Memoir of War (La Douleur) movie review: woman on the homefront
Marguerite Duras’s semifictionalized memoir of psychological survival and emotional endurance in Paris during the Nazi occupation makes an uneasy, listless transition to the screen.
reviews by year
The Happytime Murders movie review: schlock puppets
Ugly, sordid, and proud of it, with less than no justification. “Meet the Feebles meets Who Framed Roger Rabbit” conveys a far greater sense of dignity, cohesion, and purpose than this witness movie deserves.
The Children Act movie review: objections, sustained
Courtroom drama? Portrait of a marriage? Character study of a workaholic? This frustratingly random film cannot figure out what it is or what it wants to say… but Emma Thompson’s beautifully empathetic performance is worth your time.
Alpha movie review: dog tired
The remarkable Ice Age setting is all that distinguishes — and not by much — a depressingly conventional boy-and-his-dog story.
The Bookshop movie review: quiet portrait of a woman of words
It’s weighed down by unnecessary narration and a surprising lack of conflict. But star Emily Mortimer and director Isabel Coixet create a character study of a rarity onscreen: an earnestly cerebral woman.
Do You Trust This Computer? documentary review: artificial intelligence is already here
This slick gloss on the state of AI is frustratingly scattershot and won’t surprise anyone who has been paying attention. But its warnings about how we’ve dealt with huge and rapid scientific leaps before are worthy ones.
Juliet, Naked movie review: idol threat
A gentle, generous confrontation between fan and artist, and between a past full of regret and the possibility of a happier future, made warm and human by the terrific central performances. An instant new comfort movie.
The Darkest Minds movie review: seeking a prom date for the end of the world
The YA dystopia is now just another fantasy setting for teen romance. We have normalized the apocalypse. Superpowered kids are being held in concentration camps, but OMG, will Ruby and Liam get together?!
The Meg movie review: shark lark
Jason Statham versus a giant prehistoric shark. It’s never less — yet also never more — than you expect, and never more suspenseful or scary than it is cheesy. But whatev. Go, and enjoy.
Dog Days movie review: a mangy mongrel of a movie
Two rom-coms, a grossout comedy, a family drama, and a platonic May-December melodrama, all connected by stilted humor, sloppy schmaltz, implausible human interaction, and — least convincingly — dogs.
