Movie Picks, from ‘The Favourite’ to ‘Roma’ to ‘Widows’
Movie recommendations from critics Justin Chang and Kenneth Turan. In general release unless noted.
The Favourite This viciously entertaining period comedy-drama from director Yorgos Lanthimos (“The Lobster”) returns us to the 18th century court of Queen Anne (a magnificent Olivia Colman) and the intrigue swirling around two women (Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone) vying for her favor. (Justin Chang) R Limited
Happy as Lazzaro Alice Rohrwacher’s enchanting, time-bending third feature, about a group of sharecroppers on an Italian tobacco farm, is a deceptively plain-looking portrait of downtrodden lives that by the end all but glows with wonderment and surprise. (Justin Chang) PG-13 Netflix
If Beale Street Could Talk Barry Jenkins’ follow-up to his Oscar-winning “Moonlight” is a visually and musically gorgeous adaptation of James Baldwin’s novel, a 1970s Harlem love story that beautifully mixes past and present, the personal and the political. (Justin Chang) R Limited
The Other Side of the Wind Shot between 1970 and 1976 and then left unfinished for decades, Orson Welles’ long-awaited final feature is a cracked, corrosive vision, a cinematic hall of mirrors that fascinatingly reflects the fraught circumstances of its making. (Justin Chang) R Netflix
Roma An extremely quiet, even meditative picture played at the softer pitch of reality, rather than the higher frequency of drama by writer-director-producer Alfonso Cuarón, whose childhood experiences are the bedrock of this family story. (Kenneth Turan) R Limited/Netflix
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse The creative braintrust of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller has thoroughly rejuvenated the Spider-Man myth in this quick-witted, formula-busting and visually gorgeous animated feature, which places a new kid named Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) behind the mask. (Justin Chang) PG
A Star Is Born No matter how many previous versions of “A Star Is Born” you’ve seen, the Bradley Cooper-Lady Gaga extravaganza about a star on the rise falling for a star on the way down should not be missed. (Kenneth Turan) R
Widows Viola Davis, Elizabeth Debicki and Michelle Rodriguez give superb performances as three very different, very desperate women executing a daring heist in this unusually gripping, meaty and politically charged thriller from director Steve McQueen. (Justin Chang) R
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