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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.

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'Encanto' is a Disney film filled with charming visuals and lackluster songs

Stephanie Beatriz voices Mirabel in the new Disney film Encanto. Disney hide caption

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Disney

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Encanto' is a Disney film filled with charming visuals and lackluster songs

Encanto is the latest animated Disney musical that tells the story of the Madrigal family, whose members are tucked away in the mountains of Colombia. The film is stuffed with characters who wield magical powers and perform lavish musical numbers written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. But for all its magical realism, it's also a fairly simple story about a family whose bonds need healing.

'Encanto' is a Disney film filled with charming visuals and lackluster songs

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Paul Thomas Anderson's 'Licorice Pizza' is an endearing slice of '70s Hollywood

Cooper Hoffman and Alana Haim are unlikely friends in Licorice Pizza. MGM hide caption

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MGM

Paul Thomas Anderson's 'Licorice Pizza' is an endearing slice of '70s Hollywood

Fresh Air

An enterprising teen and a 20-something photographer's assistant become unlikely friends — and then zig-zag from one comic episode to the next — in this altogether wonderful film.

Paul Thomas Anderson's 'Licorice Pizza' is an endearing slice of '70s Hollywood

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House of Gucci is a spicy meatball

Adam Driver, Jared Leto, and Lady Gaga in Ridley Scott's House of Gucci. Fabio Lovino/MGM hide caption

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Fabio Lovino/MGM

Pop Culture Happy Hour

House of Gucci is a spicy meatball

Ridley Scott's House of Gucci is a whole lot of movie. Adam Driver plays the wealthy Mauritzio Gucci, and Lady Gaga plays his wife Patrizia. Al Pacino and Jared Leto play Mauritzio's uncle and cousin, who eventually battle Mauritzio for control of the Gucci empire. It's got fashion, it's got tragedy, and it's got terrible accents.

House of Gucci is a spicy meatball

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King Richard is Will Smith at his Oscar-iest

Aunjanue Ellis, Mikayla Bartholomew, Will Smith, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton and Danielle Lawson in King Richard. Warner Bros. hide caption

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Warner Bros.

Pop Culture Happy Hour

King Richard is Will Smith at his Oscar-iest

King Richard is a sports movie about the early days of superstar tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams. But, as its title suggests, the film focuses on their demanding and ambitious father, Richard Williams. Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, the movie stars Will Smith as a man who'll do anything to get his daughters from Compton to Wimbledon.

King Richard is Will Smith at his Oscar-iest

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Rugged masculinity takes a dark turn in 'The Power of the Dog'

Benedict Cumberbatch is the picture of rugged American masculinity in The Power of the Dog. Kirsty Griffin/Netflix hide caption

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Kirsty Griffin/Netflix

Rugged masculinity takes a dark turn in 'The Power of the Dog'

Fresh Air

Jane Campion's Western plays out like a tightly wound psychological thriller, featuring Benedict Cumberbatch as one of the scariest characters you're likely to meet this year.

Rugged masculinity takes a dark turn in 'The Power of the Dog'

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Ghostbusters: Afterlife - Who you gonna call? And should you?

Actors Mckenna Grace and Logan Kim in a scene from Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Sony hide caption

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Sony

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Ghostbusters: Afterlife - Who you gonna call? And should you?

Ghostbusters: Afterlife reconnects with the original timeline of the Ghostbusters films from the 80s while introducing a bunch of new characters. Carrie Coon, Mckenna Grace, and Finn Wolfhard play a family who teams up with Paul Rudd to fight a new supernatural threat. The movie is directed by Jason Reitman — son of Ivan Reitman, who directed the first two Ghostbuster films.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife - Who you gonna call? And should you?

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Kenneth Branagh's autobiographical 'Belfast' never quite finds its point of view

The family (Caitríona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Judi Dench, Jude Hill and Lewis McAskie) goes to the movies in Belfast. Rob Youngson /Focus Features hide caption

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Rob Youngson /Focus Features

Kenneth Branagh's autobiographical 'Belfast' never quite finds its point of view

Fresh Air

In a rare dive into personal territory, Branagh details growing up amid the Troubles in Northern Ireland. But despite some lovely moments, Belfast feels guarded in its telling.

