Movie Reviews : NPR

Beaches, Bathing Suits, And Finally On The Big Screen, 'Baywatch'

Dwayne Johnson, Ilfenesh Hadera and Kelly Rohrbach in the new guilty pleasure (until the story starts), Baywatch. Frank Masi/Courtesy of Paramount Pictures hide caption

toggle caption

Frank Masi/Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

Beaches, Bathing Suits, And Finally On The Big Screen, 'Baywatch'

May 26, 2017 • NPR movie critic Bob Mondello reviews a movie that could only come out in the summer — Baywatch, starring Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron.

Beaches, Bathing Suits, And Finally On The Big Screen, 'Baywatch'

Listen · 3:16 3:16

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/530253861/530257564" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Trying To Wring Entertainment Out Of A Quagmire In 'War Machine'

Brad Pitt in War Machine. Francois Duhamel/Netflix hide caption

toggle caption

Francois Duhamel/Netflix

Trying To Wring Entertainment Out Of A Quagmire In 'War Machine'

May 26, 2017 • War Machine, a Netflix production based on a book about the drawn-out U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, suffers from a one-note Brad Pitt performance and a frustrating lack of focus.

Youthful Protest Gets Serious In 'Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower'

A scene from Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower Netflix hide caption

toggle caption

Netflix

Youthful Protest Gets Serious In 'Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower'

May 26, 2017 • Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower tells the story of the Occupy Central movement in Hong Kong in 2014. Led by then-teenager Joshua Wong, it ended with a pizza party, but provoked plenty of response.

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Alien: Covenant' And 'Veep'

Katherine Waterston as Daniels in Alien: Covenant. Mark Rogers/Twentieth Century Fox hide caption

toggle caption

Mark Rogers/Twentieth Century Fox

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Alien: Covenant' And 'Veep'

May 26, 2017 • Alien fan Chris Klimek joins us to talk about the newest entry in the decades-old franchise, and we check in with the fast-talking, faster-swearing people of HBO's Veep.

A Return To Visit Old Friends In 'Buena Vista Social Club: Adios'

Omara Portuondo (vocals) and Papi Oviedo (Tres player) perform in the documentary Buena Vista Social Club: Adios. Dragan Tasic/Broad Green Pictures hide caption

toggle caption

Dragan Tasic/Broad Green Pictures

A Return To Visit Old Friends In 'Buena Vista Social Club: Adios'

May 26, 2017 • Buena Vista Social Club: Adios catches up with the musicians who came to prominence with a 1997 album and a 1999 documentary. It's not an entirely satisfying sequel, but you can sure dance to it.

Yo-Ho-Hum: Johnny Depp Returns For More 'Pirates'

Johnny Depp is unencumbered by any narrative responsibility in Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. Peter Mountain/Walt Disney Pictures hide caption

toggle caption

Peter Mountain/Walt Disney Pictures

Yo-Ho-Hum: Johnny Depp Returns For More 'Pirates'

May 26, 2017 • Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is almost definitely the best fourth sequel ever made to a movie based on a 50-year-old theme park ride.

A One-Night Stand Takes A Disturbing Turn In 'Berlin Syndrome'

A tryst with Andi (Max Riemelt) makes a captive out of Clare (Teresa Palmer) in Berlin Syndrome. Entertainment One hide caption

toggle caption

Entertainment One

A One-Night Stand Takes A Disturbing Turn In 'Berlin Syndrome'

Fresh Air

May 25, 2017 • In Cate Shortland's new film, an Australian woman traveling abroad becomes the captive of a mysterious stranger. Critic Justin Chang says Berlin Syndrome is a gripping character study.

A One-Night Stand Takes A Disturbing Turn In 'Berlin Syndrome'

Listen · 6:29 6:29

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/530033717/530228795" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Movies

What To Watch For After Cannes Film Festival

May 24, 2017 • Rachel Martin talks with film critic Kenneth Turan about some of the movies to watch for coming out of this year's Cannes Film Festival.

What To Watch For After Cannes Film Festival

Listen · 2:54 2:54

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/529804644/529804647" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Danish Filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg Gets Deeply Personal In 'The Commune'

May 19, 2017 • NPR movie critic Bob Mondello reviews The Commune, a Danish drama about a living arrangement that doesn't turn out the way its organizers expected.

Danish Filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg Gets Deeply Personal In 'The Commune'

Listen · 3:20 3:20

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/529175751/529175752" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

'Alien: Covenant' Mixes Blood And Guts With Existential Questions

Fresh Air

May 19, 2017 • Ridley Scott's new installment of the Aliens franchise is a face-grabbing prequel featuring two androids. Critic David Edelstein says that though plodding at times, Alien: Covenant does deliver.

'Alien: Covenant' Mixes Blood And Guts With Existential Questions

Listen · 5:57 5:57

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/529123309/529165857" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

In 'The Commune,' Where We Live Is Who We Are

Martha Sofie Wallstrøm Hansen in The Commune. Magnolia Pictures hide caption

toggle caption

Magnolia Pictures

In 'The Commune,' Where We Live Is Who We Are

May 18, 2017 • Director Thomas Vinterberg's The Commune isn't really about the entire group that grows up around a 1970s Copenhagen family. It's about the family itself, and how the way we live defines us.

'Alien: Covenant' Continues To Mine Old Ground

Katherine Waterston as Daniels in Alien: Covenant. Mark Rogers/Twentieth Century Fox hide caption

toggle caption

Mark Rogers/Twentieth Century Fox

'Alien: Covenant' Continues To Mine Old Ground

May 18, 2017 • While Alien: Covenant is better than Prometheus, the last franchise entry, it still lacks the basic elements that made Alien and Aliens so widely admired.

The Device Of Illness Disappoints In 'Everything, Everything'

Amandla Stenberg as Maddy and Nick Robinson as Olly in Everything, Everything. Warner Bros. Entertainment hide caption

toggle caption

Warner Bros. Entertainment

The Device Of Illness Disappoints In 'Everything, Everything'

May 18, 2017 • Based on Nicola Yoon's YA novel, Everything, Everything has some of the ingredients it needs to be satisfying, but the way it uses illness only as a plot device makes that satisfaction elusive.

Bryan Cranston Hides And Watches In 'Wakefield'

Bryan Cranston plays Howard Wakefield, a man who leaves his family to become a man who watches his family. Gilles Mingasson/IFC Films hide caption

toggle caption

Gilles Mingasson/IFC Films

Bryan Cranston Hides And Watches In 'Wakefield'

May 18, 2017 • Bryan Cranston plays a man who settles in to spy on his own family in Wakefield, a story with roots going all the way back to Nathaniel Hawthorne.

'Abacus': The Small Chinatown Bank That Paid A High Price

Vera Sung, Jill Sung, and Thomas Sung in Abacus: Too Small To Jail. Kartemquin Films hide caption

toggle caption

Kartemquin Films

'Abacus': The Small Chinatown Bank That Paid A High Price

May 18, 2017 • In Abacus: Too Small To Jail, Steve James, who made Hoop Dreams, tells the story of a very small bank that really was prosecuted in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.