Friday Movies

The Bride, Ahem, Needs That Dress
‘Bachelorette’ by Leslye Headland, With Kirsten Dunst
NYT Critics' Pick

From left, Lizzy Caplan, Kirsten Dunst and Isla Fisher in "Bachelorette."
By STEPHEN HOLDEN
Published: September 6, 2012

“I’ll get the Cobb salad with no chicken, no bacon, no cheese, no avocado,” declares Regan (Kirsten Dunst), a snippy, overgrown alpha girl ordering lunch in a New York restaurant. Moar

The Enduring Erotic Life Cycle of an Unpromising Relationship
‘Keep the Lights On,’ Directed by Ira Sachs

NYT Critics' Pick

Jean Christophe Husson/Music Box Films
Thure Lindhardt as a gay documentary filmmaker in Ira Sachs’s film.
By A. O. SCOTT
Published: September 6, 2012

When we first meet Erik (Thure Lindhardt), a Danish filmmaker living in New York in 1997, he is on the telephone looking for a casual sexual hookup. He seems fickle and impatient, hanging up on potential partners at the first hint that the chemistry might be wrong, but eventually he finds more or less what he is looking for. Quite a bit more, actually, in the person of Paul (Zachary Booth), even though Paul says he has a steady girlfriend, and Erik is not interested in commitment. Moar

Far Beyond ‘Playhouse,’ Artist Remains Playful
‘Beauty Is Embarrassing,’ Directed by Neil Berkeley

NYT Critics' Pick

Wayne White in an oversize mask of Lyndon B. Johnson in “Beauty Is Embarrassing,” about Mr. White’s career.
By ANDY WEBSTER
Published: September 6, 2012

The creativity grows like kudzu in “Beauty Is Embarrassing,” Neil Berkeley’s enlightening and often hilarious portrait of the Los Angeles artist Wayne White. And it yields a thousand blossoms. Mr. White, an Emmy-winning puppeteer for “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” has had his share of career dips, only to arrive as a popular painter of some very amusing canvases. Tracing his evolution, the film gets at larger issues — about imagination, relationships and laughter. Moar

Softening a Trucker’s Rough Edges
‘Las Acacias,’ Directed by Pablo Giorgelli

NYT Critics' Pick

From left, Nayra Calle, Hebe Duarte and Germán de Silva on the road from Paraguay to Argentina in “Las Acacias,” a film that’s not heavy on dialogue.
By JEANNETTE CATSOULIS
Published: September 6, 2012

Beating a sweet retreat from exposition and event, the Argentine director Pablo Giorgelli turns his minimalist road movie, “Las Acacias,” into a swelling meditation on wounded hearts and rekindled hopes. Moar

Aliens With Dance Moves and the Midas Touch
‘Joker,’ a Bollywood Comedy by Shirish Kunder

A Man, and a Potential Meal
‘Serving Up Richard,’ Directed by Henry Olek

These Wedding Crashers Are Zombies
‘[REC] 3: Genesis,’ Directed by Paco Plaza

Ittsa Word! Ittsa Cloud! Ittsa Word Cloud!

At the National Conventions, the Words They Used