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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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A Fragile Relationship Tested By Freedom In 'Outside In'

Carol (Edie Falco) and Chris (Jay Duplass) share an intimate moment in Lynn Shelton's Outside In. The Orchard hide caption

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The Orchard

A Fragile Relationship Tested By Freedom In 'Outside In'

Writer/director Lynn Shelton's latest film is about a man (Jay Duplass) freed from wrongful imprisonment thanks to the work of a woman (Edie Falco). The movie asks: What now?

A Fragile Relationship Tested By Freedom In 'Outside In'

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Steven Spielberg's Fantastical 'Ready Player One' Is A Fatally Overblown Juggernaut

Fresh Air

Spielberg's new action-adventure is set in future world where people use virtual-reality goggles to escape a dreary city. Critic Justin Chang calls it both "spectacular — and spectacularly empty."

Steven Spielberg's Fantastical 'Ready Player One' Is A Fatally Overblown Juggernaut

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'Finding Your Feet' Has A Nice Beat And Is Easy To Dance To

After learning her long-time husband is cheating on her, Sandra (Imelda Staunton) flees to the comfort of her sister Bif (Celia Imrie), and a community dance class, in Finding Your Feet. Roadside Attractions hide caption

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Roadside Attractions

'Finding Your Feet' Has A Nice Beat And Is Easy To Dance To

A upper-middle class snob goes to live with her bohemian sister and gets drawn into the world of seniors' dance classes in this "sweet-natured if overlong" British film.

'Ready Player One' Is Full Of '80s Nostalgia And 'Easter Eggs'

NPR critic Bob Mondello says Steven Spielberg's Ready Player One is a match made in heaven. In it, '80s on screen nostalgia meets a novel about video-game nostalgia for the 1980s.

'Ready Player One' Is Full Of '80s Nostalgia And 'Easter Eggs'

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Arcade Firewall: 'Ready Player One' REALLY Loves The '80s

Wade (Tye Sheridan) is the teen hero of Spielberg's latest big-budget action flick Ready Player One, based on the novel of the same name. Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros. hide caption

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Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros.

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Arcade Firewall: 'Ready Player One' REALLY Loves The '80s

Spielberg returns to his cinema-as-thrill-ride roots in this adaptation of Ernest Cline's YA novel. The nostalgia gets a bit overwhelming — and, frankly, sad — but the visuals are compelling.

Arcade Firewall: 'Ready Player One' REALLY Loves The '80s

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Political Subtext In Wes Anderson's 'Isle Of Dogs' Is More Bark Than Bite

Wes Anderson returns to stop action animation — a technique that won him an Oscar nomination for Fantastic Mr. Fox-- in his latest film, Isle of Dogs.

Political Subtext In Wes Anderson's 'Isle Of Dogs' Is More Bark Than Bite

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Philosophically Rich 'Isle Of Dogs' Is A Howl Of Joy

Fresh Air

Wes Anderson's new animated feature centers on canines living on a garbage dump off the coast of Japan. David Edelstein says the film will make you laugh — even as you gasp at its visual brilliance.

Philosophically Rich 'Isle Of Dogs' Is A Howl Of Joy

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The Fast And The Furry Us: Wes Anderson's Masterful 'Isle Of Dogs'

Bryan Cranston voices the gruff-but-lovable mutt Chief in Wes Anderson's star-studded, stop-motion tale Isle of Dogs. Fox Searchlight hide caption

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Fox Searchlight

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The Fast And The Furry Us: Wes Anderson's Masterful 'Isle Of Dogs'

Anderson imbues this stop-motion-animated film about loyal dogs exiled to a lonely island with his signature formalism, but there's real emotion in those pups' wet, soulful eyes.

The Fast And The Furry Us: Wes Anderson's Masterful 'Isle Of Dogs'

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The Past Returns, Inscrutably, In 'Ismael's Ghosts'

Carlotta (Marion Cotillard) suddenly returns, making the life of her old lover Ismael (Mathieu Amalric) a little more complicated in the process. Jean-Claude Lother/Magnolia Pictures hide caption

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Jean-Claude Lother/Magnolia Pictures

The Past Returns, Inscrutably, In 'Ismael's Ghosts'

French writer-director Arnaud Desplechin can't hold the thread of the story he seeks to tell, so this film about the mysterious return of an old lover fades into frustrating ambiguity.

'Pacific Rim Uprising' Serves Up Another Helping Of Mech And Cheese

Jaeger Hot-Shots: Jake Pentecost (John Boyega) and Nate Lambert (Scott Eastwood) mech the most of a bad situation in Pacific Rim Uprising. Jasin Boland/Universal Pictures hide caption

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Jasin Boland/Universal Pictures

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Pacific Rim Uprising' Serves Up Another Helping Of Mech And Cheese

Guillermo Del Toro isn't in the directing chair for this return to the world he built in 2013's Pacific Rim, but that film's most gleefully goofy qualities remain.