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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

Saturday

Wondrous 'Strange': Spike Lee Makes A Musical

Strange interlude: Daniel Breaker plays Youth, the adolescent version of narrator Stew (in background) in Spike Lee's sizzling film version of Stew's semiautobiographical Broadway musical Passing Strange. David Lee/Sundance hide caption

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David Lee/Sundance

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Wondrous 'Strange': Spike Lee Makes A Musical

The alt-rock musical Passing Strange earned seven Tony nominations but lasted a mere six months on Broadway. Critic Bob Mondello says it deserved a longer run — at least on the evidence of Spike Lee's kinetic film remake.

Wondrous 'Strange': Spike Lee Makes A Musical

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Thursday

At 'Vogue,' A Wintour And Some Discontent

Fashion victim: Vogue doyenne Anna Wintour gets the fisheye from filmmaker R.J. Cutler in The September Issue. Roadside Attractions hide caption

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Roadside Attractions

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At 'Vogue,' A Wintour And Some Discontent

The documentary The September Issue follows the making of the heftiest single issue in magazine history. And while its focus is on tastemaker Anna Wintour, the surprise star of the film is the free-spirited redhead who's Wintour's fashion foil — and frequent sparring partner.

'Still Walking' Along Family Fault Lines

Unhappy in their own way: Three generations of a Yokoyama family convene for a rocky reunion in Hirokazu Koreeda's Still Walking. From left, patriarch Kyohei (Yoshio Harada), his step-grandson Atsushi (Shohei Tanaka) and matriarch Toshiko (Kirin Kiki). IFC Films hide caption

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IFC Films

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'Still Walking' Along Family Fault Lines

Three generations of a Yokoyama family convene for a reunion of sorts in Hirokazu Koreeda's delicate comedy-drama. Set in the Japanese suburbs, the film is a gentle meditation on how families make peace among themselves, and how their wisdom is conserved and recycled through the generations. (Recommended)

Old Hearts, Young With Desire, On 'Cloud 9'

Romance Rejuvenated: Inge (Ursula Werner) and Karl (Horst Westphal) find that hearts don't always grow wiser with age in Andreas Dresen's Cloud 9. Music Box Films hide caption

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Music Box Films

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Old Hearts, Young With Desire, On 'Cloud 9'

Andreas Dresen's protagonists are wrinkled, and each has seen a lifetime's worth of longing. The sex scenes are frank and unforgivingly robust, and the film poignantly tracks the gap between physical decline and the persistence — at full blast — of unfulfilled desire.

Tuesday

'Taking Woodstock,' But Not All That Seriously

Under the influence: Freed by the Woodstock vibe — and a certain mood-altering substance — shy painter Elliot Teichberg (Demetri Martin, center) discovers the Aquarian age with two hippies (Kelli Garner and Paul Dano) in a classic VW van. Focus Features hide caption

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Focus Features

Movies

'Taking Woodstock,' But Not All That Seriously

Ang Lee's agreeable comedy looks at the now-legendary music festival through the eyes of the Catskills motel owners who, in the summer of 1969, found themselves at the center of a counter-culture event. Critic Scott Tobias says it's like making the gravedigger the hub of a Hamlet remake.

Friday

Tarantino's Rollicking, Rocky Rewrite Of WWII

Brad Pitt puffs out his jaw to play Aldo Raine, a part-Apache Southerner in Quentin Tarantino's new film, Inglourious Basterds. Francois Duhamel/TWC hide caption

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Francois Duhamel/TWC

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Tarantino's Rollicking, Rocky Rewrite Of WWII

Fresh Air

Set in German-occupied France, Quentin Tarantino's World War II revenge fantasia Inglourious Basterds is an ungainly pastiche — that also manages to feel organic. David Edelstein has a review.

Tarantino's Rollicking, Rocky Rewrite Of WWII

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Thursday

'Casi Divas': In Mexico, The Making Of A Movie Star

Friends And Rivals: Mexico City hairdresser Yesenia (Daniela Schmidt, left) and the Oaxaca-born Francisca (Maya Zapata) come from very different backgrounds to compete for celebrity in Casi Divas. Daniel Daza/Columbia Pictures hide caption

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Daniel Daza/Columbia Pictures

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'Casi Divas': In Mexico, The Making Of A Movie Star

A hit south of the border in 2008, Issa Lopez's effervescent satire pokes fun at reality TV competitions and melodramatic Latin American telenovelas too — then piles on a helping of farcical romance and a touch of political commentary for good measure.

