Movie Reviews

El Ballet de Koki y Parajin Saavedra as performed in Carlos Saura's documentary Argentina.

Arts

Saura's 'Argentina': A Passionately Political Dance Documentary

5:00pm June 16, 2016

by Ella Taylor

Director Carlos Saura takes the viewer through a single, stunning performance of Argentinian dance in which political themes emerge from the continuous flow of music, motion and mood.

Chris Strompolos, Eric Zala and Jayson Lamb pose with their broken-down prop truck they used in their shot-for-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Arts

Fanboys Attempt to Recapture Youthful Home-Movie Magic in 'Raiders!'

5:00pm June 16, 2016

by Scott Tobias

As boys, Chris and Eric made an ingenious shot-for-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark that earned cult status. A new documentary reunites them to film the one shot they never managed to get.

Arts

'The Witness' Exposes The Myths, Misconceptions Of Kitty Genovese's Murder

1:46pm June 16, 2016

by John Powers

A new documentary revisits Genovese's 1964 murder and the 38 bystanders who allegedly did nothing to stop it. Critic John Powers says the film is "a useful moral corrective" to the popular narrative.

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Movie Review: 'Finding Dory' Is No Game-Changer

6:09am June 16, 2016

by Kenneth Turan

Pixar's sequel to Finding Nemo opens 13 years later and it's called Finding Dory. In it, Nemo's friend Dory, voiced by Ellen DeGeneres, goes on a quest to find her parents.

Genius does its best to make the editing process between Max Perkins (Colin Firth) and Thomas Wolfe (Jude Law) kinetic.

Books
Arts

'Genius' Is, As The Saying Has It, 10% Inspiration, 90% Perspiration

5:09pm June 10, 2016

by Bob Mondello

The editor Maxwell Perkins discovered and nurtured authors like Hemingway and Fitzgerald. The new movie Genius has him wrangling thousands of pages from the writer Thomas Wolfe.

Arts

'Genius' Offers A High-Toned Look At The Editor-Writer Relationship

1:26pm June 10, 2016

by David Edelstein

A new film tells the story of book editor Max Perkins, who worked with F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and Thomas Wolfe. Critic David Edelstein says Genius "isn't quite ingenious enough."

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Andy Samberg plays Conner4Real in Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Pop Star' And Making Music Funny

12:36pm June 10, 2016

by Stephen Thompson

The gang discusses The Lonely Island's new movie, then looks back at other films that find humor in the foibles of musicians. And, as always, we close with What's Making Us Happy this week.

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Director Brian De Palma and John Travolta on the set of Blow Out.

Arts

'De Palma': An Underrated Director Opens Up About His Work, And His Obsessions

5:00pm June 09, 2016

by Chris Klimek

In a new documentary Brian De Palma, director of both blockbusters (The Untouchables) and kinkily voyeuristic films (Dressed to Kill) looks back on a career of cinematic carnage with great candor.

Max Perkins (Colin Firth) and Thomas Wolfe (Jude Law) in the new film Genius.

Arts

A Volatile Literary Partnership Is Ill-Served By The Dry, Stagey 'Genius'

5:00pm June 09, 2016

by Ella Taylor

Michael Grandage's strangely staid film about novelist Thomas Wolfe and his editor Maxwell Perkins struggles to capture the passions that drove their famously explosive professional relationship.

Célestine (Léa Seydoux) in Diary of a Chambermaid.

Arts

'Diary of a Chambermaid' Follows A Headstrong Servant Through A Decadent Era

5:00pm June 09, 2016

by Mark Jenkins

In the latest adaptation of a 1900 French novel, a beautiful servant offers a gimlet-eyed view of high society. Director Benoit Jacquot's film loses energy as it slips into conventional romance.