Category Archives: The Worst

Ghosted review — Abysmal action-comedy schlock

April 24, 2023 flawintheiris

Directed by Dexter Fletcher | Written by Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, Chris McKenna, and Erik Sommers | 116 min | ▲△△△△ | Apple TV+ I was pretty sure this was gonna be a difficult watch when someone says, "I think she might be the one!" It’s a line by Chris Evans' character early on in…Read More

Black Adam review — Abysmal superhero schlock

November 15, 2022 flawintheiris

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra | Written by Adam Sztykiel, Rory Haines, and Sohrab Noshirvani | 125 min | ▲△△△△ As someone who's been writing about movies for more than 15 years, there's a genuine thrill walking out of a movie that's achieved something exceptional, knowing you've just seen one of the best movies of the…Read More

Elvis review — The King is dead. Avoid the Counterfeit King.

June 26, 2022 flawintheiris

Directed by Baz Luhrmann | Written by Luhrmann, Sam Bromell, Craig Pearce, and Jeremy Doner | 159 min | ▲△△△△ A musical biopic of Elvis Presley suggests the real promise of fleshing out what was a mythical American tragedy where a gifted and charismatic performer, despite all his success, never found lasting happiness. I was…Read More

Blacklight review — Neeson thriller is spectacularly lame

February 10, 2022 flawintheiris

Directed by Mark Williams | Written by Williams, Nick May, and Brandon Reavis | 108 min | ▲△△△△ Liam Neeson, so good in period epics like Silence and dramas like Ordinary Love, is best known these days for those interchangeable action pictures with titles like The Commuter, Cold Pursuit, and The Marksman. There's a precedence for…Read More

The Suicide Squad review — A tiresome, noisy waste of time

August 9, 2021 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by James Gunn | 132 min | Netflix Though you might've scrubbed it from your memory, there was a previous Suicide Squad movie — the grim, messy, Toronto-shot effort from director David Ayer based on a DC comic about incarcerated super-villains sent on dangerous missions of national importance with the promise that…Read More

F9: The Fast Saga review — Going nowhere fast, sans fury

July 3, 2021 flawintheiris

Directed by Justin Lin | Written by Lin, Daniel Casey, and Alfredo Botello | 143 min | In Cinemas There was every sign this would be a revvin' good time at the movies. The return of Justin Lin to the drivers' seat, the man who helmed many of the series' best entries: Fast Five, Fast…Read More

Our Friend review — Two hour misery dirge

January 22, 2021 flawintheiris

Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite | Written by Brad Ingelsby, based on an article by Matthew Teague | 124 min | Netflix Our Friend is apparently based on a true story, originally documented in an award-winning Esquire article by foreign correspondent Matthew Teague. I'd like to read that piece, because I'd like to know how this…Read More

Christmas on the Square review — For Dolly completists only

December 11, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Debbie Allen | Music and Lyrics by Dolly Parton, written by Maria S. Schlatter, based on her stage play | 98 min | Netflix It's entirely possible this doesn't qualify as cinema at all, given that it's produced by Warner Brothers Television, but either way Christmas on the Square is just awful. I…Read More

Books of Blood review — Don’t bother cracking the spine

October 6, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Brannon Braga | Written by Braga and Adam Simon, based on the books by Clive Barker | 108 min This review was written during the 2020 FIN Atlantic Film Festival, but the folks at Hulu got in touch to suggest an embargo two days after the review was published in September. With the…Read More

#FIN2020 Opening Night Gala Review — Falling

September 18, 2020 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Viggo Mortensen | 112 min Oscar-nominated actor and movie star Viggo Mortensen tries his hand as an auteur with an international co-pro domestic drama. A huge disappointment, it's a film entirely removed from real life. Willis, played by Lance Henriksen, is a senior struggling with dementia and an endless supply of…Read More