Movie Reviews

'Solo: A Star Wars Story' Has A Long Buildup But Offers More Background On Han

5:32pm May 15, 2018

by Bob Mondello

Like every film emanating from "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away," Solo: A Star Wars Story has been kept tightly under wraps before its release. But the wraps are now coming off before audiences learn the story of a young Han Solo before he became a Star Warrior.

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Never tell him the odds: L3-37 (Phoebe Waller-Bridge), Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) and Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover) in Solo: A Star Wars Story.

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'Solo' Makes The Jump To Light-Speed ... Eventually

5:00pm May 15, 2018

by Glen Weldon

The odds of successfully telling the origin story of the Star Wars trilogy's lovable rogue are approximately 3,720 to 1. After a sluggish start, Solo: A Star Wars Story beats those odds.

Ultraviolent super-mercenary Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) references a film that many people will recognize — that's kind of his whole deal — in Deadpool 2.

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Grim 'N' Gritty Is Out, Glib 'N' Smarmy Is In: 'Deadpool 2'

5:00am May 15, 2018

by Glen Weldon

Ryan Reynolds once again assays the role of a deadly mercenary who makes many references to various pop culture properties while disemboweling folk a lot. No fourth wall is safe.

Clockwise from top left: Sorry To Bother You, Incredibles 2, Crazy Rich Asians, The Spy Who Dumped Me, Solo: A Star Wars Story and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

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NPR's Summer Movie Guide: 27 Films Coming Your Way

10:42am May 14, 2018

As ever, the Summer Movie Season is dominated by sequels and special effects. But if you're prepared to look for them, you'll find some smaller, quirkier films flying beneath the radar.

Mackenzie Davis as Tully and Charlize Theron as Marlo in Tully.

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Tully'

5:00am May 11, 2018

by Linda Holmes

Written by Diablo Cody and directed by Jason Reitman, Tully stars Charlize Theron in an often brutal look at the emotional and physical tolls of parenthood.

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A (very literal) mountain biker makes a base jump in Moab, Utah in the documentary Mountain.

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It's Not Just The Thin Air That's Breathtaking: The Documentary 'Mountain'

8:10pm May 10, 2018

by Bob Mondello

Filmmaker Jennifer Peedom seeks out the most forbidding places on the planet and finds stunning beauty — and the men and women willing to risk their lives to take it in.

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A midlife crisis spurs Deanna (Melissa McCarthy) to enroll in college, much to the chagrin of her daughter who goes to the same university.

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'Life Of The Party' Favors McCarthy's Gentle Warmth

5:00pm May 10, 2018

by Linda Holmes

Melissa McCarthy stars as a mom who rediscovers her identity at college in a comedy that brings out the actress/co-writer's sweet and sunny side.

Gabrielle Union shows off her killer parenting skills in the domestic thriller Breaking In.

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'Breaking In' Robs Viewers Of Suspense

5:00pm May 10, 2018

by Scott Tobias

Gabrielle Union stars in a thriller that fails on the fundamentals, and never capitalizes on its setting — a tricked-out, high-security family estate.

Nina (Saoirse Ronin) falls for novelist Boris Trigoren (Corey Stoll) in The Seagull, an adaptation of Chekhov's play of the same name.

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Dacha Ado About Nothing — And Everything: 'The Seagull' Soars

5:00pm May 10, 2018

by Ella Taylor

A stellar cast, a faithful adaptation, and a director with a rhythmic sense of pacing ensure that this film version of Anton Chekhov's play takes flight.

Moll (Jessie Buckley) gets ready to go out in the thriller Beast.

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In The Nerve-Wracking Thriller 'Beast,' A Dark Beauty

5:00pm May 10, 2018

by Mark Jenkins

The tense, jittery buildup of writer/director Michael Pearce's mystery/thriller may prove more wickedly fun than its payoff, but star Jessie Buckley keeps us guessing throughout.