Accessibility links
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

'Old Henry' Honors The Western Genre While Offering Surprises

The "elevated Western" Old Henry stars Tim Blake Nelson as a farmer in the Oklahoma Territory whose past comes back to haunt his adversaries.

'Old Henry' Honors The Western Genre While Offering Surprises

Listen · 2:57
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1042008525/1042008526" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Heroism Exacts A Daunting Price In 'Wife Of A Spy' And 'Azor'

Yu Aoi plays the title character in Wife of a Spy. Kino Lorber hide caption

toggle caption
Kino Lorber

Heroism Exacts A Daunting Price In 'Wife Of A Spy' And 'Azor'

Fresh Air

Two new films grapple with the complexity of moral courage. Wife of a Spy is set in Japan on the cusp of WWII. Azor follows a Swiss banker during the Argentine dictatorship of the 1980s.

Heroism Exacts A Daunting Price In 'Wife Of A Spy' And 'Azor'

Listen · 5:05
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1040106821/1040481187" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
We Have Notes On 'Dear Evan Hansen'

Ben Platt as Evan Hansen in the movie musical Dear Evan Hansen. Universal Pictures hide caption

toggle caption
Universal Pictures

Pop Culture Happy Hour

We Have Notes On 'Dear Evan Hansen'

The stage musical Dear Evan Hansen debuted on Broadway five years ago. It won six Tony Awards, including one for its star, Ben Platt. It's now a movie, and Platt, who's now 27, is back to play Evan, a deeply troubled high school student who tangles himself in a lie. There's still singing, there's still dancing, and there are still a lot of questions to struggle with in this story. Plus, we remember the work of filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles.

We Have Notes On 'Dear Evan Hansen'

Listen · 26:47
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1040030525/1040246229" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
In 'I'm Your Man,' Failing At Romance Is Part Of The Algorithm

Tom (Dan Stevens) whisks a very skeptical Alma (Maren Eggert) around the dance floor as his precision-tooled algorithm tries to meet her every requirement for the perfect man. Bleecker Street hide caption

toggle caption
Bleecker Street

In 'I'm Your Man,' Failing At Romance Is Part Of The Algorithm

Dan Stevens stars as the android of Maren Eggert's dreams in the German romantic comedy "I'm Your Man."

In 'I'm Your Man,' Failing At Romance Is Part Of The Algorithm

Listen · 2:52
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1039620037/1040227957" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Music Reviews

At 91, Clint Eastwood Isn't Slowing Down. 'Cry Macho' Is His Latest Film

NPR's A Martínez talks to film critic Kenneth Turan about Cry Macho — the latest film from director and actor Clint Eastwood. The nonagenarian started directing films 50 years ago.

At 91, Clint Eastwood Isn't Slowing Down. 'Cry Macho' Is His Latest Film

Listen · 3:40
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1039987462/1039987463" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
A Teen Drag Queen Sparkles In 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie'

The cast of Everybody's Talking About Jamie. John Rogers/Amazon Studios hide caption

toggle caption
John Rogers/Amazon Studios

Pop Culture Happy Hour

A Teen Drag Queen Sparkles In 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie'

Everybody's Talking About Jamie is a coming-out story with some familiar contours, but it doesn't have your typical splashy musical pedigree. Adapted from a successful West End production, the Amazon Prime film follows Jamie, a teenage boy in England, who's determined to become a drag queen. Max Harwood stars as Jamie, and he's met with barriers and supporters along the way, including Sharon Horgan to the great Richard E. Grant.

A Teen Drag Queen Sparkles In 'Everybody's Talking About Jamie'

Listen · 14:20
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1037909339/1037990076" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
A Guide To The Films We Watched At TIFF

Jake Gyllenhaal stars in Antoine Fuqua's remake of The Guilty. Netflix hide caption

toggle caption
Netflix

Pop Culture Happy Hour

A Guide To The Films We Watched At TIFF

The Toronto International Film Festival traditionally helps launch awards season. This year has been a little different, with pandemic restrictions leading to a hybrid remote and in-person festival. After watching a batch of entries from home, we've seen some things you'll want to know about — some of which you might be hearing about for the first time.

