ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

Female Film Critics 24/375

Taika Waititi

Reviews 

RESERVATION DOGS – Review by Diane Carson

Diane Carson , , , , , ,

Teenage driven narratives stretch back to earliest films and television dramas. But, to its immense credit, the two season series Reservation Dogs breaks new, extraordinary ground. Set on an Oklahoma Indian reservation, and there are many in Oklahoma, we’ll learn four young men and women face what they consider bleak futures on the rez and envision better lives elsewhere. Typical, eh? But several unique elements elevate and recommend Reservation Dogs above what certainly could be formulaic struggles.

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Reviews 

THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER – Review by Brandy McDonnell

Brandy McDonnell , , , , ,

A lavish space Viking feast of a movie, Thor: Love and Thunder is delightfully laden with Oscar-winning talent, scene-stealing screaming goats, kaleidoscopic color schemes, 1980s iconography, A-list cameos, the Guardians of the Galaxy, thunderous action sequences, witty one-liners, a diverse horde of mythological gods and a bombastic soundtrack featuring Guns N’ Roses, along with Dio, ABBA and Enya. Academy Award-winning writer/director Taika Waititi’s second cinematic serving in the apparently endless banquet of the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a deliciously over-the-top treat that’s sometimes refreshingly bittersweet.

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THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

Valerie Kalfrin , , , , ,

Thor: Love and Thunder has the verve of a glam-rock musical, full of Guns N’ Roses riffs, bursts of lightning, and technicolor travels along the Rainbow Bridge. But its core is the tender idea that we all crave and need love, even if it hurts to lose it. Taika Waititi, who blasted new energy and humor into the staid superhero with 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok, returns at the helm of this often-loopy vessel and still loves absurdity. Yet the humor works better here.

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LIGHTYEAR – Review by Susan Granger

Susan Granger , , , , , , , ,

It’s rare that Disney/Pixar movies incite controversy but Lightyear, a Toy Story origin story, certainly has. The great kerfuffle revolves around a brief, same-gender kiss that was removed and then reinstated when Pixar employees said Disney was censoring “overtly gay affection” as Disney CEO Bob Chapek reacted to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation.

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LIGHTYEAR – Review by T.J. Callahan

T. J. Callahan , , , , , ,

Lightyear: Come with a Buzz and you’ll leave with a smile. Lightyear is a prequel, of sorts, to Toy Story. Think of it as the movie Andy watched that made Buzz Lightyear his hero and inspired hia favorite doll. This is NOT a Toy Story movie. Even though they are animated, the characters in the film aren’t toys, but Space Rangers trying to get back to their planet after a mission mishap that took them to infinity and beyond.

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FREE GUY – Review by Susan Granger

Susan Granger , , , ,

If you missed Ryan Reynolds’ adventure/comedy Free Guy at theaters, it’s streaming on Disney+. Reynolds plays Guy, a mild-mannered bank teller who discovers he’s actually a background player in a popular, mayhem-filled video game called ‘Free City.’ When he falls in love with Molotov Girl, a spunky, sunglass-wearing, leather-clad biker-chick, he faces an existential crisis and decides to reinvent himself as a hero.

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THE SUICIDE SQUAD – Review by Susan Granger

Susan Granger , , , , , ,

The action/adventure/comedy The Suicide Squad is perhaps a quasi-sequel to 2016’s Suicide Squad, as writer/director James Gunn ventures into the DC Extended Universe, totally re-envisioning the super-villain franchise. Problem is: with little exposition and no character development, there’s no emotional resonance, making it more of a grotesque, R-rated comic-book-turned-video game than a movie.

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THE MANDALORIAN – Review by Susan Granger

Susan Granger 0 Comments , , , , , ,

The second season of Jon Favreau’s blockbuster live-action Disney+ series, a sci-fi spin-off from George Lucas’ Star Wars, is set five years after Return of the Jedi – meaning the Empire has fallen and the New Republic is in its ascendancy – this intergalactic adventure revolves around the mysterious, perpetually helmeted bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal), an orphan who was rescued and raised by Mandalorian warriors.

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