Movie Reviews : NPR

'Our Brand Is Crisis' Stalls And Stumbles

October 30, 2015 • The political comedy Our Brand Is Crisis stars Sandra Bullock as an American campaign strategist hired to work for a Bolivian presidential candidate. Critic Kenneth Turan has this review.

'Our Brand Is Crisis' Stalls And Stumbles

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Graphic Doesn't Mean Interesting, Particularly In 'Love'

A scene from Gaspar Noé's Love. Courtesy of Wild Bunch hide caption

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Courtesy of Wild Bunch

Graphic Doesn't Mean Interesting, Particularly In 'Love'

October 29, 2015 • Director Gaspar Noe manages to make his blandest feature to date despite — or as a result of — filling almost half its running time with raw, unsimulated sex.

'Burnt' Tastes A Lot Like Last Year's Redemption Story

Bradley Cooper as Chef Adam Jones in a scene from Burnt. Courtesy of The Weinstein Company hide caption

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Courtesy of The Weinstein Company

'Burnt' Tastes A Lot Like Last Year's Redemption Story

October 29, 2015 • Bradley Cooper plays a chef who suffers no real consequences for acting like a jerk — an awfully common story in the world of movies about geniuses.

Monica Bellucci as Milly Catena in a scene from Alice Rohrwacher's The Wonders. Courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories hide caption

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Courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories

'The Wonders' Of Family And Change

October 29, 2015 • Director Alice Rohrwacher focuses an observant eye on a rural family with a daughter nearly ready to take flight.

Billy Bob Thornton as Pat Candy and Sandra Bullock as Jane in a scene from Our Brand is Crisis. Patti Perret/Courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment and RatPac-Dune hide caption

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Patti Perret/Courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment and RatPac-Dune

'Our Brand Is Crisis' Is A Satire Oddly Toothless About Politics

October 29, 2015 • Director David Gordon Green's loose adaptation of a documentary about American political consultants meddling in other nations works as a comedic vehicle for Sandra Bullock, but sputters as satire.

'Experimenter' Revisits A Decades-Old Trial Of Free Will And Compassion

Peter Sarsgaard plays social scientist Stanley Milgram in Experimenter. Jason Robinette/Magnolia Pictures hide caption

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Jason Robinette/Magnolia Pictures

'Experimenter' Revisits A Decades-Old Trial Of Free Will And Compassion

Fresh Air

October 23, 2015 • A new film revisits a controversial 1961 social science experiment in which volunteer subjects were asked to administer electrical shocks to other human beings. David Edelstein reviews Experimenter.

'Experimenter' Revisits A Decades-Old Trial Of Free Will And Compassion

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Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Bridge Of Spies' And Lots More Tom Hanks

Tom Hanks as lawyer James Donovan in Bridge of Spies. Jaap Buitendijk/DreamWorks Pictures/Fox 2000 Pictures hide caption

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Jaap Buitendijk/DreamWorks Pictures/Fox 2000 Pictures

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Bridge Of Spies' And Lots More Tom Hanks

October 23, 2015 • On this week's show, Audie Cornish is with us to talk about the latest Steven Spielberg project and about the long career of its star.

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Movie Review: 'Suffragette' Has A Weakness For Earnestness And Contrivance

October 23, 2015 • Suffragette reminds us of the angry and savage battle over women's right to vote was in Britain in the early years of the 20th century.

Movie Review: 'Suffragette' Has A Weakness For Earnestness And Contrivance

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There's Goofy Fun To Be Had In 'The Last Witch Hunter'

Vin Diesel as Kaulder in a scene from The Last Witch Hunter. Scott Garfield/Courtesy of Lionsgate Films hide caption

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Scott Garfield/Courtesy of Lionsgate Films

There's Goofy Fun To Be Had In 'The Last Witch Hunter'

October 22, 2015 • If you can't appreciate Vin Diesel removing an evil bug from the face of Michael Caine, what do you have left to be happy about?

Something Is Happening On The Internet, And 'Jem' Is Not Really On It

Aja (Hayley Kiyoko, from left), Jem (Aubrey Peeples) and Kimber (Stefanie Scott) in a scene from Jem and the Holograms. Justina Mintz/Courtesy of Universal Pictures hide caption

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Justina Mintz/Courtesy of Universal Pictures

Something Is Happening On The Internet, And 'Jem' Is Not Really On It

October 22, 2015 • The live-action adaptation of Christy Marx's '80s cartoon staple wants desperately to appeal to teenagers who live online, but it has neither the energy nor the knowledge of the landscape to do it.

