Movie Reviews : NPR

'The Breakfast Club' At 30: '80s Classic Still Relatable Today

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Photography, Misery And Beauty In 'The Salt Of The Earth'

"I could hear the gold whispering in the souls of these men," says Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado of a gold mine in Serra Pelada. Sebastiao Salgado/Amazonas Images/Sony Pictures Classics hide caption

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Sebastiao Salgado/Amazonas Images/Sony Pictures Classics

Photography, Misery And Beauty In 'The Salt Of The Earth'

March 27, 2015 • NPR's Bob Mondello reviews The Salt Of The Earth, a documentary directed by Wim Wenders about Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Salgado.

Photography, Misery And Beauty In 'The Salt Of The Earth'

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In 'While We're Young,' The Border Between Ridicule And Sympathy Is Thin

Fresh Air

March 27, 2015 • Noah Baumbach's new comedy is about a couple in their 40s who befriend 20-something hipsters and go wild. It gets off to a fun start, but two-thirds of the way through takes a surprising turn.

In 'While We're Young,' The Border Between Ridicule And Sympathy Is Thin

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A Photographer's Eye For Tragedy And Hope In 'Salt Of The Earth'

Elephant in Kafue National Park, Zambia, 2010. Sebastiao Salgado/Amazonas Images/Sony Pictures Classics hide caption

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Sebastiao Salgado/Amazonas Images/Sony Pictures Classics

A Photographer's Eye For Tragedy And Hope In 'Salt Of The Earth'

March 27, 2015 • Celebrated director Wim Wenders tells the story of photographer Sebastio Salgado, whose essays on human tragedy have attracted both praise and criticism.

Will Ferrell And Kevin Hart Team Up To 'Get Hard'

Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart in Get Hard. Patti Perret/Warner Bros. Pictures hide caption

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Patti Perret/Warner Bros. Pictures

Will Ferrell And Kevin Hart Team Up To 'Get Hard'

March 26, 2015 • The comedy about a one-percenter who believes he can only prepare for prison with the help of a black friend is utterly disposable, but more interesting than it could have been.

Class Warfare Over Dinner In 'The Riot Club'

Matthew Beard (Guy) and Douglas Booth (Harry) in Lone Scherfig's The Riot Club. Nicola Dove/IFC Films hide caption

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Nicola Dove/IFC Films

Class Warfare Over Dinner In 'The Riot Club'

March 26, 2015 • Danish director Lone Scherfig helms this story of posh young men descending to the depths of their worst selves.

Married Without Children, But With Overgrown Adolescents

Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts play married couple Cornelia and Josh in the Noah Baumbach film While We're Young. Jon Pack/A24 hide caption

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Jon Pack/A24

Married Without Children, But With Overgrown Adolescents

March 26, 2015 • While We're Young, director Noah Baumbach's best film since 2005's The Squid And The Whale, is equally skeptical of some of the flaws it finds in both youth and middle age.

'Seymour': A Loving Portrait Of An Acclaimed Classical Pianist

March 20, 2015 • Seymour: An Introduction is an inspiring new documentary by the actor Ethan Hawke. It's about Seymour Bernstein, who quit a successful concert career at the age of 50 to become a piano teacher.

'Seymour': A Loving Portrait Of An Acclaimed Classical Pianist

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Don't Give Up Too Easily On The Scruffy 'Danny Collins'

Singer Danny Collins (Al Pacino) with his manager Frank Grubman (Christopher Plummer). Bleecker Street hide caption

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Bleecker Street

Don't Give Up Too Easily On The Scruffy 'Danny Collins'

March 19, 2015 • Working in at least a little lower key than usual, Al Pacino plays an aging singer opposite a charming and practical woman played by Annette Bening.

'Kumiko' Follows A Quest For A Film's Snowy Treasure

Rinko Kikuchi in Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter. Sean Porter/Amplify hide caption

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Sean Porter/Amplify

'Kumiko' Follows A Quest For A Film's Snowy Treasure

March 19, 2015 • In Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter, a young Japanese woman sets out in search of the ostensibly real buried treasure from the Coen brothers' Fargo.

'The Gunman': The Tale Of A Do-Gooder Defined By His Pecs

Sean Penn as Jim Terrier in The Gunman. Keith Bernstein/Open Road Films hide caption

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Keith Bernstein/Open Road Films

'The Gunman': The Tale Of A Do-Gooder Defined By His Pecs

March 19, 2015 • Director Pierre Morel, who also did the original Taken, introduces Sean Penn to similar middle-aged butt-kicker territory with a distinct lack of purpose.

'Jauja': A Land Of Plenty, But Hard To Find

Viilbjørk Mallin Agger and Viggo Mortensen in Jauja. The Cinema Guild hide caption

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The Cinema Guild

'Jauja': A Land Of Plenty, But Hard To Find

March 19, 2015 • Director Lisandro Alonso's Jauja is a beautiful film, says Tomas Hachard, that begins as a simple Western and expands beyond its apparent limitations.

What's Familiar Becomes Unnerving In 'It Follows'

It Follows "inverts the abstinence metaphor behind most teen horror flicks," says NPR film critic Bob Mondello. Courtesy of Radius-TWC hide caption

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Courtesy of Radius-TWC

Arts & Life

What's Familiar Becomes Unnerving In 'It Follows'

March 13, 2015 • NPR film critic Bob Mondello reviews It Follows, a film that he says works some interesting changes on the horror genre.

What's Familiar Becomes Unnerving In 'It Follows'

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Horror Film Fans Beware: 'It Follows' Isn't The Fun Kind Of Scare

March 13, 2015 • The film is about a teenage girl who sleeps with a boy and is suddenly under a curse. Critic David Edelstein says he didn't enjoy feeling "sick with dread," but the ending is unexpectedly moving.

Horror Film Fans Beware: 'It Follows' Isn't The Fun Kind Of Scare

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Documentary Spotlights 'Wrecking Crew' Behind Hits of '60s, '70s

March 13, 2015 • Director Denny Tedesco began filming in 1996 when his father, Wrecking Crew guitarist Tommy Tedesco, was diagnosed with cancer. Many of the people he talked to, including his father, have since died.

Documentary Spotlights 'Wrecking Crew' Behind Hits of '60s, '70s

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