If Beale Street Could Talk
“If Beale Street Could Talk,” the James Baldwin tale of young lovers doomed by an unfair imprisonment of the young [...]
“Wisdom born of pain”
After a first enigmatic scene —buckets of soapy water flowing over a stone surface — it seems clear early on [...]
Green Book
From the beginning we know that Don Shirley-Doc (Mahershala Ali), an aloof, reserved, highly educated, virtuoso black pianist on tour [...]
What’s to forgive?
When we’re introduced to Lee Israel (Melissa McCarthy), she’s just been fired (apparently from "The New Yorker" magazine, where she [...]
The House with a Clock in its Walls
Solid acting by its stars, spirited animation, and a fast-paced (if somewhat predictable) plot make “The House with a Clock [...]
A family, coming apart
The strength of Paul Dano’s directing debut, “Wildlife,” based on the eponymous 1990 novel by one of America’s best novelists, [...]
The Kindergarten Teacher
There’s only one character in “The Kindergarten Teacher” worth caring about: it’s Lisa Spinelli, the teacher of the title, played [...]
A Star is Born
It's yet another remake of "A Star Is Born," but what a remake it is. The first act of Bradley [...]
He did it, but why?
It’s convenient and often useful to classify films: this one’s a buddy film, that one’s a rom-com, another’s a chick [...]
Anxious youth
Director Bo Burnham, in his first feature film, vividly captures the unrelenting anxiety of the early teenage years in “Eighth [...]
BlacKkKlansman
Director Spike Lee brings his narrative genius to the true story of rookie black cop Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), [...]