movies by or about women opening UK/Ire Feb 01
Taylor Russell costars in sci-fi mystery Escape Room; more… [This post is for Patreon patrons only for the first month.]
New York City
On the Basis of Sex movie review: Notorious RBG’s origin story
Coasts on the awesomeness of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a way unadventurous if solidly crowd-pleasing. But the depiction of her incredibly supportive marriage to a feminist man is intensely satisfying.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse movie review: animation gets reanimated
Has a verve rare in big-budget movies at the moment. Fun and fresh and legitimately engages with its source material on the levels of story, visuals, and mythology all at once. It feels like discovering storytelling anew.
All About Nina movie review: a woman owning her anger
Hail Mary, full of rage. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is utterly incendiary in this own-worst-enemy dramedy that gender-flips a tired genre to give angry new voice to a woman speaking her own truths.
Crazy Rich Asians movie review: a Golden Age of Hollywood romance with an overdue fresh twist
An opulent, juicy, splendidly silly, tears-of-joy spectacle reminiscent of the escapist fluff of 1930s Hollywood… yet also a romantic fantasy that a progressive, feminist gal can actually feel good about.
movies by or about women opening US/Can from Wed Jul 25
Rachel Freier starts an ambulance service; Kelly Macdonald gets into jigsaw puzzles; more…
Puzzle movie review: reclaiming the pieces of her life
Kelly Macdonald is exquisite, bringing a lovely freshness and authentic life to a familiar sort of character. Even a script that is often improbable and strained cannot detract from her journey, hard as it tries to.
93Queen documentary review: women are doing it for themselves
An enormously entertaining portrait of Hasidic women who started their own all-female EMS team in Brooklyn. Eye-opening and stereotype-shattering.
The First Purge movie review: a ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ for #BlackLivesMatter
This shrewd sci-fi horror franchise is as sharp as ever as it reaches yet further down into the unpleasant flipside of the American myth. A rare prequel that doesn’t feel superfluous.
Ocean’s Eight movie review: revenge of the women
Breezy fun that sticks a shiv into Hollywood’s — and the larger culture’s — disdain for women. Wonderfully subtle comic performances from a great cast having a ball make for a perfectly suitable light diversion from the world right now.
