Category Archives: Recommended

Extraction (2020) review — Quality big-screen action on the small screen

May 7, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Sam Hargrave | Written by Joe Russo, Anthony Russo, and Ande Parks, based on the graphic novel Ciudad by the Russos, Parks, and Fernando León González | 116 min | Netflix Before we all get back to seeing things in the cinema, we're going to have films released on demand or on streaming services…Read More

Ema review — Chilean drama a dazzling dance

May 2, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Pablo Larraín | Written by Guillermo Calderón and Alejandro Moreno | 107 min | Mubi We begin in the aftermath of trauma: Valparaiso marrieds Ema and Gastón (Mariana Di Girolamo and Gael García Bernal) are lead dancer and choreographer in a modern dance company — they're also tearing each other apart over the…Read More

Beastie Boys Story review — They don’t front on that

April 29, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Spike Jonze | Written by Jonze, Adam Horovitz and Mike Diamond | 119 min | Apple TV A rangy and rambling documentary staged by Jonze, a longtime fan/friend of the Beastie Boys, shot at the Kings Theatre in Brooklyn earlier this month. It's a mix of storytelling and docu-footage, with the two surviving…Read More

Blood Quantum review — Zombie pandemic movie a solid brain-eater

April 28, 2020 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Jeff Barnaby | 96 min | Netflix, CBC Gem This is an impressively bloody and authentic pre- and post-apocalyptic zombie picture from the Mi'kmaq filmmaker who gave us Rhymes For Young Ghouls. Regular readers of FITI and listeners to one of my podcasts, LENS ME YOUR EARS, will know I'm not…Read More

The Hunt (2020) review — A whole lot better than its rep

April 18, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Craig Zobel | Written by Nick Cuse and Damon Lindelof | 90 min | Netflix This is not the excellent Thomas Vinterberg drama from 2012 starring Mads Mikkelsen that I'm sure you were confusing it with. No, I didn't really think you were confused. That's just a little art house cinema humour for…Read More

Carbon Arc Cinema Winter 2020 Review

March 30, 2020 flawintheiris

The winter season at Carbon Arc started on February 7 with the Best Commercials of 2019, which was followed by the usual selection of quality international films and documentaries. Regular readers of this blog will know I'm a volunteer and programmer at the cinema. But just as the fall season was interrupted in places by…Read More

There’s Something In The Water review — A history of environmental racism revealed

March 27, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Ellen Page and Ian Daniel | 73 min | Netflix Screenings around here sold out in seconds flat, so the interest in this province is high, but I wonder how this film might be received across Canada and elsewhere. If Page's bravery in coming out inside the glare of Hollywood, and her Gaycation…Read More

Bull Durham review — Baseball classic is just as good 32 years later

March 26, 2020 flawintheiris

Written and directed by Ron Shelton | 108 min | Hoopla In an effort to highlight films available on various streaming services, here's a review of something on Hoopla, which makes films available online for holders of a Halifax Public Libraries card. Isn't summer great? Remember what summer is like? This feels like it's been…Read More

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night (2014) review — Unique, haunting, and arty vampire picture

March 25, 2020 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Ana Lily Amirpour | 101 min | Hoopla, On Demand Recent years have seen a few too many teen vampire movies and TV shows, but the tide is turning: The undead are getting a little more adult, a little more terrifying and sexily intriguing. The chilly and amazing Swedish film Let The Right…Read More

Emma. review — Jane Austen romcom refreshed in 2020 edition

March 9, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Autumn de Wilde | Written by Eleanor Catton, based on the novel by Jane Austen | 124 min | On Demand The period, or "full stop" as they say in the UK, in the title is intentional, apparently. My best guess is it's there to remind us of the movie's literary source, or…Read More