Critic's Picks

A collection of Critic's Picks from The Times, including movies, music, restaurants and more.

Critic’s Pick
Review: A Conductor Hushes the New York Philharmonic
Some of the most memorable moments in the orchestra’s program this week, led by Karina Canellakis, were extremely soft.
By Zachary Woolfe
Critic’s Pick
Review: Idina Menzel Climbs to New Broadway Heights in ‘Redwood’
The “Wicked” belter scales a 300-foot tree, and a mountain of songs, in a powerful if woo-woo musical about trauma and resilience.
By Jesse Green
Critic’s Pick
Review: The War Is Never Over in This Epic-Inspired Dance
“Gigenis,” drawn from a tale in the Mahabharata, is the choreographer Akram Khan’s most potent work in years.
By Brian Seibert
Critic’s pick
‘The Annihilation of Fish’ Review: A Gem That’s Worth the Wait
The director Charles Burnett’s deeply humane, singular film from 1999, starring James Earl Jones, is finally receiving a theatrical release.
By Manohla Dargis
Critic’s Pick
‘Universal Language’ Review: If Tehran Were Winnipeg
A lightly satirical and surrealist comedy imagines the snowy Canadian city in the style of the Iranian New Wave.
By Alissa Wilkinson
Critic’s Pick
‘Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy’ Brings a Screwball Heroine Back
The madcap Londoner returns in a third sequel that is just as deliciously satisfying as the first movie in the series — maybe even more.
By Elisabeth Vincentelli
Critic’s pick
‘Becoming Led Zeppelin’ Review: The Master Blasters
A new documentary looks back at the band’s early years, featuring interviews with Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones in retrospective mode.
By Manohla Dargis
Critic’s pick
Review: Worlds Collide to Make a Big Ballet Bang
Alexei Ratmansky creates a joyful new “Paquita” for New York City Ballet, giving the dancers a classical frame in which to find new versions of themselves.
By Gia Kourlas
Critic’s Pick
Review: Strauss’s ‘Salome,’ Squeezed Down to Some Clarinets
Heartbeat Opera specializes in daring reductions of the classics, and this may be its most implausible undertaking yet.
By Zachary Woolfe
Critic’s Pick
‘Urinetown’ Review: More Than Toilet Humor
The Encores! revival of the musical from Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis seems even more relevant today.
By Elisabeth Vincentelli