Movie Reviews

Mourners gather for a heartfelt burial ceremony in the Brazilian film Bacurau.

Arts

Mysterious Events Disturb A Small Brazilian Town In Genre-Busting 'Bacurau'

2:04pm March 04, 2020

by John Powers

First the town disappears from Google Maps. Then a UFO appears — and a water truck is riddled with bullet holes. Bacurau is a community portrait, a horror thriller and a work of political filmmaking.

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Film Festival Hit 'Saint Frances' Opens In Theaters

5:44pm February 28, 2020

by Bob Mondello

In the new independent comedy Saint Frances, a young woman finds her sense of family upended by a romance, an unexpected pregnancy and a gig as a nanny.

Sir Richard McCreadie (Steve Coogan) displays the veneer(s) of pleasantness in Michael Winterbottom's Greed.

Arts

'Greed': A Scabrous Satire Of A Megalomaniacal Mogul

5:56pm February 27, 2020

by Ella Taylor

Michael Winterbottom's sardonic tale of an amoral British businessman (Steve Coogan) who throws himself a shameless birthday party goes for the jugular.

Celia (Elisabeth Moss) can't see ya, in The Invisible Man.

Arts

'The Invisible Man': When Danger Is Present — And Clear

5:00pm February 27, 2020

by Scott Tobias

Leigh Whannell's update of the H.G. Wells novel traffics in a "psychological realism that's unusual for the genre," which effectively transforms it into "Gaslight with a horror twist."

Gilda (Catrinel Marlon) threatens to send bullets whistling through the air in The Whistlers.

Arts

Romanian Caper 'The Whistlers': A Surprisingly Fast, Peppy, Complex Tune

5:00pm February 27, 2020

by Mark Jenkins

Writer-director Corneliu Porumboiu's crime flick is "brighter and literally more colorful" than the slow-burn, gray-palette fare you might be expecting.

Arts

'Wendy' Mixes Poetry With Platitudes As It Riffs On 'Peter Pan'

1:23pm February 26, 2020

by Justin Chang

Director Benh Zeitlin conjures up some practical magic in a loose retelling of J. M. Barrie's classic story. But ultimately, Wendy's clever twists aren't enough to keep your attention from wandering.

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The Band in London, June 1971. From left: Levon Helm, Richard Manuel, Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko and Garth Hudson.

In 'Once Were Brothers,' The Band's Earliest Years Shine

10:38am February 24, 2020

by Lauren Onkey

A new documentary doesn't radically alter what we know and love about The Band, but does unearth some fresh details.

Bart (Tye Sheridan) takes guest relations to a new level in The Night Clerk.

Arts

'The Night Clerk': Hitchcockian Premise, Half-Cocked Execution

5:00pm February 20, 2020

by Mark Jenkins

A hotel clerk (Tye Sheridan) hides a secret during a murder investigation in a film that explores the affinity between cinema and voyeurism flatly and without nuance.

Louise (Victoria Bluck) comforts Ahmed (Idir Ben Addi) in Young Ahmed.

Arts

'Young Ahmed' Is A Flawed But Complex Character Study

5:00pm February 20, 2020

by Scott Tobias

The premise — young Belgian Muslim sets out to murder one of his teachers — has drawn sharp criticism; the film itself is "hugely flawed" but more thoughtful than the controversy surrounding it.

Making Fun Of The Rich Is A British Comedy Tradition Honored In 'Greed'

4:09pm February 20, 2020

by Bob Mondello

Steve Coogan plays a gazillionaire who throws himself a party that is the very picture of wretched excess in the satirical comedy Greed.

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