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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.

Movie Reviews

Friday

A Boy And His Bear, At Large In A Man's World

Ted (voiced by writer-director Seth MacFarlane) and Johnny (Mark Wahlberg) share a laugh in Ted. The talking teddy bear got his powers when 8-year-old Johnny wished upon a falling star for Ted to speak. Universal Pictures/Tippett Studio hide caption

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Universal Pictures/Tippett Studio

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A Boy And His Bear, At Large In A Man's World

Ted, the first film from Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane, is about 35-year-old Johnny (Mark Wahlberg) and his decidedly adult talking teddy bear. NPR's Bob Mondello has to confess that in time, he warmed up to this movie for and about overgrown kids.

A Boy And His Bear, At Large In A Man's World

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Thursday

'Unforgivable': Family Strife, French Neo-Noir Style

In Unforgivable, Francis (Andre Dussollier) awakens to the tensions in his marriage to Judith (Carole Bouquet, far left) when his daughter, Alice (Melanie Thierry, far right), and granddaughter come for a summer visit. Strand Releasing hide caption

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Strand Releasing

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'Unforgivable': Family Strife, French Neo-Noir Style

The basic ingredients of a crime thriller frame an older writer's tense relationships with his daughter and young second wife. Critic Joel Arnold says director Andre Techine's stylish, glacial reserve comes at the cost of character development.

'Magic Mike': Flesh Aplenty, But More Than Skin Deep

Mike (Channing Tatum, center) strips down in Steven Soderbergh's latest, Magic Mike -- and reveals some previously unseen acting chops. Claudette Barius/Warner Bros. Pictures hide caption

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Claudette Barius/Warner Bros. Pictures

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'Magic Mike': Flesh Aplenty, But More Than Skin Deep

Magic Mike stars Channing Tatum as a stripper who dreams of more. Critic Ian Buckwalter says Steven Soderbergh's latest attempt to bridge the art-entertainment divide is more complicated than its slick rom-com exterior suggests — though it's still a movie about hot male strippers.

A Well-Worn Path, But The Journey Has Its Pleasures

In People Like Us, Sam (Chris Pine) connects with Frankie (Elizabeth Banks) and her son, Josh (Michael D'Addario), without telling them that he is their long-lost brother and uncle, respectively. Walt Disney Pictures hide caption

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Walt Disney Pictures

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A Well-Worn Path, But The Journey Has Its Pleasures

In People Like Us, Sam (Chris Pine) tracks down a sister he never knew existed (Elizabeth Banks) to deliver an inheritance from their late father. Critic Ella Taylor says the movie plays better than what one could expect from its premise, because of its appeal to our common hurts and fantasies.

'Beasts': Taking Southern Folklore To The Next Level

Hushpuppy, the 6-year-old at the center of Beasts of the Southern Wild, is played by Quvenzhane Wallis, who was found by director Benh Zeitlin in a Louisiana elementary school. Fox Searchlight hide caption

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Fox Searchlight

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'Beasts': Taking Southern Folklore To The Next Level

Fresh Air

Beasts of the Southern Wild came out of nowhere to win the Camera d'Or at Cannes and the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. The fable-like film, starring 6-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis, takes place after a storm ravages Louisiana. (Recommended)

'Beasts': Taking Southern Folklore To The Next Level

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A Good Wife, Dancing Restlessly With Danger

In Take This Waltz, Margot (Michelle Williams) and Lou (Seth Rogen) find their seemingly cozy marriage in need of some excitement. Magnolia Pictures hide caption

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Magnolia Pictures

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A Good Wife, Dancing Restlessly With Danger

In Take This Waltz, a couple (Seth Rogen and Michelle Williams) find their marriage challenged when a charming new neighbor moves in. Critic Jeannette Catsoulis says the movie's profound take on marital instability proves director Sarah Polley's equally great debut feature was no fluke. (Recommended)

Tuesday

'Gypsy': Something's Rotten, This Time In Slovakia

Adam (Jan Mizigar, left) sits with his glue-sniffing brother, Marian (Martin Hangurbadzo). Adam tries to avoid a path of crime in Gypsy, but family regularly draws him into one. In Film hide caption

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In Film

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'Gypsy': Something's Rotten, This Time In Slovakia

Martin Sulik uses the basic framework of Hamlet to look at tensions between the Roma community and white Eastern Europeans in his home country. Critic Mark Jenkins says the film's plainspoken politics may feel less urgent in the U.S., but that diminishes its overall power only slightly.

