Valerie Kalfrin

@valeriek109

Film/culture writer & screenwriter. Member, Alliance of Women Film Journalists & RT-approved. Words at Script, RogerEbert, The Hollywood Reporter, The Guardian, In Their Own League. Tell better stories. Tell stories better.

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Ist das dein Profil?Übernimm es — dann gehört dir valeriek109.dirty.social.Profil übernehmen

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· 12h

How much is a life worth? The provocative documentary #AnEyeforAnEye raises that question, following one woman in Iran whose in-laws decide whether she deserves execution for killing her husband or their forgiveness for a price. More in my @awfjorg.bsky.social review. awfj.org/blog/2026/08...

This is a closeup of an Iranian woman roughly in her forties. She has medium-brown skin and wears a black scarf around her head and neck. She is looking pensively off to the left of the image. The background behind her appears to be a darkened apartment.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· 12h

Director #PennyLane’s enchanting documentary #WildInside follows the Eurasian eagle-owl #Flaco, through his year of freedom in NYC and how hie opened people’s eyes to a wider, wilder world. More in my @awfjorg.bsky.social review. awfj.org/blog/2026/07...

This is a medium closeup of Flaco, a Eurasian eagle-owl. He's a huge owl with speckled brown and white wings, light brown furry legs, a light brown fluffly chest, orange eyes, and a light brown head with dark tufts of feathers perked up like ears. He sits on a birch tree with speckled bark, golden lights of a skyscraper in the background.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· 12h

SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY truly feels like a new chapter for our favorite web-slinger, giving Tom Holland's Peter Parker a mature depth and a layered story about where true strength lies. More in my @awfjorg.bsky.social review. awfj.org/blog/2026/08...

This is a medium closeup of Tom Holland as Spider-Man in his blue and red webbed suit with white eyes, swinging through New York City, with Zendaya as MJ. Zendaya is a twentysomething woman of mixed race with long brown wavy hair. In this image, she wears a long gray coat, a white T-shirt, and jeans.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· Jul 17

Christopher Nolan's #TheOdyssey is a layered, visually stunning epic of honor with a grounded message about abuses of trust and power. More in my @awfjorg.bsky.social review. awfj.org/blog/2026/07...

This is a closeup of actor Matt Damon as Odysseus, the protagonist of THE ODYSSEY. He is a White man in his 50s wearing dark metal armor and a dark metal helmet with a red fin in the center of it on the helmet's top. A brown cloak drapes across his left shoulder. Damon has a moustache and a graying beard. In this image, he is looking at something just off to the right, stunned. Behind him are other soldiers in similar ancient Greek armor. They are in a forest in the daytime.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· Jul 10

Meta AI Can Now Use Your Instagram Photos Without Consent, Variety reports. SAG-AFTRA Urges App Users to Opt Out: "Take Action to Protect Your Likeness" Link has the full story. Reposting some instrux from a X/Twitter user on how to opt out. variety.com/2026/film/ne...

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· Jul 2

Film aficionados will go bananas for #MinionsandMonsters, an adorably meta, loving salute not just to movies but to filmmakers, artists, and audiences. More in my @awfjorg.bsky.social review. awfj.org/blog/2026/06...

In this medium shot from an animated film, three Minions--short, pill-shaped yellow creatures wearing blue overalls and silver goggles--gather around a spellbook, surrounded by candles. They hold hands, wearing black gloves. The center Minion only has one eye and reads from the book. Each Minion has scraggly black hair, like they're balding.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· May 12

The enjoyable Karl Urban and other swagger and humor tips #MortalKombatII beyond fan service into serviceable action comedy. More in my review at the @awfjorg.bsky.social. awfj.org/blog/2026/05...

