Lost in Hollywood: My Los Angeles Visit

October 15, 2012 flawintheiris

Of all the cities in the world I've never been to, I know Los Angeles best. No mystery as to why that is; a lifetime of movies and TV shot on these streets, often applying Hollywood glamour to otherwise unglamorous locales. The Los Angeles River and the bridges spanning it, for example.I drove in from…Read More

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World review

October 9, 2012 flawintheiris

Written and directed by Lorene ScafariaThis is just out on DVD, a film I missed this summer in the din of the blockbuster season.It's Scafaria's first feature, having written the delightful Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist, one of the few teen comedies of recent years to come anywhere near the quality of the John Hughes…Read More

50 Years of James Bond 007

October 6, 2012 flawintheiris

Fifty years ago (yesterday) Dr. No opened in cinemas, and movies were never quite the same. That was years before I born: James Bond has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. My parents enjoyed the movies and they let me watch anything they were watching. It's kind of funny…Read More

The Master review

October 4, 2012 flawintheiris

Written and directed by Paul Thomas AndersonThe release of a PT Anderson movie is an event, every single time. Every one since his first, Hard Eight; Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch Drunk Love and There Will Be Blood. With this collection, Anderson can stake a claim as the finest American filmmaker working today.So, what to make of his…Read More

10 Great Jack Nicholson Roles

September 26, 2012 flawintheiris

Jack Nicholson has had an enviable career. He's been an A-List actor and leading man for so long he's practicality carved out of stone on Mount Rushmore. His leering mug for years was a staple of the front row at the Oscar telecast — though, interestingly, not recently. Maybe he's in semi-retirement, having gone way…Read More

Looper review

September 24, 2012 flawintheiris

Written and directed by Rian JohnsonRemember the question that came up in Dead Zone? The one where Johnny Smith (Christopher Walken) asks his doctor friend (Herbert Lom) if he had the power to go back in time and kill Adolf Hitler, would he? And his friend says yes, absolutely, or something to that effect. There's…Read More

The Atlantic Film Festival 2012: Rust & Bone, the wrap-up

September 21, 2012 flawintheiris

A week flies by when you're at the movies every night. And though there were plenty of films I would have liked to have seen, I'm very happy with what I managed to take in this year. Highlights for me included Sarah Polley's startlingly intimate Stories We Tell, Michael Haneke's Love (Amour) and Thomas Vinterberg's…Read More

The Atlantic Film Festival 2012: The Hunt and the final day

September 20, 2012 flawintheiris

It's not very often I walk out of a screening room totally wrung out, where I white-knuckled right through a movie. I remember it happened during Match Point. Happened again last night at The Hunt. It's another of the collection of excellent Danish films showing at this year's AFF.Mads Mikkelsen has had a great career in…Read More

“Trailers from Hell” on Miller’s Crossing

September 19, 2012 flawintheiris

"...and I think Miller's Crossing is, hands down, their masterpiece."Yeah, me too.Read More

The Atlantic Film Festival 2012: Love (Amour)

September 19, 2012 flawintheiris

When I read the glowing reviews for this film coming out of Cannes (where it won the big prize, the Palme D'Or), it was described as about an elderly couple dealing with dementia. I wondered if it would be like Away From Her, but that film was never referenced in comparison. Makes sense, now that…Read More