17 stories by "Justin Chang"
With a musical return to Oz and a bloody epic of ancient Rome, Hollywood studios double down on blockbuster spectacle.
There was no one like Aretha Franklin, and this knockout chronicle of the recording sessions for "Amazing Grace" captures her powers at their peak.
We were warned not to miss a moment of Jimmy Fallon's Golden Globes opening number, which some had accurately predicted would be an extended tribute to "La La Land." And why not? Damien C…
If the first "Star Wars" (1977) hadn't already been rebranded "A New Hope," that optimistic title might have applied just as well to "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," by any measure a rousing,…
Come back, come back, wherever you are, David Mamet. All is forgiven (even “Race”) if you will just quit jerking us around on non-plays like “China Doll” and get a gr…
A sharply drawn portrait of a dysfunctional artistic family that effectively speaks to the troubled legacy all parents (Plunkett & Walken) bequeath to their children (Kidman & Bateman). Bea…
It's a long, slow death for nine unfortunate refugees in "Aftermath," an often tedious but clammily atmospheric end-of-the-world thriller set in the wake of a nuclear holocaust.
Variety critics talk the can’t-miss pics at this year’s Cannes Film Festival — and attempt to do so in 140 characters or less. (Click image for large preview.)
This sloppy, boisterous "X Factor" spoof is a splashy, flashy tonal mess that just about succeeds.
James Dearden turns his own 1987 screenplay into a dreary, clunky stage drama laboriously helmed by Trevor Nunn.
Frederick Weller and the ever-astonishing Tyne Daly bring considerable humanity to Terrence McNally's diffuse and disjointed new play.
This reverential revival of the long-runner Broadway hit is a solid piece of theatrical architecture.
Bryan Cranston owns the role of LBJ in this beautifully built dramatic piece.
Bruce Ramsay directs and stars in a modestly inventive but curiously bloodless version of the Bard's timeless tragedy.
"Frozen," a musical about two princesses? You wouldn't know it from the Mouse House's advertising strategy, aimed at concealing everything remarkable about Disney's splendid new animated fea…
Doug Hamilton's engaging backstage doc offers a straightforward account of "American Idiot's" journey to the Great White Way.
Wouldn’t we all kill to be invited to a dinner party at Sue Mengers’? But, as Bette Midler puts it so plainly to the auds at her solo show, “Of course I would ask you to st…
