Category Archives: Science Fiction/Fantasy

One Night Only review — aka The Sexy Purge: a weird, sometimes wonderful, romcom

August 6, 2026 flawintheiris

Directed by Will Gluck | Written by Travis Braun | 102 min | ▲▲▲ | In Cinemas It occurs to me that both Anora and The Materialists may have kicked off a really interesting series of romantic comedies — all released in cinemas — that are identifiably within the genre but work hard to subvert…Read More

Her Private Hell review — Filmmaker disappears up his own ass

July 28, 2026 flawintheiris

Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn | Written by Refn and Esti Giordani | 110 min | ▲ If you've ever had the experience of putting a glass of milk to your lips when its gone off, only to realize what's happened when the sour swill is in your mouth, then you'll know the experience of…Read More

The Odyssey review — An epic journey home

July 17, 2026 flawintheiris

Directed by Christopher Nolan | Written by Nolan, based on Homer's epic poem | 172 min | ▲▲▲▲ | In Cinemas Filmmaker Christopher Nolan has called this 3000-year-old story a foundational text, and it's certainly inspired his work in the past — or, at least, involves themes he's interested in: The hero's journey, homecomings, non-linear…Read More

Enola Holmes 3 review — Teen sleuth grows up

July 5, 2026 flawintheiris

Directed by Philip Barantini | Written by Jack Thorne, based on the Enola Holmes Mysteries by Nancy Springer | 105 min | ▲▲1/2 | Netflix Millie Bobby Brown once again pulls on the corset of a character that, had these movies opened in theatres, might be a genuine cultural icon three pictures in. As it is…Read More

Disclosure Day review — The truth is out there, and in here

June 12, 2026 flawintheiris

Directed by Steven Spielberg | Written by Spielberg and David Koepp | 145 min | ▲▲▲1/2 How anticipated is the new fantasy action picture from the legendary Steven Spielberg? Among those of us of a certain age who grew up during the American filmmaker's golden age — pretty much 20 years of features from 1975…Read More

The Mandalorian and Grogu review — This isn’t the way

May 26, 2026 flawintheiris

Directed by Jon Favreau | Written by Favreau, Dave Filoni, and Noah Kloor | 132 min | ▲1/2 When The Mandalorian series debuted on Disney + in 2019, it felt like a breath of fresh air for Star Wars. This was also the year of the final Skywalker saga movie, which I had some time…Read More

I Love Boosters review — Passion for fashion, critical of capitalism

May 25, 2026 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Boots Riley | 105 min | ▲▲▲▲ Prepping to see the new feature from rapper-turned-filmmaker Riley sent me back to my comments on his debut, Sorry To Bother You. My sentiments for his first effort could easily be carried over to this one, but almost everything about his second time at…Read More

Ladies First review — Gender-swap comedy starts strong, stumbles

May 25, 2026 flawintheiris

Directed by Thea Sharrock | Written by Natalie Krinsky, Cinco Paul, and Katie Silberman, based on I Am Not an Easy Man by Eléonore Pourriat | 90 min | ▲▲▲ | Netflix This is an interesting case of a broad, British workplace comedy dropping on Netflix with some of the year's worst reviews so far.…Read More

Exit 8 review — Nightmare of the eternal loop

April 8, 2026 flawintheiris

Directed by Genki Kawamura | Written by Kawamura, Kentaro Hirase, adapting the video game by Kotake Create | 95 min | ▲▲▲▲ An average guy (Kazunari Ninomiya) takes the subway, presumably in Tokyo. He notices another man freaking out at a woman whose baby is wailing, insisting she get the baby to be quiet. He's…Read More

War Machine (2026) review — Big robot, big guns

March 20, 2026 flawintheiris

Directed by Patrick Hughes | Written by Hughes and James Beaufort | 106 min | ▲▲1/2 | Netflix Alan Ritchson is making some interesting decisions with his career. Reacher on Prime made him a star, and he knows his massive frame lends itself to action cinema — he's learned lessons from Schwarzenegger. Consider his supporting…Read More