Justin Chang
Stories
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'Caught by the Tides' turns discarded documentary scraps into a remarkable drama
This documentary-drama hybrid is one of the best new movies our critic's seen this year. It draws on archival footage to tell a story of two lovers separating and reuniting over roughly two decades.
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'Thunderbolts*' is an unwieldy jumble, and also the best Marvel film in a while
Thunderbolts* is unapologetically formulaic. And yet, Florence Pugh is terrific; the action is coherent; and the character dynamics strike the right balance of earnest sincerity and glib humor.
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'The Shrouds' introduces a new stage of grief: Watching your loved one decompose
David Cronenberg's thriller centers on an unusual technology that allows people to watch their loved ones decompose in real time. The Shrouds is both deeply morbid and disarmingly funny.
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'Sinners' is one of the most interesting and audacious movies this year
This latest Ryan Coogler/Michael B. Jordan collaboration is set in 1930s Mississippi — it's awash in gorgeous music, turbulent romance, pan-African spiritualism and, by the end, buckets of blood.
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'Warfare' embeds the audience in the chaos of modern combat
Inspired by the true story of a squad of Navy SEALs who came under fire in Iraq in 2006, Warfare offers a moment-by-moment view that manages to say something new about the combat experience.
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A young man's homecoming sets off erotic shockwaves in this unsettling French thriller
Misericordia is one of the most surprising films our critic's seen this year. It focuses on a man who returns to his small village for a funeral — only to become enmeshed in countless entanglements.
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'The Alto Knights' is a mob drama with a double dose of De Niro and ... not much else
Robert De Niro plays rival mob bosses in a new biographical crime drama. But while it's fun to watch De Niro argue with himself, The Alto Knights ultimately feels dubious and derivative.
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There's a lot to unpack in 'Black Bag' — a witty, sexy spy thriller
Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender play a high-ranking spy couple in Steven Soderbergh's new film. Black Bag offers Bond-style globe-trotting intrigue and marital dramedy.
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Live, die, repeat: Bong Joon Ho offers a farcical vision of the future in 'Mickey 17'
Robert Pattinson plays a space traveler who's repeatedly killed and resurrected in the name of scientific research in this otherworldly farce. It's Bong's first movie since his Oscar-winning Parasite.
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This long-buried 1999 film offers a new chance to see James Earl Jones
There are many reasons to seek out Charles Burnett's long-buried 1999 film, but perhaps primary among them: The rare chance to see Lynn Redgrave, Margot Kidder and James Earl Jones share the screen.
