Tag Archives: Johnny Depp

Wonka, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory reviews

December 18, 2023 flawintheiris

I wasn't raised with Roald Dahl, so I come to the adaptations of his work — Fantastic Mr Fox, The BFG, The Witches, to name but three — without any preconceived notions or, to put it bluntly, any baked in excitement. As a kid I even missed the first adaptation of Dahl's 1964 book, Charlie… Read More

Public Enemies (2009) review — Michael Mann’s thriller rewards second ride

June 26, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Michael Mann | Screenplay by Mann, Ronan Bennett and Ann Biderman, based on the book Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34, by Bryan Burrough | 140 min | Amazon Prime Michael Mann is known for his intense dramas, suspense thrillers and shooting with the most high… Read More

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald review — Overstuffed to a fault

November 25, 2018 flawintheiris

Directed by David Yates | Written by JK Rowling | 134 min I read the first three Harry Potter novels, though when the movies started coming out at regular intervals I started watching them instead. The films were fun, if a little too repetitious, but the kids were adorable, and the production values and the… Read More

10 Great Tom Hardy roles

October 26, 2018 flawintheiris

I was listening to a podcast recently looking back at Christopher Nolan's Inception, and the hosts mused about Tom Hardy, what an impact his presence had on the film, and whether this was his breakout role in Hollywood. There's no doubt that even in an ensemble as well-assembled as this, his presence shone. One of the… Read More

Murder On The Orient Express (2017) review — One-track movie-going

November 13, 2017 flawintheiris

Directed by Kenneth Branagh | Written by Michael Green, from the novel by Agatha Christie | 114 min The Agatha Christie adaptation I grew up with was Death On The Nile. For some reason I'd seen that film three or four times as a kid, and Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is forever embodied in my heart… Read More

Reviews: London Town, Alice Through The Looking Glass, Calvary, London Has Fallen

February 4, 2017 flawintheiris

London Town Directed by Derrick Borte | Written by Matt Brown, based on the screenplay Untitled Joe Strummer Project by Sonya Gildea and Kirsten Sheridan | 92 min | iTunes and VOD Shay Baker (Daniel Huttlestone) is a 14-year-old living in '70s Wanstead, an East London suburb. Dad Nick (Dougray Scott) moves pianos for a… Read More

Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them review — Period Potterverse a Treat

November 17, 2016 flawintheiris

Directed by David Yates | Written by JK Rowling | 133 min Warner adapting Rowling's guide to the Harry Potter universe's magical creatures seems, on the face of it, a calculated money-grab. The story is even set in the past, in the 1920s, another bad sign: As we all know, quality prequels to beloved fantasy… Read More

The Movie Star Roster 2014

July 8, 2014 flawintheiris

Jack Nicholson once said, and I'm paraphrasing, here, that anyone who gets to be a lead in a Hollywood movie has something special. Why? Because too many people want it. If the star didn't have some of that magic pixie dust that appeals to audiences, someone else would have gotten the gig. That shit doesn't… Read More

Transcendence review

April 20, 2014 flawintheiris

Directed by Wally Pfister / Written by Jack Paglen I'm writing this on the first Saturday night since Transcendence opened. I've taken in the deluge of scathing reviews the Johnny Depp movie has earned, along with the reports few are bothering to see it in the cinema. A bad combination. But I'm here to tell you while the… Read More

Dark Shadows review

May 10, 2012 flawintheiris

Directed by Tim BurtonWritten by Seth Grahame-Smith and John August fromthe TV series created by Dan CurtisI have lots of time for Tim Burton. The guy has sustained a career in Hollywood as its resident gothic surrealist. And we're talking some 25 years now, making the movies he wants to make—with the possible exception of… Read More