Movie Reviews : NPR

Attention Must Be Paid To What 'The Salesman' Is Selling

Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti) and Emad's (Shahab Hosseini) marriage is shattered in The Salesman. Courtesy of Cohen Media Group hide caption

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Courtesy of Cohen Media Group

Attention Must Be Paid To What 'The Salesman' Is Selling

January 30, 2017 • A review of The Salesman, an Iranian film about a couple whose home life becomes unsettled while they're starring together in a production of Death of a Salesman.

Attention Must Be Paid To What 'The Salesman' Is Selling

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'The Salesman': A Violent Act Tests A Marriage, And One Actor's Humanity

Shahab Hosseini and Taraneh Alidoosti in Asghar Farhadi's The Salesman. Habib Majidi/Cohen Media hide caption

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Habib Majidi/Cohen Media

'The Salesman': A Violent Act Tests A Marriage, And One Actor's Humanity

January 26, 2017 • As a Tehran couple perform Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, troubling parallels emerge in their home life. Writer-director Asghar Farhadi's nuanced film is one to which attention must be paid.

A Gay Activist's Journey To Christian Fundamentalism: 'I Am Michael'

L to R: James Franco and Zachary Quinto star in writer-director Justin Kelly's I Am Michael. Brainstorm Media hide caption

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Brainstorm Media

A Gay Activist's Journey To Christian Fundamentalism: 'I Am Michael'

January 26, 2017 • Director Justin Kelly documents the life of the inscrutable Michael Glatze (James Franco), who rejected his gay identity in favor of a strict Christian faith, without judging the man, or his choices.

Fool's 'Gold': As An '80s Huckster, McConaughey Outshines The Film Around Him

Bryce Dallas Howard and Matthew McConaughey — yes, really — star in Gold. The Weinstein Company hide caption

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The Weinstein Company

Fool's 'Gold': As An '80s Huckster, McConaughey Outshines The Film Around Him

January 26, 2017 • Matthew McConaughey gained weight and lost hair to throw himself into this tale of a real-life stock-market swindle. The film aches for us to admire his reckless, grasping selfishness; we don't.

Cliches And Sentimentality Hound 'A Dog's Purpose'

Nose Thyself: Buddy (voiced by Josh Gad) and Ethan (Dennis Quaid) get existential in A Dog's Purpose. Joe Lederer/Universal Pictures hide caption

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Joe Lederer/Universal Pictures

Cliches And Sentimentality Hound 'A Dog's Purpose'

January 26, 2017 • A dog cycles through several canine lifetimes while teaching a series of owners to live, laugh and love. Critic Scott Tobias found the film's repeated, mawkish depictions of doggy death "wearying."

The Standout Films At Sundance

January 25, 2017 • Rachel Martin talks with film critic Kenneth Turan about some of the breakout movies at this year's Sundance Film Festival.

The Standout Films At Sundance

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'Founder' Serves Up A Profile Of The Man Behind McDonald's

Fresh Air

January 23, 2017 • A new biopic tells the story of Ray Kroc, who turned a single burger restaurant into a multi-billion dollar worldwide franchise. Critic David Edelstein says The Founder offers a dark dose of realism.

'Founder' Serves Up A Profile Of The Man Behind McDonald's

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Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'The Young Pope' And 'Hell Or High Water'

Pope Pius XIII (Jude Law) in the new HBO series The Young Pope. HBO hide caption

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HBO

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'The Young Pope' And 'Hell Or High Water'

January 20, 2017 • On this week's show, HBO explores the Vatican, and two brothers get in a lot of trouble in one of 2016's best-reviewed films.

'The Red Turtle': An Animated Fable Of Humanity, Nature And The Nature Of Humanity

A castaway meets his reptilian — adversary? — in The Red Turtle. Sony Pictures Classics hide caption

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Sony Pictures Classics

'The Red Turtle': An Animated Fable Of Humanity, Nature And The Nature Of Humanity

January 19, 2017 • In this wordless film, a man stranded on a tropical island struggles against the forces of nature to leave — until those same forces provide a reason to stay.

In 'Staying Vertical,' A Writer Gets Drawn Into The Sexual Life Of A Small Village

Damien Bonnard, India Hair and Raphaël Thiéry in Staying Vertical. Thierry Valletoux/Strand Releasing hide caption

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Thierry Valletoux/Strand Releasing

In 'Staying Vertical,' A Writer Gets Drawn Into The Sexual Life Of A Small Village

January 19, 2017 • The latest film by writer/director Alain Guiraudie (Stranger by the Lake) is a brutally frank meditation on polymorphous carnality in rural southern France.

Running On Diesel Fumes: 'xXx: Return Of Xander Cage'

Diesel's Sweeties: Vin Diesel, Donnie Yen and Deepika Padukone in xXx: Return of Xander Cage. George Kraychyk/Paramount Pictures hide caption

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George Kraychyk/Paramount Pictures

Running On Diesel Fumes: 'xXx: Return Of Xander Cage'

January 19, 2017 • A 49-year-old Vin Diesel returns to the hugely unlikely franchise that he and director Rob Cohen launched in 2002. Because sometimes only an "extreme-sports/black-ops squad" can save the world.

'The Founder': Michael Keaton Brings A Ruthless Ray Kroc To Life, With Relish

Michael Keaton in The Founder. Daniel McFadden/The Weinstein Company hide caption

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Daniel McFadden/The Weinstein Company

'The Founder': Michael Keaton Brings A Ruthless Ray Kroc To Life, With Relish

January 19, 2017 • As the businessman who built a network of McDonald's franchises while nastily — and gleefully — disenfranchising his business partners, Keaton exudes a sleazy brio.

How A 1981 Sondheim Flop Turned Out To Be The 'Best Worst Thing'

Then and now: In his new documentary Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened, director Lonny Price, left, reconnects with fellow cast members — including Ann Morrison and Jim Walton — from the 1981 Broadway flop, Merrily We Roll Along. DKC/O&M hide caption

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DKC/O&M

How A 1981 Sondheim Flop Turned Out To Be The 'Best Worst Thing'

January 17, 2017 • Most musicals that close after 16 performances barely prompt memories, let alone documentaries. But Merrily We Roll Along rolled along so bizarrely, it became the stuff of Broadway legend.

How A 1981 Sondheim Flop Turned Out To Be The 'Best Worst Thing'

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Hilarity And Hostility Converge In The Family Comedy 'Toni Erdmann'

Fresh Air

January 13, 2017 • The German film centers on a prankster father who barges into the life of his business consultant daughter. Critic David Edelstein says Toni Erdmann keeps you guessing — in a good way.

Hilarity And Hostility Converge In The Family Comedy 'Toni Erdmann'

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'100 Streets' Tells Familiar Stories That Cross Race, Class And Generational Lines

Emily (Gemma Aterton) and Max (Idris Elba) in 100 Streets. Tristan Fewings/Getty Images hide caption

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Tristan Fewings/Getty Images

'100 Streets' Tells Familiar Stories That Cross Race, Class And Generational Lines

January 12, 2017 • Idris Elba stars in a London-set ensemble drama our critic calls "soapy, rote stuff," but it's representative of the new generation of filmmakers taking Britain's multiracial society as their subject.