Justin Chang
Justin Chang is a film critic for the Los Angeles Times and NPR's Fresh Air, and a regular contributor to KPCC's FilmWeek. He previously served as chief film critic and editor of film reviews for Variety.
Chang is the author of FilmCraft: Editing, a book of interviews with seventeen top film editors. He serves as chair of the National Society of Film Critics and secretary of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
-
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale takes place in 1930 and is much better than the last Downton movie. Creator Julian Fellowes cuts back on the convoluted plotting and zeroes in on emotional dynamics. -
Darren Aronofsky's film is a funny, bloody valentine to 1990s New York City. Though awfully engrossing, Caught Stealing's mix of rambunctious slapstick and bone-crunching violence doesn't always gel. -
Small-town life is upended when 17 schoolchildren suddenly vanish without explanation in the middle of the night. Weapons is a spooky thriller that invites deeper interpretation. -
The new Naked Gun film, starring Liam Neeson, captures its predecessors' slapstick spirit. Freakier Friday, meanwhile, proves less compelling, despite a solid performance by Lindsay Lohan. -
Eva Victor wrote, directed and stars in this tender film about a woman trying to make sense of life after sexual assault. Although very much a drama, Sorry, Baby showcases Victor's comic smarts. -
Pitt, 61, stars as a Formula One driver whose career was sidelined by a devastating crash. Though the overall arc of F1 is fairly predictable, the film is still hugely enjoyable and dazzlingly well-made. -
Mike Flanagan's new film, a maudlin mystery about a man dying of cancer, feels hobbled by its extreme faithfulness to the Stephen King novella on which its based. -
Benicio Del Toro plays a globe-trotting tycoon trying to convince his estranged daughter (Mia Threapleton) to be his heir. The film is darker, angrier and more violent than Anderson's usual fare. -
This documentary-drama hybrid is one of the best new movies our critic's seen this year. It draws on archival footage to tell a story of two lovers separating and reuniting over roughly two decades. -
Thunderbolts* is unapologetically formulaic. And yet, Florence Pugh is terrific; the action is coherent; and the character dynamics strike the right balance of earnest sincerity and glib humor.
