Movies

Arts

'Manchester By The Sea' Director Explores The Depth Of Grief

3:03pm February 17, 2017

Kenneth Lonergan's film, which has been nominated for six Oscars, is about a janitor who returns to his hometown after the death of his brother. Originally broadcast Nov. 30, 2016.

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"... For The Night Is Dark And Filled With Lizard-People": Pero (Pedro Pascal) and William (Matt Damon) in The Great Wall.

Arts

'The Great Wall' Isn't, Particularly

5:00pm February 16, 2017

by Mark Jenkins

This visually impressive, narratively muddy, pseudo-historic monster movie disappoints. "It's bonkers in theory, but prosaic in execution," says critic Mark Jenkins.

A Wall Street trader (Dane DeHaan) finds himself in sinister ... crutches ... in A Cure For Wellness.

Arts

'A Cure For Wellness' Needs A Dose Of Originality

5:00pm February 16, 2017

by Andrew Lapin

Director Gore Verbinski leans on tried-and-true horror visuals to provide this film, set in a sinister Alpine spa, with its scares. But at 2 1/2 hours, patient fatigue sets in early.

Someone's About to Get Schooled: Charlie Day and Ice Cube in Fist Fight.

Arts

2 High School Teachers Throw Punches And Crude Jokes In 'Fist Fight'

5:00pm February 16, 2017

by Scott Tobias

Charlie Day and Ice Cube lead a great cast, but this comedy, filled with cruel pranks and retrograde notions of masculinity, "leaves a sour aftertaste," says critic Scott Tobias.

Mahershala Ali has been nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in Moonlight.

Arts

In 'Moonlight,' Actor Mahershala Ali Found Characters He Recognized

2:45pm February 16, 2017

Ali has earned an Oscar nomination for his performance as Juan, a drug dealer who becomes an unlikely father figure to a boy who is being bullied at school and neglected at home.

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The documentary Kedi gives a cat's-eye view of the back alleys, boho enclaves and rat-infested piers of Istanbul.

Arts

Ode To The Street Cat: 'Kedi' Follows Istanbul's Famous Felines

1:56pm February 15, 2017

by John Powers

The new documentary by filmmaker Ceyda Torun focuses on seven cats as they make their way around the Turkish city. Critic John Powers calls Kedi a "pleasurable refuge from our daily cares."

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James Baldwin poses at his home in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France in 1979.

Arts

Director Raoul Peck: James Baldwin Was 'Speaking Directly To Me'

3:08pm February 14, 2017

Baldwin "gave me very early on the instruments I needed to ... deconstruct the world around me," Peck says. His documentary, I Am Not Your Negro, chronicles the life of the civil rights era writer.

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Arts

Late Playwright, August Wilson, Nominated For Academy Awards For 'Fences'

6:00pm February 12, 2017

Constanza Romero Wilson speaks about continuing the legacy of her late husband, playwright August Wilson. His play-turned-film Fences, is nominated for several Academy Awards including Best Picture.

Arts

'John Wick, Chapter 2': A 'Violent Ballet' Of Action

6:35pm February 10, 2017

by Bob Mondello

NPR movie critic Bob Mondello reviews John Wick: Chapter 2, an action — repeat "action" — thriller starring Keanu Reeves.

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Arts

Taut, Moving 'Black Girl' Helped Put African Cinema On The Map

2:42pm February 10, 2017

by John Powers

Fifty years after its debut, a restored version of Senegalese director Ousmane Sembène's first film is now available. John Powers says Black Girl feels "as timely today as it did half a century ago."

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