‘Purpose’ review: A hilarious and blistering family clash on Broadway

‘Purpose’ review: A hilarious and blistering family clash on Broadway

Theater review PURPOSE Two hours and 50 minutes, with one intermission. At the Hayes Theater, 240 West 44th Street. Plays about families coming home — and coming to blows — are a workhorse of American drama. The dinner-table clashes are reliably entertaining, easy to connect to and, you’d think, totally wrung-out by now. How can … Read more

‘Othello’ review: Denzel Washington’s dull Broadway show isn’t worth a $921 ticket

‘Othello’ review: Denzel Washington’s dull Broadway show isn’t worth a 1 ticket

“Othello” opens next Sunday on Broadway. But The Post has decided to review the show a week early after the production rescinded critic Johnny Oleksinski’s ticket because he wrote a column blasting their $921 prices. That’s OK. We bought our own. Theater review OTHELLO Two hours and 35 minutes, with one intermission. 243 W. 47th … Read more

‘The Electric State’ review: Netflix spent $320M on a movie you’ll hate

‘The Electric State’ review: Netflix spent 0M on a movie you’ll hate

movie review THE ELECTRIC STATE Running time: 128 minutes. Rated PG-13 <br>(sci-fi violence/action, language and some thematic material). <br>On Netflix. We’ve really been sold a pig in a poke with directors Anthony and Joe Russo. In 2019, their entertaining three-hour Marvel epic “Avengers: Endgame” deservingly became the second highest-grossing movie of all time. That was … Read more

‘Who by Fire’ Review: Masculinity and Its Discontents

‘Who by Fire’ Review: Masculinity and Its Discontents

One enduring storytelling strategy is to put some characters in a cage and watch them fight it out. There’s a reason so many mysteries, thrillers and horror movies take place in close quarters: Lockdowns have a way of turning people into lab animals. And whatever the cause — nature, nurture or screenwriting contrivance — when … Read more

‘Opus’ Review: A New Album They’re Dying to Hear

‘Opus’ Review: A New Album They’re Dying to Hear

As targets for satire, flamboyant pop stars and celebrity journalists are low-hanging fruit — maybe even slightly mushy, rotten fruit. But in “Opus,” Mark Anthony Green, a former style columnist for GQ making his first feature as writer and director, bids to say something trenchant about fame while cementing his reputation as a sleek new … Read more

‘The Electric State’ Review: 1990s Robot Apocalypse? As if!

‘The Electric State’ Review: 1990s Robot Apocalypse? As if!

In “The Electric State,” a young woman and a silent robot slowly make their way across the carcass of the United States, littered with beached war ships and drones. In this alternative history, machines got on a fast track to sentience during the 20th century and waged war against humanity, which barely won. By the … Read more

‘Black Bag’ Review: Blanchett v. Fassbender

‘Black Bag’ Review: Blanchett v. Fassbender

“Black Bag” is the third movie written by David Koepp and directed by Steven Soderbergh that’s been released since 2022, and it’s a banger. It’s also sleek, witty and lean to the bone, a fizzy, engaging puzzler about beautiful spies doing the sort of extraordinary things that the rest of us only read about in … Read more

‘An Unfinished Film’ Review: When Reality Interrupts Art

‘An Unfinished Film’ Review: When Reality Interrupts Art

It’s a little hard to get a grasp on what “An Unfinished Film” is at first. This semifictional drama opens with a film crew booting up a 10-year-old computer, hoping their footage will still be there. And after a little finagling, the screen springs to life. Director Xiaorui (Mao Xiaorui) watches, rapt, as a younger … Read more

‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ review: Paul Mescal sizzles, Patsy Ferran amazes in 4-star revival

‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ review: Paul Mescal sizzles, Patsy Ferran amazes in 4-star revival

Theater review A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE Two hours and 45 minutes with one intermission. At BAM, 651 Fulton Street in Brooklyn, through April 6. Audiences are boarding “A Streetcar Named Desire” — or, rather, a train called Q — in droves to experience “Gladiator II” star Paul Mescal onstage in Brooklyn.  And, as brutish Stanley … Read more

‘Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna’ Review: Confusing Accounts

‘Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna’ Review: Confusing Accounts

“I don’t know how you get justice from an accident.” In 2021, the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot on the set of the movie “Rust.” The new Hulu documentary “Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna,” directed by Rachel Mason, a friend of Hutchins, is not a chronicle of Hutchins’s life, nor a … Read more

‘Chaos: The Manson Murders’ Review: All You Ever Knew is Suspect

‘Chaos: The Manson Murders’ Review: All You Ever Knew is Suspect

Most likely you know the outline of the case: Charles Manson, the failed musician and wild-eyed hippie, ordered his “family” — drug-addled runaways, mostly, who had been living with him at a ranch full of old movie sets — to carry out a series of gruesome murders on the evenings of Aug. 8 and 9, … Read more

‘On Becoming a Guinea Fowl’ Review: Watchful Eyes

‘On Becoming a Guinea Fowl’ Review: Watchful Eyes

Shula, the watchful heroine of the quietly stirring “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl,” doesn’t seem cut out for bold gestures. She’s reserved, at times to the point of standoffishness and given to introspective silences. There’s admirable grace to her composure but also an air of practiced caution. The only really obvious thing about Shula is … Read more

‘Picture This’ Review: Five Dates Away From Love

‘Picture This’ Review: Five Dates Away From Love

Did the casting call for “Picture This” state that those without dimples needn’t apply? Most of the actors in this British rom-com — directed by Prarthana Mohan — have them. Especially the men orbiting Pia (Simone Ashley of “Bridgerton”), a talented photographer in London who is the hard-pressed business owner at the film’s center. There’s … Read more

‘There’s Still Tomorrow’ Review: An Updated Italian Heroine

‘There’s Still Tomorrow’ Review: An Updated Italian Heroine

“There’s Still Tomorrow” is set in Rome after World War II, but it unfolds with timeless verve and romanticism. It’s the directorial debut of the Italian singer and comedian Paola Cortellesi, who also stars. This feminist dramedy tells a story about domestic abuse — echoing still-timely concerns about violence against women and toxic masculinity in … Read more

‘Seven Veils’ Review: Private Anguish in Public View

‘Seven Veils’ Review: Private Anguish in Public View

Only the Canadian writer-director Atom Egoyan (“Exotica,” “The Sweet Hereafter”) could have made the movie “Seven Veils.” His signature obsessions — the ripple effects of trauma, the use of video as evidence, private anguish played out in public view — pervade every frame. The film centers on a theater director, Jeanine (Amanda Seyfried), who is … Read more