Category Archives: Action

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol review

December 19, 2011 flawintheiris

Directed by Brad Bird Written by Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec, based on the TV series Mission: Impossible created by Bruce Geller | Netflix People talk about how the Bourne movies updated the espionage action thriller for the new century, in the feel and the look of the thing. Just consider how the director of…Read More

Conan the Barbarian (2011) review

August 21, 2011 flawintheiris

Directed by Marcus NispelWritten by Thomas Dean Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer and Sean Hood, fromthe Robert E. Howard characterConan The Barbarian is violent, bloody fantasy, a relentless collection of action sequences barely strung together around a revenge plot and a couple of nasty supernatural villains. It's big, burly and not very smart. In other words, it's…Read More

The Mechanic (2011), The Mechanic (1972) reviews

June 13, 2011 flawintheiris

(2011) Directed by Simon WestWritten by Richard Wenk and Lewis John Carlino(1972) Directed by Michael WinnerWritten by Lewis John CarlinoBoth now on DVD For fans of action movies, watching these two workman-like examples of the genre is a great lesson in how much they've changed in the past 40 years.These days we expect our action…Read More

Hanna review

April 8, 2011 flawintheiris

Directed by Joe Wright Written by Seth Lochhead and David Farr Hanna is a lot of things. On the surface it's what the trailer says it is: Saoirse Ronan is the titular teen, raised since diapers to be a polyglot killer by her father, Erik (Eric Bana) in a shack in the snowbound wastes, hiding…Read More

Source Code review

April 4, 2011 flawintheiris

Directed by Duncan JonesWritten by Ben RipleyI'm enjoying these recent high concept science fiction pictures—though some more than others—including Limitless and The Adjustment Bureau, and now Source Code. This new film is built around another simple premise with a whisper of The Twilight Zone to it, not so unlike the idea of a secret, invisible…Read More

Hobo With A Shotgun review

March 24, 2011 flawintheiris

Directed by Jason EisenerWritten by Eisener and John DaviesThis is a tough movie for me to review. It was made in my town, starring an actor I've idolized since I was a kid, Rutger Hauer. I've interviewed the director on a number of occasions, most recently in this week's Coast cover story, which you can…Read More

Mad Max, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior and Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome series review

March 13, 2011 flawintheiris

Directed by George Miller (and co-director George Ogilvie for Mad Max 3) Written by Miller and Terry Hayes The Mad Max trilogy has a special place in my heart. The first movie was released in 1979, an Australian low budget exploitation revenge drama. It imagines a world set “a few years from now” where a very…Read More

Reviews: I Am Love, Valhalla Rising, Salt

January 4, 2011 flawintheiris

Directed by Luca GuadagninoStory by Guadagnino, script by Guadagninio,Barbara Alberti, Ivan Cotroneo, Walter FasanoSometimes watching a movie can be like sitting in a classroom. It can be homework. It can also be a party, a rollercoaster ride, skydiving, an awkward conversation. And every once in awhile, a movie can be like someone licking you where…Read More

Unstoppable review

November 28, 2010 flawintheiris

Directed by Tony ScottWritten by Mark BombackLike his brother Ridley, British-born Tony Scott is a go-to thriller and adventure movie director, whose work is always great to look at but sometimes falls down in the script department. The Scott brothers have been far more influential with the style and look of their films on mainstream…Read More

RED review

October 27, 2010 flawintheiris

I gotta say, with this cast on board, I was pretty excited to check out RED. I mean, this may be the cast of the year, with apologies to The Expendables. You've got Helen Mirren, Bruce Willis, Brian Cox, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Mary-Louise Parker, Karl Urban, Richard Dreyfuss, Rebecca Pidgeon and Ernest Borgnine, who…Read More