'Top Five': A Good, Not Great, Day In New York With Chris Rock
Chris Rock's new comedy is strong on industry satire, but gets a little watery with the romance.
Movie Reviews
The 1970s, Ugly And Adrift In 'Inherent Vice'
Paul Thomas Anderson is a master of outlining times and places occupied by his strange dreamers. Inherent Vice, set in California in the 1970s, gets many things right, even if it's a bit too epic.
In A Serious Season, The Loose Charms Of 'Little Feet'
Filmmaker Alexandre Rockwell features his own children in a charming, uneven, energetic film about siblings on a journey to set a goldfish free.
'Dying Of The Light': A Disputed Production, A Disappointing Product
The film, disavowed by its director and writer Paul Schrader after clashes with the studio, stars Nicolas Cage as a CIA officer who believes the agency has lost its moral direction.
Prayers And Holy Water Can't Exorcise The Terrifying 'Babadook'
In the Australian chiller, a bogeyman announces himself in a rhyming, pop-up book on a 7-year-old's shelf. But the real horror is that the boy's mom, a grieving widow, is battling psychic demons.
A Claustrophobic 'Pioneer' From A Land Suddenly Grown Rich
The Norwegian thriller follows divers deep beneath the sea, where powerful forces above drive those trapped together to question nearly every aspect of their experience.
A 'Wild' Trek Made A Bit Too Neatly
The film adaptation of Cheryl Strayed's memoir about hiking the Pacific Crest Trail takes Reese Witherspoon into new territory but never quite achieves the fierceness to which it aspires.
Benedict Cumberbatch Lifts Above Biopic Formula In 'Imitation Game'
Cumberbatch stars as British mathematician and World War II code breaker Alan Turing in a film directed by Morten Tyldum and co-staring Keira Knightley as Turing's comrade in arms.
Satirists Go Serious in 'Foxcatcher' And 'Rosewater' — And It Works
NPR film critic Bob Mondello reviews two serious films based on real-life events — Foxcatcher, which stars comedian Steve Carrell, and Rosewater, directed by Comedy Central's Jon Stewart.
'Foxcatcher': A Bloated True-Crime Story Based On Wealthy Heir John du Pont
The film is based on du Pont's fraught relationship with two Olympic wrestlers. Wealth isn't enough — his identity hinges on winning. It's a fascinating case study, but as drama, it's one sick joke.