Category Archives: Recommended

Bottoms review — Broad, bawdy, and hilarious

September 24, 2023 flawintheiris

Directed by Emma Seligman | Written by Seligman and Rachel Sennott | 91 min | ▲▲▲▲△ | Amazon Prime PJ and Josie (Sennott and Ayo Edebiri) are at the bottom of their high school's social strata, two gay teens who don't get any attention from anyone. Determined to change their fortunes, and get laid in…Read More

#AIFF2023 Reviews: Red Rooms, The Promised Land

September 20, 2023 flawintheiris

Red Rooms | Written and Directed by Pascal Plante A creepy outlier from Quebec, this is not the serial killer thriller you may have come to expect, nor an outright exploitation horror — more a creepy character study. Kelly-Anne (Juliette Gariépy) is a whiz with numbers and makes some coin from modelling, living alone in…Read More

#TIFF2023 Reviews: Stop Making Sense, American Fiction

September 15, 2023 flawintheiris

Stop Making Sense | Directed by Jonathan Demme | Written by Demme and Talking Heads Whatever superlatives that've been attached to this classic 1984 Talking Heads concert film it deserves, but anyone who really wants to see it should do their best to check it out in its current form: a 4k restoration with at…Read More

#TIFF23 Reviews: Dream Scenario, The Critic, A Difficult Year

September 14, 2023 flawintheiris

I almost never do this, but today I walked out of a screening. Maybe if it had been earlier in the festival I would've stuck it out, but after about 25 minutes I'd completely lost my patience with a rambling, non-sensical movie. I won't say what it was but if you check a wired indie…Read More

#TIFF2023 Reviews: The Pigeon Tunnel, Limbo

September 12, 2023 flawintheiris

The Pigeon Tunnel | Written and Directed by Errol Morris “Evasion and deception were the necessary weapons of my childhood,” wrote David Cornwell aka John le Carré in his autobiography. Master documentarian Errol Morris helps explain why in this fascinating and impressively concise doc, just over 90 minutes. Cornwell's father was a con artist, constantly…Read More

#TIFF2023 Reviews: Wicked Little Letters, The End We Start From, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person

September 11, 2023 flawintheiris

Wicked Little Letters | Directed by Thea Sharrock | Written by Jonny Sweet A certified crowd pleaser. Olivia Colman stars as Edith Swan, god-fearing spinster living with her fragile mother and cruel father (Gemma Jones and Timothy Spall) in a tiny English hamlet in the post-war period. Jessie Buckley is Rose Gooding, an Irish lady…Read More

#TIFF2023 reviews: Woman Of The Hour, Lee, Seagrass

September 10, 2023 flawintheiris

Woman Of The Hour | Directed by Anna Kendrick | Written by Ian MacAllister McDonald I'm appreciating the examples of actors stepping behind the camera at this edition of TIFF, like Kristin Scott Thomas and Patricia Arquette. I liked both of their films to varying degrees, but this one is next level, with a skin-crawling…Read More

#TIFF2023 Reviews: The Boy And The Heron, Shoshana, Gonzo Girl

September 9, 2023 flawintheiris

The Boy And The Heron | Directed by Hayao Miyazaki | Written by Miyazaki and Genzaburô Yoshino I was thinking how universally beloved this animator is, and the legendary Studio Ghibli. I think it has to do with his ability to plug into our subconscious in his storytelling. He may be using Japanese cultural touchstones,…Read More

Sanctuary review — A bonded pair

September 1, 2023 flawintheiris

Directed by Zachary Wigon | Written by Micah Bloomberg | 96 min |▲▲▲▲△ | Amazon Prime When Rebecca (Margaret Qualley) walks into a hotel room where Hal (Christopher Abbott) is staying, she's wearing a blonde wig so patently awful right away you'll wonder about her bona fides. Apparently she's there to interview him about insurance…Read More

Shortcomings review — Laughs, loathing mix for an unusually good time

August 4, 2023 flawintheiris

Directed by Randall Park | Written by Adrian Tomine, adapting his own graphic novel | 92 min | ▲▲▲▲△ | On Demand Here's a knowing, self-aware comedy that plays with the conventions of the genre while also serving as a sharp look at creativity, identity, and representation, specifically amongst urban Asian-Americans. Actor-turned-Amazon-pitchman Randall Park (Always…Read More