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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

'Candyman' Gets An Update, And The Horror Is Gentrification

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays Anthony McCoy in Candyman, directed by Nia DaCosta. Universal Pictures and MGM Pictures hide caption

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Universal Pictures and MGM Pictures

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Candyman' Gets An Update, And The Horror Is Gentrification

Legend has it that if you say "Candyman" in front of a mirror five times, you'll summon the spirit of a terrifying killer with a hook for a hand, who's constantly surrounded by a swarm of bees. That's the premise of the 1992 horror movie Candyman, about a white Chicago grad student who becomes obsessed with an urban myth haunting Black residents of the notorious Cabrini-Green housing projects. Now there's a sequel, directed by Nia DaCosta and co-written with Jordan Peele, that brings back the villain for a modern audience, and it stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Teyonah Parris as a couple living in a now-gentrified Cabrini-Green.

'Candyman' Gets An Update, And The Horror Is Gentrification

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Monday

'CODA' Is An Unabashedly Formulaic And Lovely Coming-Of-Age Story

Fresh Air

The hit of the 2021 virtual Sundance Film Festival centers on a teenager who's the only hearing member of her close-knit family. CODA strikes some false notes, but it also delivers heartfelt emotion.

'CODA' Is An Unabashedly Formulaic And Lovely Coming-Of-Age Story

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Wednesday

'Beckett' Is A Perfectly Average Chase Thriller

John David Washington in the new movie Beckett on Netflix. Yannis Drakoulidis/Netflix hide caption

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Yannis Drakoulidis/Netflix

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Beckett' Is A Perfectly Average Chase Thriller

In the Netflix film Beckett, John David Washington plays an American tourist who gets in way over his head in an action thriller that skips over the mountains and through the streets of Greece.

'Beckett' Is A Perfectly Average Chase Thriller

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Friday

Aretha Franklin Biopic Pays Proper 'Respect' To The Queen Of Soul

Jennifer Hudson doesn't try to mimic Aretha Franklin so much as channel her spirit. Franklin was heavily involved in the development of Respect up until her death in 2018, and she reportedly handpicked Hudson to star in it. United Artists hide caption

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United Artists

Aretha Franklin Biopic Pays Proper 'Respect' To The Queen Of Soul

Fresh Air

Even well-worn notes can sound freshly resonant in the right hands. A new film about Franklin's early years doesn't entirely avoid biopic conventions, but there's real intelligence and feeling in it.

Aretha Franklin Biopic Pays Proper 'Respect' To The Queen Of Soul

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Friday

In 'The Suicide Squad,' Super-Powered Cons Are Super-Violent Pros

Squad LOLz (L to R): Polka-Dot Man (David Dastmalchian), Peacemaker (John Cena), Bloodsport (Idris Elba) and Ratcatcher 2 (Daniela Melchior) in The Suicide Squad. Jessica Miglio/DC Comics hide caption

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Jessica Miglio/DC Comics

Pop Culture Happy Hour

In 'The Suicide Squad,' Super-Powered Cons Are Super-Violent Pros

The Suicide Squad is about a team of super-villains do black-ops missions for the government in exchange for lighter sentences. It brings back several characters, including Margot Robbie's Harley Quinn and Viola Davis' Amanda Waller, and adds a slew more, played by people like John Cena and Idris Elba. The tone is a lot jokier, the violence more visceral — literally — and the stakes are higher, thanks to a giant alien starfish bent on world domination.

In 'The Suicide Squad,' Super-Powered Cons Are Super-Violent Pros

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Thursday

Movie Musical 'Annette' Is A Straightforward Story Yet A Directorial Fever Dream

A new musical with a score by Sparks and starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard opened the Cannes Film Festival. The distinctive rock-opera with a mind and a sound of its own is opening in the U.S.

