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A court case with a foregone conclusion: Rylance and Hanks.

Spielberg's 'Bridge of Spies'

Men of principle

Bridge of Spies isn't a spy story; it's a "based on true events" story about a lawyer and his dedication to a higher set of principles than Cold War expediency and political convenience.

Mark Wolverton

Oct 20, 2015 Articles 5 minute read

'Goodnight Mommy'

Why do horror movies make us laugh?

Nothing makes us laugh as much as a good comedy — except maybe a good horror movie, when we watch it together.

Alaina Johns

Oct 18, 2015 Articles 5 minute read

Don’t you recognize me? Chen Daoming and Gong Li in “Coming Home.”

Zhang Yimou’s 'Coming Home'

Family breakdown, Chinese-style

Zhang Yimou’s Coming Home moves like a strong poem — slowly and delicately, yet with power.

Richard da Silva

Oct 11, 2015 Articles 4 minute read

Lizzy Caplan and Michael Sheen as Johnson and Masters in “Masters of Sex.” (Photo © 2015 Showtime)

The extent of how fast and loose Showtime's Masters of Sex adaptation plays with the truth makes Oliver Stone appear a better bet to satisfy Diogenes than any of those responsible for this fib-a-thon.

Bob Levin

Oct 06, 2015 Articles 5 minute read

The ultimate geeky Everyman: Matt Damon in “The Martian.” (Photo by Aidan Monaghan - © 2015 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.)

Ridley Scott's 'The Martian'

Science in a leading role

The Martian is far more than rah-rah flag-waving space-geek boosterism. It is, instead, a paean to humanity's exploratory drive, survival instinct, and most of all, intelligence.

Mark Wolverton

Oct 03, 2015 Articles 6 minute read

Fetching as a barracuda: Johnny Depp in ‘Black Mass.’ (© 2015 - Warner Bros. Pictures)

Johnny Depp in Scott Cooper’s ‘Black Mass’

A study in menace

Other actors have had a go at the Whitey Bulger persona, but they were mainly based on Bulger. Johnny Depp is Whitey Bulger, having spent two and a half hours daily getting into the prosthetic face that coldly surveys his Southie criminal kingdom and perfecting the Boston accent with which he delivers his satanic commands.

Bob Ingram

Oct 01, 2015 Articles 4 minute read

Count the pores (Ed Helms in 2015's "Vacation")

There's more to movies than special effects

Cartoonized: A rant on the digital age

Hollywood needs to relearn to use lower-tech, more creative ways to draw in audiences and tell stories. Just because we have the ability to use special effects technologies doesn’t mean we always should.

Ryan Dellaquila

Sep 29, 2015 Articles 4 minute read

Hannibal + Will 4ever. (Photo by NBC - © 2014 NBCUniversal Media, LLC)

Bryan Fuller's 'Hannibal' (second review)

Sympathy for the devil

Hannibal is a retelling of Goethe’s Faust in which FBI profiler Will Graham/Faust and Dr. Hannibal Lecter/Mephistopheles fall in love.

Paula Berman

Sep 15, 2015 Articles 7 minute read

A shocking performance: Brando with Maria Schneider in “Last Tango in Paris.” (© 1972 – MGM)

'Listen to Me Marlon' (second review)

Still asking questions of Marlon Brando

Stevan Riley’s documentary Listen to Me Marlon impressionistically and unevenly surveys the career of America’s greatest film actor, and its ultimate wreckage.