Category Archives: Romcom

Ruby Sparks review

Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris Written by Zoe Kazan Ruby Sparks is almost two movies, or, at least, starts as one and then becomes another. That's a neat trick if it's done well as it is here. The first movie is a light, magic-realist romcom as you can see by the trailer. You…Read More

To Rome With Love review

Written and directed by Woody Allen It used to be that I'd think, well, Woody Allen gets unfairly bad reviews because everyone is always comparing him to his own work. And how can you hold him to his best, his Annie Halls, Manhattans and Purple Rose of Cairos? I do it too, but I almost…Read More

Moonrise Kingdom review

Directed by Wes Anderson Written by Anderson and Roman Coppola I'm happy Wes Anderson is out there. Because, say what you will about him—whether his very particular style of filmmaking is to your taste—it's hard to argue against originality, which he has in spades. After Bottle Rocket, Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic With…Read More

A Cult of One: Impromptu

Welcome to a new occasional feature on Flaw In The Iris.  A Cult of One is where I write about unheralded films, generally unloved and unpopular. They're misunderstood and deserve a larger fanbase... besides just me. Impromptu (1991) | Directed by James Lapine | Written by Sarah Kernochan | 91 min I stumbled across Impromptu…Read More

The Artist review

Written and directed by Michael Hazanavicius Here's a movie I saw in the perfect environment: an ancient rep cinema full of Boxing Day cineastes who lined up on the slushy sidewalk for the pleasure of seeing a silent movie. I'm sure my experience was improved by the surroundings and the audience. And the film? Well,…Read More

Crazy, Stupid, Love review

            Directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa Written by Dan Fogelman Oh, I had high hopes for Crazy, Stupid, Love. The directors' previous work includes Bad Santa and I Love You Phillip Morris, both genre-pushing in their own ways. And then there's this cast, which assembled for a romantic…Read More

Bridesmaids review

Directed by Paul Feig Written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumalo So, it isn't a female version of The Hangover, as some of the marketing wags would have you believe. But it is very much a Judd Apatow movie. As producer, his hands are all over this. (Especially a bodily function-humour scene about halfway in.)…Read More

No Strings Attached review

Directed by Ivan Reitman Screenplay by Elizabeth Meriwether from a story by Michael Samonek and Meriwether They could have called this movie Friends With Benefits. In fact, I think that was the working title of this picture. However, there's a movie with that title coming later in 2011, starring Justin Timberlake and Natalie Portman's Black…Read More

How Do You Know review

Written and directed by James L. Brooks Lisa (Reese Witherspoon, perky and adorable as a shih tzu) is an American softball star—if such a thing can be said to exist. At 31 she's just a little past her prime, dealing with being cut from her team. She meets Matty (Owen Wilson, who, to continue the…Read More