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.
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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. -
Writing and directing her first film, playwright Annie Baker exhibits uncanny powers of observation. Not much happens in this mother-daughter movie, but something momentous seems to have taken place. -
Fresh off of Poor Things, director Lanthimos' three-part dark comedy about domination and free will feels like a lazy and self-admiring riff — punctuated by the occasional crude shock. -
Inside Out 2 catches up with protagonist Riley at age 13, just as Anxiety enters her emotional life. But despite its many pleasures, the film lacks the emotional wallop of the original. -
You can’t immediately tell whether this film is trying to be an old-fashioned Western or a revisionist one. It was written and directed by Viggo Mortensen, who stars alongside Vicky Krieps.
