Category: Reviews
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Gene Kelly and Judy Garland Are Off the Charts in ‘The Pirate’
Vincente Minnelli’s ‘The Pirate’ is one of the oddest movies to come out of MGM’s musical golden era; it’s also among the most fun and boundary-pushingly playful.
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Struggling to Care About Billy Liar
It’s a mostly effective study of a young man who craves artistic success but isn’t willing to put in the work to make it happen, but it’s not very good at actually pulling us in.
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Short Takes: ‘Sick,’ ‘Broker,’ and ‘Women Talking’
A slasher, a road movie, and a stagey drama.
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‘Cover Girl’ Doesn’t Quite Know What to Do with Its Stars
There are a handful of moments in this hit 1944 musical where Rita Hayworth and Gene Kelly remind you of their greatness, but they’re largely underserved by Charles Vidor’s static direction.
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‘Secret Defense’ is a Spellbinding Revenge Drama
Jacques Rivette takes a revenge plot and, subversively, is most interested in the mundane everyday details that would in most other movies be incidental.
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‘Outlaws’ is a Bad-Wig Crime Thriller
This Spanish drama has all the charge of a crime-doesn’t-pay TV movie.
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‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ is a Stunning Achievement — and a Bit of a Bore
James Cameron’s long-delayed follow-up to 2009’s ‘Avatar’ doubles down on visual spectacle and inert drama.
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Sally Field and Burt Reynolds Are Dynamite Together in ‘Smokey and the Bandit’
Jackie Gleason’s cigarette-voiced villain performance is a highlight, too.
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‘Hanna’ Should Have Stayed a Pitch
Joe Wright’s pivot to action filmmaking has flashes of intrigue but is mostly a slog.
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The Creeping Dread of ‘White Noise’ and ‘The Eternal Daughter’
Noah Baumbach tries his hand at adaptation, and Joanna Hogg expands her cinematic universe.
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‘Times Square’ is a Confused Coming-of-Age Drama
This 1980 cult drama is all promise and no effective follow-through. Read the review.
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Long Journeys and Bloody Appetites in ‘Glass Onion’ and ‘Bones and All’
‘Knives Out’ gets a sequel, and Luca Guadagnino tells a cannibal love story.
Peterson Reviews 