ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

Female Film Critics 24/375

jason bateman

Reviews 

DTF ST. LOUIS – Review by Lynn Venhaus

Lynn Venhaus , , , , , , , ,

Despite its titillating title, DTF St. Louis is not as cringy as it may seem, but yes, frank sexuality is a major part of the HBO limited series. Writer-director Steve Conrad’s aim is to explore what repressed desires and temptation lead to in a typical Midwest suburb – the holy trinity of modern crime dramas: betrayal, double-crosses, and secrets. And a healthy dose of awkwardness. As he probes middle-age malaise in an offbeat, but familiar way, Conrad’s seven-episode arc centers on an unusual murder mystery.

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Reviews 

ZOOTOPIA 2 – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

Valerie Kalfrin , , , , , , ,

Almost ten years after the original Zootopia tackled prejudice and racial profiling in an animated Disney package, Zootopia 2 loses none of its guts or its bite. Again tackling heady themes within a shady land-grab conspiracy right at home in Chinatown, Zootopia 2 still brings all the fun, fur, and feels. As with the 2016 film, the marvel of Zootopia 2 is how it holds together so well, serving up lessons about tolerance and inclusivity without being clumsy or heavy-handed.

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Reviews 

BLACK RABBIT – Review by Susan Granger

Susan Granger , , , , , , , , ,

Creators Zach Baylin and Kate Susman skirt in and out of the criminal underworld, never fully committing to an urban crime drama. While actor/director Jason Bateman was able to artfully juggle financial disaster, family crises and ethical/moral dilemmas for four seasons of Ozark, it doesn’t work here. You just don’t care about the miserably dysfunctional, co-dependent brothers or their stumbling subplots.

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Reviews 

CARRY ON – Review by Susan Granger

Susan Granger , , , , ,

With so many of us planning to fly this holiday season, Netflix’s explosive thriller – evoking memories of Die Hard – Carry-On couldn’t be timelier. It’s Christmas Eve at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) and the rush is on. Thousands of travelers are loading their bags onto conveyor belts, eager to pass through security and board their designated flights. For 30 year-old Ethan Kopek (Taron Egerton) and his unexpectedly pregnant girl-friend Nora (Sofia Carson) it’s a celebratory day. Ethan’s been working as a low-level TSA agent just so he can have lunch every day with Nora, a supervisor at the same terminal. Meanwhile, a mysterious Traveler (Jason Bateman) is determined to get a dangerous bag through LAX security.

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Reviews 

AIR – Review by Nell Minow

Nell Minow , , , , , , , , , , ,

2023 will be remembered as the year of the movies that are consumer product origin stories. We’re used to seeing heroic stories of military figures, musicians, political leaders and activists, and, because movies are written by writers — writers. But in 2023 we had a remarkable number of movies with heroes or anti-heroes who were, well, capitalists. We saw the origin stories of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, Blackberrys, Beanie Babies, and the proto-computer game Tetris, By far the best of the group, though, was the story of a sneaker, a shoe that would become so popular it would have, well, a massive cultural footprint.

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Reviews 

AIR – Review by Susan Granger

Susan Granger , , , , , , , , ,

Air recounts how Sonny Vaccaro convinced the then-rookie Michael Jordan to sign a unique endorsement deal that changed the retail sports-apparel industry. Insightfully scripted by newcomer Alex Convery and astutely directed by Ben Affleck (Argo), it’s really a sports fable, centered on the 1984 corporate culture at Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. Back then, Nike was known for its running shoes which had zero impact on fashion. This underdog story begins as Nike’s basketball scout Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) searches for the next player to promote the footwear brand.

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Reviews 

AIR – Review by T.J. Callahan

T. J. Callahan , , , , , , , , , , ,

Air: A shoe is just a shoe until someone steps into it. It was 1984. Americans were doing the Jane Fonda workout. Prince Charles and Lady Diana became parents to a future king, Mr. T pitied the fools, Clara Peller asked “Where’s the Beef?” and Converse ruled the athletic shoe world. A little ol sneaker company in Oregon was out to change that.

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Reviews 

AIR – Review by Susan Kamyab

Susan Kamyab , , , , , , , , , ,

I am so happy to say that this movie is not only a slam dunk, but it’s one of the best films of the year so far. I know it’s early to say that, but this particular A-list film is going to stick with audiences all year long. Directed by Ben Affleck, the film is about a sports marketing executive, played by Matt Damon, and how he led Nike in its pursuit of the greatest athlete in the history of basketball: Michael Jordan.

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Reviews 

OZARK Season Four – Review by Susan Granger

Susan Granger , , , , , , , ,

The murder and mayhem that characterized the poplar Netflix series Ozark has come to an end – as season four concludes the Bryde family’s compelling crime drama. So it’s a perfect time to binge-watch. After moving from Chicago to a lakefront house in the Ozarks, Marty (Jason Bateman) and Wendy (Laura Linney) Bryde, along with their adolescent offspring – Jonah (Skylar Gaertner) and Charlotte (Sofia Hublitz) – pursue lives of corruption and crime.

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