Category Archives: Western

Sisu review — Bonkers Finnish war western a good time

May 17, 2023 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Jalmari Helander | 91 mins | ▲▲▲△△ This picture is like a wild creature the likes of which we don't see often, which is a recommendation unto itself. A Finnish genre mash-up — weirdly and largely in English, which can only be due to market considerations — it tells the story…Read More

Dead For A Dollar review — Not too much good, mostly bad and ugly

September 28, 2022 flawintheiris

Directed by Walter Hill | Written by Hill and Matt Harris | 114 min | ▲▲△△△ | On Digital and VOD Walter Hill is a towering figure in Hollywood genre filmmaking. He directed The Driver, The Warriors, 48 hrs, and Johnny Handsome. He learned his craft at the side of Sam Peckinpah. His career is legendary, but since…Read More

The Power Of The Dog review — Stylish western delivers dark twist

December 14, 2021 flawintheiris

Directed by Jane Campion | Written by Campion, adapting a novel by Thomas Savage | 126 min | Netflix The Power Of The Dog is a story of brothers in the new west, in 1925, with grim, biblical overtones. George (Jesse Plemons) and Phil Burbank (Benedict Cumberbatch) have 25 years ranching in the Montana badlands…Read More

The Harder They Fall review — A shotgun blast of good times

November 6, 2021 flawintheiris

Directed by Jeymes Samuel | Written by Samuel and Boaz Yakin | 130 min | Netflix Westerns with Black casts aren't unprecedented, but they are a rarity. That's not all that makes this picture special — Director Jeymes Samuel, also a musican, tells the story with action and style to spare, fuel-injected with a hip-hop…Read More

20 Best Movies on Disney Plus: Star (from the 20th Century)

March 29, 2021 flawintheiris

Last month Disney Plus launched the Star channel (in Canada and elsewhere beyond the US) as a place to carry more mature fare, which is rumoured to double the content for Disney Plus subscribers. I'm not sure about that — it's pretty thin on the ground so far — but the best part of this…Read More

News Of The World review — Hanks brings patented ease to western tale

January 28, 2021 flawintheiris

Directed by Paul Greengrass | Written by Greengrass and Luke Davies, based on the novel by Paulette Jiles | 118 min | Crave Plus Paul Greengrass is best known as the English director of docudramas and thrillers, like the Tom Hanks starrer, Captain Phillips. On News Of The World he once again pairs with Hanks, who's playing…Read More

The True History of The Kelly Gang review — Bloody empty

November 9, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Justin Kurzel | Written by Shaun Grant, based on the book by Peter Carey | 124 min | Netflix A visceral, anger- and spite-filled Australian western that plays fast and loose with the legend of the country's famed outlaw, Ned Kelly. It's upfront with its fictionalizing right up to the picture's ironic title,…Read More

First Cow review — Meditative western explores male friendship

July 21, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Kelly Reichardt | Written by Reichardt and Jonathan Raymond, from Raymond's novel | 122 min | Crave Plus Reichardt makes lyrical, gentle films about human connection, like a cinematic equivalent to folk music, which when her films are period-set, might be described as Americana. I've conjured that comparison while, admittedly, having only seen…Read More

The Grey Fox review — A Canadian classic returns

April 23, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Phillip Borsos | Written by John Hunter | 110 min | UPDATE: Available through the month of April at Film Movement Plus through Carbon Arc Cinema A much-appreciated 1982 western that hasn't always been readily available to watch, but you can stream it online for $8 as part of a cross-Canada fundraiser to…Read More

Reviews From The Vault: Tank Girl, 48 Hrs, Another 48 Hrs, Wimbledon, Red Sun

April 13, 2020 flawintheiris

I recently shared that I'd been going through my DVDs and Blu-Rays and doing a bit of a cull due to concerns around space in a modest apartment. It's prompted me to consider a few of the dustier movies on the shelf to see whether they deserve to stay or get traded/sold. The question I'm…Read More