Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Movies

More in Movies
Shutter Island »
By A. O. SCOTT
Film Comment Selects »
By A. O. SCOTT
The Ghost Writer »
By MANOHLA DARGIS
Buddies Cracking Jokes and Heads »
Unmistakable Streepness »
The Godfather’s Ghost Speaks French »

You do not have the correct Flash player version to view this feature.

In order to view this feature, you must download the latest version of Flash.

Once you have downloaded the latest version of Flash player, you will need to reload this page.

The Carpetbagger »
Academy Award Nominees »
Awards Season
2010 Oscar Ballot »

Cat-and-Mouse for a Trashy Trailer

By BROOKS BARNES
Violence and profanity by Chloë Moretz and other under-age actors fuel debate about the content and distribution of trailers.
Marv Films/Lionsgate

Violence and profanity by Chloë Moretz and other under-age actors fuel debate about the content and distribution of trailers.

A trailer for the forthcoming film “Kick-Ass” is igniting debate about how Hollywood advertises its R-rated films on the Web.

That Unmistakable Streepness

By A. O. SCOTT
Some of Meryl Streep’s more memorable films include, clockwise, from top left: “Silkwood” (1983); “The Devil Wears Prada” (2006); “Mamma Mia!” (2008); “Sophie’s Choice” (1982); “It’s Complicated” (2009); “Julie & Julia” (2009) and “Doubt” (2008).
Clockwise, from top left: Everett Collection; Brigitte Lacombe/20th Century Fox; Universal Pictures; Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures; Universal Pictures/Everett Collection; Columbia TriStar; Andrew Schwartz/Miramax Films

Some of Meryl Streep’s more memorable films include, clockwise, from top left: “Silkwood” (1983); “The Devil Wears Prada” (2006); “Mamma Mia!” (2008); “Sophie’s Choice” (1982); “It’s Complicated” (2009); “Julie & Julia” (2009) and “Doubt” (2008).

Unpredictable and graceful performances keep awing audiences and Oscar voters.

Buddies Cracking Jokes and Heads

By JONAH WEINER
Bruce Willis, left, and Tracy Morgan in “Cop Out,” the latest in a line of interracial action-film team-ups.
Abbott Genser/Warner Brothers Pictures

Bruce Willis, left, and Tracy Morgan in “Cop Out,” the latest in a line of interracial action-film team-ups.

With “Cop Out,” the popularity of the buddy-cop action genre shows no sign of letting up.

News & Features
Leonardo DiCaprio in a scene from “Shutter Island.”

‘Shutter Island’ Soars at Box Office

By BROOKS BARNES

“Shutter Island,” yanked from the fall release schedule by a cost-cutting Paramount Pictures, was a strong No. 1 at the North American box office.

LG televisions at the Consumer Electronics Show. Internet-linked TVs are rare now, but rapid growth is forecast.

Wal-Mart Adds Its Clout to Movie Streaming

By BRAD STONE

Wal-Mart’s purchase of the startup Vudu represents a major move into selling movies over the Internet.

Niels Arestrup, left, as a crime boss, and Tahar Rahim as an Arab inmate, in “A Prophet.”

The Godfather’s Ghost Speaks French

By LARRY ROHTER

In the prison drama “A Prophet,” the standard tough guy is replaced by an illiterate street urchin who prospers through intelligence.

A scene from Don Argott’s documentary “The Art of the Steal.”

Requiem for a Jumble of Artworks

By CONSTANCE ROSENBLUM

“The Art of the Steal” is a documentary about the Barnes Foundation, with a will as leitmotif.

Radha Mitchell watches an Iowa town’s population turn into bloodthirsty lunatics in Breck Eisner’s remake of “The Crazies,” as did Lane Carroll, below, in George A. Romero’s original, from 1973.

Homicidally Unhinged, but for a Cause

By JOHN ANDERSON

“The Crazies” aims to scare moviegoers and elevate their social consciousness, too.

Victor Moore and Beulah Bondi play a long-married couple forced to live apart when they lose their home in Leo McCarey's drama “Make Way for Tomorrow.”

In the Depression, a Couple Undone

By DAVE KEHR

There are few American films as subtle, moving and bursting with human truth as Leo McCarey’s “Make Way for Tomorrow.”

Christopher Walken backstage at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater.

Please, No More Mr. Bad Guy Roles! (But Creepy Is Fine)

By PATRICK HEALY

After playing troubled men for so long, Christopher Walken has become a pro at finding a sunny side in the spookiest of souls.

The Medium

Sound Logic

By VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN

Which 2009 movie was the most sonically sophisticated?

Front from left, Jim Lee, Diane Nelson and Dan DiDio; rear from left, Patrick Caldon, John Rood and Geoff Johns.

Heroes of DC Comics Get Ready for Closeup

By DAVE ITZKOFF

DC Comics has just handed the Batcave keys to a team of its best-known creative talents.

Movie Reviews
Movie Review | 'The Ghost Writer'
Ewan McGregor in “The Ghost Writer,” directed by Roman Polanski.

Writer for Hire Is a Wanted Man

By MANOHLA DARGIS

With “The Ghost Writer,” Roman Polanski creates a wholly believable world rich in strange contradictions and ominous implications.

Movie Review | 'Shutter Island'
Mark Ruffalo and Leonardo DiCaprio in “Shutter Island,” directed by Martin Scorsese.

