Jason Schwartzman – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

MOUNTAINHEAD – Review by Susan Granger

June 16, 2025June 23, 2025 Susan Granger hbo max, Jason Schwartzman, Jesse Armstrong, Mountainhead, Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell

It was inevitable that Succession writer/director Jesse Armstrong would have more to say about how power corrupts – which is why he made Mountainhead – a satire in which four nihilistic Silicon Valley tech titans meet to decide the fate of the world. This summit takes place at the palatial glass-and-steel vacation home belonging to Hugo Van Yalk (Jason Schwartzman), nicknamed ‘Soupy’ – a.k.a. ‘Soup Kitchen’ – because he’s a lowly, insecure millionaire hosting three billionaires.

Reviews

MEGALOPOLIS – Review by Susan Granger

September 25, 2024September 29, 2024 Susan Granger Adam Driver, aubrey plaza, Dustin Hoffman, francis ford coppola, Giancarlo Esposito, Jason Schwartzman, Jon Voight, Laurence Fisbburne, Mary Beard, Megalopolis, Nathalie Emmanuel, Roman Coppola, Shia LaBoeuf, Talia Shire

Francis Ford Coppola’s passion project Megalopolis is a futuristic fable about the downfall of the American Empire. The 85 year-old auteur envisioned the dystopian concept 40 years ago, writing, revising and re-casting it, spending $120 million to make it, using funds he’d made from Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, etc. and his California wine business. Archaic references to the fall of Rome are everywhere, along with Shakespearean dialogue, peppered with quotes from Greek/Roman/Sapphic poets. Adam Driver even delivers Hamlet’s famous “To be or not to be…” soliloquy in its entirety.

Reviews

HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES – Review by Susan Granger

November 13, 2023November 18, 2023 Susan Granger donald sutherland, Fionnula Flanagan, Francis Lawrence, Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Jason Schwartzman, Peter Dinklage, Tom Blyth, viola davis

When the original Hunger Games devoured the silver screen in 2012, I vividly remember the savage power of its pop culture message about formidable female empowerment, particularly in contrast with its banal, dull, boring prequel Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Directed by Francis Lawrence, this epic, tri-part dystopian dirge is set 64 years before the original trilogy. The essence of what’s lacking in this franchise film: Katniss Everdeen, the resourceful, heroic character embodied by charismatic Jennifer Lawrence.

Reviews

ASTEROID CITY – Review by Sarah Vincent

June 22, 2023January 7, 2024 Sarah Vincent (archived contributor) Asteroid City, Jason Schwartzman, Margot Robbie, scarlett johansson, Wes Anderson

Shot in black and white on a black box theater set in a 1957 television studio, Wes Anderson regular Jason Schwartzman plays actor Jones Hall, who seduces playwright Conrad Earp (Edward Norton) after landing the role of Augie Steenbeck in Earp’s latest play, the titular Asteroid City. This intimate backstory is one of several behind-the-scenes vignettes about the production of Earp’s final work, which is shot in color – a dreamy, Southwest-evoking palette of teal, orange and tan. A recent widower, single dad and former war photographer, Augie is one of many offbeat parents taking their gifted children to the 1955 Junior Stargazer convention. A brief extraterrestrial visit interrupts the proceedings, triggering a government-imposed quarantine with no travel and no communication with the outside world and sparking a widespread crisis about the meaning of life.

Reviews

KLAUS – Review by Susan Granger

January 21, 2020January 24, 2020 Susan Granger 0 Comments animated, Jason Schwartzman, jk simmonsaus, Klaus, sergio pablos

Set on a frozen island above the Arctic Circle, “Klaus” is a Santa Claus origin story, directed by “Despicable Me” co-creator Sergio Pablos and Carlos Martinez Lopez. It’s racked up seven nominations for the 2020 Annie Awards, including Best Animated Feature.

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AWFJ Movie of the Week, Dec. 22-28: BIG EYES

December 22, 2014January 12, 2015 Nikki Baughan 0 Comments amy adams, anne brodie, Christoph Waltz, Danny Huston, Jason Schwartzman, Krysten Ritter, maryann johanson, nell minow, nikki baughan, Sandra Kraisirideja, Terence Stamp

Opening Dec. 25, AWFJ’s Movie of the Week is Big Eyes, Tim Burton’s study of painter Margaret Keane (Amy Adams), whose phenomenal success in the 1950s and ’60s gave way to legal wranglings after her husband (Christoph Waltz) claimed credit for her work. Read on…