Movie Reviews

Arts

Delusions Of Grandeur Take Center Stage In James Franco's 'Disaster Artist'

4:23pm December 01, 2017

by David Edelstein

Critic David Edlestein says Franco sends audiences into hysterics as the director and star of a new biopic about Tommy Wiseau, an oddball filmmaker with vision and drive — but very little talent.

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Nothing's Gonna Tear Them Apart, Lisa: Greg (Dave Franco) and Tommy (James Franco) wait for the lights to go down in The Disaster Artist.

Arts

'The Disaster Artist' Is 'The Room' Where It Happened

5:00pm November 30, 2017

by Scott Tobias

Director/star James Franco fondly — and hilariously — chronicles the making of the cult-movie fiasco The Room, evincing a deep understanding of the unhinged ambition at its core. (Go figure.)

Kate Winslet as Ginny, a 1950s waitress on the verge of spinning out, in Wonder Wheel.

Arts

Woodyland In Bad Decline: 'Wonder Wheel'

5:00pm November 30, 2017

by Andrew Lapin

Woody Allen's film about an unhappily married woman in 1950s Coney Island strains to evoke Eugene O'Neill. Critic Andrew Lapin says Wonder Wheel "isn't merely a bad movie but a laughable one."

Sherwan Haji as Khaled, a young Syrian refugee in Helsinki.

Arts

'The Other Side Of Hope': Finding Haven — And Hamachi — in Helsinki

5:00pm November 30, 2017

by Mark Jenkins

Finnish writer/director Ali Kaurismaki follows up his 2011 film The Havre with a darker, but still comic, variation on a similar theme — a character fleeing bloody conflict gets taken in by a group of outcasts.

Gorgeous And Lyrical 'Shape of Water' Doesn't Quite Hit Its Mark

1:32pm November 29, 2017

by Justin Chang

Director Guillermo del Toro's new film is both a stylized vision of Cold War paranoia and an old-school monster movie. Reviewer Justin Chang says he wanted to love The Shape of Water more than he did.

Review: 'Call Me By Your Name'

5:08am November 24, 2017

NPR's Noel King talks with April Wolfe, lead film critic for LA Weekly, about the film Call Me by Your Name. It stars Armie Hammer and is directed by Luca Guadagnino.

Arts

'Darkest Hour' Is A Grand, Ham-Fisted Showpiece For Gary Oldman's Churchill

1:40pm November 23, 2017

by Justin Chang

Set during the early days of World War II, Darkest Hour chronicles the tense and tumultuous days following Winston Churchill's appointment as prime minister of England.

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Arts

In 'Coco,' Pixar Finds Joyous Life — In Death

5:31pm November 22, 2017

by Bob Mondello

A young Mexican boy who longs for music finds himself in the afterlife. Critic Bob Mondello says Coco will inspire joyous tears — and plenty of long-distance calls to grandmothers.

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Timothée Chalamet stars as Elio in Call Me By Your Name.

Arts

'Call Me By Your Name': Love, Their Way

3:27pm November 22, 2017

by Glen Weldon

Luca Guadagnino's lush adaptation of Andre Aciman's novel about a teenage prodigy's first love affair with a visiting grad student is raw and real and profoundly, indelibly moving.

Gary Oldman stars as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour.

Arts

'Darkest Hour': In A World At War, A War Of Words

7:00am November 22, 2017

by Scott Tobias

Gary Oldman (and a pair of latex jowls) star as Winston Churchill reckoning with the lonely decisions that imperil thousands of soldiers' lives.