T/movie-reviews

Trying to Explain the Strange Universe of Cryptocurrency
Movies, April 17

“Everyone Is Lying to You for Money,” directed by Ben McKenzie, gives a solid introduction to virtual currency, and its traps.

‘Lee Cronin’s The Mummy’ Review: Fresh From the Sarcophagus
Movies, April 16

The movie revives one of cinema’s unforgettable monsters with a macabre makeover, but it spins out in the attempt.

‘Mother Mary’ Review: Anne Hathaway Strikes a Pose
Movies, April 16

The actress plays a pop star who reunites with Michaela Coel’s fashion designer. But the spectacle you see onscreen is far more engaging than the dialogue.

‘Normal’ Review: This Town Is Anything But
Movies, April 16

Bob Odenkirk plays a sheriff who uncovers a dangerous secret in this hyper-violent, small-town crime caper.

‘Mad Bills to Pay’ Review: Growing Up Unexpectedly
Movies, April 16

A girlfriend’s pregnancy upends the life of a young man in the Bronx in this first feature by Joel Alfonso Vargas that unspools with sedulous care.

‘Erupcja’ Review: Dancing Through the Ash
Movies, April 16

Charli XCX stars in this drama about a young woman who can’t quite tell the difference between freedom and fleeing.

‘Eagles of the Republic’ Review: How Authoritarians Clip Wings
Movies, April 16

In the director Tarik Saleh’s latest feature on contemporary Egypt, a movie star is made to appear in a propaganda film.

‘Blue Heron’ Review: Rewinding Time to Find a Brother
Movies, April 16

Sophy Romvari’s superb debut feature blends memory, documentary and fiction to process a family wound.

‘Amrum’ Review: A Moral Awakening
Movies, April 16

In this World War II-era coming-of-age drama, a young boy living on a remote German island questions his parents for the first time.

‘Balls Up’ Review: Offend It Like Beckham
Movies, April 16

Two condom salesmen, Mark Wahlberg and Paul Walter Hauser, embark on a bawdy, digressive picaresque in Peter Farrelly’s defiantly lowbrow film.

In This Film About Amy Goodman, Independent Journalism Is the Real Star
Movies, April 10

“Steal This Story, Please!” chronicles the life and career of the “Democracy Now!” host as it argues against corporate ownership of the news media.

‘Exit 8’ Review: Round and Round and Round He Goes …
Movies, April 9

Tokyo’s subway stations sparkle, and the rules are many and clearly posted. But for one man, just getting to work is hell.

‘You, Me & Tuscany’ Review: Love in the Italian Countryside
Movies, April 9

Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page star in this fumbling romantic comedy, complete with vineyard romping, barrel racing and a sexy serenade.

‘The Travel Companion’ Review: Friendship, Insecurely Fastened
Movies, April 9

A struggling documentarian sublimates his hurt over his roommate’s new girlfriend into his fixation on losing airline perks.

‘Outcome’ Review: A Washed-Up Star’s Apology Tour
Movies, April 9

Keanu Reeves plays an actor covering up a sordid past in this misguided film directed by Jonah Hill.

‘Newborn’ Review: After Solitary Confinement, New Horrors Await
Movies, April 9

The writer-director Nate Parker focuses on the societal costs of imprisonment in this drama starring David Oyelowo as a Queens dad who goes upstate on a family trip.

‘Hamlet’ Review: (In)action Hero
Movies, April 9

This version reimagines Shakespeare’s play for the screen with an appealing dynamism, set within a well-to-do South Asian family in London.

‘Fiume o Morte!’ Review: Scenes From a Mini Dictatorship
Movies, April 9

In this documentary, Igor Bezinovic casts nonactors to restage major episodes from when an Italian poet turned strongman ruled a city in what became Croatia.

‘The Christophers’ Review: Fine Art, Frayed Artists
Movies, April 9

Ian McKellen and Michaela Coel are terrific in Steven Soderbergh’s sharp-eyed take on art and money.

‘Faces of Death’ Review: Is It Real? Does It Matter?
Movies, April 9

A meta-remake of the 1978 horror cult classic is more about how we watch than what we watch.

‘Bunnylovr’ Review: Run, Rabbit
Movies, April 9

A young woman struggles with the pitfalls of an extremely online life in this confident and meandering debut feature.

‘Jimmy & the Demons’ Captures an Artist at Work on His Grand Finale
Movies, April 3

The impish but thoughtful James Grashow, his sculpture and his long marriage are the subjects of Cindy Meehl’s film.

‘The Blue Trail’ Review: A Drifting Journey Into Freedom
Movies, April 2

In an imaginary Brazil, where older people are forcibly removed from society, a resolute 77-year-old seeks her independence in the Amazon.

‘The Truth and Tragedy of Moriah Wilson’ Review: Behind a Cyclist’s Death
Movies, April 2

A crime documentary on the murder of a professional athlete leans into exploitation.

‘Pizza Movie’ Review: Dude, Where’s My Pie?
Movies, April 2

After taking psychedelics, college roommates, Jack (Gaten Matarazzo) and Montgomery (Sean Giambrone), experience unique side effects.

‘The Stranger’ Review: An Unexamined Life
Movies, April 2

A man of indifference becomes a killer in this adaptation of a 1942 Albert Camus novel.

‘Living the Land’ Review: Rural China in Transition
Movies, April 2

This drama follows a boy of 10, left in the care of relatives when his parents are lured to the city by the prospect of jobs created by a tech revolution.

‘A Great Awakening’ Review: An Unlikely Founding Friendship
Movies, April 2

This film tracks the friendship of Benjamin Franklin and the Rev. George Whitefield, who brought a Protestant revival to the American colonies.

‘The Drama’ Review: Her Secret Is His Crisis
Movies, April 2

Zendaya and Robert Pattinson play a couple upended when one confesses to coming close to committing a horrific crime.

‘DJ Ahmet’ Review: Finding Hidden Music in the Forest
Movies, April 2

After a young shepherd in North Macedonia finds a dance party in the woods, his life changes.

‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ Review: It’s-a Meh
Movies, March 31

The sequel to the mega-blockbuster can’t hold still long enough to let us enjoy the good stuff.

‘Yes’ Review: From Israel, an Uncomfortable Existential Howl
Movies, March 26

Nadav Lapid’s scathing tone and accelerated rhythms lead this movie about a married couple who ingratiate themselves with the country’s power elite.

‘They Will Kill You’ Review: The Co-Op From Hell
Movies, March 26

Zazie Beetz fights her way through a high-rise of horrors in a splatter-fest that concentrates its creativity in its gore.

‘She Dances’ Review: Steve Zahn Is a Reluctant Chaperone
Movies, March 26

Zahn plays the father of Claire (his real-life daughter, Audrey), awkwardly accompanying her and a friend to a competition in Kentucky.

‘Our Hero, Balthazar’ Review: Lost Souls and Found Follies
Movies, March 26

Opposites attract in this provocative drama about mass violence and two disaffected man-boys.

‘A Magnificent Life’ Review: An Era of Artistic Revolutions
Movies, March 26

Sylvain Chomet (“The Triplets of Belleville”), directs this animated biopic of the filmmaker Marcel Pagnol, which revels in the sights and sounds of Provence.

‘Forbidden Fruits’ Review: Queen Bees of the Food Court
Movies, March 26

Among a group of high school girls at the mall, power becomes toxic in the style of modern classics like “Mean Girls” and “The Craft,” but without the vibrancy.

‘BTS: The Return’ Review: Back in the Recording Booth
Movies, March 26

This documentary follows the K-pop supergroup BTS reuniting after a four-year hiatus as they find their album’s new vision.

‘Fantasy Life’ Review: Digging Out of the Doldrums
Movies, March 26

Matthew Shear’s comedic feature appealingly explores the jitters of a stalled young paralegal who babysits for a frustrated actress.

‘Alpha’ Review: Body Trouble
Movies, March 26

A reckless incident at a party throws a young girl’s life into turmoil in this extraordinary third feature from Julia Ducournau.

A Documentary About A.I. Gets Chief Executives on the Record
Movies, March 26

“The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist” tries to cover so much that it ends up being more confusing than clarifying, but parts are fascinating.

‘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.