A Guide To The Films We Watched At TIFF

Listen · 19:35
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1037883597/1037928730" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'Blue Bayou' Devastates With A Story Of A Stepfather Facing Deportation

In Blue Bayou, Kathy (Alicia Vikander), Jessie (Sydney Kowalske) and Antonio (Justin Chon) face an uncertain future when Antonio becomes threatened with deportation. Focus Features hide caption

toggle caption
Focus Features

'Blue Bayou' Devastates With A Story Of A Stepfather Facing Deportation

Fresh Air

A Korean American man faces deportation because his adoption in the 1980s was never finalized. Blue Bayou may be heavy handed, but it tells a fundamental truth about our flawed immigration system.

'Blue Bayou' Devastates With A Story Of A Stepfather Facing Deportation

Listen · 6:30
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1037347175/1037417886" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
New Movies And TV Shows To Watch At Home This Fall

Clockwise from top left: Insecure, Impeachment: American Crime Story, Everybody's Talking About Jamie, The Wonder Years, The Premise and Star Wars: Visions. WarnerMedia, FX, Amazon Studios, ABC, FX, Disney+ hide caption

toggle caption
WarnerMedia, FX, Amazon Studios, ABC, FX, Disney+

Television

New Movies And TV Shows To Watch At Home This Fall

Our critics collected the most anticipated TV shows and movies coming to your screens over the next few months, and with our new tool you can search by release date, genre and where you can watch it.

A Disgraced Interrogator Gambles On Redemption In 'The Card Counter'

Oscar Isaac plays a former military interrogator who is haunted by the past in Paul Schrader's The Card Counter. Focus Features hide caption

toggle caption
Focus Features

A Disgraced Interrogator Gambles On Redemption In 'The Card Counter'

Fresh Air

After serving time in prison for war crimes, a former military interrogator starts a new life as a professional gambler. But as this complex drama shows, it's not always easy to escape the past.

A Disgraced Interrogator Gambles On Redemption In 'The Card Counter'

Listen · 6:45
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1035554477/1035959516" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Marvel Debuts A New Origin Story With 'Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings'

The summer movie season is ending with an origin story. Marvel's 25th superhero epic, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings stars its first Asian Superhero played by Simu Liu.

Marvel Debuts A New Origin Story With 'Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings'

Listen · 3:55
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1033727658/1033727659" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Marvel's 1st Asian Superhero Gets The Full Blockbuster Treatment In 'Shang-Chi'

Simu Liu plays a young kung fu master who's hiding from his diabolical father in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. Marvel/Disney Studios hide caption

toggle caption
Marvel/Disney Studios

Marvel's 1st Asian Superhero Gets The Full Blockbuster Treatment In 'Shang-Chi'

Fresh Air

Simu Liu plays a young kung fu master who returns home to battle his evil father. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a superhero movie packed with an unusual emotional intensity.

Marvel's 1st Asian Superhero Gets The Full Blockbuster Treatment In 'Shang-Chi'

Listen · 6:30
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1032875594/1033328892" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
A Subdued Nic Cage Truffle-Shuffles In 'Pig'

Nicolas Cage stars in the film Pig. Neon hide caption

toggle caption
Neon

Pop Culture Happy Hour

A Subdued Nic Cage Truffle-Shuffles In 'Pig'

In the film Pig, Nicolas Cage plays a once-famous Portland chef who's now a recluse, living in a cabin in the woods with his beloved truffle-hunting pig. When some nefarious types kidnap said pig, Cage comes out of seclusion to hunt down those who did it. It's at once a critique of bougie food culture, a melancholy character study, and a showcase for what Nicolas Cage can do when he's not dialed up to 11.

A Subdued Nic Cage Truffle-Shuffles In 'Pig'

Listen · 15:47
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1030273764/1032827734" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
'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

toggle caption
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

Listen · 26:19
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1011082526/1031450386" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript