Movie Reviews

Arts

Message From Documentary 'Citizenfour': Be Afraid (Of Surveillance)

7:03am October 24, 2014

by Kenneth Turan

Ken Turan reviews the documentary Citizenfour from filmmaker Laura Poitras about Edward Snowden and his decision to leak information about the National Security Agency's surveillance activities.

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Arts

'Citizenfour' Follows The Snowden Story Without (Much) Grandstanding

2:03am October 24, 2014

by Andrew Lapin

Documentarian Laura Poitras found herself deep inside the story of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden and his revelations about surveillance.

Hippolyte Girardot and Sabine Azéma play spouses in Life of Riley.

Arts

'Life Of Riley,' Alain Resnais' Final Film, Bids A Sunny Adieu

2:03am October 24, 2014

by Mark Jenkins

The film, set in a series of make-believe gardens, follows three couples after they receive devastating news about a mutual friend.

Force Majeure follows the aftermath of a split-second decision made by a father during an avalanche.

Arts

In 'Force Majeure,' Society Crumbles Under An Avalanche

2:03am October 24, 2014

by Ella Taylor

The wickedly funny Swedish black comedy follows a family after its patriarch makes a selfish, split-second decision in a time of crisis.

In The Heart Machine, John Gallagher Jr. plays a man who begins to suspect that his long-distance girlfriend actually lives nearby.

Arts

'The Heart Machine' Finds Subtlety In The Perils Of Online Dating

2:03am October 24, 2014

by Tomas Hachard

Zachary Wigon's debut feature explores what happens when a man suspects that his long-distance girlfriend, whom he met online, might be living in the same city.

Arts

Starring In 'Fury': The Horrors That People Are Capable Of In War

7:21am October 20, 2014

by Kenneth Turan

The WWII drama Fury is about a U.S. sergeant and his five-man crew on a mission behind enemy lines. Kenneth Turan reviews the film, directed by David Ayer and starring Brad Pitt and Shia LaBeouf.

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In Birdman, Michael Keaton (a real-life former Batman) plays a former movie superhero who's trying to get a grasp on his career.

Arts

'Birdman' Tracks A Comeback In (Seemingly) One Long Take

6:26pm October 17, 2014

by Bob Mondello

NPR film critic Bob Mondello says Birdman is an entertainingly complicated jigsaw puzzle — in both storytelling and technique.

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Brad Pitt plays Wardaddy, an Army sergeant leading a mission in Nazi Germany.

Arts

The Brutalities Of War Bring Surprising Angles To 'Fury'

1:51pm October 17, 2014

by Chris Klimek

Brad Pitt stars in a war movie that contemplates the horrors of war, but also the horrors that the men who fight it may commit.

Arts

'Birdman' Follows A Film Actor Frantic To Prove Himself Onstage

1:48pm October 17, 2014

by David Edelstein

The choreography by Alejandro Iñárritu, who directed 21 Grams and Babel, will wow you. But the story about a washed-up actor about to bring off his Broadway debut is an "empty masterwork."

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Josephine de la Baume and Jason Schwartzman in Listen Up Philip.

Arts

In 'Listen Up Philip,' Literary Arrogance Stubbornly Refuses To Change

11:08am October 17, 2014

by Tomas Hachard

In the new film starring Jonathan Pryce, Jason Schwartzman and Elisabeth Moss, two male writers prove far less clear-minded about their own behavior than the filmmaker is.