Category Archives: Commentary

Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band review — Ain’t that a lot of love

April 8, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Daniel Roher | 100 min | Crave You know these guys. This is the story of Robbie Robertson, Canadian songwriter and guitarist, and The Band, with which he'll always be associated. It's a lovely film, and includes fascinating interviews and a lot of terrific music. While it reminds us that the five men…Read More

FLAW IN THE IRIS: The Film Podcast… so far

March 31, 2020 flawintheiris

My sporadically active podcast launched a little more than two years ago to scratch an itch that I'd had going back to my radio broadcast about movies on CKDU 88.1FM in Halifax, The Love & Hate Movie Show (2005-2009). The idea is that a lot of the best things about film appreciation are the conversations…Read More

Carbon Arc Cinema Winter 2020 Review

March 30, 2020 flawintheiris

The winter season at Carbon Arc started on February 7 with the Best Commercials of 2019, which was followed by the usual selection of quality international films and documentaries. Regular readers of this blog will know I'm a volunteer and programmer at the cinema. But just as the fall season was interrupted in places by…Read More

There’s Something In The Water review — A history of environmental racism revealed

March 27, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Ellen Page and Ian Daniel | 73 min | Netflix Screenings around here sold out in seconds flat, so the interest in this province is high, but I wonder how this film might be received across Canada and elsewhere. If Page's bravery in coming out inside the glare of Hollywood, and her Gaycation…Read More

Quarantine watching!

March 22, 2020 flawintheiris

Whether I'm one of the lucky ones I'll leave it up to you to judge, but I'm still going to work every weekday in this global coronavirus pandemic. I guess I'm considered an essential service in what I do, but it remains to be seen for how long. A lot of people in my life…Read More

Cineplex closed — so what now?

March 17, 2020 flawintheiris

On Monday, Cineplex announced it's closing its 165 cinemas across the country. They'll remain shuttered until at least April 2. https://twitter.com/CineplexMovies/status/1239719325445033985 On the same day. NBCUniversal, one of the United States' biggest entertainment companies, announced it is breaking the theatrical window and will release Universal Pictures films currently screening in cinemas around North America —…Read More

Should we go to the movies right now?

March 15, 2020 flawintheiris

This is a question I've been asking myself a lot in the past couple of days. Regular readers of this blog will know I go to the cinema once or twice a week to review new releases, and also show up on CTV to preview what's new in cinemas. (I sometimes also review films now…Read More

Halifax Black Film Festival, Carbon Arc, LENS ME YOUR EARS and CTV

February 28, 2020 flawintheiris

There's a lot going on right now. For starters, there's the Halifax Black Film Festival, the 4th annual edition now running three days, from Friday through Sunday, February 28 to March 1. The festival is crammed full of feature films, shorts, documentaries, and panel discussions at the Halifax Central Library on Saturday. Highlights of the…Read More

Harrison Ford forgets where he made K:19 The Widowmaker

February 27, 2020 flawintheiris

It was almost 20 years ago, so I guess I can cut the guy some slack. And Nova Scotia is almost as far away from Los Angeles as Newfoundland. https://youtu.be/XNN1Hbg9oNU?t=1016Read More

2020 Academy Awards + CTV Film Guru Update + Carbon Arc Cinema returns

February 7, 2020 flawintheiris

THE OSCARS Sunday night is the 92nd Academy Awards. I'll be cheering mostly for Parasite, which is head and shoulders better than most of the movies with which it's in competition—though, granted, I still have a few of the Best International Film nominees to see. I can't deny a real concern that the times are…Read More