Li Lai
Tomatometer-approved critic
Li Lai is the founder of Mediaversity Reviews, a website that scores TV and films on gender, racial, and LGBTQ inclusion. Onscreen representation is her passion, and she considers art inextricable from its social contexts. For this reason, she values fresh perspectives from underrepresented voices, and her TV and film reviews reflect that. Li has been previously featured in Variety, The Verge, CBC Radio, Chicago Tribune, and other outlets. She has also spoken at venues such as Adweek Europe or with the Women's Impact Network of the Producers Guild of America.
Movies reviews only
| Rating | T-Meter | Title | Year | Review |
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The Long Game (2023) |
The Long Game resorts to Hollywood pitfalls of white saviors and respectability politics. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Mar 14, 2023
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Sister & Sister (2023) |
Sister and Sister uses the female gaze in this tale of teen sexuality. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Mar 12, 2023
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Top Gun: Maverick (2022) |
Women in Top Gun: Maverick don’t see much development, but written dialogue and camerawork treat them with respect. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Mar 06, 2023
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Tár (2022) |
It feels lazy for Tár to use the one wheelchair user as a symbolic shorthand for a fate worse than death. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Mar 02, 2023
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All Quiet on the Western Front (2022) |
To many, this movie and its classic beats are “timeless.” But to someone else, the same material simply feels rehashed. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Feb 22, 2023
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Girl (2023) |
It’s wonderful to see such breadth of Black identities and skin colors in this Scottish, Glasgow-set story. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Jan 29, 2023
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KOKOMO CITY (2023) |
Smith clearly had a vision for her feature debut—to hand the megaphone to women who deserve to be heard—and she delivers their words through bold visuals and musical verve. But as the viewer, KOKOMO CITY can feel limited. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Jan 22, 2023
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To Live and Die and Live (2023) |
It’s rare to see Black Muslim Americans depicted with such understated authenticity. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Jan 21, 2023
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The Eternal Daughter (2022) |
It doesn’t take a lot to humanize even minor characters, and The Eternal Daughter carries it off with elegance. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Oct 10, 2022
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Triangle of Sadness (2022) |
I relished Abigail's power in all her coercive, unsettling breadth. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Oct 07, 2022
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The Umbrella Men (2022) |
No amount of good intentions can make up for what amounts to a plodding watch. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Sep 13, 2022
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Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (2022) |
Hollywood still sorely lacks Latinx or trans perspectives, something that Aristotle and Dante offers. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Sep 13, 2022
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Bones of Crows (2022) |
As a Métis-Dene storyteller, Marie Clements ensures that Bones of Crows has an Indigenous voice behind the camera (and pen). - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Sep 13, 2022
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Prey (2022) |
Prey evolves the female action hero by incorporating quieter strengths into her characterization. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Aug 15, 2022
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Easter Sunday (2022) |
“The Asian filmmakers behind Easter Sunday blissfully craft a film that avoids the white gaze.” - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Aug 05, 2022
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The Devil You Know (2022) |
It’s positive to see The Devil You Know showcase loving relationships between Black men, even if it indulges in stereotypes to get there. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted May 08, 2022
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Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) |
The Daniels accurately capture the organic changes in language and accent that divulge a character’s underlying traits. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted May 05, 2022
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Don't Look Up (2021) |
Its still sadly rare to see female characters working in STEM given the grace to be imperfect on screen. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Mar 17, 2022
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Drive My Car (2021) |
While Drive My Car counts as an easy win for multiculturalism, a male gaze persists throughout the film. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Feb 17, 2022
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Moonfall (2022) |
Despite some well-executed diversity, Moonfall ultimately worships at the altar of white male mavericks. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Feb 12, 2022
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American Underdog (2021) |
The film pines for a fantasy where women, Black men, and a blind kid fawn over a white male Christian underdog. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Feb 03, 2022
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Mars One (2022) |
Mars One naturally works in disabled narratives through several of its key characters. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Jan 31, 2022
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Tick, Tick... Boom! (2021) |
A long history of Hollywood fetishizing white male "genius" precedes the film's good intentions. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Nov 24, 2021
