Bennett Miller's 'Foxcatcher'

Crooked silence

The relationship between the Schultz brothers is as intense as any seen on film. Their wrestling early in the movie is a fierce, wordless depiction of sibling rivalry and harmonic grace. It’s a grace that John du Pont — despite his money — lacks and sorely wants. And if he can’t have it, he can figure out ways to destroy it.

Ilene Raymond Rush

Jan 04, 2015 · Articles · 3 minute read

Morten Tyldum's 'Imitation Game'

A life encrypted

The Imitation Game amply demonstrates the intellectual and personal courage that accompanied Turing's singular genius. A man who penetrated secrets, he was also forced to keep them — not only those of Enigma and its bounty of military intelligence, but also the fact of his homosexual identity.

Mark Wolverton

Jan 04, 2015 · Articles · 4 minute read

Rob Marshall's 'Into the Woods'

What happens when you get your heart's desire?

On Christmas Day, I saw a theater packed with children and wondered how many of their parents were blindsided. But it didn’t matter. Their children got to learn some truths about life.

Steve Cohen

Dec 30, 2014 · Articles · 3 minute read

'The Missing' and 'The Affair'

The child is gone

Only two serial programs in 2014 really made an impression on me: The Missing and The Affair. And unfortunately for my joie de vivre, both were about how the tragic loss of a child destroys the lives of his parents.

Paula Berman

Dec 30, 2014 · Articles · 5 minute read

Jennifer Kent’s ‘The Babadook’

Living with the shadows

The Babadook hits almost every image of the horror film genre, yet it somehow manages to emerge as a standout movie with a fresh take on what scares and strengthens us the most.

Alaina Johns

Dec 09, 2014 · Articles · 4 minute read

'Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer'

Rudolph and I are misfits

Rudolph is a timeless classic for a reason. For 50 years, his nose has lit up, signaling that he’s a misfit. I was, too, and he made that O.K.

Tara Lynn Johnson

Dec 02, 2014 · Articles · 3 minute read

David Ayer's 'Fury' (second review)

The war lover

David Ayer’s Fury is a film that aims to look unflinchingly at war, but finally lacks the will to carry its vision through to the end.

Robert Zaller

Nov 29, 2014 · Articles · 5 minute read

Ned Benson's ‘Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby’

A film in three parts

The experience of seeing The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby is more rewarding than the content itself.

Kayleigh Butera

Nov 25, 2014 · Articles · 4 minute read

Mathieu Amalric’s "The Blue Room"

Who's killing whom?

Mathieu Amalric’s taut adaptation of Georges Simenon’s Blue Room is a story of passion that devolves into murder, but, even more, about the transgressive turns of the human heart.

Robert Zaller

Nov 22, 2014 · Articles · 6 minute read

David Dobkin’s ‘The Judge’

Anger management

Robert Duvall’s stardom began when he played a Mob lawyer to perfection in The Godfather. His turn in The Judge as a magistrate who can’t escape the consequences of his own rectitude is the capstone of a splendid career.

Robert Zaller

Nov 18, 2014 · Articles · 4 minute read