This is a medium closeup of one of the fighters from the film MORTAL KOMBAT II. He is an Asian man wearing a gold-patterned breastplate and mask that covers his nose and mouth. He also has a dark reddish cloak with a hood over his head. He is facing the camera with both arms extended, flinging two chain-link weapons at the camera. He has what appears to be a sheathed sword mounted on his back. The background behind him is red like fire.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· May 9

I found #TheSheepDetectives a shear delight. 🐏 This clever yarn with stellar voice work by Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Bryan Cranston is a tender meditation on grief wrapped in a family friendly whodunit. Reposting for the Saturday crowd from @awfjorg.bsky.social. awfj.org/blog/2026/05...

This is a medium shot outdoors of actor Hugh Jackman, a White man in his 50s to 60s, crouched on one knee outside. Jackman is playing a shepherd and wears brown pants and a button-down blue shirt cuffed at his elbows. He has brown hair and wears a brown cheesecutter hat. As he rests his left hand on his thigh, he pets a sheep with his right hand. This sheep has a brown face and reddish-tan wool. Its eyes are closed, resting its head under the shepherd's hand. Green hills and blue sky are in the background.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· May 8

The family-friendly whodunit THE SHEEP DETECTIVES is no mere Sherlock Hooves. This clever yarn about sheep who nose into their shepherd’s death becomes a surprisingly tender meditation on grief and how we keep our loved ones' memories alive. My @awfjorg.bsky.social review. awfj.org/blog/2026/05...

This is a medium closeup of actor Hugh Jackman as a shepherd. Jackman is a White man in his 50s to 60s, with dark brown hair and beard stubble. He wears a brown cheesecutter hat and a blue button-down shirt. In this image, he holds a small white lamb with black splotches in his right arm and feeds it a bottle with his left. Behind him, the sky is sunny, and there are green hills and other sheep in the distance.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· May 6

I'm glad I could spread the word. :) If memory serves, I think a fan suggested her. Here she is in a comic we have. And the Lego version with Hobie, from the animated film Across the Spider-Verse.

This is a cover of the Edge of Spider-Verse comic issue #4. In the center (and the main reason for the post) is the chatlracter of Silun Spider. She has a golden orange-red Scostume similar to Spider-Man (a mask with big white eyes). She wears a black hoodie that's unzipped, black sneakers and socks, black shorts, and a backwards ballcap. She also uses forearm crutches that in this illustration shoot Spider webs.

This is a page from the Sun Spider comic. It introduces Charlotte Webber, who when not shooting webs in costume fro3m her forearm crutches uses a wheelchair. Out of costume, she is a White high-school student with short red hair. In one panel, she wears a dress with a black top with thin straps and a flowing rainbow-colored skirt. In one panel, Charlotte mentions having Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and says, "although the hyper-flexibility that comes with having E.D.S. helps me kick all types of villainous butt."

This is a closeup of two Lego minifigures. On the left is Sun Spider, with her gray backwards ballcap, her red, orange, and black costume, and her forearm crutches. On the right is Spider Punk, unmasked. Also known as Hobie Brown. He has a red and blue Spider-Man costume with an open black vest and black trousers full of buttons, zippers, and patches. He holds a guitar decorated with stickers and toy spray-paint. Hobie's character is Black, so his unmasked Lego figure has a dark brown face with a smile that's upturned a little higher on one end. He also has black dreadlocks.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· May 4

So, my teen son's school D&D club met for the last time this year and watched #StarWarsANewHope because of May 4. It had been some time since a lot of them had watched it, and when this scene came on, @markhamillofficial.bsky.social, one girl said, "Oh my God, he's fine."

This is a medium closeup of Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in 1977's STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE. Hamill is in his 20s here. He's a white man with sandy blonde hair parted on the left side with feathery bangs and light eyes. He wears a wraparound white tunic. He's looking offscreen wistfully to the right at the sunset. The sky is blue and purple behind him.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· Mar 27

Despite an all-star cast including Elle Fanning and Michelle Pfeiffer, the dramedy #MargosGotMoneyTroubles, about a pregnant college dropout who turns to OnlyFans, only skates along the surface without satifsying character development. My @awfjorg.bsky.social review. awfj.org/blog/2026/03...

