John Powers

Stefan Forbes' documentary looks at the life and controversial career of Lee Atwater, the political operative who ran George H.W. Bush's 1988 campaign — and introduced the nation to Willie Horton.

Critic at large John Powers remembers film critic and artist Manny Farber, who died Aug. 18 at the age of 91.

Critic-at-large John Powers looks at the recent work of Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin. His film Brand Upon the Brain! is now out on DVD, and his movie My Winnipeg is currently playing in theaters.

On August 3, Russian author Alexander Solzhenitsyn died of heart failure at age 89. Solzhenitsyn exposed the atrocities committed by the Soviet Gulag in his work, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. Fresh Air remembers the Nobel Prize winner.

The documentary Gonzo remembers the strange and wild life of writer Hunter S. Thompson. Critic John Powers reviews the film.

Narcotics busts and daring rescues are just ordinary parts of John Rebus' work. Critic John Powers talks about the fictional British detective, protagonist of Ian Rankin's novels and an eponymous TV show.

Actor Liev Schreiber had what he thought was a good idea: He'd reach out to a Baghdad film student, offering him an internship on a shoot. But as Nina Davenport's documentary proves, good intentions don't always end in good outcomes. Critic-at-large John Powers has a review.

Fresh Air critic-at-large John Powers spent some time at the Cannes Film Festival this month, and today he reports back on what he saw. He says this year's movies weren't half bad — but for Americans, at least, the festival had a gloomy, fatalistic vibe.

In the Japanese anime series Death Note, high school student Light Yagami is in possession of a super-powered notebook that allows him to kill anyone, simply by writing down the victim's name. Critic-at-large John Powers offers a commentary.

Film critic John Powers reviews Lust, Caution, the new film by Taiwanese director Ang Lee. Set in 1942, during the Japanese occupation of China, the film tells the story of a resistance fighter who has an affair with a Chinese collaborator.