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Movie Reviews Reviews of new movies, classic and art films, foreign films, and popular movies. Featuring Bob Mondello, Kenneth Turan, David Edelstein, and Mark Jenkins.

Movie Reviews

'Barry Munday': Cringe Comedy, Without The Laughs

When the (literally) emasculated ex-womanizer Barry Munday (Patrick Wilson) hears that Ginger (Judy Greer) is expecting his impossible child, he sees fatherhood as a shot at recovering his manhood. Magnolia Pictures hide caption

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Magnolia Pictures

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'Barry Munday': Cringe Comedy, Without The Laughs

The title character's tomcatting ends when an enraged father relieves him of his manhood. Then unexpected fatherhood, in the form of a paternity suit from an unhinged woman, sets him on the path to maturity. Patrick Wilson's performance is refreshing for its total lack of vanity, but the film is a mismatched wreck.

'Let Me In': Same Vampires, More Sentiment

Together, Two: Kodi Smit-McPhee plays Owen, a lonely 12-year-old who forms a partnership with isolated vampire Abby, played by Chloe Grace Moretz, in the hopes of finding friendship and protection from bullies. Saeed Adyani/Overture Films hide caption

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Saeed Adyani/Overture Films

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'Let Me In': Same Vampires, More Sentiment

A serviceable adaptation of the creepier Swedish original -- in which a lonely, bullied boy befriends a girl who's really a vampire -- Matt Reeves' film adds some nice touches, but doesn't quite have the style of the first version.

Brothers On A Road Trip, Hashing Out Their Issues

On a quest to find Tom's fifth-grade crush, the two brothers take several wrong turns — and the chance to work their own problems out. Paladin hide caption

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Paladin

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Brothers On A Road Trip, Hashing Out Their Issues

When Sam's fiancee forces him to reunite with his estranged brother, Tom, the two men begin a journey to find Tom's fifth-grade girlfriend. Along the way, Sam must try to deal with the knowledge that he's a total jerk -- a development played convincingly, and even movingly in Drake Doremus' film. (Recommended)

Post-Recession, A 'Freakonomics' Without Its Spark

The directors of Freakonomics mix things up by incorporating cartoons (above, of the book's co-author Steven Levitt, who argued that incentives are the key to understanding economics) and illustrative tableaux. Magnolia Pictures hide caption

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Magnolia Pictures

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Post-Recession, A 'Freakonomics' Without Its Spark

Mostly faithful to the hit-or-miss best-seller but with some interesting additions, Freakonomics is a visually creative overview of the authors' argument. It's unlikely to convert skeptics, however -- and its premise has lost appeal in recent years.

'Social Network': Fact Or Fiction, A Tangled Web

Geeky Genius: Andrew Garfield, Joseph Mazzello, Jesse Eisenberg and Patrick Mapel play computer nerds who create an incredibly successful social networking site. Merrick Morton/Sony Pictures hide caption

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Merrick Morton/Sony Pictures

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'Social Network': Fact Or Fiction, A Tangled Web

The Social Network may or may not reveal the inner life of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, but it tells a great story. Director David Fincher creates a thriller out of a tale about business ethics among back-stabbing computer geeks, and the result may end up being the best picture of the year. (Recommended)

'Social Network': Fact Or Fiction, A Tangled Web

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'Wall Street' Sequel: A Bull Market, A Bear Of A Film

Michael Douglas is back in his Oscar-winning role as Gordon Gekko, whose iconic "greed is good" mantra and daring corporate raids made him a rock star of financial titans. Barry Wetcher/20th Century Fox hide caption

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Barry Wetcher/20th Century Fox

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'Wall Street' Sequel: A Bull Market, A Bear Of A Film

Fresh Air

Director Oliver Stone turned down several offers to make a sequel to his 1987 hit Wall Street, for which Michael Douglas won an Oscar as hostile-takeover king Gordon Gekko. Then the market collapsed and it seemed a good time to revisit his old antihero.

'Wall Street' Sequel: A Bull Market, A Bear Of A Film

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James Franco, Loosing A 'Howl' In Ginsberg's Honor

Poetic Power: James Franco shines in a challenging role, playing the taciturn but courageously honest poet Allen Ginsberg. JoJo Whilden/Oscilloscope Laboratories hide caption

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JoJo Whilden/Oscilloscope Laboratories

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James Franco, Loosing A 'Howl' In Ginsberg's Honor

James Franco stars as Beat poet Allen Ginsberg in a seamless consideration of the personal and social resonance of his era-defining poem "Howl"; Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's debut feature illustrates the complex relationship between a work of art and the people left to interpret it.