Post-Storm, A Fairy Tale And Reality-Check In One

Quvenzhane Wallis, who was 6 at the time of production, plays Hushpuppy in Beasts of the Southern Wild, a fantastical tale about self-reliance and community after a storm in Louisiana. Jess Pinkham/Fox Searchlight Pictures hide caption

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Jess Pinkham/Fox Searchlight Pictures

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Post-Storm, A Fairy Tale And Reality-Check In One

Beasts of the Southern Wild tells the story of a young girl and her father in the wake of a catastrophic Louisiana storm. Critic Ella Taylor says mesmerizing visuals and an exhilarating performance by the film's young star propel this magic-realist allegory for Katrina. (Recommended)

Thursday

Two Couples Bunk Up For 'A Burning Hot Summer'

in Philippe Garrel's A Burning Hot Summer, Angele (Monica Bellucci) and Frederic (Louis Garrel) make up the more tempestuous of two couples living together in Rome. IFC Films hide caption

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IFC Films

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Two Couples Bunk Up For 'A Burning Hot Summer'

The latest from French director Philippe Garrel finds three actors and a painter sharing an apartment, with much jealousy and strife as a result. Critic Mark Jenkins finds little heat, however, in a film notable mostly for its cast and crew.

'To Rome With Love': Eternal City, Scrambled Time

Antonio the newlywed (Alessandro Tiberi, left), Uncle Paolo (Roberto Della Casa) and Anna the prostitute (Penelope Cruz) in one of To Rome With Love's four independent stories. This one features Anna attempting to teach Antonio something about love. Philippe Antonello/Sony Pictures Classics hide caption

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Philippe Antonello/Sony Pictures Classics

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'To Rome With Love': Eternal City, Scrambled Time

Woody Allen's latest comedy features four unrelated stories taking place — in theory at the same time. But as NPR's Bob Mondello points out, that's logically impossible.

'To Rome With Love': Eternal City, Scrambled Time

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'To Rome': Allen, Fiddling Again With Familiar Ideas

In Woody Allen's latest, John (Alec Baldwin, left) begins to live vicariously through complications in Jack's (Jesse Eisenberg) love life. Philippe Antonello/Sony Pictures Classics hide caption

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Philippe Antonello/Sony Pictures Classics

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'To Rome': Allen, Fiddling Again With Familiar Ideas

Woody Allen assembles a variety of characters — American and Italian, young and old — to amble around Rome in his latest European film. Critic Ella Taylor says that, apart from a few goofy highlights, the movie is listless and predictably Allen-like in its heady preoccupations.

Sharing Small Moments While Waiting For A Big Bang

In Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Penny (Keira Knightley) and Dodge (Steve Carell) help each other reconnect with distant family and an old love before an asteroid destroys life on Earth. Darren Michaels/Focus Features hide caption

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Darren Michaels/Focus Features

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Sharing Small Moments While Waiting For A Big Bang

In Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Dodge (Steve Carell) and Penny (Keira Knightley) hit the road together in anticipation of a planet-pulverizing asteroid. Critic Jeannette Catsoulis says the film sometimes stumbles but is refreshing for its modest focus.

In 'Brave,' A Pixar Princess At Odds With Her Place

Merida, the heroine in Pixar's Brave, causes much family drama by refusing to get married — and acting more like her father, King Fergus, than a "proper princess." Disney/Pixar hide caption

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Disney/Pixar

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In 'Brave,' A Pixar Princess At Odds With Her Place

Pixar tries to solve its female-heroine problem with a movie about Merida, a rebellious princess who, to her mother's dismay, craves freedom from all men. Critic Scott Tobias says the film's powerful character and message are unfortunately surrounded by uninspired plotting and comic relief.

The Visible Costs Of The Military's 'Invisible War'

Kori Cioca is the linking thread among many stories in The Invisible War. Kirby Dick's documentary reveals a shocking culture of sexual assault in the U.S. military. Cinedigm/Docurama Films hide caption

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Cinedigm/Docurama Films

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The Visible Costs Of The Military's 'Invisible War'

Kirby Dick's documentary exposes an epidemic of sexual assault in the U.S. military, where an estimated 20 percent of women have been victims of an attack. Critic Mark Jenkins says Dick's direct approach to the material makes for a wrenching film. (Recommended)

Lincoln's Life, Stylized (And Somewhat Embellished)

Abraham Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) and Will Johnson (Anthony Mackie) in one of the slick action sequences from Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. Lincoln's weapon of choice in the film is a silver-plated ax. 20th Century Fox hide caption

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20th Century Fox

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Lincoln's Life, Stylized (And Somewhat Embellished)

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter inserts pro-slavery, bloodsucking villains into the 16th president's life story. Critic Ian Buckwalter says the movie is full of style but lacks all substance and logical plausibility — even for a film about vampires.