T/movie-reviews

‘Sally’ Review: Rocket Woman
Movies, Today

The remarkable life of the first American woman in space is profiled in this diverting but tame documentary.

‘Prime Minister’ Examines a New Zealand Leader and a Global Issue
Movies, June 13

The film is a memoir of sorts for Jacinda Ardern, who governed at a time of multiple disasters. But it was misinformation that proved hardest to cope with.

‘Sex’ Review: Two Men Talk About and Around the Subject
Movies, June 12

A chimney sweep and his colleague get deep on the roofs of Oslo in Dag Johan Haugerud’s curious meditation on marriage and masculinity.

‘Tatami’ Review: A Bitter Fight, Both on and Off the Mat
Movies, June 12

A flinty Iranian judoka competing in the World Judo Championships is menaced by her government in this absorbing political thriller.

‘Deep Cover’ Review: Fighting Crime With Improv
Movies, June 12

Three hapless comics, played by Orlando Bloom, Bryce Dallas Howard and Nick Mohammed, infiltrate the criminal underworld.

‘Echo Valley’ Review: Mother Knows Best, Daughter Does Worst
Movies, June 12

A stellar cast led by Julianne Moore is unable to breathe life into this unsuccessful blend of maternal drama and crime caper.

‘Will’ Review: Heartache and Hope in Harlem
Movies, June 12

In Jessie Maple’s restored 1981 drama, the first feature-length film by a Black woman, a heroin addict mentors a young boy and tries to find his footing.

‘Meeting With Pol Pot’ Review: Snapshots of Totalitarianism
Movies, June 12

The director Rithy Panh dramatizes events from 1978, when a group of outsiders was allowed to enter Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge.

‘Materialists’ Review: When Dakota Met Pedro (and Chris)
Movies, June 12

The director Celine Song follows up her “Past Lives” with a side-eyeing update on the rom-com, starring Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans.

‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Review: The Return of Hiccup and Toothless
Movies, June 12

This live action remake of the 2010 animated film is religiously faithful to the original. The result is exhilarating at times, if somewhat mechanical.

‘Titan: The OceanGate Disaster’ Review: A Company’s Failures
Movies, June 11

Netflix’s documentary about the catastrophe uses familiar techniques to spotlight the faulty judgment of Stockton Rush, who ran OceanGate.

‘Tyler Perry’s Straw’ Review: The Accidental Bank Robber
Movies, June 6

A single mom in Atlanta (Taraji P. Henson) is having a very, very, very bad day.

‘Sunlight’ Review: A Man Wakes Up in a Camper, Monkey at the Wheel
Movies, June 5

In Nina Conti’s absurdist love story, a radio host and a new friend have nowhere to go but up.

‘The Ritual’ Review: An Exorcism to Forget
Movies, June 5

Al Pacino speaks in an exaggerated accent and Dan Stevens looks overly concerned in this movie directed by David Midell.

‘Slumlord Millionaire’ Review: Costs of Living
Movies, June 5

A documentary looks at New York City residents pushing back against housing troubles.

‘The Life of Chuck’ Review: Don’t Worry, Be Happy
Movies, June 5

Tom Hiddleston dances his way through a movie about death and dystopia, based on a Stephen King story, that has an incongruous feel-good vibe.

‘The Last Twins’ Review: A Rare Holocaust Story
Movies, June 5

Erno Spiegel was spared because he was a twin. He went on to help others at Auschwitz, as detailed in this documentary by Perri Peltz and Matthew O’Neill.

‘I Don’t Understand You’ Review: Murder and Mayhem in Italy
Movies, June 5

The film follows dads-to-be Dom (Nick Kroll) and Cole (Andrew Rannells) as they make a series of disastrously wrong turns during their anniversary trip.

‘Dangerous Animals’ Review: Here, Sharky Sharky!
Movies, June 5

The Australian director Sean Byrne combines the serial killer and shark movie subgenres into a trashy good time.

‘From the World of John Wick: Ballerina’ Review: Dance, Killer, Dance!
Movies, June 5

Ana de Armas twirls into the franchise as a ballerina-assassin with vengeance on her mind in this by-the-numbers cash grab.

When the Whole Country Watched a Nuclear War Movie at Once
Movies, May 30

The 1983 ABC movie “The Day After” was a landmark moment that proved contentious even before it aired, as a new documentary shows.

‘Karate Kid: Legends’ Review: The Student Becomes the Teacher
Movies, May 29

The latest installment to the long-running franchise is a messy entry that tries to throw too many legacies into a blender.

‘Tornado’ Review: She Wants Revenge
Movies, May 29

In the title role, the singer-songwriter Koki is both charming and indomitable as she goes after a band of thieves led by Sugarman (Tim Roth).

‘Ghost Trail’ Review: A Cat and Mouse Thriller
Movies, May 29

A hypnotizing Adam Bessa anchors this tale about a Syrian refugee living in France who believes he has found the man who tortured him.

‘The Phoenician Scheme’ Review: Benicio Del Toro Plans to Save His Soul
Movies, May 29

Wes Anderson returns with another intricately designed film, and an inquiry into the meaning of goodness.

‘Bring Her Back’ Review: A Foster Mother Like No Other
Movies, May 29

Sally Hawkins plays a menacingly unhinged foster parent to two bereaved siblings in this emotionally potent chiller.

‘Fountain of Youth’ Review: John Krasinski Goes Continent Hopping
Movies, May 22

An adventurer enlists his disapproving sister (Natalie Portman) in this Guy Ritchie movie with a hint of Indiana Jones.

‘Bad Shabbos’ Review: Guess Who’s Kvetching About Dinner?
Movies, May 22

A newly engaged Jew and gentile plan to introduce their parents. But first: There’s a crisis involving a body, a ticking clock and a doorman played by Method Man.

‘The Last Rodeo’ Review: One for the Money, Two for the Show
Movies, May 22

A family tragedy forces an aging bull rider back into the saddle in this blandly wholesome drama.

‘The New Boy’ Review: Finding a Light in the Darkness
Movies, May 22

Cate Blanchett stars as a nun who encounters an Indigenous Australian boy with special powers in this film about forced assimilation.

‘Jane Austen Wrecked My Life’ Review: It’s Not Me, It’s Jane
Movies, May 22

A modern heroine learns about love, and a whole lot more, at a writing residency.

‘Lilo & Stitch’ Review: Creature Chaos
Movies, May 20

The live-action remake of the hit 2002 Disney film is mostly serviceable and often adorable, even if the best parts of the original got left behind.

‘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.