Movie Reviews

Cardi B; Ethan Hawke in First Reformed; Sandra Oh in Killing Eve.

'Fresh Air' Favorites: Our Critics Pick 2018's Best Books, Movies, Music And TV

2:53pm December 18, 2018

Find everything our critics loved this year, all in one place: Maureen Corrigan's book list, movie pairings from Justin Chang, music recommended by Ken Tucker and David Bianculli's must-see TV list.

Ben Whishaw voices the perpetually well-meaning bear in Paddington 2.

Books
Arts

2018 'Ghost List' Revisits The TV, Books And Movies A Critic Wishes He Covered

1:41pm December 17, 2018

by John Powers

Each year, Fresh Air critic-at-large John Powers finds himself haunted by the books, movies and shows that he loved but wasn't able to review on the air.

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Yonis (Boluwatife Treasure Bankole), L, and Zain (Zain Al Rafeea), R, find a moment of quiet amid the chaos in Capernaum.

Arts

A Boy Grows Up Fast On The Streets Of Beirut In The Dickensian 'Capernaum'

4:36pm December 14, 2018

by Bob Mondello

A tough, wise-beyond-his-years 12-year-old (Zain Al Rafeea) leaves the misery of his home life, only to take on the responsibility of caring for an even younger child.

Teyonah Parris, KiKi Layne and Regina King star in If Beale Street Could Talk, adapted from James Baldwin's 1974 novel.

Arts

'Beale Street' Is A Heart-Stopping, Beautiful Story Of Love And Injustice

12:18pm December 14, 2018

by Justin Chang

Moonlight director Barry Jenkins returns with a new drama about young lovers in 1970s Harlem whose lives are thrown into turmoil when one of them is falsely accused of a crime.

Movie Review: 'The Mule' Has A Personal Feel To It, Says 'LA Times' Film Critic

7:09am December 14, 2018

NPR's David Greene talks to Los Angeles Times film critic Ken Turan about the new movie The Mule, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood.

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Shining Like Moonlight: Tish (KiKi Layne) and Fonny (Stephan James) share a fleeting moment in Barry Jenkins' If Beale Street Could Talk.

Arts

In The Luminous 'If Beale Street Could Talk,' A Perfect Love Meets An Imperfect World

5:01pm December 13, 2018

by Monica Castillo

Director Barry Jenkins follows up Moonlight with this exquisite film adaptation of James Baldwin's novel about the clash between love and racial injustice.

Hester (Hera Hilmar) and Tom (Robert Sheehan) conspire to throw a monkey wrench into the works in Mortal Engines.

Arts

'Mortal Engines' Internally Combusts

5:01pm December 13, 2018

by Mark Jenkins

Long on CGI but short on any real inspiration, this adaptation of a fantasy series about giant cities that roam a post-apocalyptic landscape quickly runs out of gas.

Listen, bud: Peter Parker (voiced by Jake Johnson) and Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) swing into action in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

Arts

Well-Versed: 'Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse' Is A Gorgeous, Fun, Warm-Hearted Treat

5:01pm December 13, 2018

by Chris Klimek

Many Spider-Men and -Women meet up in this "graphically dazzling, generously imaginative, nakedly optimistic, mercilessly funny" and refreshingly inclusive animated film.

The house has good bones: Jack (Matt Dillon) rationalizes his deadly vocation in Lars von Trier's The House That Jack Built.

Arts

In Grisly, Sadistic 'The House That Jack Built,' Lars von Trier Deconstructs Himself

5:00pm December 13, 2018

by Andrew Lapin

This uber-violent film about a remorseless serial killer (Matt Dillon) requires an iron stomach, but it's a "thoughtful, honest onscreen meditation on morality and personal culpability."

In 'If Beale Street Could Talk,' Characters Struggle Against Injustice And Find Hope Through Love

4:22pm December 13, 2018

by Bob Mondello

Director Barry Jenkins' follow-up to his Oscar-winner, Moonlight, is a swoony adaptation of the James Baldwin novel, If Beale Street Could Talk.

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