Movie Reviews : NPR

'Deepwater Horizon' Honors The Sacrifice Without Sacrificing The Action

Mark Wahlberg in the terse, tight Deepwater Horizon. David Lee/Courtesy of Lionsgate hide caption

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David Lee/Courtesy of Lionsgate

'Deepwater Horizon' Honors The Sacrifice Without Sacrificing The Action

September 30, 2016 • Deepwater Horizon is the tense and terse story of the Gulf oil rig explosion that became the biggest man-made ecological disaster in history.

'Deepwater Horizon' Honors The Sacrifice Without Sacrificing The Action

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'American Honey' Trains Its Lens On Traveling Magazine Crews

Fresh Air

September 30, 2016 • Andrea Arnold's new movie about a teenage girl who takes up with an unusual group of salespeople won a the Jury Prize at Cannes this year. Critic David Edelstein calls it a "wonderful" film.

'American Honey' Trains Its Lens On Traveling Magazine Crews

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Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'The Magnificent Seven' And 'Fleabag'

Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt in Antoine Fuqua's remake of The Magnificent Seven. Sony Pictures hide caption

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Sony Pictures

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'The Magnificent Seven' And 'Fleabag'

September 30, 2016 • The gang discusses a new Western remake starring Denzel Washington, as well as a beloved British TV import starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Plus, as always, What's Making Us Happy this week.

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'The Magnificent Seven' And 'Fleabag'

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'Danny Says' Surprisingly Little: Documentary About Rock Manager Lacks Insight

Pristine Condition and Danny Fields in the documentary Danny Says. Magnolia Pictures hide caption

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Magnolia Pictures

'Danny Says' Surprisingly Little: Documentary About Rock Manager Lacks Insight

September 29, 2016 • A film about the voluble Danny Fields, a music industry executive who managed the Ramones from 1975 to 1980, manages to be "candid yet unrevealing."

A Grouch Gradually Grows Grudgingly Grateful In 'A Man Called Ove'

Ove (Rolf Lassgard), a bitter and reclusive widower, reluctantly finds friendship among his neighbors. Johan Bergmark/Magnolia Pictures hide caption

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Johan Bergmark/Magnolia Pictures

A Grouch Gradually Grows Grudgingly Grateful In 'A Man Called Ove'

September 29, 2016 • A Swedish curmudgeon slowly comes to accept the help of his neighbors in this familiar, crowd-pleasing film shot through with bracing moments of dark comedy.

In 'Deepwater Horizon,' Oil And Water Don't Make A Good Mix

Mark Wahlberg in the film Deepwater Horizon. Summit Entertainment/Lionsgate hide caption

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Summit Entertainment/Lionsgate

In 'Deepwater Horizon,' Oil And Water Don't Make A Good Mix

September 29, 2016 • Director Peter Berg's movie about the massive 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico ratchets up the cinematic tension, but quickly devolves into rote disaster-movie cliches.

A Legend Of Creepy Hollows: 'Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children'

Dame Judi Dench as the mysterious mentor Miss Avocet in Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Jay Maidment/Twentieth Century Fox hide caption

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Jay Maidment/Twentieth Century Fox

A Legend Of Creepy Hollows: 'Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children'

September 29, 2016 • Tim Burton's latest is a dreamlike and visually striking fable; the presence of a satisfyingly eerie Eva Green keeps its overcomplicated story from sinking into muddled incoherence.

This Freshly Diverse 'Seven' Ups The Firepower

The updated, multicultural gang of gunslingers in The Magnificent Seven. Courtesy of Sony Pictures hide caption

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Courtesy of Sony Pictures

This Freshly Diverse 'Seven' Ups The Firepower

September 23, 2016 • The Magnificent Seven is a remake of a movie that's already a remake that's updated in both casting and body count.

This Freshly Diverse 'Seven' Ups The Firepower

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Movie Reviews: 'Magnificent Seven' And 'Storks'

September 23, 2016 • David Greene talks to Justin Chang about two movies out this week: the remake of The Magnificent Seven and the animated children's picture Storks. Chang is film critic for the Los Angeles Times.

Movie Reviews: 'Magnificent Seven' And 'Storks'

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Kate Winslet Wreaks Bespoke Vengeance In 'The Dressmaker'

Kate Winslet plays Tilly Dunnage in The Dressmaker. Ben King/Broad Green Pictures hide caption

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Ben King/Broad Green Pictures

Kate Winslet Wreaks Bespoke Vengeance In 'The Dressmaker'

September 22, 2016 • Kate Winslet plays a woman with designs to punish the townsfolk who once wronged her in this tonally confused Australian comedy.

'The Magnificent Seven': Because 'The Pretty Good Seven' Didn't Test Well

Denzel Washington stars in The Magnificent Seven. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Columbia Pictures hide caption

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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and Columbia Pictures

'The Magnificent Seven': Because 'The Pretty Good Seven' Didn't Test Well

September 22, 2016 • I Haven't Seen The First Six Yet! Director Antoine Fuqua remakes the classic 1960 Western; our critic calls it a "fun but nonessential" example of "high-grade pulp."

A Feel-Good Chess Movie Keeps Sentimentality In Check: 'Queen Of Katwe'

Madina Nalwanga and Lupita Nyong'o star in Queen of Katwe, directed by Mira Nair. Photo credit: Edward Echwalu/Edward Echwalu hide caption

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Photo credit: Edward Echwalu/Edward Echwalu

A Feel-Good Chess Movie Keeps Sentimentality In Check: 'Queen Of Katwe'

September 22, 2016 • A Disney film about a Ugandan girl who becomes a chess champion hits familiar beats but evinces a nuanced understanding of extreme poverty and the societal forces that reinforce it.

A Korean Celebrity Couple Kidnapped By Kim Jong Il: 'The Lovers And The Despot'

Not So Lonely Anymore: (from left) Kim Jong Il, Choi Eun Hee and Shin Sang Ok in The Lovers and the Despot. Magnolia Pictures hide caption

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Magnolia Pictures

A Korean Celebrity Couple Kidnapped By Kim Jong Il: 'The Lovers And The Despot'

September 22, 2016 • The fascinating tale of a South Korean movie star and director kidnapped in the 1970s is dutifully recounted in a documentary that fails to explore several lingering questions.

It Takes An (Empty) Village: 'The Ruins Of Lifta'

Menachem Daum visits Lifta in an effort to understand the situation in The Ruins of Lifta. First Run Features/Oren Rudavsky Productions hide caption

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First Run Features/Oren Rudavsky Productions

It Takes An (Empty) Village: 'The Ruins Of Lifta'

September 22, 2016 • A new documentary focuses on a now-empty town near Jerusalem, the future of which is hotly contested.

Oliver Stone Puts A Melodramatic Spin On 'Snowden' And The Surveillance State

Fresh Air

September 16, 2016 • Stone's new film presents the exiled former NSA contractor as a heroic whistle-blower. Critic David Edelstein says movie's take on Snowden is entertaining — but also a bit one-sided.

Oliver Stone Puts A Melodramatic Spin On 'Snowden' And The Surveillance State

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