Movie Reviews

Our favorite incompetent invader is back in Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus.

Arts

'90s Kids, Rejoice: 'Invader Zim,' A Cult-Classic Nicktoon, Returns

9:48am August 23, 2019

by Vincent Acovino

Eighteen years after the short-lived series premiered, Invader Zim is back with a one-off special that lacks the edge of the show's best episodes, but recalls what made it so fun.

In her first starring role on the big screen, comedic actress Jillian Bell of 22 Jump Street and Rough Night plays Brittany, an unhappy and directionless ticket-taker who decides to make a change — by running a marathon.

Arts

A Fun But Familiar Story Of Making Yourself Over In 'Brittany Runs A Marathon'

5:00pm August 22, 2019

by Linda Holmes

Jillian Bell and the supporting cast are charming in this underdog story about a young woman who goes from hating exercise to running a marathon. But don't expect too much that's new.

Gemma Arterton (left) and Elizabeth Debicki (right) star as socialite Vita Sackville-West and novelist Virginia Woolf in this true story about the love affair behind one of Woolf's greatest works.

Arts

'Vita & Virginia': Get A Room (Of Your Own), You Two

5:00pm August 22, 2019

by Mark Jenkins

The film, based on Eileen Atkins' play about the correspondence between Virginia Woolf and Virginia Sackville-West, is a standard British period drama that tries, and fails, to be something more.

Kirill Mikhanovsky directs this dark comedy about a young Russian-American man (Chris Galust, pictured here with Lauren 'Lolo' Spencer) driving a medical transport van around Milwaukee.

Arts

'Give Me Liberty': A Brilliant, Transporting Film About A Medical Driver's Busy Day

5:00pm August 22, 2019

by Andrew Lapin

A young Russian-American (Chris Galust) drives a beat-up medical transport van full of demanding, quirky passengers through Milwaukee's backstreets in this funny, authentic film.

When her doctor suggests she lose some weight, Brittany (Jillian Bell) takes up running in Brittany Runs A Marathon.

Arts

'Brittany Runs A Marathon' Is Formulaic, But Victorious At The Finish Line

1:22pm August 21, 2019

by Justin Chang

The underdog comedy, which centers on a hard-partying woman who signs up for the New York City Marathon, proves that even a predictable plot can be hard to resist if it's well executed.

Queue Listen Now

Come out, come out, wherever you are! In Ready or Not, a bride takes on her new husband's wealthy, murderous family in a twisted game of hide and seek.

Arts

In The Brisk Horror-Comedy 'Ready Or Not,' Bluebloods Are Out For Blood

12:01pm August 21, 2019

by Glen Weldon

The film, about a wealthy clan who play a deadly game of hide-and-seek with a young woman (the fantastic Samara Weaving) marrying into the family, is fast, fun and not for the squeamish.

Documentary Review: 'One Child Nation'

4:49pm August 17, 2019

by Bob Mondello

China's most far-reaching social experiment — a multi-decade attempt at population control — is the subject of the documentary One Child Nation.

Cate Blanchett stars as Bernadette Fox, a once-legendary architect who hasn't built anything in decades, in Where'd You Go, Bernadette.

Arts

'Bernadette' Is A Stirring Tribute To A Woman Rediscovering Her True Calling

2:05pm August 16, 2019

by Justin Chang

Where'd You Go, Bernadette follows a brilliant architect who, in the midst of a decades-long career slump, disappears to recapture her life's passion in the unlikeliest place imaginable.

Queue Listen Now

Bollywood Meets Bruce Springsteen In 'Blinded By The Light'

6:22am August 16, 2019

NPR's David Greene talks to movie reviewer Kenneth Turan about Blinded by the Light, which takes place in late 1980s England as an Anglo-Pakistani teenager finds solace in Bruce Springsteen's music.

Come on, rise up! Blinded by the Light follows first-generation British teen Javed (Viveik Kalra, center) as he discovers hope and Bruce Springsteen in 1980s Britain.

Arts

Mawkish 'Blinded By The Light' Wears Its Too-Hungry Heart On Its Sleeve

5:14pm August 15, 2019

by Chris Klimek

Film critic/Springsteen superfan Chris Klimek says Gurinder Chadha's film about a British-Pakistani kid who finds inspiration in The Boss's music is affected and cloying.