Cats review — A feast for furries, cataclysmic for the rest of us

December 30, 2019 flawintheiris

Directed by Tom Hooper | Written by Hooper and Lee Hall, based on the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, which is based on a poetry collection by TS Eliot | 110 min I will give one thing to this perverse adaptation of the long-running stage show, it commits. It commits to its bonkers world, to…Read More

Little Women (2019) review — Greta Gerwig reimagines a classic text

December 29, 2019 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Greta Gerwig, based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott | 135 min Having seen four earlier versions adapting this material in the past week—though not having read the book—I came to this newest edition feeling like I know this story pretty well, but hoping Gerwig could present it in a…Read More

Little Women (1933, 1949, 1994, and 2018) reviews — The films before Greta Gerwig

December 27, 2019 flawintheiris

I haven't read Louisa May Alcott's semi-autobiographical book, though I know a fair amount about the story: a tale of the four teenage March sisters in Massachusetts during the American Civil War, growing up and missing their father who's off fighting—the mature eldest, Meg, the tomboyish writer, Jo, the shy pianist, Beth, and the prim…Read More

FLAW IN THE IRIS: THE FILM PODCAST and LENS ME YOUR EARS updates!

December 23, 2019 flawintheiris

If you're a podcast listener and a fan of film, allow me to humbly offer some seasonal fun for your ears! On FLAW IN THE IRIS: THE FILM PODCAST, this month's episodes have been all about the best movies of the past 10 years. Up now is my conversation on that subject with Helen O'Hara,…Read More

Marriage Story review — Divorce drama funny and moving

December 22, 2019 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Noah Baumbach | 137 min | Netflix No one wants to say it because Woody Allen's name is poison these days, but watching the movies of romantically linked-in-real-life storytellers Baumbach and Greta Gerwig often feels like a direct offshoot of the Woodster's work, updated for the 21st Century. It's not the…Read More

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker review — It’s better than we had a right to expect

December 20, 2019 flawintheiris

Directed by JJ Abrams | Written by Abrams and Chris Terrio, with Derek Connolly and Colin Trevorrow | 141 min Overnight doesn't feel like enough time to have the final film in this 42-year-saga settle in. It's just too big, with too much going on. But that's to the blockbuster's credit. Star Wars: The Rise…Read More

Bombshell review — Fox News expose does right by righteous anger

December 18, 2019 flawintheiris

Directed by Jay Roach | Written by Charles Randolph | 108 minutes There's a couple things this movie gets really right, that make it worth adding to your holiday cinema binge. One is rage. It does a good job channelling the righteous rage of women who were preyed upon by a powerful man. Gretchen Carlson…Read More

The Report/Official Secrets reviews — Procedural thrillers work similar themes

December 14, 2019 flawintheiris

The Irishman review — Scorcese treads familiar ground in epic gangster drama

December 11, 2019 flawintheiris

Directed by Martin Scorcese | Written by Steven Zallian adapting a book by Charles Brandt | 209 min | Netflix Martin Scorcese is probably the planet's most well-known, well-regarded master filmmaker, documentarian, and producer. In almost 50 years of great movies— including Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and After Hours— he's plumbed themes related to Catholic…Read More

Dark Waters review — A bleakly devastating case of corporate evil

December 10, 2019 flawintheiris

Directed by Todd Haynes | Written by Matthew Michael Carnahan, Mario Correa, based on the New Yorker article by Nathaniel Rich | 126 min Without overstating it, if you had any doubt previously about whether large corporate entities like the American chemical giant DuPont are machines that destroy peoples' lives, this film will erase any…Read More