Inherent Vice review — Messily brilliant or simply a mess?

January 10, 2015 flawintheiris

Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, from the Thomas Pynchon novel Inherent Vice is the kind of movie you walk into and it envelops you. You're visiting a world while you're in the cinema. It may not be one you understand. The denizens may speak strange languages and enact peculiar rituals. The universal narrative…Read More

CTV Morning Live: January 9, 2015 — Best of 2014 preview

January 9, 2015 flawintheiris

The ever effervescent Heidi Petracek kindly invited me to be on CTV again this morning where we discussed my long-gestating Best of 2014 list. In past years I've called it my Top 10 list, but this year it looks to be longer than 10. It's also alphabetized because I couldn't manage to pick one best…Read More

In Cinemas. Friday, January 9, 2015 — Inherent Vice, Selma, Taken 3, and the deal with my Best of 2014 list

January 8, 2015 flawintheiris

I've been totally procrastinating releasing my Best of 2014 list, but I feel like I have a decent excuse: I live in Halifax. Many of the movies I've seen shown up on the lists of movie writers living elsewhere have yet to open here. These are movies that were released last year but are released…Read More

Unbroken review — Angelina Jolie’s passion project is missing something

January 6, 2015 flawintheiris

Directed by Angelina Jolie, written by Joel and Ethan Coen, Richard LaGravenese, and William Nicholson, from the book by Laura Hillenbrand I understand Angelina Jolie felt a serious emotional connection to this material. It's the true story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic athlete and World War II bombardier who survived untold horrors when his plane was…Read More

Big Eyes review — Tim Burton reaffirms his love of kitsch

January 5, 2015 flawintheiris

Directed by Tim Burton, written by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski Twenty years ago Tim Burton made Ed Wood, which remains my favourite of his films—Beetlejuice is a close second. It's also the last time Burton drew from actual events until Big Eyes. Looking for other comparisons between the two movies, there's the era and setting:…Read More

The Gambler (1974 and 2014) reviews — The rare improved remake

January 4, 2015 flawintheiris

The Gambler (1974) Directed by Karel Reisz, written by James Toback The Gambler (2014) Directed by Rupert Wyatt, written by William Monahan from the screenplay by James Toback Having seen the new version starring Mark Wahlberg, I went back to screen the original film for comparison. I'm a fan of 1970s American thrillers in general, but was…Read More

In Cinemas: January 2, 2015 — The Woman In Black 2: Angel of Death

January 2, 2015 flawintheiris

I spent the past week in Montreal and Ottawa, and noted that today in cinemas in our capital city that aren't Cineplex—The Mayfair, Rainbow Cinemas, for example—residents are getting to see The Interview. A reminder of what we miss for not having a rep cinema or alternate theatre chain in Halifax. But who knows? The…Read More