This is a medium closeup of actresses Michelle Pfeiffer and Elle Fanning playing a mother and daughter. Both are blond and white. They're in a living room on a sofa with black-and-white pillows in the background. Pfeiffer, whose hair is past her shoulders and curled in the front, is about in her 60s and wears a dark tank top and jeans. Fanning, who is roughly in her 20s, has wavy blond hair and wears a red long-sleeved top and jeans. In this image, Fanning is lying on her stomach with her right cheek on a dark pink pillow in Pfeiffer's lap. Pfeiffer, playing her mother, leans her left elbow on Fanning's back and rests her left hand against her head. With her right hand, she strokes Fanning's hair away from her face.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· Mar 27

The power of slam poetry—to excavate the hurts we hide, the joy we can’t express—finds voice in DEAD DEER HIGH, a thoughtful and intense yet tender drama about friends dealing with an all-too-common tragedy. More in my review at the @awfjorg.bsky.social. awfj.org/blog/2026/03...

This is a medium closeup of several teenagers, two predominantly in the front. The girl on the left is about 17 years old. She is Black or of mixed race with a medium complexion. She has long black hair pulled back in a ponytail and wears large gold hoop earrings and a gold necklace. She also wears a white T-shirt and a blue high school athletic jacket with a deer embroidered on the right and the name "Stephanie" and three red "Ds" on the left. She has an intense look on her face. To her left is a Philipino boy about the same age. He has a medium complexion and black hair cut just above his ears, parted in the middle. He also wears a white T-shirt and an identical letter jacket but with the name "Kyle" under the embroidered deer. He is looking at the girl with sympathy and concern.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· Mar 27

The #sxsw documentary #BeyondtheDuplexPlanet, about a decades-long project that’s spun off into books, film, performance, and music, is as much a spotlight on artist David Greenberger as it is a salute to artistic inspiration. My @awfjorg.bsky.social review. awfj.org/blog/2026/03...

This is a black-and-white photo of a white man approximately in his 30s. He is lying on his left side on a cluttered desk, holding open a magazine with the title "Duplex Planet," and looking up and at the viewer with a slight grin. This is artist David Greenberger. In this photo, he has thick dark hair that's somewhat frizzy and large dark-framed glasses. He's wearing black slacks and a dark patterned shirt.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· Mar 27

The fascinating and enlightening documentary #BlackZombie unpacks the real-life context and misconceptions behind this long-running threat in the horror canon. More in my @awfjorg.bsky.social review. awfj.org/blog/2026/03...

This is a black-and-white image in medium closeup of several black people in a field of sugarcane at night. A man roughly in his 20s stands in the center, wearing an open, unbuttoned shirt. He is clean-shaven with a short Afro and holds a pole for a torch. There is a burning torch held by someone else to the right of the frame. There are several men to his left and several women to his right.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· Mar 25

The #SXSW coming-of-age story #EdieArnoldIsaLoser is a winningly quirky and irreverent, covering some familiar Catholic schoolgirl rebellion with snappy comedic timing, lively writing, and enjoyably endearing characters. My @awfjorg.bsky.social review. awfj.org/blog/2026/03...

This is a medium closeup of two teenage girls, facing the camera with mouths open in shock. The girl on the left has long, straight brown hair, parted in the middle, and wears a tan polo shirt with a blue sweater. The girl on the right has long light-brown hair parted in the middle and a mouth brace that attaches to a pad wrapping around the back of her neck. She wears an identical tan polo shirt. There's a lobby visible behind the girls with a few plants and a bench.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· Mar 25

The 2026 SXSW documentary FIRST THEY CAME FOR MY COLLEGE shows how Florida's contentious state "anti-woke" takeover of New College occurred, with yanking books during a hurricane evacuation and more. My review at the @awfjorg.bsky.social. awfj.org/blog/2026/03...

