film criticism by maryann johanson | celebrating 25 years: 1997–2022
Modern noir god Keanu Reeves again stalks a fantasy(ish) world of exhausting, inventive violence. But this time, the curtain is drawn back on the sham of seeming orderliness in its world (and ours).
There are no new movies opening in wide release in the US today that are written or directed by women, and none about women. In limited release, Juliette Binoche, Rachel Weisz, Rachel McAdams, and Alia Shawkat are looking for love, with varying degrees of success.
Save us from male artists who think they are dangerously, uniquely innovative. This stew of toxic masculinity and CGI-cartoon violence is nothing but tediously mundane.
With its time-twisting plot, sci-fi soapiness, powerful humanism, and to-die-for cast, this is the summer blockbuster done with elegance and heart.
The familiar serial-killer flick gets a welcome shakeup, smashing to smithereens the tired trope of woman-as-victim and offering a bracing new perspective on an oft-told tale.
It is so cute what this flick thinks is “dangerous” and “offensive”!
Insanely grand… My god, I love this movie. It’s every movie. It’s the ultimate movie.
Halle Berry was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance here without anyone, it seems, apart from the members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association having seen the film…
The AWFJ is one of the critics’ groups I belong to; my input helped determine these nominees, and I will vote in the final balloting to narrow it down to the winners. I still have to watch a few of these nominees…
Iron Man 2 held on to the top spot of the North American box office this past weekend, adding another $52 million to its coffers and handily trouncing the No. 2 film, Robin Hood, which earned $36 million, even though the Ridley Scott/Russell Crowe adventure was new. (They jointly did much better a few years … more…
