Film

Saadiq helped shape modern R&B and soul in Tony! Toni! Toné! and as a solo artist. Now he's up for an Oscar for his song, "I Lied to You" from the film Sinners. Originally broadcast July 8, 2025.

Our film critic, Justin Chang, recommends the new romantic dramedy "Pillion," which opens in theaters this week. It stars Harry Melling as a mild-mannered young man who falls for the leader of a gay biker gang, played by Alexander Skarsgard. Their unconventional love story earned the film's writer and director, Harry Lighton, a screenplay prize last year at the Cannes Film Festival. Here is Justin's review.

filmmaker Julia Loktev. Her latest film, "My Undesirable Friends: Part I - Last Air In Moscow," is a 5 1/2-hour documentary structured in chapters, following a close-knit group of independent Russian journalists and activists during 2021 and early 2022 as the Russian government branded reporters foreign agents in the months leading up to and just after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Del Toro's Frankenstein, which reimagines Mary Shelley's 1818 Gothic novel, has been nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Originally broadcast Oct. 23, 2025.

In the new film "Islands" out this week, a washed-up tennis pro gives lessons at a fancy hotel in the Canary Islands. But when he meets an elegant woman with an unlikable husband, things take a noir-ish turn. Our critic at large, John Powers, says the plot may sound familiar, but "Islands" takes you places you don't expect.

Brooks is the subject of a new two-part HBO documentary, Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! TV critic David Bianculli reviews the documentary, plus we listen back to archival interviews with Brooks.

Sound of Falling weaves together the experiences of four generations of women living in the same rural stretch of northern Germany, and the secrets that have accumulated over that time.

Jodie Foster. Her new film is called "A Private Life." She plays a Freudian psychoanalyst who's compelled to investigate the mysterious death of a patient. The film is set in Paris, and Foster speaks French throughout. She's had a six-decade career which started at the age of three. She won Oscars for "Silence Of The Lambs" and "The Accused" and, more recently, was nominated for an Oscar for her work on the film "Nyad" and won an Emmy for her role in the latest season of HBO's "True Detective."

actor Tessa Thompson. She's starring in the new limited series "His & Hers," a true crime thriller on Netflix. She's known for her roles in "Dear White People," "Creed," "Thor: Ragnarok" and other Marvel movies, "Sorry To Bother You" and "Passing." For the "Creed" films, she cowrote and performed all of her character Bianca's songs.

Justin Chang is a film critic for The New Yorker. He reviewed Marty Supreme

The Hustle & Flow director is known for films about dreamers and misfits. His latest is based on the true story a Milwaukee couple who became local legends performing as a Neil Diamond tribute band.

actor, director and artist Lucy Liu. Her new film "Rosemead" is inspired by true events in California's San Gabriel Valley. It follows Irene, a terminally ill Chinese American mother who discovers her teenage son has become fixated on mass shootings and violent fantasies.

Reiner and his wife Michele were found dead in their home on Sunday, and their son was arrested on suspicion of murder. Today we're going to listen back to the interview I recorded with Rob Reiner in September. But first our TV critic, remembers Reiner's contributions to TV and film.

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.

Stoppard, who died Nov. 29, wrote Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead and The Real Thing, and the screenplays for Empire of the Sun and Shakespeare in Love. Originally broadcast in 1991.

The new Brazilian film "The Secret Agent" is set during that country's dictatorship, which ran from 1964 to 1985. It stars Wagner Moura as an honorable scientist who becomes a target of powerful forces. The movie, which was directed by Kleber Mendonca Filho, won two big prizes at Cannes and is Brazil's submission for this year's Academy Awards. Our critic-at-large, John Powers, says it's even better than "I'm Still Here," the Brazilian movie that won an Oscar earlier this year.

George Clooney, Academy Award-winner, director, producer and one of Hollywood's most recognizable leading men. His latest film, "Jay Kelly," directed by Noah Baumbach, follows a world-famous actor who discovers that being a movie star is a lot easier than being an actual human being.

Paul Tazewell, an Academy Award-winning costume designer whose career includes designing for "Hamilton," "West Side Story," "The Color Purple" and now "Wicked: For Good."

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.