Movie Reviews

In Dallas Buyers Club, Matthew McConaughey takes on the role of Ron Woodroof, a Texas man who, diagnosed with AIDS in the 1980s, begins to smuggle experimental drugs in from Mexico.

Arts

Matthew McConaughey, Fiercely Committed To This 'Club'

6:49pm November 01, 2013

by Bob Mondello

Dallas Buyers Club tells the true story of Ron Woodroof (Matthew McConaughey), a Texas man whose '80s AIDS diagnosis drives him to fight for access to the drugs he believes can save him. Jennifer Garner and Jared Leto also star. (Recommended)

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Blue Is the Warmest Color chronicles the love affair between high school student Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos, left) and Emma (Léa Seydoux), who is older and more experienced.

Arts

In Emotionally Charged 'Blue,' Sex Is Graphic, But Not Gratuitous

2:30pm October 25, 2013

by David Edelstein

Blue Is the Warmest Color, a coming-of-age movie about the love affair between two young women, has been criticized as pornographic and exploitive. But critic David Edelstein says the film artfully captures the intensity of sexual discovery — and dependency. (Recommended)

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Soulless 'Counselor' Is Terminally Bleak

6:43am October 25, 2013

by Kenneth Turan

The new movie The Counselor was written by acclaimed novelist Cormac McCarthy. Critic Kenneth Turan says he's better off sticking to writing books.

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Robert Redford stars in All Is Lost as a solitary man struggling to make his yacht seaworthy again after it collides with a rogue shipping container adrift in the Indian Ocean.

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At Home At Sea: Robert Redford, At His Best Alone

3:38pm October 18, 2013

by David Edelstein

The actor is a cast of one in All Is Lost, about a man adrift alone in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Fresh Air critic David Edelstein says Redford and director J.C. Chandor have pulled off the ultimate fusion of actor and character. (Recommended)

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In Kill Your Darlings, Dane DeHaan (left) plays Lucien Carr, a man whose charm and wit quickly command the attention of the young Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe) in their time at Columbia University. John Krokidas' film chronicles the "Libertine Circle"

Arts

Beat Manifesto: 'Kill Your Darlings,' Figuratively And ...

6:39pm October 16, 2013

by Bob Mondello

The film follows Beat Generation notables — Allen Ginsberg, William Burroughs, Jack Kerouac and Lucien Carr — as college students in the 1940s. NPR's Bob Mondello says it may succeed where other movies about the poets have failed. (Recommended)

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Barkhad Abdi (middle) plays Muse, the leader of a band of Somali pirates who take over a freighter in Captain Phillips.

Arts

A Pirate Saga More Sobering Than Swashbuckling

1:52pm October 11, 2013

by David Edelstein

Tom Hanks stars as the title character in the gripping Captain Phillips, opposite the compelling Somali-born actor Barkhad Abdi as the leader of a pirate band that attacks his freighter in the Gulf of Aden. (Recommended)

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'Captain Phillips' Review And Why Boston's Accent Isn't Easy

11:02am October 11, 2013

Captain Phillips, starring Tom Hanks, is based on a real-life case of a freighter overtaken by Somali pirates in 2009. You might know the story, but critic Kenneth Turan says this film will exceed your expectations. Plus, Morning Edition investigates what it takes to have a convincing Boston accent.

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In Alfonso Cuaron's Gravity, Sandra Bullock plays Ryan Stone, an astronaut careening through space after an accident.

Arts

Houston, We Have A Space Flick: A Sentimental Mission In Zero 'Gravity'

2:51pm October 04, 2013

by David Edelstein

Director Alfonso Cuaron puts you in orbit with novice astronaut Sandra Bullock and veteran-on-his-last-mission George Clooney as their space shuttle gets demolished by debris from an exploded Soviet satellite. Critic David Edelstein says that you should watch this movie on the biggest screen you can find.

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt -- in his writing and directing debut -- plays Jon, a porn addict with no interest in relationships until Barbara (Scarlett Johansson) changes things.

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Gordon-Levitt's 'Don Jon' Is An Openhearted Directorial Debut

2:15pm September 27, 2013

by David Edelstein

Joseph Gordon-Levitt also wrote and stars in the film, about a prolific seducer and porn addict who changes his ways when Scarlett Johansson's character enters the picture. Critic David Edelstein says Don Jon is smart, with a subversive touch.

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James Gandolfini plays a divorced TV archivist who falls in love with a divorced masseuse, played by Julia-Louis Dreyfus, in Nicole Holofcener's Enough Said.

Arts

Gandolfini Is So Vivid In 'Enough Said,' You Forget He's Gone

1:42pm September 20, 2013

by David Edelstein

The late actor stars opposite Julia Louis-Dreyfus in the new comedy about a divorced TV archivist who falls in love with a divorced masseuse. David Edelstein praises Louis-Dreyfus' farcical timing, as well Gandolfini's ability to change his rhythm and demeanor.

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