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Wildhood (2021) |
By virtue of so many Mi'kmaw characters, no single person in Wildhood has to shoulder the brunt of "representation." - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Nov 03, 2021
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Scarborough (2021) |
In Scarborough, writer Catherine Hernandez raucously celebrates the diversity and resilience of her community. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Nov 03, 2021
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The Humans (2021) |
The Humans normalizes disability and never flattens it into someone's sole identity. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Sep 28, 2021
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Blindspotting (2018) |
Blindspotting easily breaks the confines of Black and white binaries. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Jul 08, 2021
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Men in Black: International (2019) |
Gender equality should be shown, not joked about. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Jul 06, 2021
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Summer of 85 (2020) |
Despite a plot that hinges on queer trope, Summer of 85 artfully avoids exploitation. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Jul 05, 2021
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Voyagers (2021) |
Racial diversity exists in Voyagers but severe limitations remain in place. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Jul 01, 2021
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Ludi (2021) |
Ludi successfully humanizes the sometimes one-dimensional idea of 'immigrant grit.' - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Mar 27, 2021
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The Legend of Molly Johnson (2021) |
The Drover's Wife capably sketches characters who traverse multiple identities. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Mar 18, 2021
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The Fabulous Filipino Brothers (2021) |
The Fabulous Filipino Brothers highlights the enormous diversity among Asian Americans. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Mar 16, 2021
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Son of Monarchs (2020) |
"Character development is abandoned for heavy-handed symbolism." - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Feb 10, 2021
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Marvelous and the Black Hole (2020) |
Sammy and Patricia tussle and yell with sheer physicality, occupying space in a way that young Chinese American women aren't normally afforded in American media. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Feb 05, 2021
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One for the Road (2021) |
One for the Road's impeccable first half is let down by later scenes of misogyny and ableism. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Jan 29, 2021
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One Night in Miami (2020) |
Period films disproportionately favor male luminaries, casting history in a skewed light where the contributions of women remain obscure. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Dec 26, 2020
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Mank (2020) |
Mank jubilantly leans into the sexism and racism of pre-war Hollywood. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Dec 13, 2020
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Mulan (2020) |
Who knew that an all-Asian cast could feel so disappointing on racial representation? - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Dec 10, 2020
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Over the Moon (2020) |
Is Over the Moon an Asian American story or a Chinese one? It tries to be both and winds up feeling like neither. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Oct 29, 2020
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Shadow in the Cloud (2020) |
"Not all men," I could hear myself thinking. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Oct 01, 2020
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Nomadland (2020) |
Nomadland presents older characters, many living with disabilities, unvarnished but with endless empathy. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Sep 24, 2020
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Detention (2019) |
The impact of Detention outpaces the confines of its technical skill. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Sep 01, 2020
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Palm Springs (2020) |
The protagonists of Palm Springs quietly subvert gender roles. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Jul 18, 2020
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Miss Juneteenth (2020) |
Miss Juneteenth easily reflects a worldview where Black women are three-dimensional and empowered. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Jun 30, 2020
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The Half of It (2020) |
The handwaved 'Latin-ness' of Aster Flores collapses under its own ambiguity. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted May 10, 2020
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Hamtramck, USA (2020) |
Hamtramck, USA neither whitewashes the Muslim experience nor demonizes it. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Mar 30, 2020
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Critical Thinking (2020) |
When a true story is all a movie has going for it, why drown it in schmaltz? - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Mar 24, 2020
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I Will Make You Mine (2020) |
Chen gives us a boots-on-the-ground look at how East Asian American millennials realistically go about their lives in LA. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Mar 15, 2020
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I Carry You With Me (2020) |
I Carry You With Me reveals the intersection of misogyny and homophobia that exists among traditionalists. - Mediaversity Reviews
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| Posted Feb 27, 2020
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