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Valerie Kalfrin

Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:

I'm a multiple award-winning journalist who has left crime reporting behind to focus on fictional mayhem. I'm a member of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists who writes reviews, essays, criticism, and deep dives into film, entertainment, pop culture, and storytelling for The Hollywood Reporter (Heat Vision), RogerEbert.com, In Their Own League, The Script Lab, Script magazine, Film Racket, ScreenCraft, CC2K, Final Draft, and more.

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
The Ascent (2025) EDIT “an absorbing and rousing look at someone determined not to let her past define her and scrambling toward whatever the future brings” – AWFJ.org Mar 23, 2026 Full Review THE BRIDE! (2026) 57% EDIT “Writer-director Maggie Gyllenhaal has a lot she wants to say in this messy mashup of monsters, mobsters, and even musicals, but it doesn’t all come through loud and clear. The underdeveloped plot feels cobbled together, a patchwork punctuated with rage.” – AWFJ.org Mar 23, 2026 Full Review Edie Arnold Is a Loser (2026) EDIT “a winningly quirky irreverent coming-of-age story. ... it covers some familiar ground as far as Catholic schoolgirl rebellion but punctuates it with snappy comedic timing, lively writing, and enjoyably endearing characters.” – AWFJ.org Mar 23, 2026 Full Review Jimpa (2025) 53% EDIT “... undeniably well-intentioned. ... But dividing its attention saps the dramatic momentum, leaving JIMPA feeling more like a series of scattered scenes instead of a unified whole.” – AWFJ.org Mar 13, 2026 Full Review The Swedish Connection (2026) 2.5/5 EDIT “... a fair wartime adventure that could benefit from more suspense, even if it depicts how even tiny cogs can disrupt a much larger machine.” – AWFJ.org Mar 13, 2026 Full Review Undercard (2025) 47% 3/5 EDIT “... a split decision. [Wanda] Sykes holds the screen as a former boxer turned trainer seeking connection and redemption with the son she once abandoned, but the plot occasionally gets stuck on the ropes.” – AWFJ.org Mar 13, 2026 Full Review Die My Love (2025) 74% 3.5/5 EDIT “... a fever dream of a film, more about a character’s headspace than a propulsive (some might say cohesive) plot. ... an ambitious work that seems to want to capture the disorientation and desperation of depression from the inside out.” – AWFJ.org Mar 13, 2026 Full Review Predator: Badlands (2025) 86% EDIT “... a surprisingly fun crowd-pleaser full of eye-popping imagery, clever fights, and entertaining chemistry.” – AWFJ.org Mar 13, 2026 Full Review The Running Man (2025) 62% EDIT “[F]eels like it’s several steps behind the times. Despite a few good performances, this updated remake of the 1987 original is essentially a 1980’s action movie with capable action but sorely in need of biting satire.” – AWFJ.org Mar 13, 2026 Full Review Five Nights at Freddy's 2 (2025) 16% EDIT “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is a B-movie for tweens and teens who adore the popular horror gaming franchise. Anyone else might find it a C at best, considering the threadbare characters and scattershot plot.” – AWFJ.org Mar 12, 2026 Full Review My Undesirable Friends: Part I - Last Air in Moscow (2024) 100% EDIT “Though its running time is an investment, ... [i]t’s heartening to see the passion for their work and how they find bravery in purpose, even as they mourn what the country they love has become.” – AWFJ.org Mar 12, 2026 Full Review Zootopia 2 (2025) 91% EDIT “Arriving almost ten years after the original ... Zootopia 2 loses none of its guts or its bite. Again tackling heady themes within a shady land-grab conspiracy right at home in Chinatown, Zootopia 2 still brings all the fun, fur, and feels.” – AWFJ.org Mar 12, 2026 Full Review Cover-Up (2025) 98% EDIT “Cover-Up, the Netflix documentary focusing on award-winning investigative reporter Seymour Hersh, is less a biography than sobering reminder of the importance of independent journalism.” – AWFJ.org Mar 12, 2026 Full Review Hamnet (2025) 87% EDIT “Grief and memory, compassion and resilience braid throughout this tender film, forging a family’s intimate heartbreak into something universal and layered.” – AWFJ.org Mar 12, 2026 Full Review 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) 92% EDIT “Ralph Fiennes is the MVP of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. ... [which] weighs what’s lost along with so much life, how easy or necessary it can be to lose one’s soul.” – AWFJ.org Mar 12, 2026 Full Review Project Hail Mary (2026) 94% EDIT “... an uplifting adventure about learning you really do have the right stuff. Including breathtaking IMAX imagery, this big-hearted sci-fi story hinges on an enchanting interstellar friendship that doesn’t hit one false note.” – AWFJ.org Mar 12, 2026 Full Review The Mother and the Bear (2024) 90% EDIT “A frosty relationship between an overbearing mother and her daughter thaws in unexpected ways. This is a midlife coming-of-age story about a reluctant woman who comes to see her daughter in whole new light. ” – AWFJ.org Jan 29, 2026 Full Review Frankenstein (2025) 85% EDIT “marvelous. Grand, sumptuous, and passionate, it’s a heartbreaking vision of hubris and humanity where we least expect it. ” – AWFJ.org Nov 7, 2025 Full Review The Perfect Neighbor (2025) 99% EDIT “propulsive with frustration and dread” – AWFJ.org Nov 7, 2025 Full Review A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE (2025) 75% EDIT “a sobering warning about what we take for granted and a grateful tribute to those working under such unknowns. ” – AWFJ.org Nov 7, 2025 Full Review After the Hunt (2025) 37% EDIT “raises questions about power and consent, but its execution comes up short.” – AWFJ.org Nov 7, 2025 Full Review Roofman (2025) 87% EDIT “hypes its true-story roots but might have worked better as a documentary. ... the film leans on Tatum’s considerable charm instead of fleshing out the motivations and flaws of its main character.” – AWFJ.org Oct 23, 2025 Full Review One Battle After Another (2025) 94% EDIT “ a kinetic and often darkly comedic film about political stances and personal consequences. ... Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn give wonderfully layered, physical and emotional performances” – AWFJ.org Oct 23, 2025 Full Review Swiped (2025) 45% EDIT “viewers might want to “swipe left.” ... the film skims over a lot. It feels like flipping through several browser windows without reading them.” – AWFJ.org Sep 30, 2025 Full Review The French Italian (2024) 62% EDIT “even someone who’s never lived in a city will appreciate the less-than-charitable dynamic here about the assumptions we make regarding those living around us” – AWFJ.org Sep 30, 2025 Full Review
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