Movie Reviews : NPR

'Monsters Vs. Aliens': When 3-D Attacks

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Young And Old, Driven 'Solo' Beyond Themselves

March 26, 2009 • A gruff old man and an outgoing West African immigrant become unlikely allies in a North Carolina town. Ramin Bahrani's soulful, stirring film re-frames the encounter between white and black, between old and new America. (Recommended)

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From France, A 'Kiss' Of No Little Consequence

March 26, 2009 • Love stories intertwine in Shall We Kiss, a lighthearted, gently moving film from writer-director Emmanuel Mouret. The raciest action takes place off-screen, but virtuoso acting provides ample thrills. (Recommended)

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Danger And Friendship, En Route To North America

March 20, 2009 • Sin Nombre has a first-time director, actors you've never heard of, Spanish dialogue and a story about illegal immigration. Somehow all that adds up to a surprisingly striking movie.

Danger And Friendship, En Route To North America

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Unlikely Buddies, In Search Of Lasting Bromance

March 20, 2009 • Wedding anxieties take new form when Peter proposes to Zooey, only to realize he lacks a best man. A series of "man-dates" — and an awkward budding friendship with a slacker slob — ensue.

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Spies Like Us: 'Duplicity' Doubles Down On Deceit

March 20, 2009 • If you've been waiting for big stars to come back to the movies, your wait ends today. Julia Roberts and Clive Owen are back in a twisty corporate espionage thriller, and Kenneth Turan says it's worth the wait.

Spies Like Us: 'Duplicity' Doubles Down On Deceit

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They're A Team, Sure, But It's Still Spy Vs. Spy

March 19, 2009 • An ex-CIA operative (Julia Roberts) and a former MI6 agent (Clive Owen) take on corporate gigs — with a twist. Michael Clayton director Tony Gilroy delivers an action-packed caper with an overly labyrinthine plot.

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'Buck Howard': An Enigma Without The Mystery

March 19, 2009 • A law-school dropout signs on as a magician's assistant, hoping for something more glamorous one day. But the "great" Buck Howard's career seems to be in a tailspin — until a twist catapults him back to stardom, with his young assistant on his coattails.

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'Knowing': Disasters Expected, And Come To Pass

March 19, 2009 • A cryptic message, written decades ago and enclosed in a time capsule, ends up in the hands of a young boy. When his dad discovers that the code maps every disaster for the past 50 years — and many to come — he sets out to prevent catastrophe.

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'Last House On The Left': A Slick Horror Rehab

March 13, 2009 • Two teenage girls head for a concert and stumble into more than they anticipated in this update of the 1972 Wes Craven classic. Critic Nathan Lee says the reboot is a classy one: "fine-tuned savage poetry" for horror fans.

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Misery And Muses On 'The Edge Of Love'

March 13, 2009 • The wife and the lover of poet Dylan Thomas become unlikely allies in the lushly filmed Edge of Love. Critic Kenneth Turan says in this case, less — of its self-involved characters — might well have been more.

Misery And Muses On 'The Edge Of Love'

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In 'Brothers At War,' A Family That Fights Together

March 12, 2009 • Director Jake Rademacher follows his soldier brothers through their tours of duty in Iraq. Back home, friends and family struggle to come to terms with the separation.

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'Sunshine Cleaning': Indie Quirks, By The Bucket

March 12, 2009 • Anxious to get her son into private school, a thirtysomething single mom (Amy Adams) starts a crime-scene cleaning service. Formulaic alterna-flavored hijinks — some surprisingly enjoyable — ensue.

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'Tokyo Sonata': A Family's Melancholy Melody

March 12, 2009 • A downsized worker can't bring himself to tell his wife that he's lost his job — and goes on with his workaday routine as though he had never been fired. But in this family, the patriarch isn't the only one ill at ease. (Recommended)

Movies

In 'Watchmen,' A Long Look At Life In Spandex

March 6, 2009 • Zack Snyder's much-anticipated adaptation of the cult-hit superhero saga respects the source material — too much. Slow-moving and tangled, it's catnip for the fanboys and a chore for the rest of humanity.

In 'Watchmen,' A Long Look At Life In Spandex

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