ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

Female Film Critics 24/375

Mads Mikkelsen

Festivals Reviews 

DUST BUNNY (TIFF 2025) – Review by Liz Braun

Liz Braun , , , , , , ,

Experiencing Dust Bunny​ is a little like falling into the greatest children’s book ever. The visually stunning modern fairy tale is all about Aurora, a 10-year-old plagued by a monster under her bed. Late one starry night she sees her mysterious neighbour slay a dragon, so she decides to hire him to dispatch that thing lurking under her floorboards. The monster may well have eaten Aurora’s parents …​ The mysterious neighbour — he’s an assassin — agrees to help Aurora, although like most adults, he does not believe in monsters under the bed. He doesn’t believe those monsters eat people, either, but he soon comes to value Aurora’s point of view.

Read more
Reviews 

FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE – Review by Susan Granger

Susan Granger , , , , ,

Considering this installment of the Wizarding World sub-franchise was written by Harry Potter” creator J.K. Rowling and Steve Klovesand and directed by Harry Potter\” veteran David Yates, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is decidedly underwhelming, a dull, Dumble-snore, two-and-a-half hours of murky tedium, making one want to beg the Potterverse to stop making these inferior spin-offs.

Read more
Reviews 

FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE SECRETS OF DUMBLEDORE – Review by Leslie Combemale

Leslie Combemale , , , , ,

Happily, Warner Brothers and the filmmakers behind Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore have openly flouted ‘Don’t Say Gay’ absurdities with the third installment of the Fantastic Beasts franchise. Right out of the gate, Dumbledore (Jude Law) and Gridelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) talk about the love and devotion they once had for each other. No one is hit over the head with it. It was part of the life they once shared. That’s just one of some very adult, and often understated qualities to appreciate in the new film.

Read more
Reviews 

RIDERS OF JUSTICE – Review by Liz Braun

Liz Braun , , ,

Everything about the writing in Riders of Justice is delightful, but the genius of what writer/director Anders Thomas Jensen is doing here is most evident in the creation of a trio of deeply damaged, somewhat deranged and entirely sweet-natured men, each of them ruthless in his capacity to hack into the lives of others, misuse spyware and gather information on enemies real or imagined.

Read more
Reviews 

ANOTHER ROUND – Review by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas , , ,

While not as famous as his fellow Danish auteur Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg has been making compelling and arguably more diverse movies than his more controversial colleague for thirty years. Starring Danish screen legend Mads Mikkelsen as Martin, Another Round is a sparky yet oddly melancholy comedy about men, masculinity and that old devil, booze.

Read more
Reviews 

ANOTHER ROUND – Review by Diane Carson

Diane Carson , , ,

Danish director Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round is a film at war with itself. On the one hand, it warns against the negative effects and dire professional and personal consequences of daily, increasing alcohol consumption. On the other hand, it celebrates the joyful camaraderie and liberating abandon drinking brings. As alarming, the setup comes with a scientific overlay.

Read more
Festivals Reviews 

ANOTHER ROUND (TIFF20) – Review by Pam Grady

Pam Grady 0 Comments , , , ,

Though Another Round is an ensemble drama, Mads Mikkelsen stands out in the crowd, one of a quartet of high school teachers who decide to test the crazy theory that maintaining a .05 alcohol level leads to optimum mind and body function. Certainly, staying drunk leads to euphoria in the early going, but in scenes that veer between comedy and melodrama, reality has a way of deflating the buzz.

Read more