Category Archives: Recommended

Eighth Grade review — Excruciating, heartfelt look at teen angst

August 2, 2018 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Bo Burnham | 93 min | Crave Plus Leaving the screening, I mentioned to my cinepanion that I couldn't remember a film I've enjoyed as much as Eighth Grade while still praying, from scene to scene, it would release us from its grip. Actor/comedian/writer Bo Burnham gets so much terrifyingly right…Read More

Mission: Impossible – Fallout review — Spy actioner goes from strength to strength

July 30, 2018 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Christopher McQuarrie | 146 min The Mission: Impossible franchise has proven surprisingly hardy. This is the sixth entry, going back to Brian DePalma's 1996 movie, the first cinematic adaptation of the Bruce Gellar's TV series, turning 1960s spycraft into a pre-millennial Tom Cruise action picture. Until this one, each subsequent entry…Read More

Three Identical Strangers review — Doc dives deep into nature vs nurture

July 25, 2018 flawintheiris

Directed by Tim Wardle | 96 min It's a story beggaring belief: in 1980, three 19-year-olds who didn't know each other, David Kellman, Robert Shafran, and Eddie Galland, discovered that they are triplets, separated at birth. Cue an All-American story of minor celebrity, as these three New Yorkers head out on the town, toasted by…Read More

Upgrade review — Bonkers cyberpunk a summer highlight

July 6, 2018 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Leigh Whannell | 100 min An Australian sci-fi exploitation picture from the good people at Blumhouse (Insidious, Split, Get Out), with writer/director/actor Whannell helming his second feature, this is a genuine surprise for the summer of 2018. It's a total blast, an R-rated, near-future mindbender in the tradition of the original Terminator and…Read More

First Reformed review — Faith, love, illness, and anger

June 27, 2018 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Paul Schrader | 113 min | Hoopla First off, let me say what a thrill it is to be seeing a Paul Schrader picture in cinemas. Here's a filmmaker and screenwriter who's been out in the wilderness for years, making movies largely unseen and/or critically reviled, despite the fact he's one…Read More

The Incredibles (2004), Incredibles 2 reviews — Pixar superfamily recaptures glory

June 18, 2018 flawintheiris

Both Written and Directed by Brad Bird | 115 min (2004)/118 min (2018) Revisiting the original Incredibles for the first time since having seen it in the cinema in 14 years ago, I was impressed that the only thing that's aged in the film is some of the background animation—the street scenes are remarkably generic compared…Read More

Disobedience review — The heartbreak of choice

May 31, 2018 flawintheiris

Directed by Sebastian Lelio | Written by Lelio and Rebecca Lenkiewicz, based on the novel by Naomi Alderman | 114 min | Hoopla, On Demand Smoking in movies has changed so much. Where once it was sexy and dangerous, now it signifies something else. Still danger, but also anxiety. Weakness. An addictive personality. Unhealth. Ronit…Read More

Tully review — A blindingly honest motherhood dramedy

May 7, 2018 flawintheiris

Directed by Jason Reitman | Written by Diablo Cody | 96 min Jason Reitman is the celebrated filmmaker of Thank You For Smoking and Up In The Air, and with Oscar-winning screenwriter, Diablo Cody, the teen-pregnancy dramedy Juno and Young Adult. His past two projects were explorations of unpopular genres that landed DOA at the box office;…Read More

Lean On Pete review — Potent equine drama wins by a length

April 26, 2018 flawintheiris

Directed by Andrew Haigh | Written by Haigh, based on the novel by Willy Vlautin | 121 min Charley (Charlie Plummer) is an impoverished but self-reliant teenager living with his restless father (Travis Fimmel, another in his catalogue of self-involved dads, following Ragnar in Vikings) in Oregon, having just moved into the State. Charley picks up…Read More

You Were Never Really Here review — Brilliant and brutal

April 19, 2018 flawintheiris

Directed by Lynne Ramsay | Written by Ramsay, adapting a book by Jonathan Ames | 89 mins At Cannes last year the jury gave this film's lead, Joaquin Phoenix, the Best Actor award, and filmmaker Ramsay the Best Screenplay. The film also received a seven-minute standing ovation at its Cannes screening. All three recognitions were…Read More