Movie Reviews

Arts

Long-Term Devastation Springs From A Hasty Judgment Call In 'A War'

1:38pm February 19, 2016

by David Edelstein

Tobias Lindholm's Oscar-nominated film tells the story of a Danish commander's error in judgment during the war in Afghanistan. Critic David Edelstein says A War will "leave you in pieces."

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Stephan James (center) stars as Jesse Owens and Jason Sudeikis (right) stars as Larry Snyder in Stephen Hopkins' Race.

Arts

'Race' Brings Jesse Owens And The 1936 Olympics To The Screen

12:59pm February 19, 2016

by Ella Taylor

While Race is, for a while, a conventional athlete biopic, once the story begins to balance the many forces that pulled on Owens and complicated his story, it gets more interesting.

George Clooney as Baird Whitlock in the new film Hail, Caesar!

Arts

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Hail, Caesar!' And Backstage Stories

9:11am February 19, 2016

by Linda Holmes

On this week's show, the Coen Brothers' 17th feature, the appeal of tales of filmmaking and other creative pursuits, and what's making us happy this week.

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A New England family in the 1630s struggles against evils it can't quite identify in The Witch.

Arts

A Banished Family Fights Its Demons In A Puritanical Age

7:39pm February 18, 2016

by Scott Tobias

Half a drama about religious hysteria and half a horror film about isolation, The Witch follows a family struggling to identify the source of an evil that seems to plague them.

Two scientists and an Amazonian shaman work together over 40 years to find a sacred healing plant in Embrace the Serpent.

Arts

The Strange And Intoxicating 'Embrace Of The Serpent'

5:00pm February 18, 2016

by Mark Jenkins

This Colombian nominee for the Oscar for best foreign-language film is loosely based on the journals of two real explorers and creates a story in which they spend decades seeking a sacred plant.

Kiefer Sutherland (left) as John Henry Clayton and Donald Sutherland (right) as Reverend William Clayton in the western Forsaken.

Arts

A Father And Son Among Tumbling Tumbleweeds Of The Familiar

5:00pm February 18, 2016

by Andrew Lapin

Donald and Kiefer Sutherland appear together in a Western with little to offer beyond the usual formulas.

Misty Copeland (center) performed in the Washington Ballet production of Swan Lake in April 2015.

Misty Copeland Achieves #SquadGoals In The Documentary 'A Ballerina's Tale'

1:37pm February 16, 2016

by Leah Donnella

Misty Copeland talks body image, ballet and blackness in the new PBS documentary A Ballerina's Tale.

A War is freighted with moral quandaries, impossible choices and terrible consequences.

Arts

Navigating A Minefield Of Moral Quandaries And Consequences In 'A War'

5:06pm February 12, 2016

by Bob Mondello

A War is a contender for the best foreign film Oscar. It's about a soldier in Afghanistan placed in an impossible situation, and NPR film critic Bob Mondello says it brings the big questions home.

'Deadpool' Gleefully Lampoons The Marvel Universe

1:17pm February 12, 2016

by David Edelstein

Ryan Reynolds stars as a soldier-turned-mutant-super-hero in Marvel's Deadpool. Critic David Edelstein calls the film an "unprecedented R-rated ... romp with dirty sex talk and tons of splatter."

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It's sort of a relief to report that Ryan Reynolds is finally coming into his own, superhero-wise, in Deadpool.

Arts

'Deadpool' Is a Potty-Mouthed Splatterfest. A Really Funny One

5:57am February 12, 2016

by Bob Mondello

NPR film critic Bob Mondello says Deadpool goes in deep on its R rating — and has plenty of fun doing it.

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