Movie Reviews

Arts

Though Layered And Ambitious, 'Late Night' Doesn't Always Stick The Landing

6:21pm June 07, 2019

by Justin Chang

Emma Thompson stars as a talk show host who hires Molly (Mindy Kaling) to join a writers room full of white men. But the film falls short in reconciling its satire with its more sentimental moments.

Queue Listen Now

Movie Review: 'Late Night' With Emma Thompson And Mindy Kaling

4:46pm June 07, 2019

by Bob Mondello

In the movie Late Night, a legendary female late night talk show host played by Emma Thompson is faced with plummeting ratings and impulsively hires a new writer, Mindy Kaling, to spice up her show.

Queue Listen Now

Tenor Luciano Pavarotti, who died in 2007, is the subject of a new documentary film, directed by Ron Howard.

Music & Culture

Pavarotti Documentary Misses All The Right Notes

8:28am June 07, 2019

by Tom Huizenga

Ron Howard's new Pavarotti film fails to make us feel much for its subject, and does little to bolster the magical, complicated art called opera.

Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) battles her rage — and a cosmic case of combination skin — in Dark Phoenix.

Arts

'Dark Phoenix' Channels The Cosmic Power Of The Comics, Avoids Going Down In Flames

5:20pm June 06, 2019

by Glen Weldon

Thanks to a sure(ish) grip on Marvel's mutants-as-metaphor approach to storytelling, the film brings a classic comics storyline to life. Sure, it's melodramatic — but that's the X-Men for you.

16 Shots, a documentary debuting on Showtime on June 14, investigates the 2014 fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke.

Arts

'16 Shots': Documentary Exposes The Cover-Up Behind A Chicago Police Shooting

5:01pm June 06, 2019

by Mark Jenkins

The slaying of Laquan McDonald by a Chicago cop has been widely reported but Richard Rowley's documentary lays out the CPD's cover-up, and its ultimate collapse, in stark detail.

The Last Black Man in San Francisco, directed by Joe Talbot, wowed audiences at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.

Arts

'The Last Black Man In San Francisco' Is A Ravishing, Achingly Heartfelt Elegy

5:00pm June 06, 2019

by Ella Taylor

A young man attempts to reclaim a grand home in San Francisco's gentrified Fillmore district in this "wistful fairy tale built from real-life materials."

Russian musical Leto explores the underground rock scene in '80s Leningrad.

Arts

'Leto': An Underground Rock Scene, Under Soviet Rule

5:00pm June 06, 2019

by Scott Tobias

This Russian rock musical set in the nightclubs of '80s Leningrad is strongest when it leaves a cliche-ridden love-triangle plot behind to focus on the rebellious, heart-lifting spirit of music.

'The Fall Of The American Empire' Is An Intimate Crime Comedy With An Intellectual Twist

6:11pm May 31, 2019

by Bob Mondello

A philosophical heist comedy, The Fall of the American Empire is the latest intellectual critique from Canadian auteur Denys Arcand.

Queue Listen Now

Randall Park and Ali Wong star in Netflix's Always Be My Maybe.

Arts

Love Finds Ali Wong And Randall Park In 'Always Be My Maybe'

9:46am May 31, 2019

by Linda Holmes

Randall Park and Ali Wong star in a Netflix romantic comedy about two young friends who grow up and grow apart, only to find each other again as adults. Also, there's Keanu Reeves.

Quebec TV personality Maripier Marin makes her big screen debut in Canadian crime thriller The Fall of the American Empire.

Arts

There Is Honor Among Thieves In 'The Fall Of The American Empire'

9:32am May 31, 2019

by Mark Jenkins

Director Denys Arcand continues a series about the discontents of Montreal intellectuals with The Fall Of The American Empire. While it elides some complications, its range of references feels fresh.