Category Archives: Comedy

Tully review — A blindingly honest motherhood dramedy

May 7, 2018 flawintheiris

Directed by Jason Reitman | Written by Diablo Cody | 96 min Jason Reitman is the celebrated filmmaker of Thank You For Smoking and Up In The Air, and with Oscar-winning screenwriter, Diablo Cody, the teen-pregnancy dramedy Juno and Young Adult. His past two projects were explorations of unpopular genres that landed DOA at the box office;…Read More

I Feel Pretty review — Body image comedy lacks confidence

May 3, 2018 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein | 110 min Amy Schumer is a brilliant, gifted comic writer and actor. She shines especially in her stand-up and on her TV series, Inside Amy Schumer, where she explores issues of sex, intimacy, and especially the way American women see themselves. This should make I Feel…Read More

Blockers review — Misleading marketing hides progressive comedy

April 21, 2018 flawintheiris

Directed by Kay Cannon | Written by Brian Kehoe and Jim Kehoe | 102 min The movie's working title was Cherries, and if you saw a trailer and figured this sex comedy about three teenagers planning on losing their virginity on Prom Night while their parents try to stop them is obnoxious, you'd be forgiven.…Read More

Isle Of Dogs review — Barking mad, beautiful, and yes, problematic

April 15, 2018 flawintheiris

Directed by Wes Anderson | Written by Anderson from a story by Anderson, Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, and Kunichi Nomura | 101 min The new Wes Anderson is as brilliant and idiosyncratic as anything I've seen in his peculiar cinematic output. It also has moments where I was left befuddled, bemused, and maybe, once or…Read More

The Death of Stalin review — Soviet satire with a sharp sting

March 22, 2018 flawintheiris

Directed by Armando Iannucci | Written by Iannucci, David Schneider, Ian Martin, and Peter Fellows, from the comic by Fabien Nury and Thierry Robin | 107 min | Crave Plus I have been on my horse for awhile on a particular Hollywood conceit: When English language films take place in foreign lands all the actors…Read More

Thoroughbreds review — Thoughtful teen thriller explores empathy and murder

March 12, 2018 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Cory Finley | 92 min Lily (Anya Taylor-Joy) is an unhappy teen from a very wealthy Connecticut family. She's been kicked out of her private school for plagiarism, but otherwise seems your average overachiever with an out-of- touch mother and asshole stepfather (Paul Sparks). Her pal Amanda (Olivia Cooke) is numb—she…Read More

Last Flag Flying review — Old war buddies hit the road

February 19, 2018 flawintheiris

Directed by Richard Linklater | Written by Linklater and Daniel Ponicsan, from Ponicsan's novel | 125 min | on iTunes "If it's a tight-ass god, then I am fucked," says Salvatore Nealon to his old buddy, Richard Mueller, mulling his afterlife options. A few heavy themes get explored in Linklater's new film: a person's obligation…Read More

A second visit with Lady Bird

January 28, 2018 flawintheiris

I do this with a few features in the cinema—see them again with someone who hasn't seen it, and thereby gather another impression—partly just for checking out something I think is worthy of another look, and partly for hashing it out after the lights come up, which often brings fresh revelations. And what better time…Read More

Paddington 2 review — The sweet return of the marmalade-loving bear

January 20, 2018 flawintheiris

Directed by Paul King | Written by King and Simon Farnaby, from the Michael Bond character | 104 min The return of the warm and literally fuzzy, marmalade-loving bear, and a welcome return it is. The first film showed up in North American cinemas in January 2015, which seems incredible to me. I was half…Read More

Downsizing review — Bigger and more peculiar than it sounds

January 4, 2018 flawintheiris

Directed by Alexander Payne | Written by Payne and Jim Taylor | 135 min It may be the prestige season's least-buzzed feature, but Alexander Payne, an award-winner for his wry, humanist dramedies (Sideways, The Descendants, Nebraska) has delivered a film that skews contrary to its marketing and to audience expectations. Don't let that put you…Read More