Movie Reviews

The irascible chef poses in front of his San Francisco restaurant in the documentary Jeremiah Tower: The Last Magnificent.

Arts

'Jeremiah Tower': A Reclusive Celebrity Chef, Under Glass

5:00pm April 20, 2017

by Scott Tobias

This unexceptional documentary about an exceptional chef — the chief innovator of California cuisine — dutifully traces his rise and self-imposed exile, but leaves the viewer hungry.

Chris (Christian Bale) and Ana (Charlotte Le Bon) have a reason to look worried in Terry George's The Promise.

Arts

Amid Mass Slaughter, A Love Triangle Takes Shape In 'The Promise'

5:00pm April 20, 2017

by Ella Taylor

Director Terry George's historical drama about three people swept up in the 1915 massacre of Armenians lacks subtlety and sophistication, but features powerful, visceral imagery.

Isabelle (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) takes in (and takes to) the sea air in Slack Bay.

Arts

A Flighty French Farce (Avec Flesh-Eating): 'Slack Bay'

5:00pm April 20, 2017

by Mark Jenkins

Bruno Dumont's histrionic if not particularly hysterical comedy pits rich against poor in a picturesque seaside town; the film's leisurely paced slapstick is "more intriguing than involving."

Arts

An Insignificant Hustler Yearns To Be A Big-Time Operator In The Ironic 'Norman'

2:12pm April 18, 2017

by John Powers

Israeli filmmaker Joseph Cedar centers his new movie on a wannabe dealmaker, played by Richard Gere. Critic John Powers calls Norman a mordantly funny drama with a "dazzlingly revelatory" ending.

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Arts

Movie Review: Richard Gere Plays A Scheming New York Fixer In 'Norman'

4:47pm April 14, 2017

by Bob Mondello

NPR movie critic Bob Mondello reviews a new Richard Gere film for which the title seems to say it all. It's called Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer.

Arts

An Amazon Adventurer Is Weighed Down By Family Ties In 'Lost City of Z'

1:37pm April 14, 2017

by David Edelstein

An English explorer searches for the remains of a supposed rain forest metropolis in James Gray's new film. Critic David Edelstein says The Lost City Of Z will "pull you in and along."

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"The parasol is the umbrella's daughter...": Emily Dickinson (Cythnia Nixon) and sister Vinnie (Jennifer Ehle) in A Quiet Passion.

Arts

'A Quiet Passion' Dazzles Gradually

5:00pm April 13, 2017

by Ella Taylor

Filmmaker Terence Davies has found his ideal subject with this Emily Dickinson biopic, and a fiery performance by Cynthia Nixon challenges notions of the poet as a dour recluse.

Depths Perception: Dash (voiced by Jason Schwartzman) knows what's coming in My Entire High School Sinking into the Sea.

Arts

In 'My Entire High School Sinking Into The Sea,' The Strife's Aquatic

5:00pm April 13, 2017

by andrew lapin

Comics creator Dash Shaw's animated, deadpan-absurdist take on the high-school movie genre is boldly experimental and darkly funny.

Post-Edwardian Homesick Blues: Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam), Costin (Robert Pattinson) and Manley (Edward Ashley) in The Lost City of Z.

Arts

An Adventurer Seeks 'The Lost City Of Z' — And Finds Himself

5:00pm April 13, 2017

by Scott Tobias

In director James Gray's rapturously realized historical drama, an explorer's obsession with finding a remote Amazonian civilization causes him to question his place in the world.

The aptly named villain Cipher (Charlize Theron) recruits Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) in The Fate of the Furious.

Arts

'The Fate Of The Furious' Runs On Diesel Fumes

5:00pm April 13, 2017

by Chris Klimek

This "bloated and listless" installment of the Furious franchise stays true to the series' "chop-shop aesthetic, in the sense that its flashiest parts are all stolen," says critic Chris Klimek.