Movie Reviews : NPR

2 Movie Reviewers Pick This Year's Standout Films

December 31, 2018 • Noel King talks to Claudia Puig and April Wolfe of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association about their favorite films of 2018.

2 Movie Reviewers Pick This Year's Standout Films

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'Stan And Ollie' Traces 2 Legends Working Hard Past Their Prime

Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly in Stan & Ollie. Sony Pictures Classics hide caption

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Sony Pictures Classics

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Stan And Ollie' Traces 2 Legends Working Hard Past Their Prime

December 27, 2018 • Steve Coogan and John C. Reilly star as Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in a film that struggles to keep its energy up as it follows the decline of two great film comedians.

Movies

'Holmes & Watson' Shows What It Takes To Earn A Rotten Tomatoes Score Of Zero

December 27, 2018 • The Sherlock Holmes spoof briefly earned zero percent on the film review site. How did it accomplish this anti-feat, and what are some of the other flops to which it's now being compared?

'Holmes & Watson' Shows What It Takes To Earn A Rotten Tomatoes Score Of Zero

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Straining For Grit And Settling For Grim, 'Destroyer' Doesn't Deliver

Nicole Kidman stars as Erin Bell in Karyn Kusama's Destroyer. Annapurna Pictures hide caption

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Annapurna Pictures

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Straining For Grit And Settling For Grim, 'Destroyer' Doesn't Deliver

December 25, 2018 • Director Karyn Kusama has a history of films where women fight back. But Destroyer, despite its transformation of Nicole Kidman, fails to develop a compelling story to support that transformation.

'On The Basis Of Sex' And 'Vice': 2 Biopics — 1 Bathed In Light, 1 Steeped In Shadow

Not throwing away his shot(gun): Christian Bale's Dick Cheney smirks and glowers in Vice. Matt Kennedy/Annapurna hide caption

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Matt Kennedy/Annapurna

'On The Basis Of Sex' And 'Vice': 2 Biopics — 1 Bathed In Light, 1 Steeped In Shadow

December 25, 2018 • What's your preference: hagiography or demonization? A biopic about Ruth Bader Ginsburg is blandly positive, while another about Dick Cheney offers an extended, if entertaining, screed.

'On The Basis Of Sex' And 'Vice': 2 Biopics — 1 Bathed In Light, 1 Steeped In Shadow

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'Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse' Celebrates Inclusion

December 22, 2018 • "Anyone can wear the mask," the film says, and indeed, multiple characters do — including Miles Morales, the first Afro-Latino Spidey.

'Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse' Celebrates Inclusion

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In His New Film, Shakespearean Actor Kenneth Branagh Stars As The Bard Himself

December 21, 2018 • Kenneth Branagh directs and stars in All Is True as Shakespeare in his final years, with Judi Dench as his wife.

In His New Film, Shakespearean Actor Kenneth Branagh Stars As The Bard Himself

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Venture 'Into The Spider-Verse' For An Exuberant, Visually Stunning Thrill

Fresh Air

December 21, 2018 • If you thought you'd seen enough characters in red masks and blue suits to last a lifetime, well, you ain't seen nothing yet: This new animated film puts a fresh spin on the Spider-Man saga.

Venture 'Into The Spider-Verse' For An Exuberant, Visually Stunning Thrill

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Polish Lovers Find Cold Comfort In The Elliptical, Frustrating 'Cold War'

Pawel Pawlikowski's film follows musician Wiktor (Tomasz Kot) and dancer Zola (Joanna Kulig) over the course of 15 tempestuous years. Lukasz Bak/Amazon Studios hide caption

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Lukasz Bak/Amazon Studios

Polish Lovers Find Cold Comfort In The Elliptical, Frustrating 'Cold War'

December 20, 2018 • Pawel Pawlikowski follows up 2013's Ida with this tale of Polish musicians living under Stalin; it's "an ode to joylessness that feels historically credible but narratively arbitrary."

'All Is True' Finds Melancholy And Magic In Shakespeare's Final Years

L to R: Tom (Jack Colgrave Hirst), Judith (Kathryn Wilder), Will (Kenneth Branagh) and Anne (Judi Dench) smile for the ... portraitist, in All Is True. Sony Pictures Classics hide caption

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Sony Pictures Classics

'All Is True' Finds Melancholy And Magic In Shakespeare's Final Years

December 20, 2018 • An aging Bard of Avon (Kenneth Branagh) returns to his hometown to reconnect to the family he barely knows in this touching film about the disconnect between life and art.

Flight Of The 'Bumblebee': Transformers Flick Soars Over (Low) Franchise Expectations

Charlie (Hailee Steinfeld) and Bumblebee (as himself) are more than meets the eye in Bumblebee. Paramount Pictures hide caption

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Paramount Pictures

Flight Of The 'Bumblebee': Transformers Flick Soars Over (Low) Franchise Expectations

December 20, 2018 • Director Travis Knight takes over from Michael Bay, and sets about getting viewers to care about characters instead of assaulting our senses. The result is surprisingly watchable.

'Welcome To Marwen,' By Way Of Hollywood Cliches And False Uplift

All dolled up: Mark (Steve Carell) photographs the plastic stand-ins of his backyard miniature town in Welcome to Marwen. Universal Pictures hide caption

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Universal Pictures

'Welcome To Marwen,' By Way Of Hollywood Cliches And False Uplift

December 20, 2018 • Robert Zemeckis adapts a gripping documentary about one trauma survivor's low-fi art project; the result is a "bloated and lifeless" drama that trivializes his experience.

Justin Chang's Favorite Movies Of 2018 — In A Series Of 6 Cinematic Pairings

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Well Go USA

Justin Chang's Favorite Movies Of 2018 — In A Series Of 6 Cinematic Pairings

Fresh Air

December 20, 2018 • So many of Chang's favorite films this year seemed to be in close conversation with each other that it didn't make sense, in the end, for him to separate them.

Justin Chang's Favorite Movies Of 2018 — In A Series Of 6 Cinematic Pairings

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'Mary Poppins Returns' Is A Fine And Fresh Take On A Classic

Emily Blunt plays the proper and prim magical au pair in the sequel Mary Poppins Returns. Jay Maidment/Disney hide caption

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Jay Maidment/Disney

In 'Mary Poppins Returns,' The Practically Perfect Nanny Is Back

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