Off To War, Brandishing Weapons And Words

Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) in Quentin Tarantino's 'Inglourious Basterds.' Francois Duhamel/TWC hide caption

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Francois Duhamel/TWC

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Off To War, Brandishing Weapons And Words

Inglourious Basterds, the wartime revenge fantasy from Quentin Tarantino, is a vulgar kiss-off in the direction of Hollywood's traditionally grandiose take on World War II — and for that alone, it's refreshing. But by Tarantino's standards, it's oddly conventional. And man, is it talky.

Five 'Shorts,' In Which Many A Lesson Is Learned

Jimmy Bennett is Toe Thompson, the metal-mouthed, picked-on narrator-hero of Robert Rodriguez' new parable Shorts. Warner Bros. Pictures hide caption

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Warner Bros. Pictures

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Five 'Shorts,' In Which Many A Lesson Is Learned

Robert Rodriguez' brightly colored parable of suburbia and its discontents has plenty of slapstick for the under-12 set. But there are limits to good-natured amateurism, even in a movie that turns on a magic wishing rock — and adults will probably wish they could hit the fast-forward button.

Monday

A World In Crisis, And Only Love Can Save The Day

Ponyo (left) and Sosuke learn the power of true love — and of what lies under the sea — in Hayao Miyazaki's enchanting animated fable Ponyo. Nibariki-GNDHDDT hide caption

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Nibariki-GNDHDDT

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A World In Crisis, And Only Love Can Save The Day

Fresh Air

Straightforward and kid-friendly, Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo isn't the animation master's most complicated film. But in some ways, the film's simplicity offers a clearer look at the director's greatness.

A World In Crisis, And Only Love Can Save The Day

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Friday

'Ponyo,' Swimming Magically Against The Tide

Up Where They Walk, Up Where They Run: Ponyo, a goldfish turned little girl, gets her chance to live where the people are in a sweet-natured film by Spirited Away director Hayao Miyazaki. Nibariki-GNDHDDT hide caption

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Nibariki-GNDHDDT

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'Ponyo,' Swimming Magically Against The Tide

A goldfish gets her chance to live above sea level in a sweet-natured film by visionary Hayao Miyazaki. Kenneth Turan says its mixture of fantasy, adventure and affection make Ponyo unforgettable.

'Ponyo,' Swimming Magically Against The Tide

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Thursday

'Time Traveler's Wife': The Once And Future Fling

Baby Please Don't Go: Clare (Rachel McAdams) and Henry (Eric Bana) stay close despite his unfortunate tendency when stressed to slip away through time — leaving his clothes behind. Alan Markfield/New Line Cinema hide caption

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Alan Markfield/New Line Cinema

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'Time Traveler's Wife': The Once And Future Fling

Claire loves Henry, and Henry loves Claire — only half the time he doesn't know it, because he hasn't met her yet. Audrey Niffenegger's novel of an accidental time-traveler and the woman who falls for him gets a glossy if hardly coherent big-screen adaptation, starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams.

In 'District 9,' An Apartheid Allegory (With Aliens)

Metaphorical mothership: Three decades after extraterrestrials arrive on Earth, they remain quarantined in a violent, squalid Johannesburg ghetto. The refugee aliens aren't welcome, but they're also not allowed to leave. TriStar Pictures hide caption

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TriStar Pictures

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In 'District 9,' An Apartheid Allegory (With Aliens)

Two decades after refugee extraterrestrials arrive on Earth, they remain quarantined in a violent, squalid Johannesburg ghetto — unwanted, but not allowed to leave. Never mind its visible roots and references: Neill Blomkamp's frenetic debut is staggeringly original.

'It Might Get Loud': For Music Buffs, Plenty To Riff On

Jam Session: Davis Guggenheim's latest documentary brings together guitarists Jack White of the White Stripes (from left), The Edge of U2 and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin. Eric Lee/Sony Pictures Classics hide caption

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Eric Lee/Sony Pictures Classics

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'It Might Get Loud': For Music Buffs, Plenty To Riff On

Three guitar gods get together to jam in Davis Guggenheim's new documentary. The film weaves together interviews and archival footage to profile Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, The Edge of U2 and Jack White of the White Stripes.