Laura Dern – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

WEEK IN WOMEN: NBC Special Celebrates Carol Burnett’s Birthday – Brandy McDonnell reports

April 18, 2023April 22, 2023 Brandy McDonnell Aileen Quinn, amy poehler, Bill Hader, Bob Mackie, carol burnett, cher, Ellen Degeneres, JULIE ANDREWS, kristen wiig, Laura Dern, lily tomlin, marisa tomei, nbc, peacock, Sofia Vergara, Steve Carell, Susan Lucci, tracee ellis ross, twiw, week in women

Paying tribute to a beloved national icon for her birthday, NBC will celebrate Carol Burnett’s illustrious career with Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love. The two-hour special will air at 8 p.m. ET/PT April 26 and will stream next day on Peacock. Filmed at Avalon Hollywood in Los Angeles, the star-studded special will feature an A-list lineup of musical performances and special guests, who will come together to share their love for one of the most cherished comediennes in television history.

Reviews

THE SON – Review by Susan Granger

January 18, 2023January 19, 2023 Susan Granger anthony hopkins, florian zeller, Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, The Son, vanessa kirby

The Son revolves around an affluent family, headed by workaholic Peter Miller (Hugh Jackman) who is struggling, along with his ex-wife (Laura Dern), to help their volatile, self-destructive 17-year-old son, Nicholas (Zen McGrath), while grappling with an infant, a younger partner (Vanessa Kirby) and the psychological trauma inflicted by his tyrannical father (Anthony Hopkins.)

Reviews

JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION – Review by Susan Granger

June 21, 2022June 25, 2022 Susan Granger Bryce Dallas Howard, Campbell Scott, Chris Pratt, Colin Trevorrow, DeWanda Wise, Isabella Sermon, Jeff Goldblum, Jurassic World Dominion, Laura Dern, sam neill

Jurassic World: Dominion marks the return of the human characters who propelled previous sequels. Problem is: as a result of frenzied storylines, numerous gargantuan species and too many bumbling characters, there’s no emotional connection. And when two savage CGI apex predators finally grapple, it’s over a puny deer carcass. Perhaps this cautionary tale heralds the extinction of the once-beloved Jurassic franchise.

News

WEEK IN WOMEN: Laura Dern stars in Susannah Grant’s LONELY PLANET – Brandy McDonnell reports

June 14, 2022June 19, 2022 Brandy McDonnell Laura Dern, Liam Hemsworth, LONELY PLANET, netflix, Susannah Grant, week in women

Academy Award and Primetime Emmy nominee Susannah Grant is writing, directing and producing Lonely Planet, a love story set in Morocco, for Netflix. The film is to star Oscar winner Laura Dern, currently to be be seen in the blockbuster Jurassic World Dominion.

Reviews

JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

June 13, 2022September 23, 2022 Valerie Kalfrin Bryce Dallas Howard, Campbell Scott, Chris Pratt, Colin Trevorrow, DeWanda Wise, Isabella Sermon, Jeff Goldblum, Jurassic World Dominion, Laura Dern, sam neill

Director Colin Trevorrow keeps the globe-hopping action moving at a brisk pace, likely so viewers don’t ask many questions. The action sequences are effective, easy to track and edited with a blend of wide and closer shots, some with teeth snapping right at the screen. Yet the story lacks teeth: There’s no cohesion, or satisfying setups and payoffs. It’s enough to drive some dino fans buggy.

Reviews

JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION – Review by T.J. Callahan

June 9, 2022June 10, 2022 T. J. Callahan Bryce Dallas Howard, Campbell Scott, Chris Pratt, Colin Trevorrow, DeWanda Wise, Isabella Sermon, Jeff Goldblum, Jurassic World Dominion, Laura Dern, sam neill

Dinosaurs are chasing Bryce Dallas Howard again and this time she’s wearing flats. The good: double the dinosaurs, plenty of action, nostalgia, more snarky Jeff Goldblum, and strong and smart female characters that are the equal of men. The not so good: multiple meh storylines, cheesy acting, and not enough people get eaten. You know that’s what the public really wants.

Festivals Reviews

SHERYL (SXSW 2022) – Review by Leslie Combemale

March 12, 2022March 13, 2022 Leslie Combemale amy scott, biodoc, documentsries, Joe Walsh, Keith Richards, Laura Dern, Sheryl Crow, sxsw 2022

Amy Scott’s new biographical documentary Sheryl reveals the musician’s tumultuous personal experience becoming the icon she is, with Sheryl herself opening up about the joys and challenges in her life and career. The film is straightforward and conventional, but if the mark of a good bio-doc is having a subject and interviewees that speak honestly and from time to time lay their souls bare, Sheryl hits that note beautifully.

Reviews

LITTLE WOMEN – Review by Martha K Baker

December 30, 2019January 2, 2020 Martha K. Baker 0 Comments emma watson, greta gerwig, Laura Dern, little women, saoirse ronan

Louisa May Alcott wrote a little book about little women. It became a classic. She never meant for the autobiographical tale of her life in the 19th-century, after the Civil War, to be a book for children. It is not — that’s “women” in her title, not “girls.”

News

WEEK IN WOMEN: Palm Springs Film Fest honors Laura Dern – Brandy McDonnell reports

December 19, 2019December 21, 2019 Brandy McDonnell 0 Comments charlize theron, jennifer lopez, Laura Dern, Palm Springs International Film Festival, renee zellwegger, twiwival, week in women

Laura Dern will receive the Career Achievement Award at the 31st annual Palm Springs International Film Festival’s Awards Gala at the Palm Springs Convention Center in Palm Springs, California, on January 2, 2020. Also to be honored at the ceremony are Jennifer Lopez, Charlize Theron and Renee Zellwegger.

Reviews

LITTLE WOMEN – Review by Susan Granger

December 18, 2019December 21, 2019 Susan Granger 0 Comments emma watson, florence pugh, greta gerwig, Laura Dern, little women, meryl streep, saoirse ronan, tracy letts

Since Greta Gerwig’s Ladybird was one of my 2017 favorites, I had high hopes for her version of Louisa Mae Alcott’s classic story, but she butchers it! Rather than relate it chronologically, Gerwig shuffles, subverts and skips pivotal scenes, except for the opening Christmas letter from Father and the wryly romantic conclusion.

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