Category Archives: Science Fiction/Fantasy

Talking Star Wars and Avengers on CBC Radio One

May 5, 2015 flawintheiris

On Monday, May 4th—now the official Star Wars day, what with the bells of the Peace Tower at Parliament Hill ringing selections from John Williams' anthemic score—I joined Dalhousie professors Jason Haslam and Jacqueline Warwick, and host Stephanie Domet, on Mainstreet, the CBC Radio One afternoon show, to talk movie franchises, reboots, and fantasy adaptations. We…Read More

LENS ME YOUR EARS — Episode 05: “Tech Will Destroy Us”

April 29, 2015 flawintheiris

With Avengers: Age of Ultron opening in cinemas later this week, and Ex Machina arriving May 8 (by most recent reports), Stephen Cooke and I thought it was worth going back to look at movies about our fear of technology. We talk Westworld, Jurassic Park, this summer's forthcoming Jurassic World (when I can remember the…Read More

The Dissolve’s look at Paranoid Thrillers and Science Fiction

April 25, 2015 flawintheiris

If you follow me on Twitter you'll know I have a tendency to retweet my film culture grazing, but I don't repost as much here. Generally that's because I want to provide added value on FITI—a few opinions or a little commentary, not just a doorway to someone else's stuff. But every once in awhile…Read More

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase Two (to date) review

April 14, 2015 flawintheiris

With the imminent arrival of Avengers: Age of Ultron on May 1, I thought it was a good time to revisit the current collection of Marvel Studios movies. You can check out my thoughts on the first six, otherwise known as Phase One, here. Iron Man 3 (2013) Directed by Shane Black, written by Black and Drew…Read More

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One review

March 31, 2015 flawintheiris

This summer Phase Two of Marvel's cinematic universe will conclude with Avengers: Age of Ultron and Antman. It's the second part of an increasingly sprawling series of connected films. The first began back in May 2008 with Iron Man, bringing to the world a host of Marvel superheroes as a kid I never would have dreamed I'd get to…Read More

Insurgent review — An unremarkable return to the faction-filled future

March 30, 2015 flawintheiris

Directed by Robert Schwentke, written by Brian Duffield, Akiva Goldsman, and Mark Bomback, from the novel by Veronica Roth. Insurgent is a dull, big-budget misfire. What was silly but ebullient in the first film, Divergent, feels heavy-handed and irritating in its sequel. Characters who formerly seemed appealing now come across as insipid. And a storyline that…Read More

Chappie review — scrappy (but not too crappy) scifi

March 12, 2015 flawintheiris

Directed by Neill Blomkamp, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell This picture is getting a lot of flack for its various issues, not the least of which is its considerable similarity—at least in the early going—to Robocop, and its considerable similarity—later on in the running —to Short Circuit. But despite that, within its rough-around-the-edges construction,…Read More

Predestination review — A twisted tale of time travel

February 11, 2015 flawintheiris

Written and directed by Michael and Peter Spierig, adapting the short story All You Zombies by Robert A. Heinlein. Time travel movies keep on coming. Last year we had X-Men: Days of Future Past, which was quite a bit of fun, and now in cinemas are two movies that take audiences across time—Project Almanac and The…Read More

Jupiter Ascending review — Grand space opera missing high notes

February 5, 2015 flawintheiris

Written and directed by Lilly and Lana Wachowski The Matrix was released 16 years ago, can you believe that? The filmmaking siblings who delivered that seismic scifi-action depth charge have had their struggles in the years since then, first with the two Matrix sequels, then with Speed Racer. I very much enjoyed their last movie,…Read More

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies review — The end of a long road

December 21, 2014 flawintheiris

Directed by Peter Jackson, Written by Jackson, Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens and Guillermo Del Toro, from the novel by JRR Tolkien In the first few minutes of this final visit to Middle Earth by Peter Jackson, my cinepanion and I found ourselves whispering back and forth to each other. We had a lot of questions.…Read More