes us through two of his favorite scenes.