Justin Chang

Our film critic, Justin Chang, recommends "Wake Up Dead Man," the latest film in the "Knives Out" murder mystery series. Like its predecessors, it's written and directed by Rian Johnson and stars Daniel Craig as Detective Benoit Blanc. In the new film, Josh O'Connor plays a Catholic priest who teams up with Blanc to solve a whodunnit in his parish. "Wake Up Dead Man" also features Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington and Glenn Close, and is streaming now on Netflix. Here is Justin's review.

Film critic Justin Chang spent a lot of time this year watching movies at festivals and theaters and on his couch. He says that contrary to what popular opinion or gloomy box-office headlines may tell us, 2025 has been the strongest year for new movies in a long time. Here's Justin's list of the best films of the year.

Our film critic, Justin Chang, says the best documentary he's seen this year is a 5 1/2-hour film called "My Undesirable Friends: Part I - Last Air In Moscow." Filmed over several months in late 2021 and early 2022, it follows several independent journalists in Moscow as they deal with the fallout of Vladimir Putin's crackdown on reporters and Russia's initial invasion of Ukraine. "My Undesirable Friends" received a Gotham Award nomination for best documentary and is playing at select venues around the country.