A Cinematic 'Void' That's Anything But Featureless

Lonely Girl: Orphaned as a child, Linda (Paz de la Huerta) reunites with her long-lost brother in the neon-lit party districts of Tokyo. But the dangers of his job soon catch up with him, and they're separated again. IFC Films hide caption

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IFC Films

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A Cinematic 'Void' That's Anything But Featureless

Intense effects and a highly subjective lens contribute to a compelling new film from Gaspar Noe -- though the story, about a young drug dealer and his stripper sister, makes less of an impact than the hallucinatory visuals.

Overcoming Autism With 'A Mother's Courage'

A Parent's Patience: Margret Dagmar Ericsdottir and her son, Keli, try to solve some of the biggest challenges that come with autism — communication and social awareness. First Run Features hide caption

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First Run Features

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Overcoming Autism With 'A Mother's Courage'

Margret Ericsdottir travels from Iceland on a compelling journey to learn about autism -- so she can better communicate with her own son. Uplifting without being self-indulgent, the film showcases the benefits of simple therapies that many parents have struggled to access. (Recommended)

'Buried': Six Feet Under, And Breathing Hard

Panic Room: Paul (Ryan Reynolds) is going nowhere fast in the taut new thriller Buried, set entirely in the coffin where his kidnappers have stashed him. Lionsgate hide caption

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Lionsgate

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'Buried': Six Feet Under, And Breathing Hard

Panic sets in fast when Paul (Ryan Reynolds) regains consciousness to discover that kidnappers have buried him alive, with only a phone to help him arrange a ransom. A strong script puts the audience in Paul's shoes -- well, in his claustrophobic pine box -- right at the start. (Recommended)

Human Hijinks, In Pursuit Of That 'Tall Dark Stranger'

Marital Madness: Gemma Jones and Naomi Watts star as a mother-daughter duo struggling through collapsing marriages, persuasive fortune telling, and lost ambitions. Keith Hamshere/Sony Pictures Classics hide caption

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Keith Hamshere/Sony Pictures Classics

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Human Hijinks, In Pursuit Of That 'Tall Dark Stranger'

Woody Allen's new film is more of a cynical take on human nature than a barrel of laughs. An excellent cast tries to balance marriage with personal happiness, and the spectacles do amuse as they abandon their lives to the whims of fate in a poignant depiction of human weakness.

'Easy A': Reputation Management, With Hiccups

Work It: When smart-aleck Olive (Emma Stone) becomes suddenly notorious for something she only sort-of did, she decides to roll with it — and share a little lesson from The Scarlet Letter. Adam Taylor/Sony Pictures hide caption

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Adam Taylor/Sony Pictures

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'Easy A': Reputation Management, With Hiccups

Previously known best for a small role in Superbad, Emma Stone shines in a comedy that owes a little bit to The Scarlet Letter and a little more to Sixteen Candles.

'Easy A': Reputation Management, With Hiccups

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'Catfish': A Great Story Of Isolation And Connection

Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman help Nev Schulman create a true-to-life film about an online relationship. Rogue Pictures hide caption

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Rogue Pictures

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'Catfish': A Great Story Of Isolation And Connection

Fresh Air

The documentary Catfish may not be on the up-and-up. But does it matter? David Edelstein says no. Catfish, he says, provides a "true sense of adventure" and conveys emotions that "run the gamut from anxiety to contempt to curiosity to compassion."

'Catfish': A Great Story Of Isolation And Connection

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'The Town': Pulpy Filmmaking At Its Entertaining Best

Tough Decisions: A team of bank robbers, played by Jeremy Renner (from left), the rapper Slaine, Owen Burke and Ben Affleck, must deal with a potential witness of their heist. Claire Folger/Warner Bros. Pictures hide caption

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Claire Folger/Warner Bros. Pictures

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'The Town': Pulpy Filmmaking At Its Entertaining Best

Well shot, with pungent dialogue, Ben Affleck's new crime drama is more fun than your average action flick. When Affleck's Doug falls for the Boston bank manager he robs, the class differences -- and the tension with his short-fuse partner -- make for taut drama. (Recommended)

'Top Chef' Meets 'Ratatouille' In 'Kings Of Pastry'

Game On: Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer of the French Pastry School in Chicago seeks to earn a place among des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France — to be celebrated, in short, as one of the best of the best at his chosen craft. Paul Strabbing/First Run Features hide caption

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Paul Strabbing/First Run Features

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'Top Chef' Meets 'Ratatouille' In 'Kings Of Pastry'

Sixteen renowned pastry chefs compete for three days, all hoping to wear the prestigious red, white and blue collar awarded to des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France. Full of glorious concoctions and utter disasters, the film is really about the heart that strains toward perfection. (Recommended)