All at Sea, Surrounded by Red Herrings

By A. O. SCOTT

Martin Scorsese’s camera sense fills every scene with creepiness, but sustained suspense seems beyond him.

Movie Review | '2010 Academy-Award Nominated Short Films'
A scene from “Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty,” directed by Nicky Phelan.

Short in Time, Long on Wit and Daring

By A. O. SCOTT

The best of this year’s 10 nondocumentary Oscar-nominated shorts combine imaginative daring with meticulous attention to craft.

A scene from the film anthology “Tales from the Golden Age.”

Don’t Think of It as Another Film Festival, Think of It as a Sampler

By A. O. SCOTT

Film Comment Selects provides both a diversion from the relentless film festival schedule and a distillation of it.

Movie Review | 'The Good Guy'
Aaron Yoo, left, and Bryan Greenberg in “The Good Guy,” about New York stock traders.

Sex and Money and High Rollers (Memories Were Made of This)

By STEPHEN HOLDEN

“The Good Guy” is fresh enough to provide the voyeuristic kick of glimpsing the frenzied lifestyle of aspiring masters of the universe.

Movie Review | 'Blood Done Sign My Name'
Nate Parker in Jeb Stuart's film, based on a book by Timothy B. Tyson, that shows a Southern town's deeply ingrained racism.

A Town Torn Asunder by Racial Killing in ’70

By A. O. SCOTT

Jeb Stuart’s “Blood Done Sign My Name” scrupulously examines a page from the recent history of the South.

Movie Review | 'The Last New Yorker'
Dominic Chianese, left, and Dick Latessa play friends in “The Last New Yorker.”

In an Ever-Changing New York, Falling in Love May Be the Only Constant

By STEPHEN HOLDEN

The best thing about “The Last New Yorker” is its evocation of the relentless speed with which the city tears down and rebuilds itself.

Movie Review | 'Happy Tears'
From left, Rip Torn, Parker Posey and Demi Moore in “Hapy Tears.”

The Many Shades of Family Dysfunction

By MANOHLA DARGIS

In “Happy Tears,” the writer and director Mitchell Lichtenstein struggles to find the humor in a host of horrors.

Movie Review | 'Phyllis and Harold'
The title couple in the documentary “Phyllis and Harold.”

Documenting a Quarrelsome Marriage

By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

“Phyllis and Harold” is an impossibly self-involved portrait of a union far more commonplace than its offspring seem to believe.

Movie Review | 'Lourdes'
Sylvie Testud plays a young woman with multiple sclerosis who goes on a pilgrimage to Lourdes.

Mysteries and Hopes Converge on a Shrine

By MANOHLA DARGIS

One of the pleasures of “Lourdes” is that it takes place in the space between the inexplicable (no explanation is possible) and the unexplained.

More Reviews

More News & Features

February 24, 2010 57 minutes ago

The New Makeup

February 24, 2010 5:28 PM ET

'Hurt Locker' Takes a Hit

More From Carpetbagger »

Photos & Video
Video
Critics' Picks: 'Chinatown'

A. O. Scott looks back at Roman Polanski's meditation on evil.

Video
Carpetbagger: Oscar Fashion 101

Melena Ryzik travels coast to coast to peek inside the world of Oscar fashion.

Video
The Best Performances of the Decade

Jake Gyllenhaal, Julianne Moore, George Clooney and other actors discuss their selections.

Exclusive Clips
‘A Prophet’ Video
‘A Prophet’

A full scene from the Oscar-nominated French prison drama “A Prophet,” starring Niels Arestrup and Tahar Rahim.

‘Easier With Practice’ Video
‘Easier With Practice’

A clip from the intimate new drama starring Brian Geraghty and directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez.

Photos & Video

Photographs The Great Performers

This year’s stars and on-screen couples, five actresses who broke through and nine days with Jeff Bridges. Go to the Slide Show »

Slide Show
Film in Brief

Images and trailer links for the films appearing in the compilation of Academy Award-Nominated Shorts.

Slide Show
A Unique Film Selection

Images from some of the films in the Film Comments Selects series.

Video
Paranoia in Polanski

Dennis Lim narrates a look at the Roman Polanski films that deal with paranoia, including his latest, "The Ghost Writer."

February 24, 2010 11:47 AM ET

Speedy Gonzales Gets a Movie

February 24, 2010 12:55 PM ET

Antonin Scalia, Script Doctor

More Movies Posts in Artsbeat »

Box Office Top 5

  1. Shutter Island
  2. Valentine's Day (New Line)
  3. Avatar (Fox)
  4. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
  5. The Wolfman
More Box Office Data »
Readers' Reviews
‘The Wolfman’

“This movie is a huge bummer and a crushing bore. Despite the fact that it looks great and has a great cast...it lacks either the passion OR the dread necessary to make it gothic, horrible, sexy, scary...or anything at all,” writes Marco in Los Angeles.

Times Pulse

The most popular movies among NYTimes.com readers.
  1. Shutter Island
  2. The Ghost Writer
  3. The Good Guy
  4. A Serious Man
  5. Avatar (Fox)
Expanded List » | What's This?
The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made

This guide includes links to the original reviews from the archives of The New York Times.

Advertisements

Advertise on NYTimes.com

Marketplace

Learn online
With The Times
Knowledge
Network
Gifts, Photos,
Reprints And More!