The derivative curse
Composers who try to avoid it are to doomed to be it
Garrett Harris 5 p.m., July 25
Movie Reviews
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Pictures at a (Movie) Exposition
Visuals are the story in this week’s new movie releases, including Dunkirk and Lady Macbeth
Director Christopher Nolan wants to remind folks why they go to movie theaters — instead of, you know, watching a movie on a telephone. In this critic’s humble opinion, he succeeds admirably in that effort ...
Lady Macbeth’s director on morality, animals, and his star Florence Pugh
Smart about evil: matrimony, misery, murder
William Oldroyd’s elegantly executed debut feature Lady Macbeth may prove to be the sort of quiet breakout for star Florence Pugh that Martha Marcy May Marlene was for Elizabeth Olsen (as opposed to the more ...
Will the monkeys do good business?
This week’s releases include War for the Planet of the Apes and not much else
Like Scott Marks, the other film critic here at the Reader, I thought the first two films of the rebooted Planet of the Apes series were excellent. Which is why I was so saddened to ...
Damn hurty Apes
We now believe a motion-capture monkey thinks, feels, reasons, and eventually speaks
The 20th Century Fox fanfare (with CinemaScope addendum) that opened War for the Planet of the Apes was performed on jungle drums and didgeridoo. Sometimes a film earns points even before the opening credits hit ...
Reader critics go soft for summer?
Starry-eyed for this week’s new releases, including Spider-Man: Homecoming and The Journey
“No Aunt May, no Spider-Man,” says my brother, and I know what he means. Without that frail and innocent soul that quietly cries out for protection and sacrifice on its behalf, Spider-Man loses a chunk ...
B movies
Plenty of second-letter fare in this week’s new movie releases, including The Bad Batch and The Beguiled
I’m of the opinion that “B movie” stopped having much useful meaning some time ago, certainly by the time the Transformers series became the box-office juggernaut that it is today — or was, until its ...
Onscreen echoes
This week’s new movie releases, including The Book of Henry and All Eyez On Me, sound oddly familiar
47 Meters Down has girls and sharks, All Eyez on Me has rappers and racist cops, Beatriz at Dinner has a high-tension, high-end dinner party, The Book of Henry has boys and brutality and bullets, ...
Beatriz at Dinner makes the history books
Salma Hayek’s Beatriz has the worst haircut of the actress’s career
I’m not alone in my observation that Beatriz at Dinner will make the history books as the first narrative feature released since Trump took office that takes direct aim at the billionaire-game-show-host-turned-POTUS. It also has ...
Beatriz at Dinner is served
Director Miguel Arteta feasts on Salma Hayek
Sometimes the first impression of an artist whose work one will later grow fond of drops anchor in the unlikeliest of places. Such was the case of Miguel Arteta, whose latest, Beatriz at Dinner, opens ...
Middle East movie time (and place)
This week’s new movie releases take up a troubled region’s troubles, from The Mummy to Radio Dreams
Egypt, Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan all get turns in the cinematic spotlight this week in a monster movie, the story of a dog and his girl, an expat drama, and a war doc, respectively. Some ...
Megan Leavey, a damn fine little combat picture
Her and Rex. Bring Kleenex.
According to the TV spot, Elle and People magazines are going slug-nutty over Megan Leavey, proclaiming the fact-based girl-and-her-dog war drama both “inspiring” and “heartfelt.” Do I heed the advice of these venerated strongholds of ...
