Pam Grady – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

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.

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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!!!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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MOVIE OF THE WEEK May 10, 2024: THE IDEA OF YOU

May 5, 2024May 5, 2024 Jennifer Merin Anne Hathaway, betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Ella Rubin, jennifer merin, jennifer westfeldt, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, May December, Michael Showalter, nell minow, Nicholas Galitzine, nikki fowler, Pam Grady, romcom, sandie angulo chen, sherin nicole, The Idea of You

If you can suspend your disbelief about the fact that anyone would wonder why a straight man in his 20s would find Anne Hathaway attractive, The Idea of You is a sweet, thoughtful romantic comedy about seizing your joy where you’re lucky enough to find it and ignoring the haters. And the film is undeniably Hathaway’s, thanks to her appealing performance as a 40-year-old divorced mom who’s scared to believe in her own happy ending.

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MOVIE OF THE WEEK April 26, 2024: IRENA’S VOW

April 21, 2024April 21, 2024 Jennifer Merin betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, dan gordon, holocaust drama, Irena Gut Opdyke, Irena’s Vow, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, liz whittemore, loren king, Louise Archambault, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, nikki fowler, Pam Grady, sandie angulo chen, Sophie Nelisse, truth-based

There’s no denying the fact that humans are capable of terrible cruelty; everything from the history books to the headlines of today’s newspapers makes that sadly, abundantly clear. But people are also capable of acts of tremendous courage and character. Such is the case in director Louise Archambault’s moving drama Irena’s Vow, which tells the story of Irena Gut Opdyke, a Catholic Polish woman who risked herself repeatedly to hide a group of Jews during the Holocaust.

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MOVIE OF THE WEEK April 12, 2024: SWEET DREAMS

April 7, 2024April 11, 2024 Jennifer Merin betsy bozdech, Cate Marquis, Dekanalog, dutch films, EnaSendijarević, hayati azis, jennifer merin, leslie combemale, LisaZweerman, liz whittemore, loren king, motw, Movie of the Week, nell minow, nikki fowler, Pam Grady, RenéeSoutendijk, Rio Den Haas, sandie angulo chen, Sweet Dreams

Writer-director Ena Sendijarević’s strange, sumptuous critique of Dutch colonialism Indonesia during the early 1900s is rich with beautifully composed shots but the lacerating tragic tone is mixed with sardonic wit. From the opening shot of a boy killing a tiger that is then carted through the cane fields on the shoulders of Indonesian natives, sugar will be the undoing of everything and everyone by murder or suicide. Central to the action is Siti, the Indonesian housekeeper for plantation owner Jan and his bored wife Agathe. Their days of oppressive rule are quickly wilting in the torrid heat. There is unrest among the exploited indigenous workers; one of whom suggests that Siti poison their overseers. But Jan, we soon learn, is the father of Siti’s young son Karel who is treated as his heir and identifies with the colonizers. It’s Karel, the product of patriarchy, exploitation and greed, who is left with the spoils but at what cost? Full of eerie, surreal beauty and a touch of madness, Sendijarević’s twisted, tragic tale is a stunning film.

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