Critic’s Pick
Strives for greatness and achieves it.
‘Marty Supreme’
Timothée Chalamet plays a scrappy, hustling table tennis player in this sports drama directed Josh Safdie.
From our review:
A hyper-charged take on a bildungsroman, “Marty Supreme” is one of the most thoroughly pleasurable American movies of the year and one of the most exciting. Part of what makes it electric is how organically its numerous parts — its themes, characters, camera movements and accelerated pacing — fit together in a whirring whole.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Critic’s Pick
Exalting, exuberant and exceptional.
‘The Testament of Ann Lee’
Amanda Seyfried stars as Mother Ann, the founder of the Shakers, in this musical drama directed by Mona Fastvold.
From our review:
That it may not be to everyone’s taste, or to yours, feels almost besides the point. When an artist takes a swing this colossal and stays true to their vision in every way, the resulting work deserves respect, and is always worth seeing. … The beating heart of the film, though, is Mother Ann. Seyfried plays her with absolute commitment.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Brutal with a big dash of humor.
‘No Other Choice’
After getting laid off, a family man resorts to bloody methods to eliminate the competition in this dark comedy directed by Park Chan-wook.
From our review:
“No Other Choice” is easy to admire from one perfectly balanced shot to the next; it is a pleasure to see how Park plays with visual space and deploys some of the more slapstick comedy with sharply timed, Rube Goldberg-style finesse. If only the movie’s tones and moods were as modulated as its two vibrant, often touching lead performances.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Critic’s Pick
Adolescence, off the deep end.
‘The Plague’
This dark drama directed by Charlie Polinger follows a young boy trying to fit in at water polo camp.
From our review:
This is what “The Plague” does best: Its storytelling inhabits a world so heated and confusing to its characters — that is, burgeoning adolescence — that it’s sometimes unclear whether things are actually happening or just in Ben’s head.
In theaters. Read the full review.
An uneven trio.
‘Father Mother Sister Brother’
The latest from the director Jim Jarmusch is a triptych of stories about families.
From our review:
Certain motifs (skateboarders, wristwatches, the phrase “Bob’s your uncle”) turn up in every segment, often with unexpected twists, and the stories harmonize in delicate ways. But they aren’t all of equal quality.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Doesn’t have much bite.
‘Anaconda’
Two friends (Paul Rudd and Jack Black) who are obsessed with the 1997 film of the same name travel to the Brazilian jungle to make their own version.
From our review:
Directed by Tom Gormican, this self-referential action-comedy may manage to make some clever jabs at the movie business and nostalgia culture, but its slick spectacle doesn’t match half the dumb-fun of, say, watching Jon Voight get crunched by a leering animatronic puppet.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Expert acting, amateur script.
‘Goodbye June’
In Kate Winslet’s directorial debut, bickering adult children gather around their dying matriarch (Helen Mirren).
From our review:
The movie’s corps d’elite of British talent is almost a joke unto itself; watching the cast undertake the formulaic material sometimes feels like observing as Top Chefs bake a Funfetti-mix cake.
Watch on Netflix. Read the full review.
Critic’s Pick
More than just a tribute.
‘Song Sung Blue’
Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson star as a couple who form a Neil Diamond tribute band in this musical drama directed by Craig Brewer.
From our review:
A rise-fall-renew journey whose beats are predictable, but whose details are anything but, “Song Sung Blue” unspools in grimy-glam visuals (by Brewer’s frequent collaborator Amy Vincent) and irrepressible tunes.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Singing through suffering.
‘The Choral’
Set in 1916, this drama directed by Nicholas Hytner follows a choir master (Ralph Fiennes) who recruits new singers as England goes to war.
From our review:
Fiennes, who’s been going bigger than big in the recent “28 Years Later” horror movies, here reminds us that he’s still capable of poignant subtlety. The film’s final shot will kick your heart into your throat.
In theaters. Read the full review.
Compiled by Kellina Moore.
The post 9 New Movies Our Critics Are Talking About This Week appeared first on New York Times.
