Michael Clayton

At a key moment in "The East," the film's protagonist, a corporate spy tasked with infiltrating an eco-terrorist cell, reaches into a wastebasket, pulls a half-eaten apple out of it and defiantly takes a bite. It's a strangely shocking act to witness on a movie screen -- and certainly more unexpected than, say, ripping one's shirt off or blowing someone away with an Uzi. But, as it turns out, Brit Marling -- who co-wrote the film and plays the corporate spy in question -- has pl...

In August, Focus Features surprised many Oscar prognosticators by setting "Promised Land" for release on Dec. 28. The decision could make the new drama a major awards player, if only because of its pedigree: Matt Damon and John Krasinski wrote the screenplay (from a story by Dave Eggers) and Gus Van Sant directs. The first film co-written by Damon and a fellow actor that Van Sant directed was "Good Will Hunting." (The pair, along with Casey Affleck, also collaborated on "Gerry," but...