Don't Bogart My Blog: Movies Update: ‘Uncharted,’ ‘Dog’ and More

February 18, 2022

By Mekado Murphy

Movies Editor

Hey, movie fans!

With the Berlin Film Festival wrapping up this weekend, we take a look back. Thomas Rogers spoke to the actress Isabelle Huppert, who received a lifetime achievement award, and Jessica Kiang wrote about what it was like covering the in-person festival at this moment. (Also, read here to find out what won the top prize.)

There's a new Kanye West doc on Netflix. Well, new to viewers at least. It has been in the works for two decades. Joe Coscarelli reported on why "Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy" took so long to see the light, and Jon Caramanica has a critic's verdict.

Out this week is a treasure-hunt movie with Tom Holland and a road movie with Channing Tatum and a Belgian Malinois. Manohla Dargis noted that Holland's action movie "Uncharted" was anything but, writing that it is "an amalgam of clichés that were already past their sell-by date when Nicolas Cage plundered the box office in Disney's 'National Treasure' series."

And writing about "Dog," which was co-directed by Tatum and Reid Carolin, A.O. Scott said that "Tatum's self-deprecating charm and Carolin's script keep the story on the tolerable side of maudlin."

Also out is "The Automat," a history of the chain of Automats that were wildly popular in New York and Philadelphia for decades. Read Wesley Morris's review and an interview with the film's director, Lisa Hurwitz.

In the streaming world, Maya Cade, the founder of the Black Film Archive, highlights six films that deserve a look. And Elisabeth Vincentelli recommends five sci-fi movies that show some imagination.

Enjoy the movies!

Clay Enos/Sony Pictures Entertainment

'Uncharted' Review: Steal, Fight, Repeat

This inaptly titled treasure-hunt adventure recycles all the familiar clichés while giving Tom Holland a strenuous physical workout.

By Manohla Dargis

Hilary Bronwyn Gayle/Metro Goldwyn Mayer Pictures

'Dog' Review: Man and Beast Hit the Road

In his directing debut, Channing Tatum plays an Army Ranger on a healing journey with a canine comrade.

By A.O. Scott

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CRITICS' PICKS

IFC Midnight

Critic's Pick

'A Banquet' Review: Starving for a Higher Purpose

A family of grieving women is thrown once more into chaos when the eldest daughter refuses to eat, saying she must do so by divine decree.

By Lena Wilson

MOVIE REVIEWS

Stan Wayman/The Life Picture Collection/Getty Images, via Film Forum

'The Automat' Review: Put a Nickel in the Slot for Nostalgia

A documentary about Horn & Hardart's automated cafeterias is sweet and shaggy, but an engrossing tale of cultural harmony.

By Wesley Morris

Jeff Melanson/First Run Features

'Somewhere With No Bridges' Review: Of Men and Memories

Charles Frank's documentary about a Martha's Vineyard man tries to turn a shadow into a portrait.

By Manohla Dargis

Yana Blajeva/Netflix

'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' Review: The Blade Is Back

Leatherface returns to terrorize a fresh batch of innocents in this poorly plotted, efficiently executed Netflix blood bath.

By Jeannette Catsoulis

Netflix

'Downfall: The Case Against Boeing' Review: Behind Two Fatal Crashes

This documentary on Netflix leaves the impression that the 737 Max's entire existence is rotten.

By Ben Kenigsberg

Factory 25

'Inspector Ike' Review: A Murder Mystery Send-Up, '70s-TV style

This microbudget comedy, an affectionate parody of old-time television "mystery movies," is an often-inspired goof.

By Glenn Kenny

Super LTD

'Ted K' Review: An Eerie Descent

Tony Stone directs an expressionistic portrait of Ted Kaczynski, a.k.a. the Unabomber.

By Beatrice Loayza

Mubi	'Taste' Review: A Slow, Sensual Hallucination Set in Vietnam The first feature film from the director Le Bao is a spare series of handsome tableaux that ultimately feels undercooked. By Wesley Morris

Herman Leonard Photography

'Oscar Peterson: Black + White' Review: Never Mind the Talking Heads

The flashing fingers of this jazz piano icon, and his mesmerizing tracks, are all the perspective we need.

By Calum Marsh

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NEWS & FEATURES

Macall Polay/Netflix

Critic's Notebook

How Jonathan Larson Taught Me to Become a Better Critic

In the film version of "Tick, Tick … Boom!," about a composer who dreams of Broadway, a "Rent" die-hard discovers more to love in musical theater.

By Maya Phillips

Michael Tyrone Delaney for The New York Times

The Projectionist

'CODA' Star Troy Kotsur on His Historic, Healing Oscar Nomination

The deaf actor endured years of rejection and financial struggle. "I was so used to failure that I didn't realize I would surpass even my own expectations."

By Kyle Buchanan

IFC Midnight; Magnet Releasing

'Being a Woman is Full of Horror': Female Directors Discuss Their Craft

A new wave of filmmakers from Britain and Ireland is breaking into the horror genre with scary debuts like "Saint Maud" and "A Banquet."

By Alex Marshall

C. Bethuel/FOZ

Critic's Notebook

The Joy (and Pain) of the Physical, at an In-Person Berlin Film Festival

Coronavirus measures brought hassles. But the movies brought a means to escape them.

By Jessica Kiang

Lawrence Fried/Film Forum

'The Automat,' Where Dining Out Was D.I.Y.

The director Lisa Hurwitz discusses the history of the Horn & Hardart chain of restaurants, which offered comfort food in coin-operated glass boxes.

By Nicolas Rapold

Chloe Cushman

On Comedy

Is It Funny for the Jews?

For a cultural critic, a sense of humor is integral to his Jewish identity. But these dark times raise existential questions about comedy and its uses.

By Jason Zinoman

STREAMING RECOMMENDATIONS