Category Archives: Action

San Andreas review — California screaming

May 28, 2015 flawintheiris

Directed by Brad Peyton, Written by Carleton Cuse from a story by Andre Fabrizio and Jeremy Passmore A question came to mind while I took in the trailer for this movie: What distinguishes San Andreas from a previous disaster picture like 2012, beside the fact that Dwayne Johnson is a lot more fun to watch these days than John…Read More

LENS ME YOUR EARS — Ep. 06: Mad Max and Post-Apocalyptic movies

May 23, 2015 flawintheiris

After a brief delay, Stephen Cooke and I are back on the podcast trail. For our sixth time at the mic we give some attention to Mad Max: Fury Road, which we both loved way out of proportion, and take a gander at the Mad Max franchise, along with a couple of suggestions for other post-apocalypse cinema, including…Read More

Mad Max: Fury Road review — A masterpiece in speed and metal

May 14, 2015 flawintheiris

Directed by George Miller, Written by Miller, Brendan McCarthy, and Nick Lathouris | Netflix Badass. As the end credits rolled, that's the word that kept bouncing around my rattling and enervated cranium. Mad Max: Fury Road is totally badass. When was the last time I was totally floored like this? The last time I saw…Read More

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

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

Insurgent review — An unremarkable return to the faction-filled future

March 30, 2015 flawintheiris

Directed by Robert Schwentke, written by Brian Duffield, Akiva Goldsman, and Mark Bomback, from the novel by Veronica Roth. Insurgent is a dull, big-budget misfire. What was silly but ebullient in the first film, Divergent, feels heavy-handed and irritating in its sequel. Characters who formerly seemed appealing now come across as insipid. And a storyline that…Read More

The Gunman review — a straight-ahead black-ops actioner

March 21, 2015 flawintheiris

Directed by Pierre Morel, Written by Don MacPherson, Pete Travis, from a the novel The Prone Gunman by Jean-Patrick Manchette Spy thrillers arrive on a spectrum. At one end the flashy James Bond, and at the other the more cerebral Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy—the Brits do them better than anyone. The Gunman is much closer to the 007 end of…Read More

Run All Night review — Liam Neeson brings it

March 12, 2015 flawintheiris

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, written by Brad Ingelsby Liam Neeson: action icon. It would have been hard to believe 10 years ago, even though he once played a superhero in Darkman. Neeson's found a professional niche comparable to what Robert Mitchum used to do, or late career Charles Bronson. That said, his efforts in the action…Read More

Chappie review — scrappy (but not too crappy) scifi

March 12, 2015 flawintheiris

Directed by Neill Blomkamp, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell This picture is getting a lot of flack for its various issues, not the least of which is its considerable similarity—at least in the early going—to Robocop, and its considerable similarity—later on in the running —to Short Circuit. But despite that, within its rough-around-the-edges construction,…Read More

Kingsman: The Secret Service review — Spy movie pastiche delivers OTT violence

February 14, 2015 flawintheiris

Directed by Matthew Vaughn, written by Vaughn and Jane Goldman, from a comic by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons Vaughn and Millar were responsible for Kick-Ass, the indie superhero movie. It had a lot going for it, but it left a bad taste in my mouth—aside from being genuinely kick ass in its action sequences and…Read More