In ‘Mistress Dispeller,’ a Story as Old as Time (With a Very New Twist)
Movies, October 24
In China, a professional can be hired to break up a cheating spouse’s extramarital relationship. Elizabeth Lo’s remarkable film takes us up close.
‘Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere’ Review: The Boss in the Void
Movies, October 23
Jeremy Allen White plays the singer-songwriter in an affecting drama about the making of his 1982 album “Nebraska” when he slipped into a terrible darkness.
‘Stiller & Meara: Nothing Is Lost’ Review: Growing Up in the Public Eye
Movies, October 23
Ben Stiller directs a moving portrait of his father and mother, the comedy pair Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara.
‘Regretting You’ Review: Learning to Forgive and Forget
Movies, October 23
A mother (Allison Williams) and daughter (Mckenna Grace) reel from a tragedy while looking for love in all the right places in this formulaic melodrama.
‘Shelby Oaks’ Review: A Lost Woman and Found Footage
Movies, October 23
The search for a missing person turns grisly and baffling in this derivative horror debut.
‘Queens of the Dead’ Review: Club Kids vs. Zombies
Movies, October 23
Tina Romero, the daughter of George A. Romero, the filmmaker behind the legendary “Night of the Living Dead,” brings a queer horror comedy to Brooklyn.
‘Last Days’ Review: Eyeing a Forbidden Island
Movies, October 23
Justin Lin directs a fictionalized account of the final days of a 20-something Christian missionary who tries to enter a remote island.
‘Dream Eater’ Review: Nightmares on the Move
Movies, October 23
A man who suffers from violent sleepwalking spells and his girlfriend retreat to a remote cabin in this stiff found-footage horror movie.
‘Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc’ Review: An Explosive Love Story
Movies, October 23
This animated film traces the romance and explosive conflict between a young devil hunter and a devil in disguise.
‘Bugonia’ Review: Paranoia, Anxiety and Buzz Cuts
Movies, October 23
Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons star in the latest absurdity from Yorgos Lanthimos.
‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’ Review: Down Comes Baby
Movies, October 22
A reimagined version of the 1992 film, directed by Michelle Garza Cervera, manages to be more chilly than chilling.
In ‘The Perfect Neighbor,’ a Terrible Crime Collides With Ethical Concerns
Movies, October 17
Geeta Gandbhir’s film examines the killing of a Florida woman and “stand your ground” laws, but the issues it raises are bigger than those statutes.
‘Good Fortune’ Review: Life Swap
Movies, October 17
Keanu Reeves plays an inexperienced angel who acts above his pay grade in Aziz Ansari’s socially conscious comedy.
‘The Mastermind’ Review: A Robbery and a Life Unraveling
Movies, October 16
The title of Kelly Reichardt’s latest film has a distinct irony for Josh O’Connor’s blundering museum thief.
‘Mr. Scorsese’ Review: A Captivating and Charismatic Profile
Movies, October 16
Rebecca Miller’s five-part documentary series balances her esteem for the director with a clear eye toward his struggles.
‘Truth & Treason’ Review: The Price of Courage
Movies, October 16
Standing up to fascism was deadly in Nazi Germany; this film tells the story of Christian teenagers who defied a poisonous ideology.
‘Köln 75’ Review: The Key to a Famed Piano Concert
Movies, October 16
Mala Emde plays a teenage promoter who pushed for what became a landmark performance by the pianist Keith Jarrett.
‘Black Phone 2’ Review: Killer ID
Movies, October 16
This horror sequel starring Ethan Hawke creates a more cohesive picture than the original, while deploying a new bag of scary tricks.
‘Frankenstein’ Review: Guillermo del Toro’s Creature Rises
Movies, October 16
The director’s interpretation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel is the movie he was born to make.
‘Blue Moon’ Review: Without a Love of My Own
Movies, October 16
Ethan Hawke plays the legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart on a wistful one-night quest to save his soul.
‘It Was Just an Accident’ Review: A Liberation Story Straight From Iran
Movies, October 15
In his latest movie, the formerly banned filmmaker Jafar Panahi tells a circuitous, moving and unexpectedly funny story of resistance.
‘John Candy: I Like Me’ and the Challenge of Making a Film About a Nice Guy
Movies, October 10
More or less a standard-issue celebrity documentary, the movie lets us enjoy archival footage that might otherwise not be seen.
‘The Woman in Cabin 10’ Review: When Things Go Splash in the Night
Movies, October 9
Keira Knightley and Guy Pearce encounter bumpy waters on a yacht in this adaptation of a Ruth Ware thriller.
‘A House of Dynamite’ Review: Kathryn Bigelow’s Alarming Command and Control
Movies, October 9
The director’s latest nail-biter, starring Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson and Anthony Ramos, tracks a ballistic missile heading for the United States.
‘After the Hunt’ Review: Uncomfortable, for the Wrong Reasons
Movies, October 9
Luca Guadagnino’s campus drama falls on its face trying to court controversy.
‘Urchin’ Review: The Vicious Cycle and Recycle of Addiction and Hope
Movies, October 9
Frank Dillane, starring as a recovering addict in London, elevates this character study, Harris Dickinson’s feature directing debut.
‘Tron: Ares’ Review: Who Needs Logic When You Have Neon?
Movies, October 9
The third “Tron” movie continues the saga begun over four decades ago, and now, the programs are in our world.
