Movie Reviews : NPR

At The 'Love Ranch,' A Valentine Of Another Color

One Big Lothario: Sergio Peris-Mencheta plays Armando Bruza, a boxer who sparks an awakening in Mirren's Grace. Richard Foreman/E1 Entertainment hide caption

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Richard Foreman/E1 Entertainment

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At The 'Love Ranch,' A Valentine Of Another Color

June 30, 2010 • Helen Mirren stars and husband Taylor Hackford directs a long-gestating pet project about a husband and wife running a brothel -- the first legal establishment of its kind -- in 1976 Nevada. Joe Pesci returns to the screen as the husband; Spanish heartthrob Sergio Peris-Mencheta is the man who comes between them.

'Agony' Aunt: Phil Spector Gets A Sympathetic Ear

Unchained Melody: In his documentary The Agony And Ecstasy Of Phil Spector, director Vikram Jayanti casts the eccentric music producer in a decidedly kindly light. Vixpix Films hide caption

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Vixpix Films

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'Agony' Aunt: Phil Spector Gets A Sympathetic Ear

June 29, 2010 • In The Agony And Ecstasy Of Phil Spector, director Vikram Jayanti interviews the eccentric music producer in an attempt to unravel the man's contradictory reputation. Initially famous for his production work on such classic songs as "Be My Baby," Spector made headlines more recently when he was tried for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson.

'Eclipse': Love In The Time Of Lycanthropy

Want Your Bad Romance: Tortured lovers Bella (Kristen Stewart), still human for the moment, and Edward (Robert Pattinson), still a vampire, are at it again in the latest installment of the Twilight mega-franchise. Kimberley French/Summit Entertainment hide caption

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Kimberley French/Summit Entertainment

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'Eclipse': Love In The Time Of Lycanthropy

June 29, 2010 • In this, the third installment of the Twilight franchise, broody, beautiful Bella must choose between two hunky, supernatural beings: Edward the pasty vampire and Jacob the shirtless werewolf. What, again?

'Restrepo' And 'The Lottery': Two Places, Two Battles

Kyle Steiner, a member of Battle Company, stands in the Korengal Valley in Afghanistan's Kunar Province. Battle Company's actions were the basis of the documentary Restrepo by Sebastian Junger and Tim Hetherington. Outpost Films hide caption

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Outpost Films

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'Restrepo' And 'The Lottery': Two Places, Two Battles

Fresh Air

June 25, 2010 • David Edelstein reviews two new documentaries he loves: Restrepo is set in Afghanistan and co-directed by photographer Tim Hetherington and author Sebastian Junger, who wrote The Perfect Storm. Madeleine Sackler's The Lottery centers on high-testing charter schools in Harlem and the drawing that determines who gets in. (Recommended)

Alain Resnais, 88 And Still Planting Surprises

Lost In The Tall Grass: Sabine Azema, who plays the role of the beleaguered Marguerite, has appeared in almost all of Alain Resnais' recent films. Sony Pictures Classics hide caption

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Sony Pictures Classics

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Alain Resnais, 88 And Still Planting Surprises

June 24, 2010 • Veteran new wave director Alain Resnais returns with a playful paean to the power of cinema to both illuminate and obfuscate. Critic Mark Jenkins applauds Wild Grass for its beautiful cinematography and anarchic sense of fun. (Recommended)

Oliver Stone, Visiting Points 'South' With A Few Buds

The Odd Couple: Filmmaker Oliver Stone (left) caused quite a stir at the Venice Film Festival when he invited Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez — and an attendant posse of security guards — to the premiere of his documentary South Of The Border. Jose Ibanez hide caption

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Jose Ibanez

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Oliver Stone, Visiting Points 'South' With A Few Buds

June 24, 2010 • Oliver Stone's new documentary is a travelogue with a political twist: The filmmaker journeys across Latin America in an attempt to expose what he sees as the American media's distorted view of the region's politics. NPR's Bob Mondello says Stone's views are somewhat rose-tinted, but he finds South Of The Border thought-provoking nonetheless.

'Grown Ups'? Oh, Adam Sandler, Aren't You A Riot!

Boys Will Be Boys: Chris Rock, Kevin James, David Spade and Adam Sandler play childhood friends who were once on a championship basketball team back in 1978. Tracy Bennett/Sony Pictures hide caption

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Tracy Bennett/Sony Pictures

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'Grown Ups'? Oh, Adam Sandler, Aren't You A Riot!

June 24, 2010 • The funnyman teams up with some of his former Saturday Night Live castmates in a lumpen comedy that tries to pair his bratty bathroom humor with a Norman Rockwell vision of family life.

