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After disappointing returns from The Alamo and The Punisher, Hollywood awaits next weekend's opening of Van Helsing. It's a traditionally slow time of year for movie theaters. Los Angeles Times critic Ken Turan speaks with NPR's Bob Edwards about why that is.

Coffee and Cigarettes, from iconoclast director Jim Jarmusch, is the culmination of years of filming vignettes centering on coffee shops. The movie features a variety of performers, from Tom Waits to Iggy Pop and Steven Wright. NPR's Bob Mondello has a review.

A new movie is selling out theaters in Iran but angering some of the country's religious leaders. Government censors delayed the release of The Lizard, and some leading clerics want it banned altogether. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and journalist Roxana Saberi.

Evangelical protestant Gospel music is surprisingly popular in traditionally Catholic France. Winning converts and inspiring new trends, it's a hit both in churches and in stores. NPR's Nick Spicer reports.

best known as the screenwriter for 1985's My Beautiful Laundrette and 1987's Sammy and Rosie Get Laid. He's written a script for a new film -- The Mother -- and has a new novel out called The Body. Both mark a departure from his socio-political stories about being a person of color in England. Now the subject of aging takes center stage. Frank Browning reports.

The Return of the King, the final installment in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, wins all 11 Oscars for which it was nominated, including best picture and best director. Best acting honors go to Charlize Theron for her transformation into a serial killer in Monster, and Sean Penn for his performance as the troubled father of a murdered child in Mystic River. Hear NPR's Renee Montagne.

Bruce Edwards, the longtime caddie of former Masters champion Tom Watson, died Thursday following a year-long battle against Lou Gehrig's disease. He was 49. Edwards helped make caddies an indispensable part of professional golf. His life is chronicled in the new book Caddy for Life. NPR's Bob Edwards speaks with author John Feinstein.

Before there was "the Passion," there was "the Life" -- The Life of Brian. The Monty Python classic is being re-released on its 25th anniversary; its producers say the film offers an alternative to Mel Gibson's epic. The Passion of the Christ phenomenon is also being poked fun at by the TV series South Park. David D'Arcy reports.

The new jazz opera Forgotten: The Murder at the Ford Rouge Plant chronicles the unionization of the Ford Motor Company. The story centers on the questionable 1937 death of union organizer and Methodist minister Lewis Bradford, a distant relative of the opera's composer, Steve Jones. NPR's Bob Edwards speaks with Jones.

T.C. Boyle is the author of 15 books, including Drop City, nominated for a National Book Award last year. Boyle's fiction is known for its wit, biting satire, historical sweep and verbal pyrotechnics. For Intersections, a Morning Edition series on artists and their influences, Boyle says his literary reputation owes much to rock 'n' roll.