Movie Reviews

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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Black Panther, Roma, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Widows, A Star is Born and Eighth Grade all made NPR's favorite-movie list.

Arts

NPR's Favorite Movies Of 2018

5:00am December 10, 2018

From the record-breaking hit Black Panther to the melodrama A Star Is Born, our film critics pick their 15 favorite movies of the year.

Movie Review: 'Mary Queen Of Scots'

6:35pm December 07, 2018

by Bob Mondello

In the lush historical tragedy, Mary Queen of Scots, Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie play the title character, and her cousin and nemesis Queen Elizabeth.

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Arts

Stylistically Dazzling 'Vox Lux' Draws Link Between Pop Stardom And Terrorism

1:27pm December 07, 2018

by John Powers

Natalie Portman plays a young Christian woman who is propelled to pop stardom following a mass shooting. Critic John Powers says Vox Lux is inventive — and exasperating.

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Natalie Portman's performance as pop star Celeste is bold, glittery and fearless in Vox Lux.

'Vox Lux' Is Too Much — And That's What Makes It So Invigorating

9:22pm December 06, 2018

by Andrew Lapin

Sure, this lush, blistering riff on pop stardom — and the many ways it intersects with a culture obsessed with both violence and celebrity — is over-the-top. That's the point.

Two queens stand before me: Margot Robbie stars as Elizabeth I and Joe Alwyn as Robert Dudley in Mary Queen of Scots.

Arts

In 'Mary Queen Of Scots,' 2 Queens Become Pawns In A Struggle For Supremacy

5:00pm December 06, 2018

by Ella Taylor

Director Josie Rourke's epic, fiercely feminist period piece "does make a powerfully moving case for an uneasy dance between two powerful women hamstrung by male politics."

Hey-La, Hey-La: Holly (Julia Roberts) keeps a watchful eye on her son Ben (Lucas Hedges) in Ben is Back.

Arts

'Ben Is Back': Well-Acted Addiction Drama Loses Its Way

5:00pm December 06, 2018

by Scott Tobias

The first half is a tense, painfully real family drama about the lingering toll of opioid addiction; the second half lurches into thriller territory thick with stock types and cliches.

'Tis The Season For 'Anna And The Apocalypse,' The New Zom-Com Musical

5:10pm November 30, 2018

by Bob Mondello

What could be more full of holiday spirit than zombies, you ask? The new zombie musical comedy Anna and the Apocalypse is here to upend your holiday movie expectations.

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