Movie Reviews

Watching 'Room' Is Exhausting And Exhilarating

7:04am October 16, 2015

by Kenneth Turan

The movie is based on Emma Donoghue's best-selling book about a woman who's been kidnapped and had to raise her son in captivity. Room is directed by Irish filmmaker Lenny Abrahamson.

Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston) seduces Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska) in <em>Crimson Peak</em>.

Arts

Del Toro's 'Crimson Peak': A Gothic Romance Inside Richly Creepy Walls

9:40pm October 15, 2015

by Scott Tobias

Guillermo Del Toro loads this genre piece with so much luscious visual language that its story and performers are almost superfluous.

Shu Qi in a scene from<em> The Assassin</em>.

Arts

A Most Unusual And Beautiful 'Assassin'

5:03pm October 15, 2015

by Ella Taylor

The latest work from Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien finds a ninth-century woman trained to be an assassin questioning the path that lies ahead.

Jack (Jacob Tremblay) and his Ma (Brie Larson) have been trapped in a windowless room for all of Jack's young life.

Arts

'Room' Finds A Mother And Son In Isolation

5:03pm October 15, 2015

by Andrew Lapin

Emma Donoghue wrote the screenplay for this adaptation of her novel highlighted by a sensitive performance from Brie Larson.

Tom Hanks as lawyer James Donovan in <em>Bridge of Spies</em>.

Arts

Spielberg Takes On The Cold War In 'Bridge Of Spies'

5:03pm October 15, 2015

by Mark Jenkins

The director's frequent collaborator, Tom Hanks, plays an American lawyer enlisted to carry out a complicated swap of one captured man for another.

Director Jafar Panahi is a smiling and ever-sunny cab driver in his most accessible nonfilm yet.

Riding Rings Around Iran's Censors In 'Jafar Panahi's Taxi'

4:07pm October 14, 2015

by Bob Mondello

An Iranian director banned from making films skirts the rules again in Jafar Panahi's Taxi.

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The tension in Steve Jobs comes partly from the terrific performances and partly from juxtaposing Jobs' public and private personas. Michael Fassbender (left) portrays Jobs; he's shown here with Seth Rogen, as Steve Wozniak.

Arts

'Steve Jobs': As Ambitious As Its Title Character

12:49am October 10, 2015

by Bob Mondello

Danny Boyle's new biopic, Steve Jobs, is a look at the man who made Apple mean computers, not fruit. NPR film critic Bob Mondello says it's an invigorating story told in three acts of crisis.

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A 12-year-old Peter (Levi Miller), with the help of the warrior Tiger Lily (Rooney Mara), must defeat the pirate Blackbeard (Hugh Jackman) in Pan.

Arts

'Pan' Asks The Odd Question: What Happened Before The Fun Started?

3:22pm October 09, 2015

by Scott Tobias

Do you really need to know what happened to Peter Pan before his life became magical? Pan suggests the answer is, "Not really."

Matt Damon as Astronaut Mark Watney in The Martian.

Arts

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'The Martian' And How-To Stories

10:28am October 09, 2015

by Linda Holmes

On this week's show, we chat about The Martian, consider other stories that enlighten us about the work people do, and — as always — offer up what's making us happy this week.

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'Steve Jobs' Is Not A Standard Biopic

7:57am October 09, 2015

by Kenneth Turan

Another movie about Apple co-founder Steve Jobs is in theaters. It is inspired by the best-selling biography that came out in 2011. The new biopic is simply called Steve Jobs.

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