Category Archives: Series Reviews

Avengers: Age of Ultron review — The biggest, but not necessarily the best

May 1, 2015 flawintheiris

Written and directed by Joss Whedon, from the Marvel Comic created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby After 10 movies set in this particular Marvel Cinematic Universe, we know these costumed folks now. They're fun to spend time with, what with the jokes and fighting and punching. But the filmmakers also have the added pressure of…Read More

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Two (to date) review

April 14, 2015 flawintheiris

With the imminent arrival of Avengers: Age of Ultron on May 1, I thought it was a good time to revisit the current collection of Marvel Studios movies. You can check out my thoughts on the first six, otherwise known as Phase One, here. Iron Man 3 (2013) Directed by Shane Black, written by Black and Drew…Read More

Furious 7 review — More is more, more or less

April 4, 2015 flawintheiris

Directed by James Wan, written by Chris Morgan, from characters by Gary Scott Thompson | Netflix Hot Car: Lykan Hypersport, the $3.4 million supercar. If the successive entries in this increasingly popular franchise have shown us anything it's that more is more. More cars, more stunts, more characters, more arm butter, more slo-mo, more macho attitude,…Read More

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One review

March 31, 2015 flawintheiris

This summer Phase Two of Marvel's cinematic universe will conclude with Avengers: Age of Ultron and Antman. It's the second part of an increasingly sprawling series of connected films. The first began back in May 2008 with Iron Man, bringing to the world a host of Marvel superheroes as a kid I never would have dreamed I'd get to…Read More

Taken 1, 2, and 3 review — Liam Neeson’s special skills and bad parenting

January 15, 2015 flawintheiris

Taken (2008) Directed by Pierre Morel, written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen "You live in your little bubble here with your maids and your servants!" It's like Liam Neeson's Bryan Mills is admonishing all of America when he tries to tell his ex-wife, Lenore (Famke Janssen), that she and their 17-year-old daughter, Kim (Maggie…Read More

The Alternative Christmas Film Festival

December 23, 2014 flawintheiris

I'm just about done with all the X-Mas hubbub—the relentless advertising, the schmaltz, the earworms on a loop at the grocery store. And if you're like me, you have some ambivalence around the holidays, along with movies that celebrate Christmas. Sure, I'll probably watch about 30 minutes of the evergreen It's A Wonderful Life on one of its…Read More

The Worricker Trilogy — Terrific spycraft for a rainy day

December 14, 2014 flawintheiris

A series of features made for British television, these are now available on Blu-Ray and online. Pravda playwright and The Reader screenwriter David Hare is a legend in British theatre circles. He's written and directed a bit of a John le Carré-style British spy classic in Page Eight. Made for the BBC, it was released here in 2011 and now…Read More

The Jack Ryan Franchise: An Accidental Secret Agent

December 1, 2014 flawintheiris

Jack Ryan has lived many lives. A character who originated in a series of popular Tom Clancy novels, he's kept coming back to the movies in a series from Paramount Studios — played by four actors in five pictures released over 24 years, with Ryan repositioned through shifting political eras with varying degrees of success.…Read More

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit review

February 6, 2014 flawintheiris

Directed by Kenneth BranaghWritten by Adam Cozad and David Koepp, based on characters created by Tom ClancyIt's a very rotten spy thriller that I'll pan. I just love the genre. I enjoy the twisty plots, the suspense and the international locations. But I can't say too much about Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit impressed me.This is…Read More

Alien series review

January 20, 2014 flawintheiris

Alien (1979) Directed by Ridley Scott | Written by Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett | 117 min | Crave Plus Alien has been around so long it's kind of hard to imagine the world without those cute lil' exomorphs that kinda look like stainless steel dildos with teeth. When I was a kid I remember…Read More