Movie Musical 'Annette' Is A Straightforward Story Yet A Directorial Fever Dream

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Strange, Singular, Audacious 'Annette' Works As An Odd, Original Rock Opera

Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard play an anguished celebrity couple in Annette. UGC hide caption

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UGC

Strange, Singular, Audacious 'Annette' Works As An Odd, Original Rock Opera

Fresh Air

Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard play a celebrity couple in this extravagant movie musical. Critic Justin Chang warns you'll have to get on the film's bizarre wavelength, but he's grateful it exists.

Strange, Singular, Audacious 'Annette' Works As An Odd, Original Rock Opera

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Friday

Souls Audition For Their Bodies In Sundance Hit 'Nine Days'

Filmmaker Edson Oda was a breakout director at last year's Sundance Film Festival with his philosophical movie, Nine Days, which stars Zazie Beetz and Benedict Wong.

Souls Audition For Their Bodies In Sundance Hit 'Nine Days'

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You've Ridden This 'Jungle Cruise' Before

Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt star in Disney's Jungle Cruise. Frank Masi/Disney Enterprises, Inc. hide caption

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Frank Masi/Disney Enterprises, Inc.

Pop Culture Happy Hour

You've Ridden This 'Jungle Cruise' Before

What do you get when you take one part The African Queen, one part Raiders of the Lost Ark, two parts Pirates of the Caribbean, a pinch of the Fast and Furious series, and every Disney movie trope ever? You've got Jungle Cruise. Emily Blunt and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson team up to play a researcher and a riverboat skipper on a quest to track down a highly coveted object in the Amazon. But of course, they must face some adversaries along the way, including a scenery-chewing villain played by Jesse Plemons.

You've Ridden This 'Jungle Cruise' Before

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Thursday

'The Green Knight' Fulfills A Quest To Find New Magic In An Old Legend

Dev Patel stars as Sir Gawain, King Arthur's nephew, in The Green Knight. A24 hide caption

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A24

'The Green Knight' Fulfills A Quest To Find New Magic In An Old Legend

Fresh Air

Dev Patel stars as a young adventurer from King Arthur's court in David Lowery's inventive adaptation of an enduring 14th-century poem.

'The Green Knight' Fulfills A Quest To Find New Magic In An Old Legend

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'Shrek' – A Weird, Flatulent And Beloved Franchise – Turns 20

Donkey (voiced by Eddie Murphy) and Shrek (voiced by Mike Myers) 2001 film Shrek. Courtesy of Dreamworks Animation hide caption

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Courtesy of Dreamworks Animation

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'Shrek' – A Weird, Flatulent And Beloved Franchise – Turns 20

Shrek is many things: a pop culture canvas, an Academy Award winner and a recent entry into the National Film Registry. And it all started with the story of a crabby green ogre who just wants a bunch of fairy tale characters to stay out of his swamp. Today, Shrek has spawned a multibillion-dollar franchise, become a cultural milestone and above all, remained relevant — even 20 years later.

'Shrek' – A Weird, Flatulent And Beloved Franchise – Turns 20

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Friday

In 'Old,' M. Night Shyamalan Takes Us To The Beach

Vicky Krieps, Thomasin McKenzie, Gael García Bernal and Luca Faustino Rodriguez in M. Night Shyamalan's new film Old. Phobymo/Universal Pictures hide caption

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Phobymo/Universal Pictures

Pop Culture Happy Hour

In 'Old,' M. Night Shyamalan Takes Us To The Beach

The psychological horror thriller Old comes with the kind of twist we've come to expect from writer-director M. Night Shyamalan. That twist is right there in the title: A bunch of tourists find themselves trapped on a secluded beach where they all age at an alarming rate.

In 'Old,' M. Night Shyamalan Takes Us To The Beach

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Thursday

'Ailey' Doc Shows How Alvin Ailey Changed The Landscape Of Dance For Dancers Of Color

Alvin Ailey, the most influential and celebrated Black choreographer of the 20th Century is the subject of the documentary Ailey.

'Ailey' Doc Shows How Alvin Ailey Changed The Landscape Of Dance For Dancers Of Color

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