Search Results for “movie of the week” – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

MOVIE OF THE WEEK July 26, 2024: THE FABULOUS FOUR

July 21, 2024July 23, 2024 Jennifer Merin Amazon MGM Studios, Ann Marie Allison, bette midler, he fabulous four, Jenna Milly, jocelyn moorhouse, Key West, Megan Mullally, sheryl lee ralph, susan sarandon

Sure, it’s hard not to think that making The Fabulous Four may have been an excuse for its quartet of stars — the legitimately fabulous Bette Midler, Susan Sarandon, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Megan Mullally — to get together and have fun in Key West, but so what? There are far worse reasons to make a movie, and the end result is a light, breezy female friendship comedy that feels kind of like Bridesmaids crossed with Book Club and celebrates the lifelong bonds between women.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK July 19, 2024: WIDOW CLICQUOT

July 14, 2024 Jennifer Merin betsy bozdech, biopic, Cate Marquis, Champagne, Erin Dignam, Haley Bennett, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, Napoleonic Wars, nell minow, nikki fowler, Pam Grady, Sam Reilly, Thomas Napper, Tom Sturridge, Veuve Clicquot, Widow Clicquot

If movies like Big Night and The Taste of Things leave you craving a fabulous meal, then Widow Clicquot is likely to send you scrambling for the nearest bottle of bubbly. Director Thomas Napper’s carefully observed historical biopic — which boasts a powerful performance by star Haley Bennett — tells the engrossing, wine-drenched tale of the birth of France’s world-famous Champagne label Veuve Clicquot in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In the end, you’ll likely want to raise a toast to those who brought this tale of a grande dame of history to life.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK July 12, 2024: TWICE COLONIZED

July 7, 2024July 9, 2024 Jennifer Merin aaju peter, betsy bozdech, canada, Cate Marquis, Denmark, greenland, Indigenous culture, inuit, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, lin alluna, liz whittemore, loren king, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, nikki fowler, Pam Grady, sherin nicole

Twice Colonized chronicles the life and activism of Aaju Peter, a revered Inuit feminist lawyer who has fought for equal rights in Canada, Denmark, Greenland and around the world. She is amazingly charismatic and her story is fascinating. Director Lin Alluna has done a wonderful job of telling it. Be prepared to be inspired!!!

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK July 5, 2024: SISI & I

June 30, 2024 Jennifer Merin betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Countess Irma Sztáray, Empress Elisabeth of Austria, Frauke Finsterwalder, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, nikki fowler, Pam Grady, sandie angulo chen, Sandra Hüller, sherin nicole, Sisi & I, Susanne Wolff

Brilliant actresses Sandra Huller and Susanne Wolff give powerful performances in director Frauke Finsterwalder’s fascinating historical drama Sisi & I. As it chronicles the complex, complicated relationship between Austria’s legendary Empress Elisabeth (Wolff) and her faithful companion, Countess Irma Sztáray (Huller), in the final few years of Sisi’s life at the end of the 19th century, it explores themes of duty, friendship, and devotion — with fabulous period costumes.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK June 28, 2024: DADDIO

June 23, 2024June 23, 2024 Jennifer Merin betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Christy Hall, Daddio, Dakota Johnson, Dickson Hinchliffe, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, Phedon Papamichael, sandie angulo chen, sean penn, sherin nicole, sony classics

Two strangers make an unexpectedly meaningful connection in writer-director Christy Hall’s feature debut, Daddio. Play-like in the simplicity of its setting and focus on dialogue, this “two hander” drama is a fascinating character study that features nuanced, memorable performances by stars Sean Penn and Dakota Johnson as, respectively, a brash New York City cabbie and the pensive passenger he picks up at JFK airport to drive into Manhattan.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK June 21, 2024: GREEN BORDER

June 16, 2024June 16, 2024 Jennifer Merin Agnieszka Holland, Belarus, Gabriela Lazarkiewicz, Green Border, Maciej Pisuk, motw, Movie of the Week, Poland, syrian refugees

Harrowing in its brutal depiction of the way that refugees from Africa and the Middle East are treated by authorities on both sides of the vicious barbed-wire fence between Belarus and Poland, Agnieszka Holland’s riveting drama Green Border begs viewers to pay attention to the tragic consequences of dehumanizing the vulnerable people who need help the most. It’s a difficult film to watch — which is exactly why it needs to be seen.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK June 14, 2024: GHOSTLIGHT

June 8, 2024July 9, 2024 Jennifer Merin Alex Thompson, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Dolly De Leon, Ghostlight, jennifer merin, Katherine Mallen Kupferer, Keith Kupferer, Kelly O’Sullivan, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, motw, Movie of the Week, nikki fowler, Pam Grady, sandie angulo chen, sherin nicole, Tara Mallen

The crushing weight of grief and the healing power of theater are explored with touching authenticity in Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson’s poignant dramedy Ghostlight. As it gradually reveals the heartbreaking loss at the center of its main characters’ lives, the film shows how the impact of that loss has left them all reeling, unable to move forward until one of Shakespeare’s most iconic plays helps them find a way to process it together.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK June 7, 2024: LATE BLOOMERS

June 2, 2024July 9, 2024 Jennifer Merin Anna Greenfield, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, jennifer merin, Karen Gillan, Late Bloomers, leslie combemale, Lisa Steen, liz whittemore, loren king, Malgorzata Zajaczkowska, Margaret Sophie Stein, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, nikki fowler, Pam Grady, sandie angulo chen, sherin nicole, Vertical Entertainment

An unlikely friendship with a woman three times her age leads to personal growth for a struggling twentysomething in director Lisa Steen’s charming feature directorial debut, Late Bloomers. Starring Karen Gillan as floundering 28-year-old would-be musician Louise and Margaret Sophie Stein (aka Malgorzata Zajaczkowska in her native Poland) as Antonina, the testy Polish woman Louise unexpectedly finds herself spending time with and caring for, the film is a thoughtful take on what it really means to grow up.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK May 31, 2024: THE COMMANDANT’S SHADOW

May 26, 2024May 26, 2024 Jennifer Merin Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, commandant of Auschwitz, Daniela Volker, documentaries, documentary, Hans Jurgen Höss, holocaust, jennifer merin, Kay-Uwe Höss, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, Maya Lasker-Wallfisch, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, nikki fowler, Pam Grady, Rudolf Höss, sandie angulo chen, The Zone of Interest, warner brothers

At a time when some U.S. public schools are shutting down lesson plans that run the risk of making White American children feel bad about the country’s history of enslavement and oppression, The Commandant’s Shadow is an especially timely reminder of the dangers of willfully turning a blind eye to history. Daniela Volker’s documentary about coming to terms with both personal and societal legacies is a compelling addition to the catalog of films about World War II and the Holocaust.

Movie of the Week

MOVIE OF THE WEEK May 24, 2024: QUEEN OF THE DEUCE

May 18, 2024May 18, 2024 awfj-admin 42nd street, Abhilasha Dewan, adult movies, animation, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Chelly Wilson, holocaust survivor, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, lgbtq, liz whittemore, loren king, nell minow, out and proud, Pam Grady, porn, Queen of the Deuce, sandie angulo chen, sherin nicole, Valerie Kontakos

If Chelly Wilson were a fictional character, odds are she’d be deemed “hard to believe” or “too over the top.” But the business-savvy, chain-smoking mom and grandma who came to the United States from Greece in 1939 and operated a string of adult movie theaters in some of the seediest parts of New York City in the 1960s and ’70s is 100 percent real. And, as chronicled in Valerie Kontakos’ documentary Queen of the Deuce, her story is fascinating.

← Previous