Tag Archives: Mark Strong

The End We Start From review — Jodie Comer survives watery apocalypse

February 14, 2024 flawintheiris

A capsule version of this review appeared on FITI during my coverage of the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2023. Directed by Mahalia Belo | Written by Alice Birch from the Megan Hunter novel | 102 min | ▲▲▲△△ | VOD and Digital Platforms Alice Birch is the writer of the series, Normal People,… Read More

Tár review — Symphony for the devil

November 3, 2022 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Todd Field | 158 minutes | ▲▲▲△△ | Crave Filmmaker Todd Field may be a name familiar to those who enjoyed In The Bedroom and Little Children, two solid and affecting dramas that over time have pretty much vanished from the cultural conversation. His first film in 15 years is Tár, which… Read More

Cruella review — The de Vil Wears Puppies, or Does She?

May 26, 2021 flawintheiris

Directed by Craig Gillespie | Screenplay by Dana Fox and Tony McNamara, Story by Aline Brosh McKenna, Kelly Marcel, and Steve Zissis, based on a novel by Dodie Smith | 134 min | Disney Plus Premium Disney's two-pronged strategy for new feature films — cannibalizing their classic catalogue — has been wildly successful. There's no… Read More

1917 review — A technically impressive, immersive war picture

January 13, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Sam Mendes | Written by Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns | 119 min It's April, 1917, and two British soldiers on the European front, Lance Corporal Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Lance Corporal Schofield (George MacKay), are assigned to take a vital message to another battalion elsewhere along the line, orders to cancel a dawn… Read More

A Brief History of Spy Movies: Part Three

June 29, 2019 flawintheiris

THE LE CARRÉ ADAPTATIONS In the past two posts I review Harry Palmer movies and a dozen spy pictures from 1966 to 2006. This post is devoted to the film adaptations of the godfather of spy novels. Roger Ebert described John Le Carré’s novels as “chess problems in which one solution is elegant and all… Read More

Stockholm review — Cancel this Swedish vacation

April 22, 2019 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Robert Budreau | 92 min | Crave Plus Stockholm is a stultifying experience at the movies due to the picture's sheer lack of identity. Writer-director Budreau gave us a mediocre Chet Baker biopic, Born To Be Blue, and here he's back with another bland, lifeless picture. Stockholm introduction includes the tag line:… Read More

Shazam! review — Kid-friendly superhero is fine and sometimes fun

April 4, 2019 flawintheiris

Directed by David F. Sandberg | Written by Henry Gayden and Darren Lemke, from comics by Bill Parker and CC Beck | 132 min | Crave Plus DC and its Hollywood studio, Warner Brothers, have indicated a stepping away from their shared universe concept after the relative failure of their superhero team-up, Justice League, and will… Read More

Kingsman: The Golden Circle review — The same, but less

September 25, 2017 flawintheiris

Directed by Matthew Vaughn | Written by Vaughn and Jane Goldman, based on The Secret Service by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons | 141 min Kingsman: The Secret Service is an odd, postmodern action movie, one that revels in all its James Bond 007-aping tropes, but serving them up in a class-conscious, R-rated, vaguely satirical dish. I… Read More

Miss Sloane review — Chastain burns in taut political thriller

December 11, 2016 flawintheiris

Directed by John Madden | Written by Jonathan Perera | 132 min Of all the alchemy Hollywood spins, a satisfying thriller feels to me like the most impressive, given all the elements that need to work for success. It especially needs to manage, sustain, and build suspense over its running time. Miss Sloane delivers—and not because it… Read More

Kingsman: The Secret Service review — Spy movie pastiche delivers OTT violence

February 14, 2015 flawintheiris

Directed by Matthew Vaughn, written by Vaughn and Jane Goldman, from a comic by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons Vaughn and Millar were responsible for Kick-Ass, the indie superhero movie. It had a lot going for it, but it left a bad taste in my mouth—aside from being genuinely kick ass in its action sequences and… Read More