Movie Reviews

In Poor Things, Emma Stone stars as Bella Baxter, a woman created as part of a back-from-the-dead mad science experiment.

Arts

Unhinged yet uplifting, 'Poor Things' is an un-family-friendly 'Barbie'

1:57pm December 08, 2023

by Justin Chang

Emma Stone stars as an adult woman with the anarchic spirit of a very young child in a strangely touching film that's filled with transgressive sex, sadistic power games and grisly violence.

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Arts

'Poor Things': a Frankenstein-inspired black comedy

4:47pm December 07, 2023

by Bob Mondello

Emma Stone teams up with director Yorgos Lanthimos for Poor Things, a Frankenstein-inspired black comedy about a young woman shaking up the society around her as she comes into her own.

Anselm offers both a thrilling portrait of Anselm Kiefer at work and, with the aid of terrific archival footage, lets us see what infuses his work with such intensity.

Arts

'Anselm' documentary is a thrilling portrait of an artist at work

1:24pm December 07, 2023

by John Powers

Painter and sculptor Anselm Kiefer was born in war-ravaged Germany in 1945. Wim Wenders' new film conveys the beauty, bleakness and moral weight of Kiefer's art.

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A review of 'Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé' from NPR's 'It's Been a Minute'

5:07pm December 05, 2023

NPR's It's Been a Minute reviews megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter's film Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé.

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Twelve-year-old Mahito journeys into an otherworldly realm in The Boy and the Heron.

Arts

In 'The Boy and the Heron,' Miyazaki asks: How do we go on in the midst of grief?

1:37pm December 01, 2023

by Justin Chang

Hayao Miyazaki's beguiling new fantasy combines the excitement of a boy's grand adventure and the weight of an older man's reflection. The hypnotic story is a partial self-portrait by an anime master.

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Two lonely souls (Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen) come together in Fallen Leaves.

Arts

Sentimental but not soppy, 'Fallen Leaves' gives off the magic glow of a fable

2:44pm November 27, 2023

by John Powers

Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki's melancholy romantic comedy about two lonely souls trapped in dead-end jobs builds to a gorgeous ending — with a great and revelatory final joke.

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Bradley Cooper plays composer Leonard Bernstein in Maestro.

Arts

Bradley Cooper's 'Maestro' fully captures Bernstein's charisma and complexity

12:07pm November 24, 2023

by Justin Chang

Cooper plays the legendary composer and Carey Mulligan is his wife, Felicia Montealegre, in a new drama that exquisitely renders Bernstein's musical brilliance and human flaws.

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National

Here are the Hollywood films that await this holiday season

5:29pm November 23, 2023

by Bob Mondello

A selective preview of the potential awards contenders and wannabe blockbusters Hollywood has in store for the holidays.

Bradley Cooper as Leonard Bernstein and and Carey Mulligan as Felicia Montealegre in Maestro.

'Maestro' chronicles the brilliant Bernstein — and his disorderly conduct

6:39am November 22, 2023

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

Actors Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan give warm, deeply sympathetic performances as wide-ranging musician Leonard Bernstein and his wife, Felicia Montealegre Cohn, in a biopic directed by Cooper.

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Natalie Portman (left) and Julianne Moore star in May December, Todd Haynes' film inspired by a real-life story of a schoolteacher who was convicted of raping her sixth-grade student.

Arts

Inspired by a 1990s tabloid story, 'May December' fictionalizes a real tragedy

1:24pm November 17, 2023

by Justin Chang

Natalie Portman and Julianne Moore star in Todd Haynes' dark and disturbingly funny film about a teacher who was convicted of raping her sixth grade student — and later went on to marry him.

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