Movies: Movie Reviews and Commentary on New and Classic Films : NPR

Jim Jarmusch On Iggy Pop, Hip-Hop And Finding Poetry In Mundane Things

Fresh Air

January 31, 2017 • Jarmusch's new movie, which was inspired by William Carlos Williams' epic poem Paterson, is about a bus driver who writes poetry. Jarmusch also made a documentary about Iggy and the Stooges.

Jim Jarmusch On Iggy Pop, Hip-Hop And Finding Poetry In Mundane Things

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Critic Says This Year's Sundance Was The 'Most Fraught' He Can Recall

Fresh Air

January 31, 2017 • Los Angeles Times critic Justin Chang tells Fresh Air that politics sometimes overshadowed the films at this year's festival. Call Me By Your Name was one of his favorite films.

Critic Says This Year's Sundance Was The 'Most Fraught' He Can Recall

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Attention Must Be Paid To What 'The Salesman' Is Selling

Rana (Taraneh Alidoosti) and Emad's (Shahab Hosseini) marriage is shattered in The Salesman. Courtesy of Cohen Media Group hide caption

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Courtesy of Cohen Media Group

Review

Attention Must Be Paid To What 'The Salesman' Is Selling

January 30, 2017 • A review of The Salesman, an Iranian film about a couple whose home life becomes unsettled while they're starring together in a production of Death of a Salesman.

Attention Must Be Paid To What 'The Salesman' Is Selling

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Oscar Nominees And Diversity

January 28, 2017 • NPR's Scott Simon talks to film critic Bobby Rivers about this year's Oscar nominees. Rivers was one of the vocal critics about last year's lack of racial diversity among contenders.

Oscar Nominees And Diversity

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Taking 'Death Of A Salesman' To Tehran

KUNC

January 28, 2017 • The Salesman is the latest work by celebrated Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi. Based on Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, the film explores the life of a young couple in Tehran.

Taking 'Death Of A Salesman' To Tehran

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Renowned Biographer Patricia Bosworth Writes A Chapter From Her Own Life

Bosworth sits in her "hideout" in 1945. Courtesy of Patricia Bosworth hide caption

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Courtesy of Patricia Bosworth

Renowned Biographer Patricia Bosworth Writes A Chapter From Her Own Life

January 28, 2017 • The Men in My Life chronicles a 10-year period during which Bosworth married, divorced, finished college, became an actress, and worked alongside some of the biggest movie stars of the 1950s.

Renowned Biographer Patricia Bosworth Writes A Chapter From Her Own Life

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Remembering Actor John Hurt

January 28, 2017 • British actor John Hurt, who had memorable roles in The Elephant Man and Alien has died at 77.

Remembering Actor John Hurt

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The Hollywood Black List Turns Overlooked Scripts Into Oscar Movies

January 27, 2017 • The Black List is an anonymous survey of the year's best film scripts. It's generally an indicator of movies that will be critical successes. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks to journalist Alex Wagner about her piece in The Atlantic on the Black List.

The Hollywood Black List Turns Overlooked Scripts Into Oscar Movies

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'The Salesman': A Violent Act Tests A Marriage, And One Actor's Humanity

Shahab Hosseini and Taraneh Alidoosti in Asghar Farhadi's The Salesman. Habib Majidi/Cohen Media hide caption

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Habib Majidi/Cohen Media

Review

'The Salesman': A Violent Act Tests A Marriage, And One Actor's Humanity

January 26, 2017 • As a Tehran couple perform Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, troubling parallels emerge in their home life. Writer-director Asghar Farhadi's nuanced film is one to which attention must be paid.

Cliches And Sentimentality Hound 'A Dog's Purpose'

Nose Thyself: Buddy (voiced by Josh Gad) and Ethan (Dennis Quaid) get existential in A Dog's Purpose. Joe Lederer/Universal Pictures hide caption

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Joe Lederer/Universal Pictures

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Cliches And Sentimentality Hound 'A Dog's Purpose'

January 26, 2017 • A dog cycles through several canine lifetimes while teaching a series of owners to live, laugh and love. Critic Scott Tobias found the film's repeated, mawkish depictions of doggy death "wearying."

A Gay Activist's Journey To Christian Fundamentalism: 'I Am Michael'

L to R: James Franco and Zachary Quinto star in writer-director Justin Kelly's I Am Michael. Brainstorm Media hide caption

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Brainstorm Media

Review

A Gay Activist's Journey To Christian Fundamentalism: 'I Am Michael'

January 26, 2017 • Director Justin Kelly documents the life of the inscrutable Michael Glatze (James Franco), who rejected his gay identity in favor of a strict Christian faith, without judging the man, or his choices.

Fool's 'Gold': As An '80s Huckster, McConaughey Outshines The Film Around Him

Bryce Dallas Howard and Matthew McConaughey — yes, really — star in Gold. The Weinstein Company hide caption

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The Weinstein Company

Review

Fool's 'Gold': As An '80s Huckster, McConaughey Outshines The Film Around Him

January 26, 2017 • Matthew McConaughey gained weight and lost hair to throw himself into this tale of a real-life stock-market swindle. The film aches for us to admire his reckless, grasping selfishness; we don't.

'A Funny Ingenue': Rachel Bloom On The Influence Of Mary Tyler Moore

(Left) Rachel Bloom as Rebecca and Donna Lynne Champlin as Paula in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. (Right) Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore Show in 1971. Lisa Rose/The CW; CBS via Getty Images hide caption

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Lisa Rose/The CW; CBS via Getty Images

'The Founder' Follows Salesman's Genius Idea To Franchise McDonald's

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Review

The Standout Films At Sundance

January 25, 2017 • Rachel Martin talks with film critic Kenneth Turan about some of the breakout movies at this year's Sundance Film Festival.

The Standout Films At Sundance

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