Justin Chang | |
|---|---|
 Chang at the 2019 Berlin International Film Festival | |
| Born | 1983 (age 40–41) Southern California, U.S. |
| Education | USC |
| Occupation | Film critic |
| Years active | 2004–present |
Justin Choigee Chang (born January 3, 1983)[ citation needed ] is an American film critic and columnist. He is set to join The New Yorker in February 2024. He previously worked at the Los Angeles Times and Variety . [1]
Justin Chang graduated from the University of Southern California in 2004. [2] [3] Chang first became interested in film critique while in high school because he found it fascinating that intelligent people could have very different reactions to films. [4]
Chang was hired by Variety magazine in 2004, [5] [6] and became a senior film critic for the magazine in 2010 before being promoted to its chief film critic in 2013. [5] [3] He is the author of the book FilmCraft: Editing. [7] In 2016, he joined the Los Angeles Times , where he remained until 2024, when he joined The New Yorker . [3] [8] He is a regular contributor to the NPR programs FilmWeek and Fresh Air . [3]
Chang is the chair of the National Society of Film Critics and the secretary of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. In 2014, he received the inaugural Roger Ebert Award from the African-American Film Critics Association. [3] While accepting the New Generation Award for Creed at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards ceremony in January 2016, American film director and screenwriter Ryan Coogler praised Chang for his contributions to criticism.
Chang produces an annual "best-of-the-year" movie list, thereby providing an overview of his critical preferences. His top choices were:
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Boyhood is a 2014 American epic coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Richard Linklater, and starring Patricia Arquette, Ellar Coltrane, Lorelei Linklater, and Ethan Hawke. Filmed from 2002 to 2013, Boyhood depicts the childhood and adolescence of Mason Evans Jr. (Coltrane) from ages six to eighteen as he grows up in Texas with divorced parents. Richard Linklater's daughter Lorelei plays Mason's sister, Samantha.
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Before Midnight is a 2013 American romantic drama film directed by Richard Linklater, who co-wrote the screenplay with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. The sequel to Before Sunrise (1995) and Before Sunset (2004), it is the third installment in the Before trilogy. The film follows Jesse (Hawke) and Céline (Delpy), now a couple, as they spend a summer vacation in Greece with their children.
Whiplash is a 2014 American independent psychological drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle, starring Miles Teller, J. K. Simmons, Paul Reiser, and Melissa Benoist. The film follows the ambitious music student and aspiring jazz drummer Andrew Neiman (Teller), who is pushed to his limit by his abusive instructor Terence Fletcher (Simmons) at the fictitious Shaffer Conservatory in New York City.
Southside with You is a 2016 American biographical romantic drama film written, produced, and directed by Richard Tanne, in his feature film directorial debut. The film stars Parker Sawyers and Tika Sumpter as a young Barack Obama, and Michelle Robinson, respectively, and focuses on the couple's first date in 1989.
The Big Sick is a 2017 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Michael Showalter and written by Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani. It stars Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan, Holly Hunter, Ray Romano, Adeel Akhtar, and Anupam Kher. Gordon and Nanjiani wrote the film based on their relationship; it follows an interracial couple who must deal with cultural differences after Emily (Kazan) becomes ill.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer is a 2017 psychological thriller film directed and co-produced by Yorgos Lanthimos, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Efthimis Filippou. It stars Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Barry Keoghan, Raffey Cassidy, Sunny Suljic, Alicia Silverstone, and Bill Camp. It follows a cardiac surgeon who introduces his family to a teenage boy with a connection to his past, after which they mysteriously begin to fall ill.
Killers of the Flower Moon is a 2023 American epic western crime drama film directed and produced by Martin Scorsese. Eric Roth and Scorsese based their screenplay on the 2017 non-fiction book by David Grann. Set in 1920s Oklahoma, it focuses on a series of murders of Osage members and relations in the Osage Nation after oil was discovered on tribal land. The tribal members had retained mineral rights on their reservation, but a corrupt local political boss sought to steal the tribal members' wealth.
Columbus is a 2017 American drama film written, directed, and edited by Kogonada in his feature directorial debut. The film follows the son of a renowned architecture scholar who gets stranded in Columbus, Indiana and strikes up a friendship with a young architecture enthusiast who works at the local library. Michelle Forbes, Rory Culkin, and Parker Posey appear in supporting roles. The film premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and was released in the United States on August 4, 2017, by the Sundance Institute, receiving acclaim from critics.
First Reformed is a 2017 American psychological drama film written and directed by Paul Schrader. It stars Ethan Hawke as a minister of a small congregation in upstate New York who grapples with mounting despair brought on by tragedy, worldly concerns, and a tormented past. Amanda Seyfried, Cedric Kyles, Victoria Hill, and Philip Ettinger appear in supporting roles.
Burning is a 2018 South Korean-Japanese psychological thriller film co-written, produced, and directed by Lee Chang-dong. The film is based on the short story "Barn Burning" from The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami, with elements inspired by William Faulkner's story of the same name. It stars Yoo Ah-in, Steven Yeun, and Jeon Jong-seo. The plot depicts a young deliveryman, Jong-su (Yoo), who runs into his childhood friend, Hae-mi (Jeon). They soon meet an enigmatic young man named Ben (Yeun), whom Jong-su becomes suspicious of, and he begins to believe Hae-mi is in danger.
The Last Black Man in San Francisco is a 2019 American drama film directed and produced by Joe Talbot in his directorial debut. He wrote the screenplay with Rob Richert and the story with Jimmie Fails, on whose life it is partly based. It stars Fails, Jonathan Majors, Tichina Arnold, Rob Morgan, Mike Epps, Finn Wittrock and Danny Glover.
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