Top 10 Movies of 2023

December 30, 2023 flawintheiris

This was an especially good year at the movies. Going through my list of films I'd wholeheartedly recommend I had many to choose amongst the year's best, while also acknowledging that I still have well-reviewed titles to see (All Of Us Strangers, for example, a 2023 picture that's getting a lot of critical love, is…Read More

Poor Things review — Delightfully prurient and entirely bonkers

December 29, 2023 flawintheiris

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos | Written by Tony McNamara, based on the novel by Alasdair Gray | 141 min | ▲▲▲▲△ The team of Lanthimos and McNamara, responsible for the wonderful The Favourite, have paired up again for this adaptation of the 1992 book by Scot writer Gray. It's about a Frankenstein-like creation, where a…Read More

Ferrari review — Pedal to the metal

December 27, 2023 flawintheiris

Directed by Michael Mann | Written by Troy Kennedy Martin and Brock Yates | 124 min | ▲▲▲▲△ The return of Michael Mann to feature filmmaking is an event. The last venture of one of the greatest American directors of genre was the first episode of the series he produced, Tokyo Vice, which was terrific,…Read More

Anyone But You review — Hotness isn’t enough to make us care

December 25, 2023 flawintheiris

Directed by Will Gluck | Written by Gluck and Ilana Wolpert | 103 min |▲▲△△△ Ah, that rarest of genres to get a release in cinemas these days, next to the Western: a romantic comedy. It isn't hard to see what made the producers of this picture slaver: "Let's pair up the two buzziest, sexiest…Read More

The Iron Claw review — Tragic tale, but a terrific movie

December 25, 2023 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Sean Durkin | 132 mins | ▲▲▲▲△ I came to this movie with a small personal investment: I watched World Class Championship Wrestling for about a year when I was about 13 or 14. I cheered the three Von Erichs who were wrestling when I watched — David was already gone…Read More

Top 10 Under-The-Radar Films of 2023

December 24, 2023 flawintheiris

Happy holidays, FITI readers! I wish you great movie watching in whatever time off you are able to enjoy in the days to come. Hopefully, the selection of films below will offer a few possibilities for movies you haven't seen. When I assemble my list of the best films of the past 12 months I…Read More

The Knox Office: Christmas movies worth revisiting

December 23, 2023 flawintheiris

On this week's Knox Office on CBC Information Morning in Halifax, I spoke with guest host Preston Mulligan about — what else? — Christmas movies. Tis the season and all that. We discussed recent movies that I think have a chance of being Christmas classics, ones that get revisited year after year. We've seen that…Read More

Merry Little Batman review — “…And to all a Dark Knight!”

December 22, 2023 flawintheiris

Directed by Mike Roth | Written by Morgan Evans and Jase Ricci | 92 min | ▲▲▲▲△ | Amazon Prime The trailer tells you something about this charming seasonal diversion — it highlights a Home Alone scenario with eight-year-old Damian Wayne (Batman's son) facing off against a couple of burglars at Wayne Manor. But that's…Read More

Monster review — An affecting, bittersweet tale of children’s secrets and adult lies

December 19, 2023 flawintheiris

Directed by Hirokazu Koreeda | Written by Yûji Sakamoto | 126 min | ▲▲▲▲△ Hirokazu Koreeda, or Kore-eda, is the veteran Japanese filmmaker behind art house hits Broker and Shoplifters, two movies I liked in parts, but too often found they felt dramatically underwhelming, meandering character studies that gradually reveal truths but demand a lot…Read More

Wonka, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory reviews

December 18, 2023 flawintheiris

I wasn't raised with Roald Dahl, so I come to the adaptations of his work — Fantastic Mr Fox, The BFG, The Witches, to name but three — without any preconceived notions or, to put it bluntly, any baked in excitement. As a kid I even missed the first adaptation of Dahl's 1964 book, Charlie…Read More