Movies?

No Breaks for a Rider in a Hurry
‘Premium Rush,’ Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt
NYT Critics' Pick

Joseph Gordon-Levitt in "Premium Rush."
By MANOHLA DARGIS
Published: August 23, 2012

Pushing pedal to the mettle and its breezily thin, goofy story to the breaking point, “Premium Rush” provides just about all the late summer air-conditioned relief you could hope for. It’s buoyant dumb-fun, a ticking-clock thriller about a New York bicycle messenger who has to get from here to there without being taken out. Stuffed with zingers and zippy stunts, it comes with pretty young things of all hues and hair types — few prettier than its lead, Joseph Gordon-Levitt — and start-to-finish clever special effects, none more clever or special than Michael Shannon. If you want to see a political undertow in its urban band of multicultural renegades, there’s that for the taking too. Moar

The Leisure Class Bears Its Burden
‘Neighboring Sounds,’ Directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho
NYT Critics' Pick


Irma Brown and Gustavo Jahn in "Neighboring Sounds," directed by Kleber Mendonça Filho.
By A. O. SCOTT
Published: August 23, 2012

“Neighboring Sounds,” Kleber Mendonça Filho’s revelatory debut feature, takes place mostly on a wealthy block in the northeastern Brazilian city of Recife. Identical, gleaming white high-rises — some with fancy names like Vivaldi, Westminster and Camille Claudel — dominate the skyline, obscuring the nearby ocean and also the urban poverty that has been central to Brazil’s social and cinematic identity for decades. Moar

From War Casualty to Zombie, and Happy to Be Undead
‘The Revenant,’ Horror-Comedy Directed by Kerry Prior


David Anders, left, and Chris Wylde are buddies out for blood in “The Revenant,” a zombie caper oozing with ghoulish humor and special effects.
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS

Published: August 23, 2012A middling zombie movie elevated by clever writing and gooeylicious special effects, Kerry Prior’s “Revenant” toys with big themes but settles for uneasy laughs. Even so, when you consider that most American horror-comedies are about as funny as rotting flesh, this small sleeper delivers a surprising number of pleasingly putrid punch lines. Moar

Novice Knights: Now, What Was That Quest?
‘Knight Knight,’ Directed by Christina Bucher


“Knight Knight” revels in comic observations on the Middle Ages.
By ANDY WEBSTER
Published: August 23, 2012

The castles look terrific in Christina Bucher’s “Knight Knight,” as do the costumes and the British sunlight. And certainly the actors deliver in this light satire of the Middle Ages, in which two dim knights of the post-Arthur period, Gilbert (David Wayman) and Edgar (Tom Eykelhof), attempt to rescue the hardheaded Princess Katrina (Ms. Bucher), a prisoner of the portly, blustery King Vince (Nick von Schlippe). The script, by Nicholas Horwood, is packed with droll anachronisms and comic observations on the medieval era, as well as amusing twists: Each hero successfully escapes the castle, only to have to return. When Edgar proposes to Rachael (Claira Watson Parr), half-sister of Katrina, she replies: “What? God, no. I mean, sorry, I’ve got a boyfriend.” Moar

From the Slums to the Soccer Field, 2 Boys Grasp at Hope
‘Hermano,’ About Soccer as Refuge, Directed by Marcel Rasquin


Fernando Moreno, left, and Eliú Armas in “Hermano,” in which soccer represents escape from poverty.
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS
Published: August 23, 2012

“Hermano,” the heartfelt first feature from the Venezuelan filmmaker Marcel Rasquin, follows two soccer-playing boys whose striking talents offer escape from the slums of Caracas. Moar

Roman Sausage

Lucanian Sausage: An ancient Roman delicacy