This Is 40 review

December 25, 2012 flawintheiris

Written and directed by Judd Apatow I think it's OK to say that Apatow is the most influential voice in Hollywood mainstream comedy in the past decade. He paid his dues in TV with two low-rated series (Freaks and Geeks, Undeclared) that have since garnered their own cults, and has directed The 40 Year Old…Read More

Reviews: Your Sister’s Sister, People Like Us, The Woman in the Fifth, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, Safety Not Guaranteed

December 19, 2012 flawintheiris

I've spent some time recently catching up with movies I missed in cinemas, either because they opened and closed too quickly or didn't open at all in my town. Here are a few notables now out on DVD. Your Sister's Sister Written and directed by Lynn Shelton This film is some kind of perfect, tiny…Read More

Reviewers’ Remorse and Assembling the End-Of-Year-List

December 16, 2012 flawintheiris

Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty, a late season arrival in cinemasThis isn't something you hear much about from people who write about the movies: reconsideration. Part and parcel of critical witness is a kind of terminal certainty: This is my damn opinion and I'll defend it until Satan gouges out my eyeballs with his…Read More

Killing Them Softly review

December 12, 2012 flawintheiris

Directed by Andrew DominikWritten by Dominik, adapting the George V. Higgins novel Cogan's TradeKilling Them Softly is a sour pill of a movie. Adapting Higgins' 1974 crime novel and setting it during the financial crisis and presidential election of 2008, New Zealander Dominik—who wowed many, including myself, with his epic, languorous 2007 western The Assassination…Read More

Recommended: a blog and short film

December 5, 2012 flawintheiris

I have the good fortune of being part of a community of film lovers and filmmakers here in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I just wanted to take a minute to give a shout out to a couple of those.Dave Howlett has written for Flaw in the Iris. His specialty is horror movies. He's got a great and…Read More

Life of Pi review

December 3, 2012 flawintheiris

Directed by Ang LeeWritten by David Magee from the Yann Martel novelAng Lee is a great humanist director, someone who finds authenticity in character no matter the genre. I was one of the few who really liked his Hulk, but no apologies necessary for his universally approbated Brokeback Mountain, Ride With The Devil, The Ice Storm,…Read More