willem dafoe – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

TENZING – Review by T.J. Callahan

September 29, 2026October 5, 2026 T. J. Callahan Apple TV+, Edmund Hillary, Genden Phuntsok, jennifer peedom, John Hunt, mt everest, Tenzing, tenzing norgay, Tom Hiddleston, willem dafoe

Tenzing should be added to the celluloid list of films chronicling the freezing, ferocious feat. The biographical drama recounts the 1953 British expedition headed by Colonel John Hunt (Willem Dafoe) where New Zealander Edmund Hillary (Tom Hiddleston) and Norgay (Genden Phuntsok) were eventually chosen to ascend what the natives called Chomolungma. But Tenzing is mostly from the Sherpa’s viewpoint. It’s Norgay’s origin story. The outcast climber from the wrong clan who fulfilled his goal of reaching the top of the mountain goddess that he thought was only in his dreams. Tenzing is so immersive you can feel the cold.

Reviews

LATE FAME – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

September 3, 2026September 3, 2026 Valerie Kalfrin Edmund Donovan, Greta Lee, Kent Jones, Late Fame, willem dafoe

Late Fame is not so much about a frustrated artist but about someone who, having enjoyed fame once, wonders later in life if he really wants such attention again.

Directed by Kent Jones (Diane), this lived-in New York story stars an understated Willem Dafoe (The Phoenician Scheme) as Ed Saxberger, a bohemian poet of the 1970s now sorting mail as a postal worker. Saxberger lives alone in a modest apartment of bookshelves and cassette tapes of poetry, but mostly, he’s content to shoot pool and joke around with other guys at a neighborhood bar where the female barkeep without asking sets out his favorite sandwich.

Festivals Reviews

LATE FAME (NYFF 2025) – Review by Diane Carson

September 23, 2025September 24, 2025 Diane Carson Edmund Donovan, Greta Lee, Kent Jones, Late Fame, willem dafoe

A thoughtful consideration of, as the title signals, Late Fame post office mail sorter Ed Saxberger wrote an ignored, small book of poetry, Way Past Go, years ago. Prompted by its dominant member Meyers, an arrogant, pretentious group calling itself the Enthusiasm Society discover Saxberger’s poetry and become fawning fans, though it becomes obvious several have not bothered to read the book. Approached out of the blue, flattered, Ed is eventually persuaded to attend the group’s meeting, drinking, and self-congratulatory get togethers. As Saxberger, Willem Dafoe transitions flawlessly from cautious and suspicious—at first thinking the attention is a prank—to enjoying the adulation, until he doesn’t.

Festivals Reviews

THE MAN IN MY BASEMENT (TIFF 2025) – Review by Leslie Combemale

September 6, 2025September 7, 2025 Leslie Combemale Anna Diop, Corey Hawkins, Mark Towns, Nadia Latif, Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe, The Man in My Basement, TIFF 2025, Ula Pontikos, willem dafoe

From the jump, audiences will see the lead character in director Nadia Latif’s The Man in My Basement is pretty unlikable. Charles Blakey (Corey Hawkins) has alienated what little family he has left, he is belligerent to his friends, and seems to be full of self-hatred. He has made some very bad decisions, some relayed onscreen, and some that may or may not come to light through the course of the film.

Reviews

THE LEGEND OF OCHI – Review by T.J. Callahan

April 15, 2025April 20, 2025 T. J. Callahan a24, Emily Watson, helena zengel, Isaiah Saxon, The Legend of Ochi, willem dafoe

A24 is testing the family film waters with The Legend of Ochi, meant for the entire clan to enjoy together, but kids under 10 may be bored and/or scared. It’s not flashy or fast paced even though the film is only 96 minutes. Kid characters carry shotguns. The mother smokes. But there are lessons to be learned and hearts are warmed. The Legend of Ochi is a quirky flick that will win you over if you give it a chance. It’s a symphony of sights and sounds with an old fashioned story attached.

Reviews

NOSFERATU – Review by T.J. Callahan

December 18, 2024December 22, 2024 T. J. Callahan Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bill Skarsgard, horror, lily rose depp, Nicholas Hoult, Nosferatu:, Robert Eggers, vmpire, willem dafoe

What the new version of Nosferatu is, is REALLY old school horror. A remake of the 1922 silent film of the same name that was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Nosferatu plays like it’s from the early days of moving pictures. It is a typical dark and foggy tale of obsession between a haunted young woman, portrayed way over the top by Lily-Rose Depp, and a terrifying vampire who wants to be her boyfriend. Played by Bill Skarsgård, the vampire Nosferatu is an unrecognizable gothic Wizard of Oz who sounds like he has asthma.

Reviews

BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

September 25, 2024September 29, 2024 Valerie Kalfrin beetlejuice 2, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, catherine ohara, Jenna Ortega, Michael Keaton, monica bellucci, Tim Burton, willem dafoe, Winona Ryder

To enter the underworld, we learned from the original Beetlejuice, you need to draw a door. In the new film Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Michael Keaton’s maniacally mischievous demon draws a cartoonish bomb complete with a long fuse, all the better to blow us away. Twenty-six years after Keaton and director Tim Burton introduced this madcap “ghost with the most,” an underworld rogue who claimed he could scare away the living, the two have reunited for a sequel stuffed with macabre humor, immersive world-building, and eye-popping (and sometimes gut-spilling) special effects, costumes, and makeup.

Reviews

BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE – Review by T.J. Callahan

September 3, 2024September 4, 2024 T. J. Callahan beetlejuice 2, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, catherine ohara, Jenna Ortega, Michael Keaton, monica bellucci, Tim Burton, willem dafoe, Winona Ryder

Hey all you ghouls and flesh bags, welcome to Nostalgia Theatre. It’s been 36 years since The Juice was loose and he’s finally ready to reanimate to save himself and the Netherworld in the sequel to Beetlejuice. It’s called Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, you know, for Beetlejuice 2. Are ya hip? Or is your’s missing? While there are some good gags, with the best being as the credits roll, it can’t compare to its classic counterpart, which, by the way, if you haven’t seen you’ll be lost in the new one.

Reviews

BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE – Review by Susan Kamyab

September 3, 2024September 4, 2024 Susan Kamyab beetlejuice 2, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, catherine ohara, Jenna Ortega, Michael Keaton, monica bellucci, Tim Burton, willem dafoe, Winona Ryder

Beetlejuice is back! The original film was released in 1988 and now Michael Keaton returns to reprise his iconic role. Surprisingly, the sequel is better than the first movie. I recently rewatched the original, which I loved as a kid, and it didn’t quite hold up and should not have been rated PG. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is appropriately rated PG-13, and it has an engaging fun story from the start.

Reviews

BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE – Review by Nadine Whitney

September 3, 2024September 6, 2024 Nadine Whitney beetlejuice 2, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, catherine ohara, Jenna Ortega, Michael Keaton, monica bellucci, Tim Burton, willem dafoe, Winona Ryder

Tim Burton hits a lot of familiar beats in his much belated sequel to his classic 1998 film. Michael Keaton has lost none of his vigour as Beetlejuice, but the character is less interesting the second time around. Catherine O’Hara’s Delia is the scene stealer. In terms of long-gestating legacy sequels there have certainly been worse examples, and there have been far better. It’s one of Tim Burton’s more successful recent efforts. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice has enough colour, flair, and humour to make it enjoyable, but it’s not a pinch on the original.

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