AWFJ highlights films made by and about women: Read more

In “Stop Loss,” Kimberly Pierce focuses on an egregious policy affecting Iraq vets and their families. She did documentary-worthy research, but made a narrative feature–because she wanted the movie to have a mainstream audience and mainstream exposure. Read more>>

While Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama devise exit strategies and Republican John McCain speculates that we’ll be in Iraq for the next 100 years, filmmaker Kimberley Peirce (“Boys Don’t Cry”) angrily delves into what’s happening to troops currently serving their country in the Middle East. Read more

Director Kimberly Peirce could have easily made “Stop-Loss” into a paint-by-the-numbers war movie from MTV Films but, instead, she fills two hours with intense action, along with the quiet drumbeat of the human heart. Read more>>

Writer-director Nichols evokes a palpable sense of heat and listless boredom punctuated by spasms of seething violence without ever lapsing into Southern-fried clichés. Read more>>

Were it not for the amazing 93-year-old actress-model Mimi Weddell, there would be no “Hats Off”–and hats off to director Jyll Johnstone for so delightfully profiling the inspiring Mimi on film. Read more>>

For those besotted by visions of Pair-a-dice, “21″ serves up a suitably starry-eyed account of a young dreamer who dares to challenge the forces of darkness. And wins — for a time. Read more>>

Loosely based on the real-life exploits of a team of MIT math geeks who used a sophisticated card-counting system to win millions at Las Vegas’ blackjack tables, Robert Luketic’s movie is a predictable moral tale enacted by blandly pretty young things who bear little resemblance to the average brainiac. Read more>>

Here’s the deal: this is sheer escapist entertainment. Read more

The formulaic film owes most of its charm and hilarity to its star and co-writer, Simon Pegg (”Hot Fuzz”). The English funnyman manages to make his slacker character a loveable loser worth cheering on. Read more>>