Movie Reviews : NPR

'Neruda' Affectionately Dismantles The Myth Surrounding The Chilean Poet

Luis Gnecco as Pablo Neruda in Pablo Larrain's Neruda. The Orchard hide caption

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The Orchard

'Neruda' Affectionately Dismantles The Myth Surrounding The Chilean Poet

December 29, 2016 • Director Pablo Larrain digs beneath the poetry to offer a warm, humorous and revealing biopic of Pablo Neruda, neatly avoiding the genre's tendency to lionize its subjects.

Affleck's 'Live By Night': An Ambitious, Frenetic But Overstuffed Gangster Film

Ben Affleck and Sienna Miller in Live by Night. Claire Folger/Warner Bros. Pictures hide caption

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Claire Folger/Warner Bros. Pictures

Affleck's 'Live By Night': An Ambitious, Frenetic But Overstuffed Gangster Film

December 29, 2016 • Ben Affleck wrote the screenplay, directed and stars in this bloated genre exercise, which never slows down enough to pack any real emotional impact.

Studios And Audiences Had Lots To Celebrate In 2016

I Am Not Your Negro uses the words of James Baldwin to analyze American attitudes toward race. Bob Adelman/Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures hide caption

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Bob Adelman/Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

Studios And Audiences Had Lots To Celebrate In 2016

December 29, 2016 • This is the time of year when critics release their best-of lists. Usually, they pick the 10 best — but our film critic Bob Mondello couldn't narrow it down that much. He picked 18 of his favorites.

Studios And Audiences Had Lots To Celebrate In 2016

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'Toni Erdmann': A Practical-Joking Dad And His Too-Practical Daughter

Peter Simonischek and Sandra Hüller in the German-Austrian film Toni Erdmann. Sony Pictures Classics hide caption

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Sony Pictures Classics

'Toni Erdmann': A Practical-Joking Dad And His Too-Practical Daughter

December 28, 2016 • Shadow of a Doubtfire: In this "silly yet profoundly moving" German-Austrian comedy, a father uses disguises, a false identity and a whoopie cushion to get his corporate-minded daughter to loosen up.

A Sweet, Sleepy Fable Full Of Poetry And Zen: Jarmusch's 'Paterson'

Adam Driver and Golshifteh Farahani in Jim Jarmusch's Paterson. Mary Cybulski/Amazon Studios hide caption

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Mary Cybulski/Amazon Studios

A Sweet, Sleepy Fable Full Of Poetry And Zen: Jarmusch's 'Paterson'

December 27, 2016 • Adam Driver is a bus driver named Paterson in Paterson, a film set in Paterson, New Jersey, in which William Carlos Williams' epic poem "Paterson" figures largely. Keep up.

'Fences' And 'Hidden Figures' Explore Race, And More, In Midcentury America

December 26, 2016 • Hidden Figures is a true story about the African-American women of America's space program, and Fences is based on a play by August Wilson.

'Fences' And 'Hidden Figures' Explore Race, And More, In Midcentury America

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'Daniel Blake' Skewers The Red Tape That Keeps The Downtrodden Down

It's more than just the titular character in I, Daniel Blake who get stuck in the red tape. Joss Barratt/Courtesy of Sixteen Films hide caption

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Joss Barratt/Courtesy of Sixteen Films

'Daniel Blake' Skewers The Red Tape That Keeps The Downtrodden Down

December 23, 2016 • British director Ken Loach is both an award-winning filmmaker and a social activist. His latest film combines those passions.

'Daniel Blake' Skewers The Red Tape That Keeps The Downtrodden Down

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Scorsese's 'Silence': A Clash of Cultures — And Creeds — In 16th Century Japan

Liam Neeson is Father Ferreira in Martin Scorsese's Silence. Kerry Brown/Paramount Pictures hide caption

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Kerry Brown/Paramount Pictures

Scorsese's 'Silence': A Clash of Cultures — And Creeds — In 16th Century Japan

December 23, 2016 • Two Portuguese priests travel to Japan to find their mentor in Martin Scorsese's fairly conventional historical drama, which our critic calls "the director's most punishing film since Raging Bull."

The 'Hidden Figures' Who Crunched The Numbers In The Space Race

Mary Jackson (Janelle Monae, left), Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson) and Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) in Hidden Figures. Hopper Stone, SMPSP hide caption

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Hopper Stone, SMPSP

The 'Hidden Figures' Who Crunched The Numbers In The Space Race

December 22, 2016 • Janelle Monae, Taraji P. Henson and Octavia Spencer star in this drama about the brilliant African-American women whose mathematical skills NASA eagerly exploited ... without publicly acknowledging.

In Mike Mills' Rich, Brilliant Comedy, Three '20th Century Women' Raise A Teenager

December 22, 2016 • Our critic adores this small, sharply observed film starring Annette Bening, Elle Fanning and Greta Gerwig as boarding-house residents who shape the life of a young man (Lucas Jade Zumann) in 1979.

Sex And Death, Shot Through A Colorful Lens: Almodovar's 'Julieta'

Strangers on a Train: Julieta (Adriana Ugarte) and Xoan (Daniel Grao) share a compartment. Sony Pictures Classics hide caption

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Sony Pictures Classics

Sex And Death, Shot Through A Colorful Lens: Almodovar's 'Julieta'

December 22, 2016 • Pedro Almodovar brings his lush visual exuberance to this adaptation of three Alice Munro stories marked by spare, interior struggles. The odd fusion results in a surprisingly quiet, somber film.

'Passengers' Has A First-Class Sci-Fi Premise, But The Script Flies Coach

A Wake-Up Call Comes 90 Years Early: Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt in Passengers. Columbia Pictures hide caption

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Columbia Pictures

'Passengers' Has A First-Class Sci-Fi Premise, But The Script Flies Coach

December 22, 2016 • The Chris Pratt/Jennifer Lawrence film about two beautiful people alone on a vast spaceship doesn't have the courage of its creepy convictions, and devolves into rote rom-com sentiment.

In 'An Excellent Year' For Film, Critic David Edelstein Shares His 12 Favorites

Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling dance in the musical, La La Land, critic David Edelstein's pick for the best film of the year. Summit Entertainment hide caption

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Summit Entertainment

In 'An Excellent Year' For Film, Critic David Edelstein Shares His 12 Favorites

Fresh Air

December 22, 2016 • Edelstein estimates that he saw 400 films in 2016 — more than enough to fill "a couple of 10-best lists." He talks about a dozen of them with Fresh Air's Terry Gross.

In 'An Excellent Year' For Film, Critic David Edelstein Shares His 12 Favorites

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'Rogue One' Wows With Fresh Special Effects And A Multinational Cast

Fresh Air

December 16, 2016 • The nefarious Empire is building a giant weapon in the latest installment of the Star Wars saga. Critic David Edelstein says though Rogue One is part of a series, it also works as a stand-alone film.

'Rogue One' Wows With Fresh Special Effects And A Multinational Cast

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Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Rogue One' And 'La La Land'

Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones) and Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Jonathan Olley/Lucasfilm hide caption

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Jonathan Olley/Lucasfilm

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Rogue One' And 'La La Land'

December 16, 2016 • It's a big week for movies, with the latest hotly anticipated Star Wars entry and a splashy musical starring Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, and a lamppost.