Kenneth Branagh's autobiographical 'Belfast' never quite finds its point of view

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A Rock and a Reynolds meet a Gal in 'Red Notice'

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds pack a few punches in Netflix's Red Notice. Frank Masi/Netflix hide caption

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Frank Masi/Netflix

Pop Culture Happy Hour

A Rock and a Reynolds meet a Gal in 'Red Notice'

What has a wisecracking Ryan Reynolds, a glamorous Gal Gadot, a muscled Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and a very convoluted story about priceless eggs? It's the new Netflix action comedy Red Notice, which combines cars, boats and secret safes with ballroom dancing and a jailbreak — all in the same frame as three big-budget action leads.

A Rock and a Reynolds meet a Gal in 'Red Notice'

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'The Harder They Fall' is a fun romp in the Wild West

Zazie Beetz and Jonathan Majors star in The Harder They Fall on Netflix. David Lee/Netflix hide caption

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David Lee/Netflix

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'The Harder They Fall' is a fun romp in the Wild West

Netflix's The Harder They Fall is the latest modern take on the movie western, with nods to real-life Black cowboys and cowgirls. In it, an outlaw and his gang seek revenge for a horrific crime committed many years ago. Gunfights and showdowns ensue, of course. The film boasts an impressive cast, including Jonathan Majors, Regina King, Idris Elba, and LaKeith Stanfield. Does this revisionist tale live up to the incredible talent involved?

'The Harder They Fall' is a fun romp in the Wild West

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'Army Of Thieves' gets (safe)crackin'

Matthias Schweighöfer and Nathalie Emmanuel appear in Netflix's Army of Thieves. Stanislav Honzik/Netlix hide caption

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Stanislav Honzik/Netlix

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Army Of Thieves' gets (safe)crackin'

So do you have a slow Saturday afternoon, and need something to watch while folding laundry? Perhaps check out Netflix's heist movie Army of Thieves. It's also a prequel to Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead, and it stars that film's squirrelly German safecracker, Ludwig Dieter, played by Matthias Schweighöfer, who also directed the film. Dieter joins a rag-tag crew of bank robbers that includes Game of Thrones' Nathalie Emmanuel.

'Army Of Thieves' gets (safe)crackin'

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'The Souvenir Part II' is a near-perfect sequel about loss and art

Honor Swinton Byrne is an up-and-coming filmmaker who's mourning the loss of her older lover in The Souvenir Part II. Joss Barratt/A24 hide caption

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Joss Barratt/A24

'The Souvenir Part II' is a near-perfect sequel about loss and art

Fresh Air

Filmmaker Joanna Hogg conceived her 2019 semi-autobiographical drama The Souvenir as a two-part work. The second installment is a wonderfully generous movie, sardonic in tone but rich in emotion.

'The Souvenir Part II' is a near-perfect sequel about loss and art

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Noir films you can't miss

Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney in the 1944 film noir classic, Laura. Donaldson Collection/Getty Images hide caption

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Donaldson Collection/Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Noir films you can't miss

Your calendar might say it's November, but among movie buffs, this month is also known as Noirvember. It's a time to settle in and enjoy an old movie that features a washed up detective, a sultry femme fatale, or hardened criminals. And whether you're familiar with the genre or looking for great places to start, we're here to help by recommending a few great noirs.

Noir films you can't miss

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'Eternals': A Marvel movie for everyone who complains about Marvel movies

Ikaris (Richard Madden) and Sersi (Gemma Chan) in Eternals. Sophie Mutevelian/Marvel Studios hide caption

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Sophie Mutevelian/Marvel Studios

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Eternals': A Marvel movie for everyone who complains about Marvel movies

Indie director Chloe Zhao's influence is all over the new Marvel outing, a marked departure from the familiar MCU formula.

'Eternals': A Marvel movie for everyone who complains about Marvel movies

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Wes Anderson's 'The French Dispatch' is Good. Period(ical).

Bill Murray, Wally Wolodarsky and Jeffrey Wright in Wes Anderson's film, The French Dispatch. Searchlight Pictures hide caption

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Searchlight Pictures

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Wes Anderson's 'The French Dispatch' is Good. Period(ical).

Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch is a love letter to classic French cinema and The New Yorker magazine. Like all of his films, it's highly stylized — this one adopts the format of a magazine. It's an anthology of sorts, featuring three different main stories. The film's actors Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Benicio del Toro, Timothée Chalamet, and Jeffrey Wright.

Wes Anderson's 'The French Dispatch' is Good. Period(ical).

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