Movie Reviews

Arts

A Birdbrained Library Heist Is Suffused With Irony In 'American Animals'

2:12pm May 31, 2018

by David Edelstein

In 2004, four young men stole rare art books valued at more than three-quarters of a million dollars from a college library. American Animals blends fiction and documentary to retell the story.

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Elle Fanning plays Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (nee Godwin), the author of Frankenstein, in Mary Shelley.

Arts

'Mary Shelley' Is Less Than The Sum Of Its Parts

5:00pm May 24, 2018

by Mark Jenkins

Elle Fanning stars in this uneven, "perfumed account" of Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin's romance with poet Percy Shelley, and the fateful weekend that birthed her novel Frankenstein.

In Summer 1993, a six-year--old girl (Laia Artigas) is sent to live with relatives in the countryside after her mother's death. The film is based on director Carla Simon's own experience.

Arts

In Lush Catalonia, A Girl Grieves In Her Own Way: 'Summer 1993'

5:00pm May 24, 2018

by Ella Taylor

In Spanish filmmaker Carla Simon's "intimately visual" autobiographical debut feature, a young girl from Barcelona is sent to live in the country after the death of her mother.

The Gospel According to André is the story of the iconic André Leon Talley, who grew up in the segregated South and later became the editor-at-large of Vogue.

Arts

In The Beginning, There Was Fashion: 'The Gospel According To Andre'

5:00pm May 24, 2018

by Andrew Lapin

Kate Novack's documentary about the legendary fashion figure breezes past any deep or thought-provoking issues, but it, like its subject, has style for days.

Arts

'Solo: A Star Wars Story' Is A High-Speed, Low-Energy Intergalactic Heist

1:34pm May 24, 2018

by Justin Chang

The latest blockbuster from Disney and Lucasfilm tells of the early adventures of Han Solo. Critic Justin Chang says the plot somehow feels both utterly inconsequential and exasperatingly busy.

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'Deadpool 2' Returns With More Trash Talk And Humor

5:42pm May 17, 2018

by Bob Mondello

NPR critic Bob Mondello says Deadpool 2 marks the return of the adventures of Marvel's trash-talking-est R-rated superhero. But this time, there's a bit more humor.

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Candice Bergen, Mary Steenburgen, and Jane Fonda are freed of their inhibitions after reading "Fifty Shades of Grey" in Book Club.

Arts

Here's Everything You Need To Know About 'Book Club': Keaton, Fonda, Bergen and Steenburgen

5:00pm May 17, 2018

by Scott Tobias

When the film puts its four leads together, it sparkles. When they're apart, it's simply "a pleasant, low-stakes affair, as numbing as a two-glass buzz."

You Gettin' Lucky, Punk?: Elle Fanning and Alex Sharp star in How to Talk to Girls At Parties, a sweet-natured romp through 1970's London.

Arts

London Calling (Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft): 'How To Talk To Girls At Parties'

5:00pm May 17, 2018

by Chris Klimek

John Cameron Mitchell's "sweet, slight comic fantasy" explores what happens when a young man (Alex Sharp) in 1977 London meet-cutes a young woman (Elle Fanning) who's from ... out of town.

Ethan Hawke has said that his great-grandmother longed for him to be a priest; he plays a conflicted Christian minister in First Reformed.

Arts

'First Reformed' Asks: 'Will God Forgive Us For Destroying His Creation?'

2:41pm May 16, 2018

by Justin Chang

Director Paul Schrader's film tackles war and climate change with a fierce moral anger. Critic Justin Chang says Schrader makes no attempt to conceal the fact that he's written a polemic.

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What's Playing At Cannes

7:13am May 16, 2018

Movie reviewer Kenneth Turan talks with NPR's David Greene about the newest movie in the Star Wars franchise and other noteworthy films coming out of this year's Cannes festival.

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