Category Archives: Romcom

The Baltimorons review — Unlikely seasonal romance and dentistry

December 3, 2025 flawintheiris

Directed by Jay Duplass | Written by Duplass and Michael Strassner | 101min | ▲▲ | On VOD The American independent cinematic cottage industry of the Duplass Brothers has largely missed me. I've seen both of them, Jay and Mark, in on-screen roles, mostly in association with the late, great Lynn Shelton, but don't know…Read More

Oh, Hi! review — Twisted, hilarious romantic comedy

July 24, 2025 flawintheiris

Directed by Sophie Brooks | Written by Brooks and Molly Gordon | 94 min | ▲▲▲1/2 | Hoopla, VOD Iris (Gordon, a Booksmart veteran) and Isaac (Logan Lerman) are off for a weekend in the New York countryside at a gorgeous farmhouse. They're in that honeymoon phase of their relationship — he's saying and doing…Read More

Jane Austen Wrecked My Life review — The pleasure of a good movie

May 29, 2025 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Laura Piani | 98 min | ▲▲▲▲1/2 | Crave Every once in awhile we get a performance that's so electric you're amazed how this fully fledged talent has appeared seemingly out of nowhere. That presumption is quickly diminished by a glance at the wealth of experience in the performer's IMDB file,…Read More

Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy review — Fourth entry brings laughs and tears

February 15, 2025 flawintheiris

Directed by Michael Morris | Written by Helen Fielding, Dan Mazer and Abi Morgan | 124 min | ▲▲▲1/2 | Amazon Prime It's hard to believe a new Bridget Jones movie isn't reaching cinemas here in Canada. It's been a popular franchise that started way back in 2001, an adaptation of Helen Fielding's novel that…Read More

Hot Frosty review — Seasonal fantasy wins by a carrot nose

December 7, 2024 flawintheiris

Directed by Jerry Ciccoritti | Written by Russell Hainline | 92 min | ▲▲▲△ △ | Netflix It's a bit of a mystery how it happened, but this Christmas romcom has become something of a hit. Everyone's talking about Hot Frosty, even me. Every year these Christmas movies are pumped out, quickie productions shot in…Read More

Anora review — Love and laughter, but fear underneath

November 6, 2024 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Sean Baker | 139 min | ▲▲▲▲▲ | Amazon Prime An earlier version of this review appeared on FITI in September during #AIFF24 Anora comes freighted in hype and awards having taken home the Palme D’Or at Cannes, that festival’s highest honour. Consider the past few winners of that particular award:…Read More

The 4:30 Movie review — Kevin Smith’s teen movie (that isn’t Mallrats)

October 28, 2024 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Kevin Smith | 87 min | ▲▲▲△△ | VOD, Hoopla The best Kevin Smith movies are the autobiographical ones. Even the Angels And Demons comedy Dogma plumbs his personal relationship with both Catholicism and comic books. (Another truth of his oeuvre is that Jay and Silent Bob are always better as…Read More

We Live In Time review — An all-timer romantic drama

October 18, 2024 flawintheiris

Directed by John Crowley | Written by Nick Payne | 107 min | ▲▲▲▲▲ | VOD A capsule review of this film appeared on FITI in September during #TIFF24 If anyone read or saw my coverage of this film at the Toronto International Film Festival you'll know it floored me. It's of a genre that…Read More

#TIFF24 We Live In Time, Men Of War

September 7, 2024 flawintheiris

I've never been much of a fan of the cancer drama — the maudlin but massively successful Love Story set the stage for the genre in 1970, starring Ryan O'Neal and Ali MacGraw. These movies have reared their ugly heads a number of times since. They tend to indulge in a little class or generation clashing…Read More

Hit Man review — Twisty, terrific script kills

July 8, 2024 flawintheiris

A capsule version of this review appeared on FITI in September 2023 during coverage of the Toronto International Film Festival. Directed by Richard Linklater | Written by Linklater and Glen Powell, from an article by Skip Hollandsworth | 115 min | ▲▲▲▲△ | Netflix, Hoopla This is probably the best script Linklater’s worked with since…Read More