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Saturday, April 27, 2013

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Reluctant Fundamentalist »
By MANOHLA DARGIS
Pain & Gain »
By A. O. SCOTT
Mud »
By A. O. SCOTT

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Jeff Nichols: Storytelling Son of the South »
Q. and A.
Whoopi Goldberg »
Q. and A.
Ramin Bahrani »
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Paul Verhoeven »
Anatomy of a Scene
‘Trance’ »
Slide Show
Many Film Languages »

The Weight Those Heels Carry

By FELICIA R. LEE
As a political crisis manager, Kerry Washington is the lead in the hit TV drama
Michael Lewis for The New York Times

As a political crisis manager, Kerry Washington is the lead in the hit TV drama "Scandal."

Playing the lead role in “Scandal,” Kerry Washington is regarded as a star whose success can open doors for other black actresses.

A Heavy Lift Onto the Screen

By TERRENCE RAFFERTY
Onata Aprile and Alexander Skarsgard in the coming “What Maisie Knew.”
Millennium Entertainment

Onata Aprile and Alexander Skarsgard in the coming “What Maisie Knew.”

“What Maisie Saw,” a new film updating the Henry James novel, raises anew the issue of just how hard it is to adapt James’s work to the screen.

Graphic: Rejuvenation, Reflected on the Screen

Trine Dyrholm and Pierce Brosnan in
Sony Pictures Classics

Trine Dyrholm and Pierce Brosnan in "Love Is All You Need," directed by Susanne Bier.

Choices about the costumes and sets of Susanne Bier’s new film, “Love Is All You Need,” do much to reflect the character and her outlook on life.

Rejuvenation, Reflected on the Screen

By MEKADO MURPHY

Choices about the costumes and sets of Susanne Bier’s new film, “Love Is All You Need,” do much to reflect the character and her outlook on life.

News & Features
A scene from “Post Tenebras Lux,” which opened to boos and jeers at the Cannes Film Festival last May. Its director, Carlos Reygadas, won the festival’s best director prize.

All the Dreaminess of Reality

By DENNIS LIM

Carlos Reygadas’s film “Post Tenebras Lux,” booed at the Cannes festival in 2012, is coming to Film Forum on May 1.

Alice Lowe and Steve Oram as a couple who go on vacation in the British Midlands in “Sightseers,” directed by Ben Wheatley.

It’s Vacation: Let’s Go on a Killing Spree!

By NICOLAS RAPOLD

When other vacationers annoy, there is only one way to deal with them, in “Sightseers.”

On Video
Pierre Étaix and Laurence Lignères in “The Suitor” (1962), now available as part of a Blu-ray package with more of his features and shorts, including the Oscar-winning “Happy Anniversary.”

The Dark Side of Innocence

By DAVE KEHR

Pierre Étaix, the French comic — well, he was more than that — is honored in a collection from Criterion, released in two discs.

Talk
Michael Shannon

Michael Shannon Cannot Understand Why He’s a Late-Night Reject

Interview by ANDREW GOLDMAN

The actor on playing scary and failing to achieve a childhood goal of getting on “Letterman.”

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ArtsBeat

A Filmmaker’s Rebellious Teenagers, Take 1

By MIKE HALE

A 92Y TriBeCa double bill allows viewers to catch up with Olivier Assayas’s “Cold Water,” from 1994, a film he revisits in his forthcoming “Something in the Air.”

Media Decoder

‘Technical’ Problem Resolved, ‘Django’ to Open in China in May

By MICHAEL CIEPLY

The film was pulled from theaters in April, but is now set to debut on May 12. Sony Pictures officials declined to say if the movie had been edited.

One current cover retains the artwork for the original jacket.

Judging ‘Gatsby’ by Its Cover(s)

By JULIE BOSMAN

The F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, which is selling briskly, now comes with two covers: one based on the original art, and another that is a tie-in to the coming movie.

What I Wore
Heather Graham in a dress by Stella McCartney and shoes by Casadei at a premiere in New York for the film “At Any Price.”

Staying Effervescent Against the Odds

By BEE-SHYUAN CHANG

For the actress Heather Graham, the challenge of dressing is complicated by the shifts in New York weather, the pains of high heels and the demands of promoting a new film.

Movie Reviews
Movie Review | 'Pain & Gain'
From left, Dwayne Johnson, Mark Wahlberg and Anthony Mackie in

The Thick Have Their Needs, Too

By A. O. SCOTT

Michael Bay’s “Pain & Gain,” a more modest venture than his usual blockbusters, chronicles the true-crime doings of three Miami personal trainers.

Movie Review | 'Mud'
Tye Sheridan, left, and Jacob Lofland, right, play two Arkansas boys who find Mud (Matthew McConaughey) living in a boat.

Hiding From Trouble, Found by Innocents

By A. O. SCOTT

In Jeff Nichols’s third feature, two Arkansas boys discover a boat on an overgrown island in the Mississippi River, and also discover the leathery loner who inhabits it.

Movie Review | 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist'
Riz Ahmed as a Pakistani disappointed by America.

Dreams Are Lost in the Melting Pot

By MANOHLA DARGIS

Mira Nair’s “Reluctant Fundamentalist” is an adaptation of a 2007 novel, in which a young Pakistani university lecturer reminiscences about his life in America.

Movie Review | 'Hamesima X'

It Came From Outer Space, Bearing Secrets

By NICOLAS RAPOLD

“Hamesima X,” directed by Yuval Ovadia, Or Yashar and Prosper Malka, delivers metaphysical thoughts in an unusual package.

