All Movies
Wit and wonder fuel 5-star ‘The Ballad of Wallis Island’The Monitor’s film critic offers his highest rating to “The Ballad of Wallis Island,” which pulses with humor as it explores the landscape of nostalgia – and love.
Rebels with a robot: ‘Rule Breakers’ celebrates Afghan girls who dared to dreamA celebration of the bravery and ingenuity of the Afghan girls robotics team contrasts with the reality of Afghanistan’s women under Taliban repression.
As the Oscars near, there’s still time to see these best performancesOur film critic loves a great performance. His top acting picks for 2024 include stars who are up for Academy Awards – and those who he argues should be.
Cover Story‘I didn’t know I needed it.’ Why neighborhoods rally to save movie houses.This Oscar season, our reporter explores the quirky ecosystem of cinephiles and their efforts to save community movie theaters. Can independent cinema survive Netflix?
A documentarian’s take on the magic of moviegoing (audio)Community movie houses have proved surprisingly resilient and adaptive despite challenges. Avid patrons play a starring role. Anne Continelli, a Massachusetts-based filmmaker, is working on a documentary about communities saving their cinemas.
After LA fires, the Oscars decreed the show must go on. Here’s why.How do you calibrate an Oscars ceremony after a natural disaster? Other award shows are balancing the glitz with compassion – which is resonating at a time when Los Angeles is rebuilding.
The new ‘Captain America’ explores a different kind of patriotism“Brave New World” introduces a Black Captain America to the big screen. In doing so, it doesn’t shy away from exploring the complex legacy Black Americans have with the flag.
Grab your hat and pack the marmalade: Paddington is headed to PeruPart of Paddington’s charm is that he always sees the best in people – and helps them see the best in themselves, too.
‘Emilia Pérez’ topped the Oscar nominations. Not everyone is happy about that.With a baker’s dozen nominations, including the first for an openly transgender actress, “Emilia Pérez” has emerged as the Oscar front-runner.
In ‘I’m Still Here,’ a compelling search for justice in 1970s Brazil“I’m Still Here” is a movie about remembrance – of a family and a nation, our critic writes of the drama based on real events.
Yes, Chalamet can sing. But can ‘A Complete Unknown’ capture Bob Dylan?The filmmakers of “A Complete Unknown” were faced with a daunting task, our critic writes: How do you get behind the mask of a willfully enigmatic artist like Bob Dylan?
Say cheese! Wallace and Gromit return in ‘Vengeance Most Fowl.’“Vengeance Most Fowl” encapsulates everything that makes “Wallace & Gromit” movies such a joy for children and adults.
With his absorbing film ‘Hard Truths,’ director Mike Leigh sees people in full“Hard Truths” is one of our critic’s 10 best films of the year. He praises director Mike Leigh for his humanism, which is “particularly pertinent to his fine new film.”
Grab your popcorn: Here are the 10 best films of 2024Our film critic’s 10 best list includes an animated delight, and dramas from around the world that consider the human condition – and what makes a life meaningful.
Looking for a new holiday classic? These 2 films glow with Christmas spirit.Our reviewer sees potential for two new holiday films, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” and “That Christmas,” to become seasonal favorites. Both stories, he says, explore the same question: What makes Christmas meaningful?
Five-star ‘Flow’ and chatty ‘Moana 2’ offer eye-widening animated delightsTwo new animated films – both centered on water – touch on the power of connection. One is our movie critic’s favorite of the year.
Good is ‘the strongest gravity,’ says ‘Wicked’ author MaguireFairy tales often present characters as either good or bad. “Wicked” author Gregory Maguire asks readers to let go of binary thinking as they consider morality.
In top-notch Indian film, three Mumbai women encounter what makes a life worth livingWith “All We Imagine as Light,” an Indian filmmaker draws our attention to personal stories – and the many ways a life can have meaning.
‘Emilia Pérez’ breaks genres and bursts into song in a one-of-a-kind movie“Emilia Pérez” is a feminist musical crime thriller about a transgender cartel boss. Part operetta, part telenovela, it shimmies between the archetypal and the intensely personal, writes Monitor film critic Peter Rainer.
In ‘A Real Pain,’ a road trip whose emotional power sneaks up on you“A Real Pain,” written by, directed by, and co-starring Jesse Eisenberg, is the kind of movie that creeps up on you, says film critic Peter Rainer. It has a way of seeing that, in its own modest way, owes something to the Yiddish sensibility that informed storytellers like Isaac Bashevis Singer.
