Sean Burns
Film Critic
Sean Burns’ reviews, interviews and essays have appeared in Philadelphia Weekly, The Improper Bostonian, Metro, The Boston Herald, Nashville Scene, Time Out New York, Philadelphia City Paper and RogerEbert.com. He stashes them all at www.splicedpersonality.com.
Recently published
From child actors to screen icons, Kurt Russell and Jodie Foster celebrated in summer retrospective
While the two actors have never worked together, they've made surprisingly similar career choices. The Somerville Theatre screens 24-film series of double features May 17-July 11, and what's delightful is...
'Blue Heron' is both a reminiscence on childhood and an investigation
The remarkable first feature from Canadian writer-director Sophy Romvari is "about how we can spend our entire lives trying to understand what happened to us when we were children," reviews...
'The Devil Wears Prada 2' is an often funny and occasionally insightful sequel
Starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, the film catches up with Miranda and the gang from Runway magazine in a media landscape that’s been obliterated by smartphones and social media....
'Michael' is a troublingly untroubled biopic of the late King of Pop
Partially funded by Michael Jackson's estate and starring one of his nephews, the film presents its subject as a childlike saint sharing his light with the world, hurtling from one...
IFFBoston's annual spring extravaganza serves 'buffet of films'
Filmed everywhere from Hollywood to Hingham, the 2026 festival lineup includes 40 features and 11 short film programs, as well as the ninth annual Student Short Showcase, which offers a...
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Steven Soderbergh's 'The Christophers' is something of a heist film
Ian McKellen stars as a disgraced artist living as a semi-recluse. His greedy adult children hire Michaela Coel to steal his unfinished paintings and complete them so they can be...
This modern take on 'Hamlet' isn't very witty, but it is brief
Starring Riz Ahmed, director Aneil Karia’s film is a ruthlessly stripped-down modernization of the Bard’s tale set in contemporary London’s South Asian community. It keeps the Elizabethan verse and throws...
Wedding comedy 'The Drama' is an audaciously uncomfortable affair
Writer-director Kristoffer Borgli’s screamingly funny film stars Robert Pattinson and Zendaya as a Back Bay couple whose lavish wedding plans are thrown into disarray after a drunken confession. "The film...
Airy and bright 'Miroirs No. 3' is a stealthy interpretation on grief
After a woman witnesses a car accident from her porch, the survivor asks if she can stay with her. The two grief-stricken women develop an arrangement that seems to be...
'Project Hail Mary' is a strenuously crowd-pleasing sci-fi extravaganza
Adapted from Andy Weir’s 2021 novel of the same name, the film strands Ryan Gosling's disgraced astrophysicist 2,000 light-years from home with a quippy alien sidekick. "The movie is a...