KCRW's Film Reviews

20 Feet from Stardom; Man of Steel

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 18:33:43 EDT

Two films about the story behind the story. "20 Feet from Stardom," spotlights the singers behind the singers. "Man of Steel" takes itself seriously as an origin story.

The Great Gatsby

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Fri, 10 May 2013 19:09:32 EDT

Baz Lurhmann's version of The Great Gatsby is a tale told idiotically, full of noise and furor, signifying next to nothing.

Iron Man 3

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Fri, 03 May 2013 19:21:14 EDT

You know the story of the emperor?s new suit?

Mud

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 17:13:21 EDT

"Mud," the third feature by Jeff Nichols, is a model of what an independent feature can be, starting with the homely grabber of a title.

Oblivion

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 19:53:08 EDT

"Oblivion" is the new sci-fi adventure starring Tom Cruise.

Disconnect

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:39:40 EDT

A new film from Henry-Alex Rubin, the co-director of the Oscar-nominated documentary, "Murderball."

Trance

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 16:15:01 EDT

Olympus Has Fallen

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 17:55:38 EDT

"Olympus Has Fallen" starts with a bold idea, then throws massive firepower into the execution?

Upside Down

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 19:12:54 EDT

Rather than star-crossed, the lovers in "Upside Down" are planet crossed; they come from adjacent planets with opposite gravities.

Oz the Great and Powerful

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 20:03:16 EDT

With "Oz the Great and Powerful," Disney has produced two spectacles for the price of one...

Stoker

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 17:53:33 EDT

Heroine India Stoker isn't sweet in this psychological thriller directed by Park Chan-Wook.

Like Someone in Love

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 17:53:10 EDT

A young woman and two men make up the unlikely ? and dangerously unstable ? triangle of "Like Someone in Love," which turns on mistaken identities.

No

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 20:03:19 EDT

"No" is an exceptionally smart political drama with a satiric edge about the 1988 referendum that drove the Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet out of office.

Parker; John Dies at the End

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 20:33:00 EDT

Anarchy defies scrutiny...

The Last Stand

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 20:50:54 EDT

First he was the Terminator, then the Governator. Now Arnold Schwarzenegger has cast himself as the Rejuvenator, breathing huffs and puffs of new life into his screen career. Much of "The Last Stand" is a wheezy setup for an enjoyably preposterous showdown in a sleepy Arizona border town called Sommerton Junction.

Gangster Squad

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 20:12:38 EDT

When the classic Warner Bros. logo comes on the screen at the start of "Gangster Squad," it's in a tint that is somewhere between color and black and white. It holds out a two-fold promise: Los Angeles in 1949 brought back to life in the lavish style that only a Hollywood studio can provide, and a movie from the studio that made many of the greatest gangster films in Hollywood. The first part of the promise pays off.

Django Unchained

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 18:43:20 EDT

The safest thing you could say about "Django Unchained" is that it finds Quentin Tarantino hurtling over the top yet again...

Amour

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 17:55:07 EDT

"Amour" has won all sorts of prizes all over the world, and no wonder...

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 19:08:44 EDT

Joe Morgenstern spends two hours and 46 minutes in Middle Earth...

Hyde Park on Hudson

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 20:08:00 EDT

Joe Morgenstern reviews Hyde Park on Hudson.

Killing Them Softly

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 19:34:04 EDT

As a gangster thriller, "Killing Then Softly" is long on violence and short on thrills, but it does present a mystery...

Life of Pi

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 17:11:00 EDT

The desperate hero in "Life of Pie" says that hunger can change everything you thought you knew about yourself...

Silver Linings Playbook

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 19:25:54 EDT

Joe Morgenstern on David O. Russell's romantic comedy of prickly passions and rampant dysfunction...

Skyfall; Lincoln

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 20:35:20 EDT

Joe Morgenstern reviews Sam Mendes' latest Bond action thriller and Steven Spielberg's portrayal of our 16th president within the politics of his day.

Cloud Atlas

webmaster@kcrw.org (Joe Morgenstern) — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 17:58:28 EDT

Six interwoven, interlocking story lines, in six separate time frames...