Judas And The Black Messiah review — Politically powerful, dramatically flawed

February 15, 2021 flawintheiris

Directed by Shaka King | Written by King, Will Berson, Kenneth Lucas and Keith Lucas | 126 min | Crave Plus The epic, practically Shakespearean crime dramas of Martin Scorcese, from Goodfellas to The Departed, cast a long shadow over Shaka King's thriller and docudrama. It's about the life of Fred Hampton, the young, charismatic… Read More

The Photograph review — Stylish romance has heat to spare

February 18, 2020 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Stella Meghie | 106 min | On Demand Michael (LaKeith Stanfield, everywhere these days) is a writer for a New York-based magazine on assignment in Louisiana to do a story on a fisherman, Isaac (Rob Morgan), and the impact of the BP oil spill. Michael hears a little about an old… Read More

Uncut Gems review — Gambling thriller a symphony of tension

January 7, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by the Safdie Brothers | Written by Josh Safdie, Benny Safdie, and Ronald Bronstein | 135 min | Netflix The Safdie Brothers' new feature concentrates further the caffeinated charge of their last film, Good Time. It's the story of a New York jeweller and gambling addict whose life goes off the rails over a… Read More

The Girl in the Spider’s Web review — Stylish thriller is too Bond-ed for comfort

November 12, 2018 flawintheiris

Directed by Fede Alvarez | Written by Alvarez, Jay Basu, and Steven Knight, from the book by David Lagercrantz, based on characters by Stieg Larsson | 117 min For Sony Columbia to dive back into this popular series of books so late in the game feels like a calculated gamble, but not one likely to… Read More

Sorry To Bother You review — Satire stings, then stumbles

July 15, 2018 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Boots Riley | 105 min | Netflix It's near-future Oakland, and Cassius (Cash to his friends) Green (Lakeith Stanfield) needs a job. He's living in his uncle's garage, broke and obsessed with death, though his performance- and installation-artist girlfriend, Detroit (the reliably excellent Tessa Thompson), still digs him. He gets a… Read More

The Harder They Fall review — A shotgun blast of good times

November 6, 2021 flawintheiris

Directed by Jeymes Samuel | Written by Samuel and Boaz Yakin | 130 min | Netflix Westerns with Black casts aren't unprecedented, but they are a rarity. That's not all that makes this picture special — Director Jeymes Samuel, also a musican, tells the story with action and style to spare, fuel-injected with a hip-hop… Read More

The 2021 Academy Awards: The Weirdest Ever?

April 23, 2021 flawintheiris

If you're a movie nut — and you probably are if you're visiting this somewhat obsessive film review site — then you'll know this has been a most unusual awards season. This year's Oscars, airing on Sunday night, April 25th, have been extended two months from their usual late-February date, and with cinemas in most… Read More

Cineplex Cinemas reopen in Nova Scotia

February 11, 2021 flawintheiris

This Friday, February 12, will see cinemas here reopen. If you're like me, and you've missed the experience, I'll see you (at a safe distance) at the movies this weekend. I know there were some people who weren't especially interested in going back to cinemas when they were open last summer and fall, and I'm… Read More

Knives Out review — Playfully brilliant whodunit draws blood

November 27, 2019 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Rian Johnson | 130 min | Amazon Prime Bravo, Mr Johnson! The American auteur has shown he's a clever storyteller every time he's gone to bat: the teen noir Brick, the con-men hijinks of Brothers Bloom, the time travel twists in Looper, even the flawed-but-dynamic Star Wars: The Last Jedi. But… Read More

Casting the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe

June 22, 2019 flawintheiris

Now that the dust is settling on Avengers: Endgame, currently the second biggest movie in global box office history—with the number one slot in its sights—I think it's safe to assume the executives at Marvel Studios are busy in their boardrooms, mapping out the next stage of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Rumours abound, and I'm… Read More