Writer-director Paddy Considine's debut film, Tyrannosaur, is a favorite of critics this year. It's generating Oscar buzz and has earned Sundance Festival awards for Considine's directing and the film's lead actors. the film tackles dark themes like death and spousal abuse, but a message of hope manages to shine through. Weekends on All Things Considered guest host Rachel Martin talks to Paddy Considine about writing and directing the film, which is in theaters now.

In 1927 Hollywood, a silent-film icon (Jean Dujardin) is about to face a challenge with the arrival of talkies — while a young extra (Berenice Bejo) stands on the verge of stardom. (Recommended)

NPR's Bob Mondello offers a selective preview of Hollywood's brightly wrapped holiday baubles. On tap: two films from Steven Spielberg, Ralph Finnes' directing debut and others.

In 1956, two icons — Marilyn Monroe and Sir Laurence Olivier — got together in London to make a movie, The Prince and the Showgirl. It was a comedy about the lonely Prince Regent of Carpathia, who meets a flirty American showgirl. The film was a royal flop. Now a film, My Week With Marilyn, recounts the miserable time had by all on the set. It's the story of one week during the film shoot, with behind-the-scenes clashes, misaligned acting styles, and the pursuit of personal ambitions. Michelle Williams plays Monroe and Kenneth Branagh plays Olivier.

Martin Scorsese's film, adapted from Brian Selznick's children's book, follows a young orphan (Asa Butterfield) who stumbles on a mystery while living in a Paris train station. Critic David Edelstein says the movie's dazzling effects redeem the 3-D genre.

The filmmakers behind Forgetting Sarah Marshall have teamed up to create a new Muppet movie. "We set out to make a Muppet movie that harkened back to the late-'70s [and] early-'80s Muppets that we grew up with," says Jason Segel.

Across Latin America, movies and soap operas have glamorized the lives of drug lords and their gangs. A new Mexican movie, Miss Bala, takes a realistic look at the fear that grips many Mexicans today.