Movie Reviews

Tower director Keith Maitland filmed real actors, then he laid animation over them.

Arts

Documentary Offers A Wrenching Look At America's First Modern Gun Massacre

4:40pm October 14, 2016

by David Edelstein

The animated film Tower revisits the day, in 1966, when a gunman began shooting from the clock tower at the University of Texas at Austin. Critic David Edelstein calls the movie "extraordinary."

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Rebecca Hall, haunting and haunted as TV reporter Christine Chubbuck

Arts

A 'Television First' Becomes A Compelling Character Study In 'Christine'

4:38pm October 14, 2016

by Bob Mondello

Christine is a biopic about a TV reporter who committed suicide in a live shot.

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Kristen Stewart as Beth Travis from Kelly Reichardt's Certain Women.

Arts

'Certain Women' Confront The Uncertain Future With Quiet Desperation — And Resolve

5:00pm October 13, 2016

by Ella Taylor

In this triptych of films inspired by the short stories of Maile Meloy, director Kelly Reichardt (Meek's Cutoff) focuses on women striving to escape their prescribed roles.

Rebecca Hall as Christine Chubbuck in Christine.

Arts

'Christine': A Shocking Act, Plus Traffic And Weather, After The Break

5:00pm October 13, 2016

by Scott Tobias

Director Antonio Campos presents the story of Christine Chubbuck, a young TV reporter in Sarasota, Florida who stunned viewers with her on-air suicide in 1974.

Director Keiichi Hara tells the story of Edo-period Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai in Miss Hokusai.

Arts

In 'Miss Hokusai,' The Daughter Of A Master Artist Comes Into Her Own

5:00pm October 13, 2016

by Mark Jenkins

Set in Edo-era Japan, this gorgeous, impressionistic tale follows the life and work of the artist Katsushika Hokusai and his daughter/protege through a series of exquisitely wrought vignettes.

Arts

The Man, The Myth, The Ledger: In 'The Accountant,' Affleck Gets His Bourne On

5:00pm October 13, 2016

by Chris Klimek

Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) is a math savant who hides dark side-dealings as a freelance accountant for various criminal enterprises.

Armie Hammer, Nate Parker and Jayson Warner Smith in The Birth of A Nation

Arts

A Man And An Amendment Are Re-Examined In 'The Birth Of A Nation' And '13th'

4:32pm October 07, 2016

by Bob Mondello

Nate Parker's rebellion film The Birth of A Nation and Ava DuVernay's documentary 13th tackle America's racial history, but intersect in complicated ways.

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Arts

'Birth Of A Nation' Conforms To Hollywood's Standard Revenge Template

1:41pm October 07, 2016

by David Edelstein

The new movie, which tells the story of Nat Turner's 1831 slave revolt, is a righteous-vigilante tale — and an answer to D.W. Griffith's 1915 film of the same name.

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Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling in La La Land, which won the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Arts

Pop Culture Happy Hour: Fall Movie And TV Preview

1:16pm October 07, 2016

by Linda Holmes

Bob Mondello joins us for a look at the fall films from the Toronto International Film Festival, and we jump into our annual fall television pool.

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Avin Manshadi in Under the Shadow, a thriller by director Babak Anvari.

Arts

In 'Under The Shadow,' The Horror Is Housebound

5:35pm October 06, 2016

by Andrew Lapin

Iranian-born director Babak Anvari's tale of motherhood and madness one-ups 2014's thematically similar The Babadook by bringing a larger sociopolitical context to the creepy goings-on.