Zach Galifianakis – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

LILO & STITCH – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

May 24, 2025 Valerie Kalfrin Billy Magnussen, Chris Kekaniokalani Bright, Courtney B. Vance, Dean Fleischer Camp, disney, Lilo & Stitch, Maia Kealoha, Mike Van Waes, Sydney Agudong, Tia Carrere, Zach Galifianakis

Lilo & Stitch, the new mostly live-action version of Disney’s 2002 Lilo & Stitch, is … fine. Yet-another mining of the Disney catalogue, it’s an inoffensive adaptation that feels familiar, comfortable, and completely unnecessary. I sound like I’m channeling the titular blue alien before he discovered ohana and people who love him, antennae, six legs and all. It’s just that this new Lilo & Stitch is so much like the original animated Lilo & Stitch, down to recreating whole scenes and dialogue, that I wondered why it existed beyond merchandising possibilities. (There’s enough Capri Sun in here alone to guarantee a tie-in, not to mention new Stitch toys.)

Reviews

WINNER – Review by April Neale

September 7, 2024September 8, 2024 April Neale biopic, connie britton, Emilia Jones, Espionage Act, Kerry Howley, Reality Winner, susanna fogel, Winner, Zach Galifianakis

Winner, is a fascinating and entertaining look at Middle Eastern language savant Reality Winner’s (Emilia Jones) unlikely trajectory from Texas schoolgirl to imprisoned veteran accused of espionage during the Trump reign. Ultimately, the film is a thought-provoking exploration of the consequences of challenging authority. It reminds us that while fighting for justice is important, it’s crucial to pick our battles wisely and consider the potential impact on our lives. Reality did the time, and now we can relive the crime by watching a former president wiggle around our country’s laws.

Reviews

THE SUNLIT NIGHT – Review by Liz Braun

July 8, 2020July 12, 2020 Liz Braun 0 Comments david wnendt, Fridtjov Saheim, gillian anderson, Jenny Slate, rebecca dinrstein, the sunlit night, Zach Galifianakis

The Sunlit Night, a slight romantic comedy saturated in whimsy, has its moments — all of them courtesy Jenny Slate, playing a struggling artist trying to find herself in a remote corner of Norway. Director David Wnendt seems to have organized all the right bits and pieces but something happened in the process of putting them all together.

Movie of the Week

AWFJ Movie of the Week, Oct. 13-19: BIRDMAN

October 13, 2014October 28, 2018 Nikki Baughan 0 Comments Alejandro González Iñárritu, Amy Ryan, Andrea Riseborough, anne brodie, Edward Norton, emma stone, kristy puchko, leba hertz, Michael Keaton, Naomi Watts, Sandra Kraisirideja, Zach Galifianakis

Opening Oct. 17, AWFJ’s Movie of the Week is Birdman, which sees the welcome return of Michael Keaton as a washed up actor trying to reclaim past glories by staging a play on Broadway. Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, the hugely talented filmmaker behind the likes of Amores Perros, 21 Grams and Babel, and powered by a virtuoso performance from Keaton, Birdman is a knowing – and hugely entertaining – treatise on the fickle nature of fame.
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