‘Soul on Fire’ Review: After Near Death, Rebuilding a Life
Movies, October 9
This adaptation of an autobiographical book by John O’Leary manages to be affecting despite its overly sentimental moments.
‘Roofman’ Review: Robbing McDonald’s, Stealing Hearts
Movies, October 9
Channing Tatum plays a spree-robber on the lam in Derek Cianfrance’s movie that can’t decide whether to celebrate his antics or denounce them.
‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ Review: Play Their Favorite Song
Movies, October 9
Jennifer Lopez comes up just a little short in a movie about the escapist power of musicals.
How Swedish Television Covered the Middle East
Movies, October 9
Goran Hugo Olsson’s archival documentary “Israel Palestine on Swedish Television 1958-1989” excerpts three decades of public programs.
‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You’ Review: Maternal Duress
Movies, October 9
Rose Byrne is magnificent as an overwhelmed mother in this wrenching, spiky drama.
‘Mr. K’ Review: ‘The Hotel Is Shrinking!’
Movies, October 9
Crispin Glover stars as a mild-mannered magician trapped in a twisted hotel in this offbeat, darkly surreal comedy.
‘Ozzy: No Escape From Now’ Review: A Metal Legend’s Last Stand
Movies, October 7
It’s painful to watch Ozzy Osbourne struggle in this documentary, but his efforts to make one final onstage appearance are awe-inspiring.
In ‘The Alabama Solution,’ Amateur Footage Helps Expose Prison Abuses
Movies, October 3
Though Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman are the directors, inmates with smuggled phones are important collaborators.
‘Anemone’ Review: Daniel Day-Lewis Is Too Big for Some Movies
Movies, October 2
After announcing his retirement from acting eight years ago, the performer returns in a drama directed by his son Ronan Day-Lewis.
‘The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue’ Review: War as a Thriller
Movies, October 2
Barry Avrich’s documentary revisits the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel from the perspective of one Israeli family.
‘Steve’ Review: Aced the Acting, Failed the Melodrama
Movies, October 2
Cillian Murphy plays a beleaguered teacher at an all-boys reform school in this exhausting movie on Netflix.
‘The Smashing Machine’ Review: Licking Wounds, In and Out of the Ring
Movies, October 2
Dwayne Johnson shines, but the movie around him tells the wrong story.
‘Orwell: 2+2=5’ Review: How George Came to See the World as Orwellian
Movies, October 2
His novel “1984” captured the tactics of totalitarianism back in 1949. A startling new documentary from Raoul Peck looks at Orwell’s life.
‘The Librarians’ Review: What Should Children Read?
Movies, October 2
Nine librarians are profiled in Kim A. Snyder’s gripping documentary about censorship in public schools.
‘The Ice Tower’ Review: Royal Crush
Movies, October 2
A young orphan becomes mesmerized by a volatile actress in this dark fairy tale.
‘Fairyland’ Review: Out in San Francisco
Movies, October 2
Based on a memoir by Alysia Abbott, the movie chronicles gay liberation and the AIDS crisis from the perspective of a gay man’s daughter.
‘Good Boy’ Review: Sit. Stay. Scream.
Movies, October 2
This assured horror movie is anchored by a star-making turn from a gorgeous retriever named Indy.
‘Bone Lake’ Review: Swinging Into Action
Movies, October 2
Jealousy reaches a violent fever pitch in a funny and sexy erotic thriller by Mercedes Bryce Morgan.
‘Are We Good?’ Review: Marc Maron in a Vulnerable Moment
Movies, October 2
In this documentary, Maron is shown working through his feelings of grief onstage and off after the death of his partner.
‘Play Dirty’ Review: A Halfhearted Heist Movie
Movies, October 1
Mark Wahlberg plays Parker, a taciturn thief who teams up with Zen (Rosa Salazar) for a big New York City heist.
‘The Strangers: Chapter 2’ Review: Keep on Running
Movies, September 30
This second installment in Renny Harlin’s slasher trilogy is hackneyed and silly.
‘Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery’ Takes a Nostalgic Look at a ’90s Phenomenon
Movies, September 26
The tour started by Sarah McLachlan is the subject of the film, which includes a who’s who of women making music in that era.
‘Ruth & Boaz’ Review: A Modern Twist on a Biblical Romance
Movies, September 26
The latest drama from Tyler Perry Studios sets the Book of Ruth at a vineyard in Tennessee.
‘Cirque du Soleil: Without a Net’ Review: How the Magic Happens
Weekend, July 25
This documentary chronicles the reboot and reopening in Las Vegas of the acrobatic show “O,” which shutdown during the pandemic.
‘Fire Through Dry Grass’ Review: Unsafe Space
Weekend, September 28
This enlightening, troubling documentary chronicles life (and death) among residents in a long-term care facility during the heights of the pandemic.
‘Broadway Rising’ Review: Surviving the Pandemic
Weekend, December 27
Stakeholders including Patti LuPone and Lynn Nottage share their real-time reactions to New York theater’s shutdown and reopening in Amy Rice’s documentary.
‘Bad Axe’ Review: A Pandemic Family Portrait
Weekend, November 17
The filmmaker David Siev chronicles his family’s struggle to keep their Michigan restaurant afloat through the pandemic in this hermetic documentary.