Movie Reviews

Louis Garrel (right), directs, co-wrote, and stars with Laetitia Casta (left) in this French romantic comedy about a complicated love triangle.

Arts

Mon Petit, Choose: In The Deft, Whimsical 'A Faithful Man,' A Couple's Bond Is Tested

5:00pm July 18, 2019

by Scott Tobias

Louis Garrel's second film as a director is a dry romantic comedy that involves a love triangle, and "watching it unfold can feel at times like an anthropological study of the French species."

Somebody's Uber rating is taking a hit. L to R: Vic (Dave Bautista), Stroker (Pico) and Stu (Kumail Nanjiani) in Stuber.

Arts

Collateral, Damaged: 'Stuber' Is A Tired Retread

5:00pm July 11, 2019

by Chris Klimek

The latest summer action-comedy to attempt to satirize summer action-comedies by upping the violence, Stuber wastes its two charismatic leads in an unfunny riff on 2004's Collateral.

Misery loves company in Ray & Liz, a semi-autobiographical drama about a working-class British family from photographer Richard Billingham.

Arts

'Ray & Liz' Is A 'Melancholic And Unsparing' Portrait Of A Household At Society's Edge

5:00pm July 11, 2019

by Andrew Lapin

Richard Billingham documented his parents' neglect and abuse in previous documentary projects. His first narrative film captures their brutality even as it affords them some measure of dignity.

L to R: Mary (Michaela Watkins), Cynthia (Jillian Bell), Nathaniel (Jon Bass) and Mel (Marc Maron) get taken to a second location in Sword of Trust.

Arts

In 'Sword Of Trust,' A Questionable Antique, An Unquestionable Cast

4:28pm July 11, 2019

by Bob Mondello

Director Lynn Shelton and writer Mike O'Brien constructed an outline and got a cast of great comics to improvise the details in this agreeably loose comedy about an antique sword.

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When her grandmother is diagnosed with a terminal illness, Billi (played by Awkwafina, center) reluctantly agrees to go along with her family's plan to pay respects to their matriarch — without letting her know she is dying.

Arts

Lots Of Love And One Big Lie — 'The Farewell' Reminds Us Time Is Short

1:43pm July 11, 2019

by Justin Chang

Awkwafina stars in Lulu Wang's funny ensemble drama about a Chinese American family and their elaborate ruse to pay respects to their matriarch — without ever letting on she has a terminal illness.

Director Nick Broomfield documents the love story between musician Leonard Cohen and his lover, Marianne Ihlen, in Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love.

In Documentary 'Marianne & Leonard: Words Of Love,' Free Love Comes At A Cost

10:48am July 05, 2019

by Ella Taylor

This "moving, sympathetic but ultimately frustrating tribute" to Marianne Ihlen inadvertently reveals the male gaze's narrow focus by defining this complicated woman as Cohen's passive muse.

Loss, grief and emotional neglect all play a role in Midsommar â a haunting thriller about an American couple attending a mysterious festival in the Swedish countryside.

Arts

'Midsommar' Shines: A Solstice Nightmare Unfolds In Broad Daylight

1:43pm July 03, 2019

by Justin Chang

An American couple attends a mysterious festival in the Swedish countryside in Ari Aster's new thriller. The haunting, hypnotic film will slowly seep into your nervous system.

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Spider-Man Faces The Usual Villains, An Unusually Tricky Storyline In 'Far From Home'

4:45pm July 01, 2019

by Bob Mondello

Marvel's Spider-Man: Far From Home finds Peter Parker on vacation in London when a new super-guy shows up: Mysterio, played by Jake Gyllenhaal.

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'Ophelia' Sees The World Differently Than Shakespeare's Prince Hamlet

5:57pm June 28, 2019

by Bob Mondello

Claire McCarthy's new film Ophelia takes the Bard's advice to "hold, as 'twere, the mirror up to nature," and finds a fresh angle on the story Shakespeare called Hamlet.

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'Maiden': Groundbreaking 1989 Sailing Race For All-Female Crew

6:44am June 28, 2019

by Kenneth Turan

A new documentary tells the story of the first all-female crew to enter the Whitbread Round the World sailing race in 1989. The crew was led by a 24-year-old and the boat was called Maiden.

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