film criticism by maryann johanson | since 1997
Do you have any particularly good — or bad — memories of the experience, perhaps of certain films you got to see that you wouldn’t otherwise have been able to, or of the overall vibe? Would you attend again, or have you?
Women want to be able to tell our own stories, and we want to be heard. Hustlers and Little Women are so much about this (and other important things of female concern) that they’re practically the same movie.
A very welcome feminist interpretation of Alcott’s beloved novel, layered in sly, winking awareness of Hollywood clichés and the cultural pressures on women. Alive and electric, an absolute treasure.
This portrait of drug addiction and its impact on a family may be Hollywood sleek and smooth, but its authenticity is in the empathy, in the lack of judgment. Steve Carell is absolutely heartbreaking.
I correctly guessed 15 out of the 24 categories, which is one of my better showings ever, I think.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri wins big…
The Shape of Water wins Best Film, and Best Director goes to Guillermo del Toro. Agnes Varda is Defying Age and Ageism, and Hollywood’s sexual tormentors are inducted in the AWFJ Hall of Shame.
You can feel the stillness and the heat of this sultry, sensual summer in Italy. This is a glorious romance about falling in love with life itself, and living with gusto.
Get Out wins Best Film and Best Original Screenplay. Call Me by Your Name, Dunkirk, and Three Billboards also take two awards each.
An emotional feast full of humor and pathos about the audacity, the wonder, the horror that is female adolescence. Beautiful, bittersweet, and very generous.
