Movie Reviews

Naíma Sentíes and Montserrat Marañon in Tótem.

Arts

'Tótem' invites you to a family birthday party — but Death has RSVP'd, too

1:50pm January 25, 2024

by John Powers

The action takes place all in one day, as 7-year-old Sol attends the birthday party of her father, who's dying of cancer. But Tótem isn't really a movie about death; it's about living.

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Le Phong Vu plays Thien, a young man looking for answers in the Vietnamese countryside.

Arts

'Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell' is a film where a big screen makes a big difference

5:00am January 19, 2024

by Justin Chang

This drama about a young man's journey with his 5-year-old nephew into the Vietnamese countryside is composed mostly in long, unbroken takes — to quietly mesmerizing effect.

Jessica Chastain plays a single mother who connects with a man with early-onset dementia (Peter Sarsgaard) in Memory.

Arts

Two strangers grapple with hazy 'Memory' in this unsettling film

1:45pm January 12, 2024

by Justin Chang

Peter Sarsgaard is a man with early-onset dementia and Jessica Chastain is a single mother with a traumatic past in a film about two people who come into each other's lives at just the right time.

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National

NPR film critic Bob Mondello's top films of 2023

5:56pm December 29, 2023

by Bob Mondello

Bob Mondello's 10-Best list always runneth over, and despite writers' and actors' strikes, this year is no exception. Here are the films he was most excited about in 2023.

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Sandra Hüller plays a mother who lives next door to Auschwitz in The Zone of Interest.

Arts

Chilling 'Zone of Interest' imagines life next door to a death camp

2:08pm December 22, 2023

by Justin Chang

Jonathan Glazer's film depicts the family of Auschwitz camp commandant Rudolf Höss — they go about their daily routines while a massive machinery of death grinds away next door.

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World News

Review: Andrew Haigh's 'All of Us Strangers' is a haunting meditation on connection

5:53pm December 21, 2023

by Bob Mondello

A haunting meditation on loneliness wrapped in a supernatural coming-of-age tale, Andrew Haigh's drama All of Us Strangers stars Andrew Scott, Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell and Claire Foy.

Young Celie (Phylicia Pearl Mpasi) and young Nettie (Halle Bailey) share an unbreakable bond.

Arts

The new 'Color Purple' exudes joy, but dances past some deeper complexities

3:17pm December 19, 2023

by Aisha Harris

Drawing on four decades of debate and analysis, this reincarnation is a remarkable departure from Alice Walker's Pulitzer-winning novel and its polarizing 1985 adaptation directed by Steven Spielberg.

Clockwise from top left: Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One, Passages, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Four Daughters, Only Murders in the Building, Hijack

Arts

The best movies and TV of 2023, picked for you by NPR critics

11:01am December 19, 2023

Whether you plan to head out to the theater or binge from the couch, our critics have gathered together their favorite films and TV shows of the year. Happy watching!

Arts

The new 'Wonka' film manages to not be too sweet

6:04pm December 15, 2023

Bob Mondello shares his thoughts on Timothee Chalamet's rendition of a young Willy Wonka in the new prequel to the Roald Dahl film classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

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If you find yourself in Hanukkah withdrawal, take Round and Round for a spin: This time-loop romance embraces the holiday in a way that feels complete and thoughtful. Above, Paula Shaw and Vic Michaelis in Round and Round.

One last Hanukkah gift from Hallmark: 'Round and Round' is a really fun romcom

12:13pm December 15, 2023

by Linda Holmes

If you find yourself in Hanukkah withdrawal, take Round and Round for a spin: This time-loop romance embraces the holiday in a way that feels complete and thoughtful.