Refinery29

Tomatometer-approved publication
Rating Title/Year Author
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020) Anne Cohen Words, and who gets to say them, are a crucial element of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. EDIT
Posted Dec 18, 2020
The Wedding Planner (2001) Anne Cohen From the very first scene, in which she comforts a distraught father by handing him a Valium from her trusty catch-all kit all while juggling three or four other minor crises, Lopez fills the screen. EDIT
Posted Oct 29, 2020
Roald Dahl's The Witches (2020) Anne Cohen All in all, what's most striking about The Witches is just how much fun Hathway appears to be having... EDIT
Posted Oct 29, 2020
Holidate (2020) Anne Cohen Holidate may be the movie equivalent of Peeps -- without substance, artificially flavored, consumed as an afterthought -- but Roberts is the bright dye that will make you forget the time it made you gag. EDIT
Posted Oct 29, 2020
The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020) Anne Cohen Sometimes, life does art one better. EDIT
Posted Oct 22, 2020
The Glorias (2020) Anne Cohen [The film] is sometimes messy; it's ambitious and artsy in ways that don't always work. But by painting Steinem's story on such a large and intricate canvas, Taymor sets the stage for a new generation of biopics interrogating the legacy of women leaders. EDIT
Posted Oct 1, 2020
The Bodyguard (1992) Anne Cohen Houston's face, as she loses herself in the melody out there on a quiet porch in the woods, is a reminder of all she gave to this role, and this movie - and why it's always worth rewatching. EDIT
Posted Aug 21, 2020
Relic (2020) Anne Cohen The great power of Relic, Natalie Erika James' terrifying directorial debut, is how deftly it straddles the blurry line between reality and the supernatural. EDIT
Posted Jul 28, 2020
Babyteeth (2019) Anne Cohen ...messy, raw, brutal... EDIT
Posted Jul 2, 2020
Make Me Famous (2020) Alicia Lansom Make Me Famous still succeeds in its attempt to educate audiences on the perils of fame's flickering afterglow. EDIT
Posted Jun 19, 2020
Da 5 Bloods (2020) Ineye Komonibo Colored with authentic sound inserts and images from the Vietnam War era, Lee's latest joint reveals the devastating consequences of the international conflict on the Black psyche. EDIT
Posted Jun 16, 2020
Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé (2019) Danielle Cadet She may have brought the culture to Coachella in 2018, but in 2019, she gave it to the world. EDIT
Posted Dec 11, 2019
Knock Down the House (2019) Elena Nicolaou If anything, filmmakers could have spent more time with these organizations... Instead, one gets the sense [Rachel] Lears, like the viewer, was swept up into capturing Ocasio-Cortez' near mythic rise. EDIT
Posted Dec 10, 2019
The Prince & Me (2004) Anne Cohen Strangely both exactly of its time, yet also miles ahead of it. EDIT
Posted Dec 5, 2019
Klaus (2019) Elena Nicolaou Klaus manages to be a genuinely original Christmas movie. EDIT
Posted Nov 25, 2019
Let It Snow (2019) Ariana Romero A reason to stick around when you think Netflix's Midwestern streaming delight ends. EDIT
Posted Nov 11, 2019
Last Christmas (2019) Anne Cohen The key to enjoying Last Christmas is to completely give into its schmaltzy power. EDIT
Posted Nov 7, 2019
Honey Boy (2019) Anne Cohen It's probably not the movie you're expecting. It's better. EDIT
Posted Nov 4, 2019
Harriet (2019) Stephanie Long Despite casting backlash, Erivo's portrayal of Tubman is gripping, capturing Harriet's determination, strength, and fortitude in a way that's yet to be seen on screen. EDIT
Posted Nov 1, 2019
Charlie Says (2018) Anne Cohen Charlie Says makes a strong case for an even grayer area: That perhaps these women can be victims and guilty of horrific, unpardonable crimes. It's an unsettling thought. But at least, unlike the exaltation of Ted Bundy's abundant charm, it's a new one. EDIT
Posted Oct 23, 2019
Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood (2019) Anne Cohen Like most of Tarantino's work, Once Upon A Time in... Hollywood is eliciting very strong emotions on both sides of the spectrum. EDIT
Posted Oct 23, 2019
The Lighthouse (2019) Anne Cohen It is a cult classic in the making, with the potential to be our generation's version of the The Rocky Horror Picture Show. EDIT
Posted Oct 23, 2019
Jojo Rabbit (2019) Anne Cohen It's funny, poignant, and unfortunately, more relevant than ever. EDIT
Posted Oct 16, 2019
Zombieland: Double Tap (2019) Anne Cohen There's something undeniably charming about this particular cast and the chemistry they share. EDIT