This is a medium-wide shot of a protest on a college campus. A woman roughly in her 20s with a dark tank top, slacks, sunglasses, and short-cropped dark hair stands at a microphone by a podium. A posterboard sign taped to the podium says, "Save New College." A crowd of students behind her holds other posterboard signs. One reads, "No fascist curriculum."

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· Mar 25

The #SXSW 2026 documentary #TheAscent, spotlighting #MandyHorvath, a bilateral above-knee amputee as she tackles climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, is an absorbing and rousing look at someone determined not to let her past define her. My @awfjorg.bsky.social review. awfj.org/blog/2026/03...

This is a full-body shot of climber Mandy Horvath sitting on a mountainside with puffy clouds and blue sky in the background. Horvath is a white woman in her late 20s. She is bundled up with a hat, ski goggles, a parka, gloves, and pants. She is a bilateral above-knee amputee and sits on her behind, with her short legs in front of her. She is facing toward the left, resting her arms behind her, and taking in the high-altitude view.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· Mar 17

Writer-director Maggie Gyllenhaal has a lot she wants to say with #TheBride!, but it doesn't all come through loud and clear. The underdeveloped plot feels cobbled together, a patchwork punctuated with rage. My @awfjorg.bsky.social review. awfj.org/blog/2026/03...

This is a medium closeup of Jessie Buckley as the Bride of Frankenstein in an updated version of THE BRIDE! Here, the Bride is in a 1930s ballroom, with scalloped gold drapes across the background and assorted people in tuxes and evening wear. The Bride has short white-blond hair to her chin and wears a silky red ress and a black veil on her head. She is white with very pale skin and a black splotch like ink spreading from the right corner of her mouth across her right cheek. She holds a black revolver and looks determined off to the right.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· Mar 13

Ryan Gosling’s considerable charm almost meets its match in a rocklike alien full of wit and pathos in #ProjectHailMary, an uplifting adventure about learning you really do have the right stuff. My @awfjorg.bsky.social review. awfj.org/blog/2026/03...

This is a medium closeup of actor Ryan Gosling as an astronaut. He looks worse for wear in this scene, just waking up from a deep sleep. The camera looks down on him on a metal gurney-like bed. He's tucked in a type of sleeping bag that's white with orange striping and an American flag patch. He wears a hoodie that looks like it's made of plastic. Gosling is a white man in his 40s with brown hair and in this scene has a huge beard and mustache. He looks disoriented.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· Mar 13

Wanda Sykes holds the screen as a former boxer turned trainer seeking connection and redemption with the son she once abandoned in the boxing drama #Undercard, but the plot occasionally gets stuck on the ropes. My @awfjorg.bsky.social review. awfj.org/blog/2026/03...

This is a medium shot of actor Wanda Sykes. She is a black woman in her 50s, with short-cropped black hair. In this scene, she plays a boxing coach, so she wears a gray sleeveless T-shirt and leans on the red ropes of a boxing ring. She is looking off to the right wiht an intense and thoughtful expression. Behind her is a black man wearing a black T-shirt with his muscular arms crossed.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· Mar 12

My patio's first iris of the year on a rainy day here in Florida.

This is a closeup of an iris, a flower with four curling open petals. They're a mix of purple with bands of white and yellow. The center of the flower holds some rainwater, like a teacup.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· Feb 11

"I am worthy of love. Because you are. ... Thank you for the love and prayers, everyone." I'm sad to see #jamesvanderbeek has died at age 48. I wish his family comfort and the peace he seemed to find here. (Instagram post "What Cancer Taught Me.") www.instagram.com/vanderjames/...

