Edition: U.S. / Global

Saturday, December 12, 2015

Movies

Cate Blanchett as Carol Aird in a scene from “Carol.”
Wilson Webb/The Weinstein Company, via Associated Press

Cate Blanchett as Carol Aird in a scene from “Carol.”

“The Martian,” “Joy,” “Spotlight” and “The Big Short” also made good showings in the Hollywood Foreign Press nominations.

Will Smith is nominated for a Golden Globe as best actor in a drama for
Melinda Sue Gordon/Sony Columbia Pictures

Will Smith is nominated for a Golden Globe as best actor in a drama for "Concussion."

A few thoughts from the newly minted contenders.

Golden Globes 2016: Film Surprises and Snubs

Lily Tomlin and ‘Spy’ make the cut; Johnny Depp and Steven Spielberg don’t.

The Best Movies of 2015

Clockwise from top left: “The Martian,” “Carol,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Bridge of Spies,” “Inside Out” and “The Big Short.”
Clockwise from top left: Aidan Monaghan/Twentieth Century Fox Film; Wilson Webb/The Weinstein Company; Jasin Boland/Warner Bros. Pictures; Jaap Buitendijk/DreamWorks and Twentieth Century Fox Film; Disney/Pixar; Jaap Buitendijk/Paramount Pictures

Clockwise from top left: “The Martian,” “Carol,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Bridge of Spies,” “Inside Out” and “The Big Short.”

Our critics discuss their favorite films of the year.

From left, Hamish Linklater, Jeremy Strong, Steve Carell and Rafe Spall, with Ryan Gosling in the background, in “The Big Short,” directed by Adam McKay.
Jaap Buitendijk/Paramount Pictures

From left, Hamish Linklater, Jeremy Strong, Steve Carell and Rafe Spall, with Ryan Gosling in the background, in “The Big Short,” directed by Adam McKay.

Adam McKay’s adaptation of Michael Lewis’s account of fund managers who bet against the real estate bubble finds laughs within the crisis.

Sam Keeley, left, and Chris Hemsworth star in the film “In the Heart of the Sea,” directed by Ron Howard and based on the nonfiction book by Nathaniel Philbrick.
Jonathan Prime/Warner Bros. Pictures

Sam Keeley, left, and Chris Hemsworth star in the film “In the Heart of the Sea,” directed by Ron Howard and based on the nonfiction book by Nathaniel Philbrick.

The film, based on Nathaniel Philbrick’s book and directed by Ron Howard, finds a group of men against one very angry whale and the ocean.

Carey Mulligan, at the Seventh Annual Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Governors Awards.
Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

Carey Mulligan, at the Seventh Annual Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Governors Awards.

With “Suffragette,” the actress says she saw a chance to bring to light a forgotten chapter of history.

Movie Reviews

Review: ‘Don Verdean,’ a Sendup of Ambitious Pastors and the Lure of Religious Relics

Jared and Jerusha Hess’s film stars Sam Rockwell as an archaeologist who finds himself in a quandary after a pastor asks him to track down Holy Land artifacts.

Review: In ‘The Girl in the Book,’ a Young Editor Is Unsettled by Her Past With a Novelist

Marya Cohn’s first feature stars Emily VanCamp as a publishing employee promoting a book that resurrects her painful history with a predatory writer.

Review: ‘Boy and the World,’ a Colorful and Stirring Animated Journey

Alê Abreu’s film unleashes the exuberance of a child on the harsh realities of Brazil today, with dark wit and satire.

Review: ‘Sunday Ball’ Visits a Soccer Championship in Rio’s Slums

Eryk Rocha’s documentary turns churning legs and arms into a sensory experience that’s bigger on poetry than on clarity.

Review: In ‘Body,’ a Mansion Turns Into a House of Horror

A holiday romp for three women goes wrong in this new film from Dan Berk and Robert Olsen.

Review: ‘American Hero,’ a Deadbeat Superhero, Forever Backsliding

Stephen Dorff stars as Melvin, an absentee dad who has the power to move objects with his mind, in this movie written and directed by Nick Love.

Review: In ‘Dixieland,’ an Ex-Convict Is Sorely Tempted

Hank Bedford’s atmospheric film, set in Mississippi, focuses on a man who is trying to make a fresh start but is nonetheless lured by the prospect of easy money.

Review: In ‘The Tainted Veil,’ the Hijab Is Debated

This head covering worn by many Muslim women is discussed at length in this documentary.

Review: ‘Stinking Heaven,’ a Portrait of Addicts in Turmoil

Nathan Silver’s latest film unfolds in the early 1990s in suburban New Jersey, where a house has become a treatment center.

News & Features

Transgender, and Embraced, on the Red Carpet

Movies like “The Danish Girl” are part of a wave of films giving transgender people more complex stories.

‘The Savage Eye’ Wanders Through Los Angeles at the Museum of the Moving Image

The film follows a woman as she samples the underside of Los Angeles in 1959 as a sort of therapeutic response to a divorce.

In New ‘Star Wars,’ Daisy Ridley and John Boyega Brace for Galactic Fame

Ms. Ridley and Mr. Boyega, among the new heroes of “The Force Awakens,” discuss how they are preparing for worldwide visibility and making their marks in a multibillion-dollar franchise.

SAG Awards 2016: Jennifer Lawrence, Matt Damon Shut Out

‘Straight Outta Compton’ and ‘The Big Short’ join ‘Beasts of No Nation,’ ‘Spotlight’ and ‘Trumbo’ in competition for guild’s top prize.

ArtsBeat

Studios Blamed in Directors Guild Study on Hiring of Women and Minority Filmmakers

Of the 11 companies studied, Lionsgate came out on top with more women and minority men behind the camera.

‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Fans Are Already Lining Up

The film isn’t showing until Dec. 17 and plenty of tickets are left, but to more than 100 people in Hollywood, the vigil is part of the experience.

Will It Be a Music Documentary or One About War Criminals?

The nonfiction Oscar contest is shaping up as a race between “Amy” and “The Look of Silence.”

It’s Indies vs. Blockbusters in Film Critics’ Awards

New York, Boston and Los Angeles reviewers split between small movies like “Spotlight” and big hits like “Mad Max: Fury Road.”

Great Performers

The Art of Flying in the Movies

A cinematic history of going airborne.

Great Performers

Editor’s Letter: Take Flight With Virtual Reality

In the magazine’s new V.R. project, we send our readers up, up and away.

Naked Maneuvering, Whip Smart Stars: Inside The Times’s Oscar Coverage

The Carpetbagger columnist Cara Buckley chats about the Oscars and how she covers them.

Photos & Video
Adam McKay Narrates a Scene From ‘The Big Short’

The director discusses a sequence from his comedy.

The Holiday Movie Season in Trailers

From Oscar hopefuls to blockbuster franchises, a look at select trailers from movies in theaters this season that may fit your holiday mood.

Ryan Coogler Narrates a Scene From ‘Creed’

The director discuses a sequence featuring Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone.

Charlotte Rampling Through the Years

For more than five decades, the actress has seduced men and women alike with her cool, distant beauty.

Holiday Releases: Dinosaurs, Divas, Archers and Tie Fighters

A guide to notable openings through the end of the year.

Photos & Video
Anatomy of a Scene

In this series, directors discuss ideas and techniques behind moments in their films.

Movies Update
Movies Update Newsletter

Sign up here for our Movies Update e-mail, delivered each Friday, and stay on top of Critics’ Picks, blockbusters and independent films.

The Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made

This guide includes links to the original reviews from the archives of The New York Times.

MOST POPULAR - MOVIES