Justin Chang
Justin Chang is a film critic for The New Yorker and NPR's Fresh Air. He previously served as film critic at the Los Angeles Times and chief film critic at 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 is a member of the New York Film Festival selection committee. He teaches at the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2024 for his work at the Los Angeles Times.
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NAZA is an acronym for nezek agavi, Hebrew for "collateral damage." It refers to the number of civilian casualties the Israeli military deems acceptable. The documentary is made by Israeli filmmakers.
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A new art-house drama tells three stories that span the century — and connect to one tree. Silent Friend will open your eyes to the beauty of the natural world. -
This smartly entertaining new movie tells the story of how the BlackBerry became the hottest personal handheld device on the market — only to get crushed by the iPhone. -
Juliette Binoche is a woman whose life is disrupted by the return of a former lover. Both Sides of the Blade sounds like soap-opera material, but nothing about the film feels trite or predictable. -
An unnamed man inexplicably loses his memory in this strange and singular film. Apples is about how we deal with grief and loneliness, especially when memory becomes more of a curse than a blessing. -
David Cronenberg's film is set in a grim future where humans, having lost the ability to feel physical pain, start operating on their own bodies. This movie mixes blood and guts with great tenderness. -
Tom Cruise was in his early 20s when he first played the cocky young Navy pilot with the need for speed. Now, 36 years later, he's back — and Pete "Maverick" Mitchell is as insubordinate as ever. -
Tilda Swinton plays a botanist who is haunted by a mysterious sound in an intriguing new film. Reviewer Justin Chang says Memoria's climax will leave your jaw on the floor. -
A 23-year-old literature student discovers she's pregnant after a fling. This movie, based on Annie Ernaux's autobiographical novel, traces her desperate attempt to get an abortion in 1963 France. -
Identical twin sisters play a pair of mysterious playmates in Petite Maman, an enchanting film that achieves an emotional depth that eludes many movies twice its length.
