Category Archives: Romcom

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

Am I OK? review — Yep, you’re pretty good

June 11, 2024 flawintheiris

Directed by Stephanie Allynne and Tig Notaro | Written by Lauren Pomerantz | 86 min | ▲▲▲△△ | Crave Dakota Johnson has the oddest cinematic presence. It's deeply California, deeply laid back, deeply showbiz — she's the daughter of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffiths, doncha know. But she can carry a role and deliver genuine…Read More

The Idea of You review — Good idea but a mixed execution

May 5, 2024 flawintheiris

Directed by Michael Showalter | Written by Showalter and Jennifer Westfeldt, based on a novel by Robinne Lee | 115 min | ▲▲△△△ | Amazon Prime It was Westfeldt's name that drew me to this movie — she co-wrote and starred in one of the best romcoms of the new millennium, Kissing Jessica Stein. This…Read More

The Greatest Hits review — Ned Benson’s sweet return

April 26, 2024 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Ned Benson | 94 min | ▲▲▲△△ | Crave, Disney+ I was unreasonably excited to check out this movie. It's from Ned Benson, who directed a wildly ambitious but criminally underseen drama from about 10 years ago called The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby starring Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis and James McAvoy.…Read More

Anyone But You review — Hotness isn’t enough to make us care

December 25, 2023 flawintheiris

Directed by Will Gluck | Written by Gluck and Ilana Wolpert | 103 min |▲▲△△△ | Netflix Ah, that rarest of genres to get a release in cinemas these days, next to the Western: a romantic comedy. It isn't hard to see what made the producers of this picture slaver: "Let's pair up the two…Read More

The Persian Version review — Comedy and drama jostle awkwardly

October 25, 2023 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Maryam Keshavarz | 107 min | ▲▲▲△△ | Crave Leila (Layla Mohammadi) is a New Yorker, raised in an American-Iranian family, the only girl in a house with eight brothers. She's an out lesbian, but in the wake of the end of her relationship with another woman sleeps with a male…Read More