Bill Murray Can't Bring The Rhythm To 'Rock The Kasbah'

Richie Lanz (Bill Murray) is a passe rock manager who, while stranded in Kabul, discovers Salima Khan (Leem Lubany), a Pashtun teenager with a beautiful voice. Kerry Brown/Courtesy of Open Road Films hide caption

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Kerry Brown/Courtesy of Open Road Films

Bill Murray Can't Bring The Rhythm To 'Rock The Kasbah'

October 22, 2015 • There could be some subversion in a comedy about a music manager trying to get a singer on the American Idol counterpart, Afghan Star, but in the end, there isn't.

Feeling Sad Without Being Sad In 'Heart Of A Dog'

Artist Laurie Anderson offers a personal essay centering on her beloved rat terrier Lolabelle in Heart of a Dog. Courtesy of Abramorama / HBO Documentary Films hide caption

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Courtesy of Abramorama / HBO Documentary Films

Feeling Sad Without Being Sad In 'Heart Of A Dog'

October 22, 2015 • Performance artist Laurie Anderson creates a feature-length, mixed-media collage dedicated to the peculiar qualities of grief.

Movies

The Heat, The Pressure, The Violence: Cooking Films Are The New Boxing Movies

October 20, 2015 • When you go to boxing movies, you can count on training montages, high-stakes dramatic moments, and the way a scrappy outsider always seems to have to prove him or herself in the ring. Many of these traits are showing up in a new group of movies — this time about chefs.

The Heat, The Pressure, The Violence: Cooking Films Are The New Boxing Movies

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'Bridge Of Spies' Offers A Fresh, Measured Take On The Cold War

Fresh Air

October 19, 2015 • Tom Hanks plays an American attorney charged with defending a captured Soviet spy in Steven Spielberg's latest film. Critic John Powers calls Bridge of Spies a "highly entertaining new thriller."

'Bridge Of Spies' Offers A Fresh, Measured Take On The Cold War

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'Bridge Of Spies': Solid Storytelling And Atmospherics

James Donovan (Tom Hanks) is a reluctant but principled insurance lawyer drafted to do a hugely unpopular job: defend a Soviet spy at the height of the Cold War. Jaap Buitendijk/Courtesy of DreamWorks Pictures hide caption

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Jaap Buitendijk/Courtesy of DreamWorks Pictures

'Bridge Of Spies': Solid Storytelling And Atmospherics

October 16, 2015 • Director Steven Spielberg — with some help from script polishers Joel and Ethan Coen — brings echoes of our own modern day to the Cold War.

'Bridge Of Spies': Solid Storytelling And Atmospherics

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Movie Reviews

Friday October 30, 2015

'Our Brand Is Crisis' Stalls And Stumbles

'Our Brand Is Crisis' Stalls And Stumbles

Thursday October 29, 2015

Graphic Doesn't Mean Interesting, Particularly In 'Love'

'Burnt' Tastes A Lot Like Last Year's Redemption Story

'The Wonders' Of Family And Change

'Our Brand Is Crisis' Is A Satire Oddly Toothless About Politics

Friday October 23, 2015

'Experimenter' Revisits A Decades-Old Trial Of Free Will And Compassion

Fresh Air

'Experimenter' Revisits A Decades-Old Trial Of Free Will And Compassion

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Bridge Of Spies' And Lots More Tom Hanks

Listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour

Movie Review: 'Suffragette' Has A Weakness For Earnestness And Contrivance

Movie Review: 'Suffragette' Has A Weakness For Earnestness And Contrivance

Thursday October 22, 2015

There's Goofy Fun To Be Had In 'The Last Witch Hunter'

Something Is Happening On The Internet, And 'Jem' Is Not Really On It

Bill Murray Can't Bring The Rhythm To 'Rock The Kasbah'

Feeling Sad Without Being Sad In 'Heart Of A Dog'

Tuesday October 20, 2015

Movies

The Heat, The Pressure, The Violence: Cooking Films Are The New Boxing Movies

The Heat, The Pressure, The Violence: Cooking Films Are The New Boxing Movies

Monday October 19, 2015

'Bridge Of Spies' Offers A Fresh, Measured Take On The Cold War

Fresh Air

'Bridge Of Spies' Offers A Fresh, Measured Take On The Cold War

Friday October 16, 2015

'Bridge Of Spies': Solid Storytelling And Atmospherics

'Bridge Of Spies': Solid Storytelling And Atmospherics