octavia spencer – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

RIDE OR DIE – Review by Susan Granger

August 19, 2026August 23, 2026 Susan Granger amazon prime, Bill Nighy, Hannah Waddingham, octavia spencer, ride or die, Tessa Coates

Obviously inspired by Thelma & Louise , Amazon Prime’s new female-focused action-adventure Ride or Die stars Hannah Waddingham and Octavia Spencer as unlikely best-friends on the run across Europe. Their relationship takes some explaining. Although she claims to be a forensic accountant, Judith Burton (Hannah Waddingham) is really an elite professional assassin known as Whiptail. Indeed, when we first see her, she’s a sassy, sly sharpshooter at an Austrian ski resort, deftly taking out her target, making a spectacular escape, then James Bond-like bedding a bartender. On the other hand, Debbie (Octavia Spencer), a Yale Law School graduate, is the underestimated, wily wife of a dim-witted British politician who took money from Albanian mobsters who – understandably – want it back.

Festivals Reviews

TOW (Tribeca 2025) – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

June 16, 2025June 18, 2025 Valerie Kalfrin 1991 Toyota Camry, Ariana DeBose, Corbin Bernsen, Demi Lovato, Dominic Sessa, octavia spencer, pro bono lawsuit, rose byrne, Simon Rex, Stephanie Laing, Tow, Tribeca 2025, truth-based

A 1991 Toyota Camry is easy to dismiss, much like its owner in Tow, a star-studded David and Goliath story about homelessness that unfortunately spins its wheels in spots. Based on a true story, the film sees Amanda (Rose Byrne, Physical) living out of the car in Seattle while she hunts for a job as a veterinary technician. During one of her job interviews, someone steals the Toyota, which winds up on a private towing lot.

Reviews

ENCOUNTER – Review by Diane Carson

November 24, 2021November 28, 2021 Diane Carson amazon prime, Benjamin Kracun, Encounter, Michael Pearce, octavia spencer, Riz ahmed

In Encounter, the decorated Special Forces Marine combat veteran and father Malik Khan lovingly delights and amuses, then dominates and terrifies his two sons Jay and Bobby after he kidnaps them, certain he’s saving them from aliens. With Riz Ahmed as Malik, through intense physical scenes and a psychological labyrinth, the story moves through hairpin turns and tense confrontations.

Festivals Reviews

ENCOUNTER (TIFF2021) – Review by Leslie Combemale

September 14, 2021September 14, 2021 Leslie Combemale Encounter, Michael Pearce, octavia spencer, Riz ahmed, TIFF, toronto international film festival

An alien threat leads decorated soldier Malik (Riz Ahmed) to kidnap his sons Jay (Lucian-River Chauhan) and Bobby (Aditya Geddada) and take them across the Southwest desert highways in Encounter, the latest genre-bender by English director Michael Pearce. The film, which is also co-written by Pearce, affirms him as a talent with vision, showing he has an ability to intermingle the tensions unique to psychodrama and sci-fi actioners, while offering a showcase for Ahmed, an actor who, with Malik, is adding to his arsenal of unforgettable performances.

Interviews

A’Lelia Bundles on TWO DOLLARS AND A DREAM, Madam C.J. Walker’s Impact and Legacy – Kathia Woods interviews

August 11, 2020August 18, 2020 Kathia Woods 0 Comments alelia bundles, documentaries, madam cj walker, octavia spencer, self made, stanley nelson, two dollars and a dream, world channel

A’Leila Bundles compares the dramatization of her great great grandmother’s life in Self Made with the story revealed in the 1989 documentary Two Dollars and A Dream, and speaks to her family’s legacy of philanthropy and of caring for the the Walker Company’s employees, most of whom were independent Black women.

Reviews

SELF MADE – Review by Martha K Baker

April 3, 2020April 3, 2020 Martha K. Baker (Archived Contributor) 0 Comments carmen ejogo, kasi lemmons, madame c j walker, octavia spencer, self made

Self Made raises a woman’s story to prominence and writes her back into history. St. Louisan Sarah Breedlove, a k a Madame C.J. Walker, is a hidden figure no longer.

Reviews

ONWARD – Review by Susan Granger

March 3, 2020March 7, 2020 Susan Granger 0 Comments animation, dan scanlon, disney, julia louis dreyfus, octavia spencer, onward, pixar

Seeking to revive enchantment, this new, animated Disney fantasy is set in suburban New Mushroomton, populated by mythical creatures: scavenging unicorns, punky motorcycle-riding pixies and pointy-eared elves – like angst-riddled Ian Lightfoot, who yearns for a connection with his father who died of cancer before he was born.

Reviews

DOLITTLE – Review by Susan Granger

January 21, 2020January 22, 2020 Susan Granger 0 Comments dolittle, jessie buckley, octavia spencer, robert downey jr, stephen gaghan

So many questions occurred to me whilst watching this live-action adaptation of British author Hugh Lofting’s beloved veterinarian who could communicate with animals. Like, why didn’t they use its original title: The Voyage of Dr. Dolittle? What’s with Robert Downey Jr.’s bizarre accent? Why don’t the lip movements of the computer-generated creatures match their dialogue? And why have audiences never connected with cinematic depictions of this childhood hero?

Reviews

LUCE – Review by Carla Renata

December 1, 2019December 29, 2019 Carla Renata (Archived Contributor) 0 Comments kelvin harrison jr, luce, Naomi Watts, octavia spencer, tim roth

Luce will disturb audiences well after the credits have rolled. There are so many issues being played out in the form of social acceptance and pressure, racism, entitlement and what face the truth takes. At the end of the day, we’re left with questions about the pressures one encounters simply by being a human navigating in this world that moves at warp speed.

Reviews

LUCE – Review by Susan Granger

September 9, 2019September 11, 2019 Susan Granger 0 Comments Julius Onah, luce, Naomi Watts, octavia spencer, tim roth

When Luce Edgar’s stern history teacher questions his provocative essay about West Indian radical political philosopher Frantz Fanon and, subsequently, finds a bag of illegal fireworks in his locker, Luce’s reputation is called into question. Parent-teacher confrontations, monitored by the principal, raise pertinent questions about racial identity and prejudice.

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