ME AND EARL AND THE DYING GIRL Now playing Authenticity is a slippery substanceat the movies, anyway. You can’t manufacture it. It emerges from the process of filmmaking, somewhere in that unknowable alchemy of collaborative art. A sense of authenticity is key to Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, an indie sensation slowly rolling […]
Glenn McDonald
Posted inFilm & Television
Jurassic World and Inside Out show that digital wizardy can’t shine without smarts and heart
JURASSIC WORLD Now playingINSIDE OUT Opening Friday When the original Jurassic Park hit theaters in 1993, it was blockbuster movie-making done right. The special effects were like nothing we’d ever seen, and director Steven Spielbergthe planet’s leading expert in this sort of thingprovided humor and heart along with all the shock and awe. Twenty-two years […]
Posted inCulture
Movie review: Layers of metafiction can’t conceal Gemma Bovery’s lightweight core
Gemma Bovery★★ ½ Now playing Martin Joubert is profoundly bored. A humble baker in a small Normandy town, he has little to occupy his days. His wife doesn’t like him much and his teenage son has disappeared into hoodies and headphones. Each day, Martin’s work is done by dawn. All he has is his books. […]
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Movie review: Melissa McCarthy powers the action spoof Spy
Spy ★★★ Now playing When she’s on her game, Melissa McCarthy is one of the funniest people on the planet. A seasoned improv veteran, her extemporaneous comedy instincts are off the charts—check out the gag reel from Bridesmaids for instant evidence. But so far, McCarthy’s headlining roles in feature films haven’t played out so great. […]
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The Queue: Netflix picks for sci-fi haters
Perhaps you’re familiar with this dilemma: There’s a certain genre of movie that you adore and your significant other hates. Science fiction, say. When it comes to movie night at home, this becomes an issue. You explain to your partner—slowly, gently, as to a child—the many fine qualities of the genre, its rich history, and […]
Posted inArt
Sick of reading about Jurassic World? We suggest some summer-movie alternatives and a brainy beach read
Here’s the thing about summer blockbusters: If you’re interested in them, then you’re probably already sick of reading about them by the time summer preview features roll around. So rather than join the chorus of echoes, we’re suggesting some relatively under-the-radar movies you might like instead. Note that smaller films could reach the Triangle a […]
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Movie review: Meet the Swedish Forrest Gump in The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared★★★ ½ Opening Friday Droll, daffy and entirely enjoyable, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared is a Swedish comedy whose screwy rhythms extend well beyond its title. Based on Jonas Jonasson’s best-selling comic novel, the film was a gigantic hit in Europe […]
Posted inFilm & Television
Thomas Vinterberg takes on Thomas Hardy’s Victorian melodrama Far from the Madding Crowd
Far From the Madding Crowd Opening Friday How do you solve a problem like Bathsheba? That’s the conundrum for director Thomas Vinterberg (The Celebration) and his leading lady, Carey Mulligan, in Far from the Madding Crowd, a handsome pastoral romance based on the book by Thomas Hardy. Mulligan plays Bathsheba Everdene, an independent young woman […]
Posted inCulture
Movie review: High-school glory days loom over Jack Black and James Marsden in The D Train
The D Train★★ ½ Now playingThe D Train is a comedy that doesn’t really work, but at least it doesn’t work in interesting ways. It’s unpredictable and it takes a lot of risks, some of which pay off. Jack Black headlines as Dan Landsman, a schlubby and insecure Pittsburgh suburbanite whose remaining self-esteem rests on […]
Posted inCulture
The Queue: Unconditional love and Oedipal wrecks in Mommy
Adolescence is a trauma we all have to navigate. If we’re lucky, it’s a relatively brief storm on the waters of life. But for Steve Després, the violent and mentally ill teenager in Mommy, adolescence has become a lethal affair. He has a raging hurricane in his head that never lets up. The latest from […]