The Front Row
Richard Brody offers notes on blockbuster movies, independent films, and documentaries. Follow live updates from the 2023 Oscars.
“Fly Me to the Moon” Lacks Mission Control
This rom-com about the marketing of the Apollo space program, starring Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, has an inconsistent tone and a vague point of view.
By Richard Brody
An Ingenious New French Comedy of Art and Friendship
The director Pascale Bodet works wonders in “Vas-Tu Renoncer?,” based on the relationship of Édouard Manet and Charles Baudelaire.
By Richard Brody
“Last Summer” Is a Ferocious Vision of Sexual Frenzy
The French director Catherine Breillat’s new film, a fiercely antagonistic tale of an incestuous affair, is both a long-delayed return to work and an artistic self-renewal.
By Richard Brody
Richard Brody’s Best Movies of 2024 So Far
At the midway point of the year, the film critic discusses his top three pictures.
By Richard Brody
“Janet Planet”: Melt the Icebergs
The playwright Annie Baker’s first feature conceals its depth of experience under a narrow array of details.
By Richard Brody
“The Bikeriders” Lends a Wild Bunch a Mythic Grandeur
Jeff Nichols’s adaptation of the photographer Danny Lyon’s 1968 book about a Chicago motorcycle club is a tough, turbulent, but airbrushed drama.
By Richard Brody
“Shoeshine” Marked a New Era of Political Cinema
Vittorio De Sica’s 1946 neorealist drama helped put Italian movies at the center of world cinema.
By Richard Brody
The Rediscovery of “Naked Acts” Expands Film History
Bridgett M. Davis’s 1996 drama centers the art of movies on the legacy and the experiences of Black actresses.
By Richard Brody
“Flipside” Is a Treasure Trove of Music and Memory
Chris Wilcha’s documentary explores life, love, and art through his connection to a venerable record store.
By Richard Brody
Could Elaine May Finally Be Getting Her Due?
A new biography gives a compelling sense of a comic and cinematic genius, and also of the forces that derailed her Hollywood career.
By Richard Brody