Category Archives: Indie

After The Ball review — A fashionable modern fairytale

February 27, 2015 flawintheiris

Directed by Sean Garrity, written by Kate Melville and Jason Sherman | Crave, Hoopla Having experienced the heavy-handed full-Disney-press of the new live-action Cinderella trailer lately, it was a real pleasure to discover this Montreal-shot picture that, with a delightfully light touch, uses the overly familiar story as a springboard to tell the tale of…Read More

Cake review — No surprises in chronic pain dramedy

January 21, 2015 flawintheiris

Directed by Daniel Barnz, written by Patrick Tobin When we meet Claire Bennett (Jennifer Aniston) she's getting kicked out of her all-female chronic pain support group due to her anger issues. She'd spoken ill of the dead, and offended the other women, including the therapist. It's a funny moment, but I kept thinking back to…Read More

Reviews: Ida, Blue Ruin, The One I Love, White Bird In A Blizzard

December 31, 2014 flawintheiris

A few impressions of films now available on one of the alternative platforms—Netflix, DVD, Blu-Ray, VOD, iTunes, what have you—that didn't open in local cinemas. Ida A spare and gorgeous black and white drama from filmmaker Pawel Pawilikowski (My Summer of Love, The Woman In The Fifth), Ida is set in Communist Poland in the…Read More

Wild review — An affecting drama of personal change, but for one thing…

December 30, 2014 flawintheiris

Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, written by Nick Hornby, adapting the memoir by Cheryl Strayed It's a great thing that the Quebec filmmaker Vallée is working in Hollywood. He made a big splash with last year's terrific Dallas Buyers Club, though I've been enjoying his work since he made C.R.A.Z.Y. and his best film, Cafe de Flore.…Read More

John Dunsworth in Santa Quest — Doing, believing, and the meaning of Santa Claus

December 18, 2014 flawintheiris

John Dunsworth has gone to the trouble of printing out photos of himself as Jim Lahey—the character he plays on Trailer Park Boys—passed out and sprawling, with a large stain on the crotch of his familiar tan pants. Next to him, shirtless as always, is Pat Roach as Randy. These photos are for autograph-seekers. But…Read More

CitizenFour review — Edward Snowden’s sacrifice

December 11, 2014 flawintheiris

Directed by Laura Poitras I read the articles in the summer of 2013 when we all learned Edward Snowden's name. I understood the ways the NSA had trampled upon the rights of privacy of American citizens and people around the world. What Poitras' documentary does is put you right there as the story is breaking in…Read More

Whiplash review — It’s not about drumming, it’s about excellence

November 20, 2014 flawintheiris

Published November 20, revised November 23 Written and directed by Damien Chazelle Oh, what a relief. Recently I was bemoaning the lack of stellar offerings as we rapidly approach the awards season. So many marginal, so-so movies in the cinema. Well, I've got a live one right here. This is an absolutely must-see film, announcing…Read More

Outlier Podcast: The Creeping Garden

November 19, 2014 flawintheiris

As I mentioned last week, The Outlier Film Festival is on the horizon, bringing the most unusual horror, cult, science fiction, and documentary films to Halifax on November 27-29. Matt Charlton, one of the festival organizers, invited me to be part of a podcast at Village Sound, talking about a few of the documentaries playing…Read More

Frank review — Quirky, original, and moving

November 6, 2014 flawintheiris

Directed by Lenny Abrahamson, written by Jon Ronson and Peter Straughan Frank is a strange little backstage comedy/drama on its surface. Underneath it's a solemn examination of damaged people inside a circle of attention and creativity. It's maybe got a dash of Almost Famous, but it's far more peculiar. You should know, a favourable comparison…Read More

Horns review — Here’s a weird little movie

October 28, 2014 flawintheiris

Directed by Alexandre Aja, Written by Keith Bunin from a novel by Joe Hill | 121 min | Amazon Prime Many movies fail from lack of ambition. Not Horns. Where it doesn't work, it's because it wants to be too many things rather than just settling for being something ordinary or mediocre. That's actually something…Read More