Movie Reviews : NPR

Movies You Missed: 'An Affair To Remember'

December 30, 2017 • We look at the 1957 classic An Affair to Remember.

Movies You Missed: 'An Affair To Remember'

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/574753383/574753384" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

In A 'Liverpool' Love Story, One Versatile Leading Lady Plays Another

Jamie Bell and Annette Bening in Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool. Susie Allnutt/Sony Pictures Classics hide caption

toggle caption

Susie Allnutt/Sony Pictures Classics

In A 'Liverpool' Love Story, One Versatile Leading Lady Plays Another

December 28, 2017 • Annette Bening stars as the noir actress Gloria Grahame in Film Stars Don't Die In Liverpool, based on the memoir of a younger man she loved, who quite loved her back, late in her life.

'In The Fade': A Fine Central Performance, An Uncertain Ending

Rafael Santana and Diane Kruger in In The Fade. Magnolia Pictures hide caption

toggle caption

Magnolia Pictures

'In The Fade': A Fine Central Performance, An Uncertain Ending

December 28, 2017 • Diane Kruger won Best Actress at Cannes for her performance as a woman struggling in the aftermath of tragedy.

'Florida Project' Tops David Edelstein's List Of The Year's Best Films

Fresh Air

December 26, 2017 • In a year dominated by stories of sexual harassment and abuse, Fresh Air's movie critic says his favorite films featured voices that aren't heard from enough.

'Florida Project' Tops David Edelstein's List Of The Year's Best Films

Listen · 7:52 7:52

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/572913386/573564039" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Movies

'Downsizing' Presents A Comic Attempt To Solve Climate Change

December 24, 2017 • Hong Chau, star of the movie Downsizing, discusses her role and her background, which she said prepared her for a career in acting.

'Downsizing' Presents A Comic Attempt To Solve Climate Change

Listen · 7:30 7:30

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/573333354/573333358" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Idris Elba and Jessica Chastain star in Molly's Game. Michael Gibson/STXfilms hide caption

toggle caption

Michael Gibson/STXfilms

'Molly's Game' Is Aces

December 23, 2017 • Aaron Sorkin's directorial debut is a dense, complicated, frenetically paced movie about a woman who runs a high-stakes poker game; critic Bob Mondello is all-in.

'Molly's Game' Is Aces

Listen · 4:00 4:00

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/572543565/573628882" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

'Phantom Thread' Is Deeply Weird And Marvelously Entertaining

Fresh Air

December 22, 2017 • Paul Thomas Anderson's new movie stars Daniel Day-Lewis as a British women's fashion designer in the 1950s. Critic David Edelstein says the film is an amusing portrait of artistic and marital anguish.

'Phantom Thread' Is Deeply Weird And Marvelously Entertaining

Listen · 5:56 5:56

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/572597961/572961037" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Impeccable 'Phantom Thread' Doesn't Drop A Stitch

Vicky Krieps as Alma and Daniel Day-Lewis as Reynolds Woodcock in Phantom Thread. Laurie Sparham/Focus Features hide caption

toggle caption

Laurie Sparham/Focus Features

Impeccable 'Phantom Thread' Doesn't Drop A Stitch

December 22, 2017 • Paul Thomas Anderson's film about a London dressmaker in the 1950s is "a rare combination of audacity and precision, impeccably tailored yet full of mystery and magic," says critic Scott Tobias.

Pop Culture Happy Hour: Tension Beckons And A Caftan Billows In 'The Post'

Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) and and Kay Graham (Meryl Streep) in Steven Spielberg's latest film The Post. Niko Tavernise/Twentieth Century Fox hide caption

toggle caption

Niko Tavernise/Twentieth Century Fox

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Pop Culture Happy Hour: Tension Beckons And A Caftan Billows In 'The Post'

December 22, 2017 • Steven Spielberg directed the new film The Post, about the publication of the Pentagon Papers in the early 1970s. NPR's film critic, Bob Mondello, joins the panel to talk about how it turned out.

Pop Culture Happy Hour: Tension Beckons And A Caftan Billows In 'The Post'

Listen · 26:33 26:33

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/572411864/572437586" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

'Downsizing': A Tone-Deaf, Less-Than-Incredible Shrinking Satire

(L to R) Udo Kier as Konrad, Paul (Matt Damon), and Dusan (Christoph Waltz) in Downsizing. George Kraychyk/Paramount Pictures hide caption

toggle caption

George Kraychyk/Paramount Pictures

'Downsizing': A Tone-Deaf, Less-Than-Incredible Shrinking Satire

December 21, 2017 • Director/co-writer Alexander Payne's film is "the rare movie that seems to execute every part of its concept absolutely wrong; a narrative, tonal, visual and sociopolitical fiasco."

'The Post': Pentagon Papers Put The Press Under Pressure

Ben Bradlee (Tom Hanks) and Kay Graham (Meryl Streep) grapple with a big decision in The Post. Niko Tavernise/Twentieth Century Fox hide caption

toggle caption

Niko Tavernise/Twentieth Century Fox

'The Post': Pentagon Papers Put The Press Under Pressure

December 21, 2017 • Steven Spielberg's account of the publication of the Pentagon Papers in 1971 is melodrama, but Bob Mondello says it's urgent — and effective.

'The Post': Pentagon Papers Put The Press Under Pressure

Listen · 5:11 5:11

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/572612119/572699317" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

'All The Money In The World' And Worth Every Penny

Taking Up Spacey: J. Paul Getty (Christopher Plummer) and Fletcher (Mark Wahlberg) in All The Money In The World. Giles Keyte/All The Money US, LLC. hide caption

toggle caption

Giles Keyte/All The Money US, LLC.

'All The Money In The World' And Worth Every Penny

December 21, 2017 • The sudden de-Spaceying of a lead role is the least interesting thing about Ridley Scott's propulsive thriller that features a standout performance by Michelle Williams.

Will Smith Plays Cops-And-Monsters In Unremarkable 'Bright'

Mediocre Meaty Ogre: Joel Edgerton is an orc named Nick, Will Smith is a human named Daryl in Netflix's Bright. Matt Kennedy/Netflix hide caption

toggle caption

Matt Kennedy/Netflix

Will Smith Plays Cops-And-Monsters In Unremarkable 'Bright'

December 21, 2017 • Smith is a police officer paired with an orc (Joel Edgerton) in this fantasy-inflected buddy-cop movie that's "lazy but not boring" and "perfectly, stubbornly mediocre."

New Movies Will Inundate Theaters Over The Next Couple Of Weeks

December 21, 2017 • To name just a few of the new movies coming out: Steven Spielberg's The Post, All the Money in the World and what might be Daniel Day Lewis's last film: Phantom Thread.

New Movies Will Inundate Theaters Over The Next Couple Of Weeks

Listen · 7:20 7:20

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/572509941/572509957" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

'The Post' Is A Crackling Newsroom Thriller With Electrifying Relevance

Fresh Air

December 20, 2017 • Steven Spielberg's new drama revisits The Washington Post's 1971 decision to publish the Pentagon Papers in defiance of the Nixon administration. Justin Chang calls it "terrifically entertaining."

'The Post' Is A Crackling Newsroom Thriller With Electrifying Relevance

Listen · 6:16 6:16

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/572228530/572301323" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript