‘American Pain’ Review: When the Pills and the Money Kept On Flowing
Movies, June 8
Darren Foster’s documentary offers an energetic profile of twin brothers who operated a slick drug trafficking operation in South Florida.
‘Blue Jean’ Review: No Privacy in the Girls’ Locker Room
Movies, June 8
School bullying rattles the life of a closeted lesbian teacher in this accomplished period drama.
‘Scarlet’ Review: A Father and Daughter Endure
Movies, June 8
In a new film from the director of “Martin Eden,” pastoral interludes of domestic life in the wake of World War I alternate with views of the world beyond.
‘Persian Lessons’ Review: Performing for His Life
Movies, June 8
A Jewish Frenchman posing as a Persian eludes death by teaching a fictional form of the Persian language to a Nazi commandant in this improbable Holocaust drama.
‘The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster’ Review: Death Transforms Her
Movies, June 8
A teenage girl handles her grief in an enterprising way in this horror film from Bomani J. Story.
‘A Woman Escapes’ Review: Screen Sharing
Movies, June 8
In this moody epistolary film, a woman in Paris works through a close friend’s death with the help of video correspondences.
‘Users’ Review: Brave New World
Movies, June 8
In this documentary, the artist Natalia Almada explores both the terrors and wonders of technological progress.
‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Review: Here Come the Grease Monkeys
Movies, June 8
Things start out fun with this prequel, but frantic plot mechanics might steer your interest into a ditch.
‘Brooklyn 45’ Review: A Little Something to Lift Their Spirits
Movies, June 8
A group of World War II veterans unwisely perform a séance in this ambitious yet airless supernatural thriller.
‘Aloners’ Review: Plugged In but Shut Off
Movies, June 8
The director Hong Sung-eun’s debut feature is a quietly tragic tale of alienation and the ennui of modern life.
‘Flamin’ Hot’ Review: Neon Dust, Hollywood Corn
Movies, June 8
The actor Eva Longoria’s feature directing debut is a fictionalized account of the birth of a spicy, profitable snack.
‘Dalíland’ Review: Landscape With Vipers
Movies, June 8
Ben Kingsley plays Salvador Dalí, the man and the mustachioed myth, as he contends with his demanding wife and the far more voracious art world.
‘Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis)’ Review: Indelible Images by Design
Movies, June 7
Anton Corbijn’s documentary shares anecdotes from the British design studio that devised some of the most famous album covers of the 1970s.
‘Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares’ Review: Steady Krueger
Movies, June 7
In a new documentary, Robert Englund wants you to know he’s more than the face of Freddy Krueger.
‘All Man’ Review: International Male, a Wishbook on Many Levels
Movies, June 6
The catalog was more than a place to peruse the latest fashions. It reshaped society’s definitions of masculinity.
‘Apes Together Strong’ Review: Rooting for the Small Investors
Weekend, June 5
The 2021 “short squeeze” of GameStop was a rare victory for the little guy. This documentary explains why the house — Wall Street wealth, that is — almost always wins.
‘Shooting Stars’ Review: Brotherly Love and Basketball
Weekend, June 1
While hard to justify, this fictionalized portrayal of a young LeBron James and his high school team’s rise is buoyed by five young actors.
‘Past Lives’ Review: Longing for a Future
Weekend, June 1
Celine Song’s film debut, starring Greta Lee, follows two childhood friends who share a wistful kind of love across two decades and two continents.
‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ Review: Worlds Wide Web
Weekend, June 1
This charming sequel to the 2018 animated movie expands the multiverse concept, without shamelessly capitalizing on fan service.
‘The Boogeyman’ Review: Monster Hash
Weekend, June 1
A bereaved family is plagued by a supernatural killer in this frustratingly coy horror movie.
‘Rise’ Review: Step, Repeat, Recover
Weekend, June 1
The French filmmaker Cédric Klapisch’s feel-good dance film follows a professional ballerina returning to the stage after an ankle injury.
‘Lynch/Oz’ Review: The Yellow Brick Road to ‘Blue Velvet’
Weekend, June 1
A documentary explores how “The Wizard of Oz” figures into the director David Lynch’s surreal filmography.
‘Padre Pio’ Review: A Movie in Need of a Miracle That Never Comes
Weekend, June 1
In this film directed by Abel Ferrara, Shia LaBeouf gives viewers a contemporary version of the saint — that is, one who curses a blue streak.
‘Falcon Lake’ Review: Pack Water, Sunscreen and Palo Santo
Weekend, June 1
Death and desire are bunk mates in this coming-of-age drama set around a lake cabin in Quebec.
‘After Sherman’ Review: A Family Reckoning
Weekend, June 1
A New York-based filmmaker wades into the deep waters of his Gullah Geechee heritage and South Carolina roots.
‘Concerned Citizen’ Review: He Cares a Lot
Weekend, June 1
An Israeli’s guilt over an act of police brutality he indirectly caused is the crux of this drama from Idan Haguel.
‘Reality’ Review: An Unusual Suspect
Movies, May 31
A new docudrama starring Sydney Sweeney as Reality Winner is gripping, even as it strips a true story of its political context.
‘The Machine’ Review: A Hard-Partying Comedian Pays for His Sins
Culture, May 26
In a movie extrapolated from one of his stand-up bits, Bert Kreischer is dragged to Russia to face a gory but still comedic reckoning.
‘You Hurt My Feelings’ Review: She Can’t Handle the Truth
Weekend, May 25
The director Nicole Holofcener’s characters are known for their brazen honesty. But it’s dishonesty that drives her new film, starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
‘The Wind & the Reckoning’ Review: A Hawaiian Story of Resistance
Weekend, May 25
A docudrama follows a family fighting to stay together and avoid exile to a leprosy colony, but fails to carry an emotional punch.
‘We Might as Well Be Dead’ Review: Housing by Neighborhood Watch
Weekend, May 25
A single mother fights for her place in a dystopian high rise in this unfocused satire.
‘Will-o’-the-Wisp’ Review: A Prince Throws Off His Privilege
Weekend, May 25
Or, at least, he kinda-sorta tries to rebel in this romantic, futuristic fable from the Portuguese director João Pedro Rodrigues.
‘Unclenching the Fists’ Review: The Cost of Freedom
Weekend, May 25
Kira Kovalenko’s moody drama centers on a young woman trapped under her father’s thumb in the North Caucasus region of Russia.
‘White Balls on Walls’ Review: Time With the Gatekeepers
Weekend, May 25
The Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam becomes a somewhat flimsy case study for fine-art diversity and inclusion conversations in this documentary.
‘The Wrath of Becky’ Review: Teenage Riot
Weekend, May 25
The traumatized teen is back to finalize even more fascists in this comically bloody sequel.
‘Being Mary Tyler Moore’ Review: A Tip of the Hat to the Tossed Hat
Weekend, May 25
This charming documentary aims to peek under the smile of a groundbreaking television star.
‘Kandahar’ Review: Marooned in a Dull Movie
Weekend, May 25
Gerard Butler plays an undercover C.I.A. agent hunted by various foes in an underwhelming action film devoid of any suspense or, well, action.
‘About My Father’ Review: De Niro in Dad Mode Again
Weekend, May 25
The comedian Sebastian Maniscalco enlists his “Irishman” colleague in this labored comedy, where gags fall flat.
‘The Attachment Diaries’ Review: Love, Sick
Weekend, May 25
A gynecologist and her patient form a horrifyingly twisted connection in this batty, bloody Argentine melodrama.
‘Influencer’ Review: Reading Between the Likes
Weekend, May 25
This thriller, about a mysterious woman’s obsession with online influencers, treats social media as a breeding ground for fear and obsession
‘The Little Mermaid’ Review: The Renovations Are Only Skin Deep
Weekend, May 24
Disney’s live-action remake, with Halle Bailey starring as Ariel and a diverse cast, is a dutiful corrective with noble intentions and little fun.
‘Victim/Suspect’ Review: When the Accuser Becomes the Accused
Weekend, May 23
A reporter investigates cases in which sexual assault survivors were arrested on charges of false reporting in this cogent documentary.
‘Fast X’ Review: Drivers Wanted. Again.
Weekend, May 18
Twenty-two years and nine sequels in, the “Fast and Furious” franchise is finding it hard to keep the thrill alive.
‘The Taking’ Review: This Land Is Not Your Land
Weekend, May 18
Monument Valley embodies the Old West. But the fantasies presented in Westerns obscure its darker history and the lives of the Navajo people who inhabit it.
‘Stay Awake’ Review: Becoming Their Mother’s Caretakers
Weekend, May 18
This story of a small-town family impacted by addiction succeeds in humanizing its characters but falters when it tries to include a coming-of-age tale.
‘Master Gardener’ Review: Paul Schrader’s Solitary Man
Weekend, May 18
The director’s latest movie completes a trilogy about men in search of grace in a brutal world — usually by way of women, but thankfully they are vivid, too.
‘Butterfly Vision’ Review: A Ukrainian Soldier’s Lonely Struggle
Weekend, May 18
A traumatized woman returns home from eastern Ukraine after being held captive by Russian separatists.
‘Museum of the Revolution’ Review: Sheltering in an Abandoned Utopia
Weekend, May 18
This quiet documentary observes three unhoused women from different generations who live among the remains of an unfinished museum in Belgrade.
‘The Night of the 12th’ Review: When a Case Doesn’t Close
Weekend, May 18
This refreshingly grounded French crime procedural portrays what happens when a brutal murder case eludes the diligent efforts of a by-the-book investigator.
‘White Men Can’t Jump’ Review: Bouncing Off the Rim
Weekend, May 18
Even the trash talk in a remake of the 1992 street ball comedy has no spark, despite the best efforts of Sinqua Walls and Jack Harlow.
‘White Building’ Review: Coming of Age in Cambodia
Weekend, May 18
Kavich Neang’s lush feature tells a largely autobiographical tale of growing up in a building whose often painful history is a microcosm of his country’s.
‘Moon Garden’ Review: Malice in Wonderland
Weekend, May 18
The director Ryan Stevens Harris brings a young girl’s subconscious to eerie life in this unnerving feature.
‘Sanctuary’ Review: Who’s the Boss?
Weekend, May 18
A wealthy heir and his longtime employee vie for control over their uncommon relationship in this twisty duet.
‘The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future’ Review: Mother Resurrected
Weekend, May 18
This lyrical debut feature from Francisca Alegría is a slow-burning parable about our relationship to each other and to the living world.
‘Sanctuary’ Review: Who’s the Boss?
Movies, May 18
A wealthy heir and his longtime employee vie for control over their uncommon relationship in this twisty duet.
‘Come Out Fighting’ Review: The Battle of the Budget
Weekend, May 18
A veteran cast attempts to fend off a deluge of clichés in this cheap-looking, pleasingly scrappy war film.
‘Queenmaker’ Review: Society Blogger to Self-Made Celebrity
Weekend, May 17
The chronicler of the post-9/11 New York social whirl who is at the center of this documentary was no Manhattan insider but rather a student in Illinois.
‘Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me’ Review: Mistreated
Weekend, May 16
The tumultuous life and death of the model, actress and tabloid superstar is related with little insight in this facile Netflix documentary.
‘Giving Birth to a Butterfly’ Review: Melancholy and Menace
Weekend, May 16
Steeped in a distinctly American nostalgia, this beautifully peculiar debut feature has a Lynchian quality.
‘Hypnotic’ Review: A Twisty Thriller Sends Ben Affleck on the Run
Culture, May 12
Alice Braga plays a psychic and Affleck a cop in this action-packed Robert Rodriguez picture that gets a little overly ambitious.
‘Crater’ Review: A Rocking Road Trip
Weekend, May 12
This Disney film is surprisingly nimble at incorporating an emotional core into its sci-fi adventure.
‘The Mother’ Review: Are You My Sniper?
Weekend, May 12
At the heart of this action-thriller, an expert killer, played by Jennifer Lopez, must rescue her daughter at all costs.
‘Book Club: The Next Chapter’ Review: Cinema Pinot Grigio
Weekend, May 11
Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen and Mary Steenburgen take a trip to Italy and don’t read as much in this comedy sequel.
‘The Starling Girl’ Review: As the Spirit Moves
Weekend, May 11
Eliza Scanlen plays a pious teenager who begins an affair with her youth pastor in this tender coming-of-age drama.
‘L’immensità’ Review: Roman Holiday
Weekend, May 11
Loosely based on the transgender director Emanuele Crialese’s transition, this Italian period drama is a sun-dappled nostalgia trip bristling with Oedipal tension.
‘It Ain’t Over’ Review: When Yogi Berra Saw a Strike, He Hit It
Weekend, May 11
The baseball player, known for his quirky malapropisms, was perpetually underestimated. But a new documentary proves he was a phenomenal talent.
‘Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie’ Review: Hiding in Plain Sight
Weekend, May 11
The “Back to the Future” star time-travels through his career in this documentary, charting his experiences learning to live with Parkinson’s disease.
‘Unfinished Business’ Review: Skimming the Surface of Women’s Basketball
Weekend, May 11
Unfortunately, this documentary about the W.N.B.A. and the New York Liberty hits the rim and then bounces out — it’s only close to good.
‘Monica’ Review: Mother and Daughter, Both Alike in Dignity
Weekend, May 11
Trace Lysette and Patricia Clarkson star in this subtle chamber drama.
‘BlackBerry’ Review: Big Dreams, Little Keyboards
Weekend, May 11
The struggle to sell a revolutionary gizmo fractures a friendship in this lively, bittersweet comedy.
‘Fool’s Paradise’ Review: No Talent? No Problem!
Weekend, May 11
A hapless man who barely speaks becomes a movie star in Charlie Day’s scattershot Hollywood satire.
‘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.