Tom Cruise, Firmly In Control In 'Knight And Day'

He Shoots, He Scores: Tom Cruise stars as a gentlemanly secret agent who's equally adept at delivering compliments and riding motorcycles backward. Cameron Diaz plays his hapless-bystander foil. Frank Masi/20th Century Fox hide caption

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Frank Masi/20th Century Fox

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Tom Cruise, Firmly In Control In 'Knight And Day'

June 23, 2010 • Think Tom Cruise's movie-star luster was lost forever after the actor jumped on Oprah's couch -- and, some said, off the deep end? Think again. Cruise is in top action-hero form in Knight And Day, a spy-vs.-spy comedy that critic Kenneth Turan calls "the most entertaining made-for-adults studio movie of the summer."

'Toy Story 3': To Growing Up, And Beyond

To Infinity And Day Care: Jessie and Buzz Lightyear are back — this time, trying to escape from hyperactive toddlers. Disney/Pixar hide caption

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Disney/Pixar

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'Toy Story 3': To Growing Up, And Beyond

Fresh Air

June 18, 2010 • On the surface, Toy Story 3 is about kids' fantasies about toys that come alive after the lights go out -- but its themes speak to a much more grown-up audience. Critic David Edelstein examines the latest movie in the Toy Story franchise, which he says touches on both the present and the past. (Recommended)

At Stonewall And In Salt Lake, Gays At The Barricades

Under Attack: Anti-Prop 8 protesters rally outside the Utah State Senate building in Salt Lake City. David Daniels hide caption

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David Daniels

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At Stonewall And In Salt Lake, Gays At The Barricades

June 18, 2010 • A pair of new documentaries -- one about New York City in the 1960s and one about California in 2008 -- illustrate that while gay men and women have come a long way over the past half-century, there are still places where they can't simply be themselves.

Buzz, Woody Et Al., Learning Life's Harder Lessons

Bear Necessities: In Toy Story 3, new character Lots-o-Huggin' Bear (voiced by Ned Beatty) explains the ropes of Sunnyside Daycare Center to series regulars Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) and Woody (Tom Hanks). Disney/Pixar hide caption

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Disney/Pixar

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Buzz, Woody Et Al., Learning Life's Harder Lessons

June 18, 2010 • The third entry in a film franchise is often disappointing. Not Toy Story 3, a sequel that's both stayed true to its roots and expanded its reach. (Recommended)

The Bumbling Bourgeoisie, Affectionately Dissected

Amateur Auteur: Michel (Jean-Pierre Bacri, left) is a reporter who asks Agathe (Agnes Jaoui) to be a subject in his documentary about "successful women" in Let It Rain. IFC Films hide caption

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IFC Films

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The Bumbling Bourgeoisie, Affectionately Dissected

June 17, 2010 • Agnes Jaoui directs and stars in the comic drama Let It Rain; critic Ella Taylor says the French filmmaker brings a warm particularity and a tough but tender compassion to her studies of congenital human discontent.

Mommy In The Middle: Sparks fly between Molly (Marisa Tomei) and John (John C. Reilly, right) in Cyrus. But before John can win Molly's heart, he'll have to win over her jealous son (Jonah Hill). Chuck Zlotnick/Fox Searchlight Pictures hide caption

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Chuck Zlotnick/Fox Searchlight Pictures

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'Cyrus': A Loose, Low-Key Kind Of Crazy

June 17, 2010 • Cyrus, a decidedly singular boy-meets-girl (and her bizarro kid) comedy from Jay and Mark Duplass, proves that mumblecore can survive the star treatment -- if the Hollywood names attached are the right ones. (Recommended)

'I Am Love': Passion Stirs Behind A Cool Facade

Model Matriarch: Actress Tilda Swinton puts her multilingual prowess to work as Emma, a Russian woman married into an upper-crust Italian family. Magnolia Pictures hide caption

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Magnolia Pictures

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'I Am Love': Passion Stirs Behind A Cool Facade

June 17, 2010 • Tilda Swinton plays the reserved Russian-born matriarch of a prosperous Italian clan in a sumptuously filmed melodrama set in 1930s Milan. Mark Jenkins says it's mildly contrived -- but emotionally powerful nonetheless.

'The Killer Inside Me': Small-Town Savagery

When A Man Loves A Woman: Casey Affleck (right) and Kate Hudson star in The Killer Inside Me, which has come under fire at film festivals for its graphic depiction of violence against women. IFC Films hide caption

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IFC Films

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'The Killer Inside Me': Small-Town Savagery

June 17, 2010 • British director Michael Winterbottom helms this adaptation of the notorious 1952 novel of the same name, which Stanley Kubrick once called "the most chilling and believable first-person story of a criminally warped mind I have ever encountered." Critic Scott Tobias says casting Casey Affleck as a serial-killer sheriff's deputy was a genius move.