Category Archives: Movies

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

‘Crossing’ Review: Stories to Tell
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama | Directed by Levan Akin
In Levan Akin’s fascinating drama, two strangers connect in Istanbul.


In “Crossing,” Achi (Lucas Kankava) and Lia (Mzia Arabuli), right, are two strangers heading to Istanbul to search for Lia’s niece.
By AMY NICHOLSON

‘Great Absence’ Review: A Mystery of Disappearance
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama | Directed by Kei Chika-ura
A skillfully directed Japanese mystery dips into the strangeness of dementia for those who stand by and watch.


Mirai Moriyama in “Great Absence.”
By ALISSA WILKINSON

— Of Possible Interest —

Zoë Jackson at the Star Tribune reports Minneapolis is out of the running as a host for the Sundance Film Festival.

This will probably be the last time I shamelessly steal the New York Times movie reviews — I have cancelled my subscription to that newspaper.

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

MaXXXine
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Crime, Horror | Directed by Ti West
Mia Goth returns to Ti West’s horrorverse as an actress fleeing a mysterious stalker and a traumatic past.

Mia Goth in “MaXXXine.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

— Of Possible Interest —

Space Cadet
PG-13 | Comedy | Directed by Liz W. Garcia
In a lightweight comedy, the actress plays a bartender who dreams of becoming an astronaut. One problem: She has no qualifications for the job.
By ALISSA WILKINSON

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Last Summer
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama, Thriller | Directed by Catherine Breillat
Few directors get as deeply under the skin as Catherine Breillat, a longtime provocateur who tests the limits of what the world thinks women should do and say and be.


Samuel Kircher, left, and Léa Drucker in “Last Summer.”
By MANOHLA DARGIS

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Green Border
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama | Directed by Agnieszka Holland
Agnieszka Holland focuses on the Polish-Belarusian border as a Syrian family tries to make it to the European Union.


Jalal Altawil, far right, in “Green Border,” directed by Agnieszka Holland.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Hummingbirds
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by Silvia Del Carmen Castaños, Estefanía Contreras, Miguel Drake-McLaughlin, Diane Ng, Ana Rodriguez-Falcó, Jillian Schlesinger
The young directors Silvia Del Carmen Castaños and Estefanía (Beba) Contreras stargaze, watch fireworks and discuss their lives in this documentary filmed in Laredo, Texas.


Silvia Del Carmen Castaños and Estefanía (Beba) Contreras in their documentary “Hummingbirds.”
By BEN KENIGSBERG

Kinds of Kindness
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Comedy, Drama | Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
Yorgos Lanthimos returns with a twisted fable triptych about dominating and being dominated.


From left, Margaret Qualley, Jesse Plemons and Willem Dafoe in “Kinds of Kindness.”
By ALISSA WILKINSON

Janet Planet
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Drama | Directed by Annie Baker
Annie Baker’s debut feature film is a tiny masterpiece — a perfect coming-of-age story for both a misfit tween and her mother.


Julianne Nicholson, left, and Zoe Ziegler in “Janet Planet,” set in the summer of 1991.
By ALISSA WILKINSON

The Bikeriders
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Crime, Drama | Directed by Jeff Nichols
Austin Butler, Jodie Comer and Tom Hardy star in a romanticized drama about a fictional motorcycle club in the 1960s.


From left, Boyd Holbrook, Austin Butler and Tom Hardy in “The Bikeriders.”
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary | Directed by Page Hurwitz
A new Netflix documentary showcases comedy as a source of queer liberation, featuring Margaret Cho, Tig Notaro, Joel Kim Booster and more.


Bob the Drag Queen in the new Netflix documentary “Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution.”
By CHRIS AZZOPARDI

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Inside Out 2
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG | Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy | Directed by Kelsey Mann
Anxiety meets Joy in Pixar’s eager, predictably charming sequel to its innovative 2015 hit. Sadness is still around, too, as are Fear and Disgust.

Joy (Amy Poehler) and Anxiety (Maya Hawke) are two of the voices in the head of Riley, who is turning 13 and acquiring the feelings that come with it.
Joy (Amy Poehler) and Anxiety (Maya Hawke) are two of the voices in the head of Riley, who is turning 13 and acquiring the feelings that come with it.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

Tiger Stripes
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Horror | Directed by Amanda Nell Eu
Myth and the changes of puberty combine in Amanda Nell Eu’s fierce, funny debut feature.


From left, Deena Ezral, Zafreen Zairizal, and Piqa in “Tiger Stripes.”
By ALISSA WILKINSON

Summer Solstice
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Comedy, Drama | Directed by Noah Schamus
A triumph of sensitivity, Noah Schamus’s debut feature tracks a rural reunion between old friends struggling to recover their bond.


