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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

'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."

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.

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.

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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