Category Archives: Action

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning review — FTW, eventually

May 24, 2025 flawintheiris

Directed by Christopher McQuarrie | Written by McQuarrie and Erik Jendresen | 170 min | ▲▲▲ This is a movie that still satisfies as a good Mission: Impossible thriller while desperately weighed down by the legacy of 30 years of a franchise in ways it didn't need to be. A few storytelling decisions threaten to…Read More

The Accountant 2 review — Tax free fun and games

May 2, 2025 flawintheiris

Directed by Gavin O'Connor | Written by Bill Dubuque | 132 min | ▲▲▲1/2 The arrival of a sequel to the 2016 Ben Affleck actioner prompted me to go back and watch the nine-year-old original again. I think I might've been a little too hard on The Accountant in my review. It was more entertaining…Read More

Freaky Tales review — Wildly fun ’80s grindhouse tribute

April 9, 2025 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck | 106 min | ▲▲▲▲ Did you know there was a new Pedro Pascal movie in cinemas? Until a day or so ago, I didn't, and I do this semi-professionally. This picture is from a pair of veteran filmmakers who had a huge hit with their…Read More

Novocaine review — No pain, big gain

March 13, 2025 flawintheiris

Directed by Dan Berk and Robert Olsen | Written by Lars Jacobson | 110 min | ▲▲▲1/2 San Diego assistant bank manager Nathan Caine (Jack Quaid) lives with an invisible disability — a disorder of his nervous system that means he's unable to feel pain. Since he was a kid he's been adding cushions to…Read More

The Gorge review — Two hours of your life falls into split in the earth

February 16, 2025 flawintheiris

Directed by Scott Derrickson | Written by Zach Dean | 127 min | ▲1/2 | Apple TV+ Back when I used to work in film production in Toronto in the 1990s — and this was before X-Men and Good Will Hunting made the city a legitimate hub for quality features — a producer I used…Read More

Gladiator II review — We are entertained, but this movie doesn’t echo in eternity

November 22, 2024 flawintheiris

Directed by Ridley Scott | Written by David Scarpa and Peter Craig | 148 min | ▲▲▲△△ I was never a part of Gladiator's rabid cult. I recognized it as an unexpectedly popular throwback entertainment, swords and sandals at a time when neither were cool, but to anoint it with five Oscars in 2000, including…Read More

The Three Musketeers – Part II: Milady review — More mud and blood in 17th Century France

November 9, 2024 flawintheiris

Directed by Martin Bourboulon | Written by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière, based on the story by Alexandre Dumas | 115 min | ▲▲▲△△ | Crave Last year the first part of this French adaptation of the famed Dumas adventure story was engaging without being a whole lot of fun. Maybe I was…Read More

The Wild Robot review — Gorgeous, thoughtful, and moving animated adventure

November 3, 2024 flawintheiris

Directed by Chris Sanders | Written by Sanders and Peter Brown | 102 min | ▲▲▲▲△ | Amazon Prime I'm a latecomer to this animated feature — it's been in cinemas for over a month — but I'm glad to have caught it on the big screen where its painterly visuals really look good. It…Read More

Wolfs review — These guys are pros

September 28, 2024 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Jon Watts | 108 min | ▲▲▲△△ | Apple TV+ Amy Ryan's Margaret, a District Attorney, has a big problem. There's a dead guy in her swanky New York hotel room. She has a number she was given for absolute emergencies, someone she should call only if she's in desperate need.…Read More

Rebel Ridge review — Action thriller could use a little more action

September 24, 2024 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Jeremy Saulnier | 131 min | ▲▲▲△△| Netflix When Saulnier emerged on the American indie filmmaking scene with Blue Ruin and Green Room, alongside filmmakers like Taylor Sheridan and Dan Gilroy he seemed like a natural to carry that great tradition of Hollywood thrillers into the future. He stumbled slightly with…Read More