Marianne Rendón and Bobbi Salvör Menuez in “Summer Solstice.”
By NATALIA WINKELMAN

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

I Used to Be Funny
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Comedy, Drama | Directed by Ally Pankiw
The film, which stars Rachel Sennott as a stand-up comedian, looks at the aftereffects of trauma on a character who wields quips as both weapon and shield.


Rachel Sennott in “I Used to Be Funny.”
By AMY NICHOLSON

Tuesday
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Fantasy | Directed by Daina Oniunas-Pusic
Julia Louis-Dreyfus journeys from denial to acceptance in this imaginative fantasy-drama about grief and motherhood.


Julia Louis-Dreyfus in “Tuesday.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Bad Boys: Ride or Die
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Thriller | Directed by Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah
In their latest buddy cop movie, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are still speeding through Miami. The franchise has rarely felt so assured, relaxed and knowingly funny.


Martin Lawrence and Will Smith in “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah.
By ROBERT DANIELS

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

The Dead Don’t Hurt
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Drama, Western | Directed by Viggo Mortensen
Mortensen gives his film a nested, at times unnecessarily complicated structure, but with performances this good, it’s hard to mind much.


Viggo Mortensen not only stars in “The Dead Don’t Hurt” but also wrote it, directed it and composed the score.
By BEN KENIGSBERG

The Great Lillian Hall
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama | Directed by Michael Cristofer
Jessica Lange is ideally cast as a grande dame of the theater who is facing a reckoning in this well-crafted melodrama by Michael Cristofer.


Jessica Lange in “The Great Lillian Hall,” with Jesse Williams, standing behind her, reflected in the mirror.
By ELISABETH VINCENTELLI

In a Violent Nature
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama, Horror, Thriller | Directed by Chris Nash
Chris Nash’s ultraviolent horror movie is an unexpectedly serene, almost dreamlike meditation on a murderous psyche.


Ry Barrett in “In a Violent Nature.”
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Robot Dreams
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Animation, Drama, Family, Music | Directed by Pablo Berger
This animated film from Pablo Berger is a silent wonder that says everything about love.


The happy dog-robot pair in the animated film “Robot Dreams.”
By AMY NICHOLSON

Handling the Undead
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama, Horror, Mystery | Directed by Thea Hvistendahl
A zombie movie is wrapped in a gentle tale of mourning and love.


Renate Reinsve in “Handling the Undead.”
By ALISSA WILKINSON

MoviePass, MovieCrash
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Documentary, Comedy, Crime, Drama | Directed by Muta’Ali Muhammad
An illuminating documentary about the ill-fated (though now-revived) subscription service finds an unexpected story.


“MoviePass, MovieCrash,” a new documentary by Muta’Ali, premiering Wednesday on HBO, answers a lot of questions about what, exactly, happened to the to-good-to-be-true subscription company.
By ALISSA WILKINSON

— Of Possible Interest —

Backspot
Not Rated | Drama | Directed by D.W. Waterson
This queer high school movie, starring Devery Jacobs and Evan Rachel Wood, channels an after-school special without the coming-out trauma.
By LISA KENNEDY

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Hit Man
NYT Critic’s Pick | R | Action, Comedy, Crime, Romance | Directed by Richard Linklater
Glen Powell stars in one of the year’s funniest, sexiest, most enjoyable movies — and somehow it’s surprisingly deep, too.


Adria Arjona and Glen Powell in “Hit Man.”
By ALISSA WILKINSON

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
NYT Critic’s Pick | RAction, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller | Directed by George Miller
The fifth installment of George Miller’s series delivers an origin story of Furiosa, the hard-bitten driver played here by Anya Taylor-Joy.


The character keeps her hair in the prequel.
By MANOHLA DARGIS

In Our Day
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama | Directed by Hong Sang-soo
The Korean director Hong Sang-soo winds together the slenderest strands of two intersecting stories to make a tender film about simple pleasures.


A scene from “In Our Day,” with the poet Uiju (Ki Joo-bong), left, socializing with two students.
By BRANDON YU

NYT Critic’s Pick Movie(s)

A Prince
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Drama | Directed by Pierre Creton
Sex, death and domination fuel this beautifully enigmatic pastoral drama from France, which presents the gay coming-of-age of an apprentice gardener.


Vincent Barré and Pierre Creton in “A Prince.”
By BEATRICE LOAYZA

Gasoline Rainbow
NYT Critic’s Pick | Not Rated | Adventure | Directed by Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross
This semi-fictional tale of a road trip for weirdos is full of joy.


From left, Micah Bunch, Makai Garza, Tony Aburto, Nichole Dukes and Nathaly Garcia in “Gasoline Rainbow.”
By ALISSA WILKINSON

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
NYT Critic’s Pick | PG-13 | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi | Directed by Wes Ball
The latest installment in an excellent series finds mythology turning into power.


From left, Raka (Peter Macon), Noa (Owen Teague) and Nova (Freya Allan) in “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.”
By ALISSA WILKINSON