Category Archives: Recommended

The King Tide review — Chilling folk mystery evokes classic 1970s horror

April 25, 2024 flawintheiris

Directed by Christian Sparkes | Written by Kevin Coughlin, Ryan Grassby, Albert Shin, and William Woods | ▲▲▲▲△ | In Cinemas I spoke with Newfoundland filmmaker Christian Sparkes when his fantastic first feature, Cast No Shadow, was released back in 2015. There was an element of folk magic in that picture that's shared here in…Read More

The Promised Land review — A grand, sweeping Danish western

April 21, 2024 flawintheiris

Directed by Nikolaj Arcel | Written by Arcel , Anders Thomas Jensen, and Ida Jessen | 127 min | ▲▲▲▲△ | Hoopla An earlier version of this review ran last September during the Atlantic International Film Festival. This picture inhabits a rare subgenre — it's a Danish western. It's also a seriously impressive film, and…Read More

Civil War review — A chilling vision of a country in chaos

April 14, 2024 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Alex Garland | 109 min | ▲▲▲▲△ | In Cinemas Civil War, or Alex Garland Directorial Effort Number Four — following Ex Machina, Annihilation, and Men — is akin to its predecessors in that it deftly undermines both its marketing and its audience expectations, defying any easy categorization. Garland consistently puts…Read More

Wicked Little Letters review — Bawdy comedy delivers message on misogyny

April 10, 2024 flawintheiris

Directed by Thea Sharrock | Written by Jonny Sweet | 100 min | ▲▲▲▲△ A capsule version of this review appeared on the blog during TIFF in September 2023. This picture is a certified crowd pleaser, a whimsical comedic exercise that hides surprising sharp notes. It's set up as a mystery, but then reveals the…Read More

Carbon Arc Cinema review: Copa 71

March 29, 2024 flawintheiris

I am the Artistic Director at Carbon Arc Cinema, where our mandate is to show independent Canadian, international, and documentary films. I'm part of a group of programmers who choose the films we screen. Directed by James Erskine and Rachel Ramsay | Written by Erskine, Ramsay, and Victoria Gregory | 90 min | Carbon Arc…Read More

Someone Lives Here review — An essential document of our times

March 27, 2024 flawintheiris

Directed by Zack Russell | 75 min | ▲▲▲▲△ | on Crave A documentary portrait of Khaleel Seivwright, a Toronto carpenter who responded to the homeless crisis in his city and built dozens of tiny homes, sheds really, where people could find privacy, safety, and a bit of warmth. His efforts earns him support from…Read More

Perfect Days review — a low-key delight

March 19, 2024 flawintheiris

Directed by Wim Wenders | Written by Wenders and Takuma Takasaki | 124 min | ▲▲▲▲△ | on VOD and digital As much as I wanted to, I couldn't get to all the Oscar nominees this year before the big show, but in the weeks ahead I hope to catch up with a few of…Read More

Love Lies Bleeding review — Juicy noir embraces and resists genre

March 15, 2024 flawintheiris

Directed by Rose Glass | Written by Glass and Weronika Tofilska | 104 min | ▲▲▲▲△ What a terrifically pulpy headscratcher this is. This is the second feature from Saint Maud filmmaker Glass, which couldn't be more different from her debut. It's a sleazy American noir that embraces the late 1980s setting and synthwave on…Read More

To Kill A Tiger review — A fierce fight for justice

January 30, 2024 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Nisha Pahuja | 125 min | ▲▲▲▲△ | National Film Board of Canada To Kill A Tiger is a surprise Academy Award-nominee for Best Documentary from Toronto-based filmmaker Nisha Pahuja, with Mindy Kaling and Dev Patel on board as Executive Producers. The film takes us to a village in Jharkhand, India,…Read More

The Zone Of Interest review — Next door to hell

January 29, 2024 flawintheiris

A capsule version of this review appeared on FITI during my coverage of the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2023. Written and Directed by Jonathan Glazer, adapting a novel by Martin Amis | 105 min | ▲▲▲▲▲ Hedwig and Rudolf Höss (Sandra Hüller and Christian Friedel) are a German couple with a passel of…Read More