paul giamatti – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

STARFLEET ACADEMY – Review by Susan Granger

March 31, 2026April 1, 2026 Susan Granger alex kurtzman, Gaia Violo, holly hunter, paramount, paul giamatti, Sandro Rosta, star trek, Starfleet Academy

As an ardent Star Trek fan, I was disappointed by Starfleet Academy, the newest addition to the franchise that premiered in January – so I’m not surprised that it’s been cancelled after just two seasons. Obviously, it was not destined to Live Long and Prosper. This spinoff is set in the 32nd century – after the Burn, a galaxy-wide catastrophe in which ‘dilithium’ became inert, causing the destruction of starship warp cores which decimated the United Federation of Planets, leaving the Klingon Empire without a home world.

Reviews

DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRAND FINALE – Review by Susan Granger

September 15, 2025September 16, 2025 Susan Granger Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, Elizabeth McGovern, Focus Festures, hugh bonneville, jim carter, julian fellowes, Michelle Dockery, paul giamatti, penelope wilton

Witty writer Julian Fellowes has cleverly created and cast such fully realized, socially stratified characters that it’s completely credible that Noel Coward should come to visit Downton, accompanied by actor Guy Dexter and his ‘companion’ – former footman/valet – Thomas Barrow, and – having heard Mary’s divorce story – be inspired to write the comedy Private Lives.

Reviews

DOWNTON ABBEY: THE GRAND FINALE – Review by T. J. Callahan

September 10, 2025September 16, 2025 T. J. Callahan Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, Elizabeth McGovern, Focus Festures, hugh bonneville, jim carter, julian fellowes, Michelle Dockery, paul giamatti, penelope wilton

Fans of the television series and two previous films will still experience the beautiful scenery and feel the warm familiar embrace of the posh lot. As the Dowager Countess looks down on the antics from her portrait in the foyer and Lord Grantham places a kiss on the home’s stone facade, the audience may just shed a tear or three as our old friend’s destinies are wrapped up nicely in a two hour love letter. Nothing extraordinary. Nothing dull. Just a fond faire thee well.

Reviews

THE HOLDOVERS – Review by Susan Granger

November 20, 2023November 21, 2023 Susan Granger Alexander Payne, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, David Hemingson, Dominic Sessa, paul giamatti, The Holdovers

Set at Christmastime in 1970 at prestigious Barton Academy, a rural Massachusetts prep school, The Holdovers revolves around Paul ’Walleye’ Hunham (Paul Giamatti), the cynical, curmudgeonly classics instructor forced to supervise the unfortunate boys unable to return home for the two-week holiday break. When a rich kid’s dad arrives in his helicopter, he offers to take them all skiing – if their parents give permission. That leaves only arrogant, angry Angus Tully (newcomer Dominic Sessa) whose honeymooning mother and stepfather have abandoned him and cannot be reached. Screenwriter David Hemingson devises such distinctive, compelling backstories for each of these three lonely, sad souls that their traumatic misadventures turn out to be therapeutic, yet director Alexander Payne never succumbs to sentimentality.

Reviews

THE HOLDOVERS – Review by Diane Carson

November 2, 2023November 4, 2023 Diane Carson Alexander Payne, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, David Hemingson, Dominic Sessa, paul giamatti, The Holdovers

Director Alexander Payne has demonstrated a rare skill in mining complex personalities, the façade presented to others as well as the hidden depths of that mask. In exploring identities, Payne reveals the agonizing elements, coping strategies, and positive aspects of his characters. Through all this, he maintains an affectionate, incisive approach to the human condition. The Holdovers is as profound as it is enjoyable, a world to embrace.

Festivals Reviews

THE HOLDOVERS (Middleburg FF 2023) – Review by Leslie Combemale

October 30, 2023November 3, 2023 Leslie Combemale Alexander Payne, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Dominic Sessa, Middleburg FF 2023, Middleburg Film Festival, paul giamatti, The Holdovers

The Holdovers, aka Grumpy Professor has a Change of Heart (that’s not a spoiler. It’s telegraphed in the trailer) aka Sideways Part Deux is more charming, poignant and sweet than director Alexander Payne and lead Paul Giamatti have any right to be, but that’s no surprise for the duo that brought us Sideways. It may be the holiday movie you never knew you needed. None of the lead characters have family that make them feel safe and loved during the holidays. This is the story of them finding each other, as damaged and full of baggage as they all are.

Festivals Reviews

THE HOLDOVERS (TIFF 2023) – Review by Emma Badame

September 20, 2023September 21, 2023 Emma Badame Alexander Payne, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, David Hemingson, Dominic Sessa, paul giamatti, The Holdovers, TIFF 2023

Filmmaker Alexander Payne’s latest offering is not particularly original in any of its elements and doesn’t attempt to break any new ground, but as it transpires, that’s not at all a bad thing. Well-acted, lovingly directed, and sharply written by David Hemingson, The Holdovers is a warm, nostalgic hug of a film that harks back to a specific and beloved era of filmmaking. Payne sets the film in the early ‘70s to allow for a showcase of his vintage favorites. From the soundtrack to the color palette, he immerses his film in everything of the era and it truly works in the film’s favor.

Reviews

A MOUTHFUL OF AIR – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

October 12, 2021October 24, 2021 Valerie Kalfrin A Mouthful of Air, amanda seyfried, Amy Koppelman, Finn Wittrock, paul giamatti

Depression doesn’t play favorites. Neither does anxiety. A loving family, a creative career, and financial stability are no defense against the darkness that creeps into one’s mind, as the drama A Mouthful of Air demonstrates through one mother’s anguish. Making her feature directing debut, Amy Koppelman adapted her fictional 2003 novel of the same name, based on her own experience with clinical depression.

Reviews

JUNGLE CRUISE – Review by Martha K Baker

July 27, 2021August 1, 2021 Martha K. Baker (Archived Contributor) Dwayne Johnson, emily blunt, Jaume Collet-Serra, Jessie Plemons, jungle cruise, paul giamatti, wald disney studios

Erase all thoughts of Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn in African Queen from your mind. Delete scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark. Pretend you’re back at Disneyland on the Jungle Cruise because it lasts eight minutes compared to the film’s 127. The film version equals a theme park ride in fake-itude. Jungle Cruise, loud and long, is about as solid as the floating vegetation on the Amazon River.

Reviews

GUNPOWDER MILKSHAKE – Review by Leslie Combemale

July 14, 2021July 17, 2021 Leslie Combemale Angela Bassett, Carla, Carla Gugino, Chloe Coleman, Gunpower Milkshake, Karen Gillan, Lena Headey, Michelle Yeoh, Navot Papushado, netflix, paul giamatti

Gunpower Milkshake is proof that you can have five talented, compelling actors acting the hell out of themselves and it still won’t make up for a one-dimensional derivative script. I’d still crawl through teargas to see Karen Gillan, Lena Headey, Angela Bassett, Michelle Yeoh, and Carla Gugino in an assassin sisterhood, but it’s a real disappointment they didn’t have a script that could leverage their combined star power and thespian skill.

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