Posted Oct 16, 2019
Parasite (2019) Anne Cohen It's exhilarating, unexpected and, frankly, wild. EDIT
Posted Oct 10, 2019
The King (2019) Anne Cohen The sum of its individually compelling parts don't quite add up. EDIT
Posted Oct 8, 2019
Lucy in the Sky (2019) Anne Cohen It is boring. EDIT
Posted Oct 3, 2019
Charlie's Angels (2000) Anne Cohen Though undeniably flawed, the movie...remains a surprisingly fun watch. EDIT
Posted Oct 1, 2019
Judy (2019) Anne Cohen It's heart-rending, to be sure, but also tragically predictable in format. EDIT
Posted Sep 25, 2019
Tall Girl (2019) Anne Cohen It's a cute conceit for a rom-com...or, at least, it would be, if Tall Girl weren't so lacking in self-awareness. EDIT
Posted Sep 16, 2019
() Anne Cohen On the whole, it's a charming movie about the mental toll of insecurity that also has major blind spots. EDIT
Posted Sep 13, 2019
Downton Abbey (2019) Anne Cohen Downton has always been about spectacle, and the movie doesn't disappoint. EDIT
Posted Sep 9, 2019
How to Build a Girl (2019) Anne Cohen Feels like an extension of my own teenage dreams...a loving tribute to young women with overactive imaginations, and a desire to reinvent themselves. EDIT
Posted Sep 9, 2019
Hustlers (2019) Anne Cohen A thrilling story filtered through the female gaze - and all the more commanding for it. EDIT
Posted Sep 9, 2019
It: Chapter Two (2019) Anne Cohen The second film meanders, sagging in the middle, and devoting far too much time to a final showdown between our protagonists and their foe. EDIT
Posted Sep 3, 2019
Untouchable (2019) Anne Cohen The most powerful moments in Untouchable come thanks to Weinstein's victims, who once more bear the burden of reliving their past trauma in an effort to make a difference. EDIT
Posted Aug 30, 2019
Casper (1995) Anne Cohen It's a funny and often poignant film that's worth reexamining today. EDIT
Posted Aug 29, 2019
Official Secrets (2019) Anne Cohen That Official Secrets is still compelling is largely down to its powerfully competent cast. EDIT
Posted Aug 22, 2019
Ready or Not (2019) Anne Cohen This movie is the kind best enjoyed by knowing as little as possible going in. EDIT
Posted Aug 20, 2019
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) Anne Cohen That message hits especially hard in a time rife with rumors, malicious gossip and so-called "fake news," which, through repeated exposure, have threatened to dismantle our very conception of what is "real." EDIT
Posted Aug 9, 2019
The Kitchen (2019) Anne Cohen The Kitchen is very much its own scrappy little movie, clunky at times, but with a surprisingly gritty underbelly that feels oddly refreshing in a space that still overly sanitizes women's action scenes. EDIT
Posted Aug 7, 2019
() Natalie Gil Somehow, the team behind a new BBC Three documentary, Inside The Secret World Of Incels, managed to convince three self-described incels to share their stories on camera - and the results are disturbing. EDIT
Posted Aug 1, 2019
Whitney Cummings: I'm Your Girlfriend (2016) Courtney E. Smith While Cummings makes compelling observations about her own behavior as a successful woman dating non-alpha males she falls short when she starts calling out other women for exploring their sexuality. Apparently, no one has told her that it's 2016. EDIT
Posted Jul 31, 2019
Amy Schumer: Live From the Apollo (2015) Courtney E. Smith Props to Schumer for finding the humor in the bulls---. EDIT
Posted Jul 31, 2019
Luce (2019) Anne Cohen The truth is that life isn't a single-issue journey; it's messy, and complicated, and Luce goes a long way in depicting that. EDIT
Posted Jul 31, 2019
Valley of the Dolls (1967) Anne Cohen A must-watch even if the movie had nothing else going for it, which happily, it does. EDIT
Posted Jul 22, 2019
The Lion King (2019) Anne Cohen But even with the updated dialogue and jokes about "local" produce, the result still feels less magical without the original's dynamic spurts of originality and weirdness that allowed us to suspend our disbelief, and revel in the moment. EDIT
Posted Jul 11, 2019
The Farewell (2019) Anne Cohen What makes The Farewell so unbelievably moving is that, through that very specificity, it touches on fundamentally universal themes. EDIT
Posted Jul 10, 2019
Amy Schumer: The Leather Special (2017) Ariana Romero Packed with her signature blend of self-deprecation and graphic sex stories. EDIT
Posted Jul 9, 2019
Midsommar (2019) Rosie Knight Midsommar is an incredibly inventive, smart, and thoughtful horror film. EDIT
Posted Jul 8, 2019