Movie Review | ‘Out-Takes From the Life of a Happy Man'
A scene from

Luminous Time Capsule, Bobbing Alongside the Present

By MANOHLA DARGIS

In “Out-Takes From the Life of a Happy Man,” the director Jonas Mekas, now 90, splices together luminous moments that he filmed in the past.

Movie Review | 'Kon-Tiki'
“Kon-Tiki” dramatizes Thor Heyerdahl’s celebrated 1947 Pacific trip.

Ja, That Manly Raft Trip, Blond Manes a-Whipping

By MANOHLA DARGIS

“Kon-Tiki” dramatizes Thor Heyerdahl’s celebrated 1947 trip across the Pacific aboard a wooden raft.

Movie Review | 'An Oversimplification of Her Beauty'
Namik Minter in “An Oversimplification of Her Beauty.”

Young Love, the Unrequited Type

By NICOLAS RAPOLD

Terence Nance writes, directs and acts in “An Oversimplification of Her Beauty,” his film about the sweet romantic tension between two close friends.

Movie Review | 'At Any Price'
From left, Zac Efron, Dennis Quaid and Kim Dickens as members of a Midwestern farm family in “At Any Price.”

A Heartland Without Soul

By STEPHEN HOLDEN

“At Any Price” is a critical exploration of modern agribusiness and its cutthroat ways, but it is also an allegory of American hubris in the 21st century.

Movie Review | 'The Big Wedding'
Diane Keaton and Robert De Niro pretend they never divorced in “The Big Wedding.”

Coupling, Uncoupling, Dissembling, Recoupling

By STEPHEN HOLDEN

A sex farce that centers on a wedding, with stars including Diane Keaton, Robert De Niro, Katherine Heigl and Susan Sarandon.

Movie Review | 'Paradise: Love'
Margarethe Tiesel in Ulrich Seidl’s “Paradise: Love.”

Stripped of Clothes, Dignity and Maybe Shame

By A. O. SCOTT

In “Paradise: Love,” a middle-age single mother in Austria treats herself to a birthday trip to a coastal resort in Kenya.

Movie Review | 'Midnight’s Children'
Satya Bhabha, center, with Shriya Saran, in “Midnight’s Children,” directed by Deepa Mehta.

Birth of a Nation, in the Words of Salman Rushdie

By RACHEL SALTZ

Salman Rushdie is the narrator of his film adaptation of his novel, directed by Deepa Mehta.

Movie Review | 'Arthur Newman'
Emily Blunt and Colin Firth are lovers in “Arthur Newman.”

Kindred Souls, Whoever They Are

By STEPHEN HOLDEN

In “Arthur Newman,” a bored middle-aged man and a young thief become road trip companions.

Movie Review | ‘Sun Don’t Shine’
Kate Lyn Sheil in Amy Seimetz’s “Sun Don’t Shine.”

Sweaty Young Lovers on the Run

By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Young lovers travel a hellish road in Central Florida in “Sun Don’t Shine,” from the “Tiny Furniture” actress Amy Seimetz.

Movie Review | ‘Graceland’
Arnold Reyes and Ella Guevara in “Graceland,” directed by Ron Morales and set in a tough community in the Philippines.

A Land of Hope and Dreams, Dashed

By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Schoolgirls face dangers of many sorts in “Graceland,” which focuses on a Filipino driver trying to do what he must for his family.

More Reviews

More News & Features

Tribeca Film Festival

Coverage of the festival, including interviews with filmmakers, video clips, images, news and more.

Photos & Video
Video
This Week’s Movies | April 26, 2013

The New York Times critics on “Mud,” “Pain & Gain” and “The Reluctant Fundamentalist.”

Slide Show
Animating Her Beauty
By MEKADO MURPHY

Scenes from “An Oversimplification of Her Beauty,” with commentary by Terence Nance.

Video Feature
Same Scene, Different Languages

A comparison of a scene from both the English-language and Norwegian-language versions of “Kon-Tiki.”

Video
Anatomy of a Scene: ‘Mud’

Jeff Nichols, the director of “Mud,” narrates a scene from his film.

Video
Mira Nair’s ‘Reluctant Fundamentalist’

The director Mira Nair discusses her latest film, “The Reluctant Fundamentalist.”

Anatomy of a Scene: ‘Mud’

April 26, 2013

This Week’s Movies: ‘Pain & Gain,’ ‘Mud’ and ‘The Reluctant Fundamentalist’

April 26, 2013

MTV Orders TV Pilot Based on ‘Scream’ Horror Series

April 25, 2013

More Movies Posts in Artsbeat »

Photos & Video
Slide Show
Playing at Tribeca

A look at some of the offerings in the 12th Tribeca Film Festival, which runs from April 17-28.

Video
Anatomy of a Scene: ‘Trance’

The director Danny Boyle narrates a scene from his thriller “Trance,” with James McAvoy and Rosario Dawson.

Slide Show
Barbra Streisand in Pictures

A look back at the career of Barbra Streisand, who is being honored by the Film Society of Lincoln Center.

Interactive Feature
Anatomy of a Scene

In this series, directors discuss ideas and techniques behind moments in their films.

Box Office Top 5

  1. Oblivion
  2. 42
  3. The Croods
  4. Scary Movie V
  5. G.I. Joe: Retaliation
More Box Office Data »
Movies Update
Movies Update Newsletter

Sign up here for our Movies Update e-mail, delivered each Friday, and stay on top of Critics’ Picks, blockbusters and independent films.

Times Pulse

The most popular movies among NYTimes.com readers.
  1. Pain & Gain
  2. Mud
  3. Set it Off 2
  4. The Big Wedding
  5. The Reluctant Fundamentalist
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.

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