In Cinemas: Friday, December 4, 2015 — Legend, Krampus, A Royal Night Out, Life

December 4, 2015 flawintheiris

I've been really looking forward to Legend, based largely on my appreciation for Tom Hardy—here in two roles as the Krays, the London gangster brothers who ruled over the city's East End in the 1960s. To be frank, the movie is a bit of a mess, but Hardy makes it watchable with his prowling, dangerous presence. Go…Read More

Legend review — Hardy impresses in a so-so gangster movie

December 3, 2015 flawintheiris

Written and directed by Brian Helgeland | Based on a book by John Pearson | 131 min Back in 1990, Peter Medak directed a feature called The Krays, starring Spandau Ballet's Gary and Martin Kemp as the real life East End London gangster brothers. A gritty, anti-glamour docudrama about the their 1960s underworld reign, the…Read More

LENS ME YOUR EARS: Ep. 016 “Lost In Space”

December 1, 2015 flawintheiris

On this week's podcast, Stephen Cooke and I consider movies where people go beyond the stars, inspired by the recent release of The Martian. We revisit Robinson Crusoe On Mars, Silent Running, Capricorn One, The Black Hole, Saturn 3, Event Horizon, Solaris, and Europa Report, with a glance at a few galactic voyagers and misadventures…Read More

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 review — A disappointing conclusion

November 29, 2015 flawintheiris

Directed by Francis Lawrence | Written by Peter Craig, Danny Strong, and Suzanne Collins, from Collins' novel | 137 min How exactly does such a compelling series of blockbuster films, with the biggest star in the world front and centre, go so quickly from thrilling to sad and drab? I'm still trying to figure it…Read More

In Cinemas: November 27, 2015 — Creed, Victor Frankenstein, The Good Dinosaur, Trumbo

November 28, 2015 flawintheiris

Creed is maybe the year's biggest cinematic surprise, given my expectations going in versus the satisfaction coming out. It's a classic sports picture, appearing to do the impossible: It reanimates Rocky. Go here for my full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv554B7YHk4 The studio held Victor Frankenstein back from critics until opening day on Wednesday, hoping to limit the…Read More

Spotlight review — Celebrating the power of the press

November 26, 2015 flawintheiris

Directed by Tom McCarthy | Written by McCarthy and Josh Singer | 128 min About 15 years ago a group of investigative reporters from the Boston Globe started to dig into reports of Catholic priests abusing children, and that the executive in the diocese were complicit in covering it up, relocating the priests to other parishes…Read More

Creed review — Franchise finds new life in boxing scion

November 24, 2015 flawintheiris

Directed by Ryan Coogler | Written by Coogler and Aaron Covington, from characters by Sylvester Stallone | 132 min | Amazon Prime This movie has no business being this good. This is the seventh feature in the Rocky series, a 30-year franchise that's already shown us everything its got: Read its last rights back in 1990 with the…Read More

The Rocky series review

November 23, 2015 flawintheiris

With Creed on its way, I thought it was a good time to revisit the evergreen boxing movies about the Italian Stallion, Rocky Balboa, a Philadelphia fighter from the streets played by an actor/director/screenwriter whose own success story mirrors his character's arc. Back in the mid-'70's, a jobbing actor named Sylvester Stallone took his shot at the…Read More

Secret In Their Eyes review — Moody crime remake missing original’s flavours

November 23, 2015 flawintheiris

Directed by Billy Ray | Screenplay by Billy Ray, adapting The Secret In Their Eyesscreenplay by Juan José Campanella and Eduardo Sacheri | 111 min A warning: Foreknowledge of the Argentine Oscar-winning drama may diminish one's appreciation of this Hollywood remake. But those who have seen the original—here absent the title's definitive article, but otherwise…Read More

In Cinemas: November 20, 2015 — The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2, The Night Before, Secret In Their Eyes, Spotlight…

November 20, 2015 flawintheiris

I've never much been a fan of how the powers that be split final franchise adaptations into two. I think it started with Harry Potter, which sort of worked since the last book was so hefty, but Suzanne Collins' final Hunger Games novel is slight. That made the last Hunger Games movie (part 1 of…Read More