This is a medium closeup of actor James van der Beek. He is a slender White man in his late 40s. He is looking into the camera as if at the viewer on an Instagram reel. He wears a plaid cheesecutter hat with blond curls showing at the back. His eyebrows are dark brown, and he has brown eyes and a bit of stubble across his upper lip and chin. He wears a brown V-neck sweater with a white T-shirt. He is indoors, with a white-framed door and a black wood-burning stove in the background.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· Feb 8

Celebrating today's exotic wildlife, a la #SandraBoynton. #SuperbOwl

This is an illustration from artist Sandra Boynton related to the Super Bowl. In the center is a football with "LX," the Roman numeral for "60." On top of the football is a small brown owl with a yellow beak and feet wearing a yellow crown. "Superb Owl," it says. To the right of the football is a tall scowling Seahawk, the mascot of one of the teams. To the left of the football is a gray rabbit wearing green sunglasses. "Bad Bunny," it says, referring to the musical artist for the halftime show. Flapping above the owl and football are three winged buffalo--you know, Buffalo wings. ;)

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· Jan 29

A mother’s kimchi might cure anything, but Mama doesn’t always know best, and the charm in #TheMotherandtheBear is in how a Korean mom discovers her assumptions about her daughter's life in Canada were wrong. More in my @awfjorg.bsky.social review. awfj.org/blog/2026/01...

This is a medium-wide shot of a bedroom late at night. An Asian woman in her 50s lies on the bed on her stomach. She has tousled black hair about chin length and wears a pink bathrobe. She holds a smartphone in both hands, propped up on her elbows, and looks intently at the screen. The room has a small lamp on the nightstand to the left, bathing the room in a purple hue.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· Jan 28

RIP, Challenger Seven, gone 40 years today. "We will never forget them, nor the last time we saw them — this morning, as they prepared for their journey, and waved good-bye, and 'slipped the surly bonds of earth' to 'touch the face of God.'" — President Ronald Reagan, January 28, 1986

This is a group photo of the seven astronauts from the Challenger space shuttle mission before it exploded. There are four standing in the rear--two men and two women--and three men seated in the front. All wear light-blue flight suits and hold their round white helmets with dark face masks or rest them on the table in front of them. A model of the space shuttle is off to the left of the table, draped in a blue flag. An American flag is off to the left behind them. They are as follows (from left, back row): Ellison Onizuka, an Asian man; Christa McAuliffe, a White woman with shoulder-length brown hair who was a schoolteacher at the time; Gregory Jarvis, a tall slender White man; and Judith Resnik, a White woman with dark hair past her shoulders. Front row (from left): Michael Smith, a White man with graying hair, assigned as the pilot; Dick Scobee, a White man with brown hair, the mission commander; and Ronald McNair, a Black man.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· Jan 26

NYT finally growing a backbone after nine years of both-sides nonsense.

This is a screenshot of a headline from a New York Times opinion piece by its Editorial Board. The headline reads, "The Trump Administration Is Lying to Our Faces. Congress Must Act." This is commenting on federal agents fatally shooting Minnesota ICU nurse Alex Pretti in the street over the weekend and bystanders' video evidence.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· Jan 24

Love how my 16yo son, thanks to film camp summers, watches #Fallout Ep 6 and says, "Check out this aspect ratio change." Widescreen photo of Dogmeat in a different episode to avoid spoilers. ;) #FilmTwitter

This is a medium closeup of a female German shepherd. The dog is outside on a sunny day with a stretch of blurred desert behind her. She has a mostly brown coat, long upright ears, and a black snout. She appears to be sitting attentively.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· Jan 22

#28YearsLaterTheBoneTemple tees up the next installment of this postapocalyptic saga while, largely through Ralph Fiennes's fantastic performance, shows cautious compassion as an antidote to depraved insanity. My @awfjorg.bsky.social review. awfj.org/blog/2026/01...

This is a medium wide shot of a white man in his sixties, shirtless with long pants. He is bald and has dark makeup around his eyes. He stands in front of towers of bones stacked and bundled like tree trunks. His arms are wide, and his mouth is open as if yelling. Ringing the base of the towers of bones is a strip of fire.

Valerie Kalfrin@valeriek109· Jan 22

Grief and memory, compassion and resilience braid throughout #Hamnet, forging a family’s intimate heartbreak into something universal and layered. #JessieBuckley is a powerhouse among fine performances all around. More in my @awfjorg.bsky.social review. awfj.org/blog/2026/01...