John Powers

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.