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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Director Tim Burton seems more interested in updating than duplicating his 1988 hit. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice demonstrates affection for the characters and genuine curiosity in how they’re doing now. -
Over the past 50 years or so, Spanish filmmaker Víctor Erice has directed just four features. His latest, about a filmmaker who revisits a past project, has the pull of a well-crafted detective story. -
The latest installment of the "Alien" series is an efficient and reasonably entertaining thriller. But dwelling too obsessively on the past won't guarantee a franchise's future. -
On its surface, Good One is about a teen on a backpacking trip with her dad and his friend. But the film is so sharp and engrossing you might not notice the deeper story taking shape underneath. -
Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman have good, thorny chemistry in this odd-couple action hero flick. But brand extension disguised as a satire of brand extension is still just ... brand extension. -
Nicolas Cage plays a satanic murderer, and Maika Monroe is the clairvoyant FBI agent on his trail, in this tense and frightening horror movie. -
In the Quiet Place films, blind aliens attack, hunting anyone who makes a sound. But the details of the premise are fuzzy, and this prequel neglects to give a clearer picture of the global invasion. -
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.
