Female Film Critics 24/375
Coyote vs. Acme is a delightful late summer surprise. This live-action/animated misadventure originated in Ian Frazier’s 1990 humorous anti-corporate New Yorker satire, a mock court case in which Looney Tunes’ resilient Wile E. Coyote sues the Acme Corporation for all the defective mail-order products (rocket-propelled roller skates, jet-boosted pogo stick) that have malfunctioned as he relentlessly chased the Road Runner
Read more
Three years after being shelved for a tax write-off, Coyote vs. Acme screeches into theaters, as much a metaphor for perseverance as its wily protagonist. Boulder-size expectations aside, it’s delightful, a screwball, surprisingly poignant tribute to creativity, friendship, and that indefatigable super genius, Wile E. Coyote. Based on Ian Frazier’s dryly brilliant short story in The New Yorker, Coyote vs. Acme</em> blends live action with animation as the dogged desert dweller once again fails to trap his white whale, the Road Runner (scientific name: Fastas Hellus</em>), because of some flawed Acme product.
Read more
Wile E. Coyote is tired. Tired of playing the game. Tired of being blown up by explosives. Tired of being hit in the head with anvils. Tired of being demolished by dynamite. Tired of being hurled off cliffs. He’s so tired. But not too tired to fight back. Teaming up with billboard accident lawyer Kevin Avery (Will Forte), the worn out wolf sues Acme for continual product failure and ends up going to battle with the profit-obsessed conglomerate’s bull dog attorney Buddy Crane, over acted by John Cena, uncovering a corporate cover-up in the process. Instead of just wanting to eat the Roadrunner, a whole other side of Mr. Coyote is revealed.
Read more
Warner Bros producer James Gunn, director Craig Gillespie, and writer Ana Nogueira have teamed up to bring some estrogen-fueled muscle to the DC movie universe with Milly Alcock as Supergirl. This Supergirl has a darker, grungy vibe as if Mad Max teamed up with the Guardians of the Galaxy for some coming of age Star Wars. The Australian Alcock (House of Dragon, Sirens) brings a lot of strength, swagger and sarcasm, but gurrrl, this film isn’t super. Call it So-So Girl. All the components are there for a box office blockbuster, but Kara from Krypton, with a chip on her shoulder, chaotically cavorts with crazy characters through cosmically clunky confrontations that look great, but are less fulfilling.
Read more
While America celebrates the red, white, and blue, the box office is embracing red, blue, and yellow — as Supergirl flies into theaters. The question is: does the latest DC adventure soar to the same heights as last year’s crowd-pleasing, Superman? Despite its flaws, there remains clear promise in Milly Alcock as Kara Zor-El. With the tease of a potential team-up with Superman, audiences can look forward to her character thriving in a future installment, particularly with more screen time alongside David Corenswet.
Read more
The new Superman iteration featured in James Gunn’s Superman, starring David Corenswet, evokes something in between the two, inspired by some of the most wholesome versions, including the animated Fleischer Superman of the 1940s and the more recent animated series of the 90s. Corenswet’s Big Red S is a both a smartass and incredibly earnest. He’s all heart.
Read more
James Gunn has revitalized the genre, especially for DC, and given us a Superman we can truly look up to. This Superman leads with kindness, so much so that in the heat of battle he will stop to save a squirrel. His desire to be accepted by society, while still staying true to his innate virtue, pulls at your heart and inspires hope. Soar to theaters and see one of the best films of the year.
Read more
As the film opens, Superman, the most powerful metahuman, has just lost his first battle. Rescued and taken back to his lair to rejuvenate, the Man of Steel realizes he must reconcile his alien Kryptonian heritage with his adoptive human family in Kansas. But, as he gets drawn into conflicts at home and abroad, his mental and physical muscle is questioned, giving tech billionaire Lex Luthor the opportunity to dispose of the not so super hero for good. James Gunn, has taken the reins of the latest Superman iteration and turned it into an intergalactic hodgepodge of humor and humanity.
Read more
Writer/director James Gunn’s new Superman is a comic-book action-adventure super-spectacle that’s great fun. After a brief history of ‘metahumans’ on Earth, bloodied-and-battered Superman (David Corenswet) is first seen sprawled in Arctic snow, having been beaten by the hulking Hammer of Boravia. The key to James Gunn’s re-imagining the iconic superhero is his vulnerability; the Man of Steel is no longer invincible. His humanity is the source of his strength,
Read more
If you’ve been an avid follower of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and writer/director James Gunn’s fun-loving band of intergalactic outcasts, you may be intrigued by Rocket Raccoon’s origin story. In previous installments of the Guardians sci-fi action-comedy concept, there’s been good-natured, space-pirate humor but, here, they’re just babbling nonsense for a bloated two hours, 30 minutes. The best sequences are poignant flashbacks showing how young Rocket gains sentience and bonds with other genetically-altered species, like an otter, rabbit and walrus. The worst sequences involve gross ‘n’ gruesome, heavy-handed destruction. And it’s curious that James Gunn seems to be connecting with the currently controversial ‘trans’ experience.
Read more