ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

Female Film Critics 24/375

viola davis

News 

WEEK IN WOMEN: Viola Davis to Play U.S. President in Patricia Riggen’s G20 – Brandy McDonnell reports

Brandy McDonnell , , , , , , ,

Viola Davis will play the president of the United States in the upcoming film G20. Directed by Patricia Riggen, G20 follows U.S. President Danielle Sutton (Davis), who becomes the No. 1 target when the yearly G20 Summit comes under siege. After evading capture by the attackers, she must outsmart the enemy to protect her family, defend her country and safeguard world leaders. The action-thriller is a co-production of Amazon MGM Studios and MRC, with Lazar’s Mad Chance Productions and Davis and Tennon’s JuVee Productions also producing, and will premiere April 10 on Amazon’s Prime Video.

Read more
News 

WEEK IN WOMEN: Viola Davis to receive Golden Globes’ Cecil B. DeMille Award – Brandy McDonnell reports

Brandy McDonnell , , , , , , ,

Celebrated performer, producer and Golden Globe winner Viola Davis has been named the Cecil B. DeMille Award honoree for 2024. Davis has been nominated for seven Golden Globes, winning as supporting actress in the 2016 film adaptation of August Wilson’s screenplay, Fences, in 2017 opposite Denzel Washington, who is also a DeMille winner. First created in 1952 and honoring the director, the Cecil B. DeMille Award has been bestowed on 69 honorees drawn from Hollywood’s greatest and most iconic talents, including Walt Disney, Jack Warner, Sidney Poitier, Robert Redford, Barbra Streisand and Oprah Winfrey.

Read more
Reviews 

KUNG FU PANDA 4 – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

Valerie Kalfrin , , , , , , ,

By the fourth film in a franchise, one expects some diminishing returns. Kung Fu Panda 4 doesn’t reach the heights of the 2008 original, but this panda still has a few kicks. In Kung Fu Panda 4, Jack Black again returns to voice Po, but the character has plateaued. Having acquired the jade-green staff of wisdom since the original film, he’s ready to teach a new dragon warrior and become the spiritual leader of the Valley of Peace, says his instructor, Master Shifu. Yet Po, happy with ribbon-cuttings and quests, shies from this responsibility.

Read more
Reviews 

AIR – Review by Nell Minow

Nell Minow , , , , , , , , , , ,

2023 will be remembered as the year of the movies that are consumer product origin stories. We’re used to seeing heroic stories of military figures, musicians, political leaders and activists, and, because movies are written by writers — writers. But in 2023 we had a remarkable number of movies with heroes or anti-heroes who were, well, capitalists. We saw the origin stories of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, Blackberrys, Beanie Babies, and the proto-computer game Tetris, By far the best of the group, though, was the story of a sneaker, a shoe that would become so popular it would have, well, a massive cultural footprint.

Read more
Reviews 

HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES – Review by Susan Granger

Susan Granger , , , , , , ,

When the original Hunger Games devoured the silver screen in 2012, I vividly remember the savage power of its pop culture message about formidable female empowerment, particularly in contrast with its banal, dull, boring prequel Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Directed by Francis Lawrence, this epic, tri-part dystopian dirge is set 64 years before the original trilogy. The essence of what’s lacking in this franchise film: Katniss Everdeen, the resourceful, heroic character embodied by charismatic Jennifer Lawrence.

Read more
Reviews 

AIR – Review by Susan Granger

Susan Granger , , , , , , , , ,

Air recounts how Sonny Vaccaro convinced the then-rookie Michael Jordan to sign a unique endorsement deal that changed the retail sports-apparel industry. Insightfully scripted by newcomer Alex Convery and astutely directed by Ben Affleck (Argo), it’s really a sports fable, centered on the 1984 corporate culture at Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. Back then, Nike was known for its running shoes which had zero impact on fashion. This underdog story begins as Nike’s basketball scout Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) searches for the next player to promote the footwear brand.

Read more
Reviews 

AIR – Review by T.J. Callahan

T. J. Callahan , , , , , , , , , , ,

Air: A shoe is just a shoe until someone steps into it. It was 1984. Americans were doing the Jane Fonda workout. Prince Charles and Lady Diana became parents to a future king, Mr. T pitied the fools, Clara Peller asked “Where’s the Beef?” and Converse ruled the athletic shoe world. A little ol sneaker company in Oregon was out to change that.

Read more
Reviews 

AIR – Review by Susan Kamyab

Susan Kamyab , , , , , , , , , ,

I am so happy to say that this movie is not only a slam dunk, but it’s one of the best films of the year so far. I know it’s early to say that, but this particular A-list film is going to stick with audiences all year long. Directed by Ben Affleck, the film is about a sports marketing executive, played by Matt Damon, and how he led Nike in its pursuit of the greatest athlete in the history of basketball: Michael Jordan.

Read more
Commentaries 

African-American Film Critics Association Awards – Nikki Fowler reports

Nikki Fowler , , , , ,

The African-American Film Critics Association’s (AAFCA) awards ceremony, held on March 1 at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel, marked a much-deserved moment of celebration for Black creators and actors who’ve been unexpectedly snubbed by other awards groups this year. Although no longer tagged as #OscarsSoWhite, the Academy Award nominations slate had glaring omissions of Black creatives and actors, including Gina-Prince Bythewood and The Woman King, Chinouye Chukwu and Till and Elegance Branton and The Inspection, and all of the brilliant talent associated with those and other superb Black films.

Read more