Category Archives: Canadian

My Salinger Year review — New York writer makes it after all

March 7, 2021 flawintheiris

Directed by Philippe Falardeau | Written by Falardeau, based on the novel by Joanna Smith Rakoff | 101 min | Crave Plus There's the Coming Of Age movie, the Ambitious Youth Comes To The Big City movie, and the Fish Out Of Water movie, and My Salinger Year is a cross section of all three.…Read More

The Kid Detective review — Scruffy neo-noir comedy mostly works

February 2, 2021 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Evan Morgan | 100 min | Crave Plus Abe Applebaum was the pride of the town of Willowbrook (actually North Bay, Ontario) back when he was 12 (Jesse Noah Gruman). He was a boy genius, brilliant at solving mysteries. He'd lie awake at night, wondering if he was the smartest person…Read More

Top 15 Films of 2020

January 4, 2021 flawintheiris

Every year I assemble a list of the 10 best feature films (and sometimes documentaries) I saw in the past 12 months, and with it an accompanying collection of 10 "Under-The-Radar" pictures — the more peculiar, less mainstream, hidden gems worth seeking out. I figure that list could be more useful to a cinephile looking…Read More

Rare Bird Alert review — Birdwatching doc a lot of feathery fun

October 3, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Michael Melski | 43 min | CBC Gem Nova Scotia filmmaker Michael Melski returns to the documentary form after the creepfest The Child Remains with this look at hardcore birders across Canada and into the United States. It's an enthusiastic exploration and endorsement of birdwatching through its most eager purveyors, reminding us some of…Read More

Possessor Uncut review — Ruthless and brilliant horror sci-fi

October 2, 2020 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Brandon Cronenberg | 103 min | Crave Plus Brandon Cronenberg's second feature is a bloody marvel of nightmare fuel. I enjoyed Cronenberg's first, AntiViral, but, like a lot of people, I'm sure, I drew a lazy parallel or two between his work and his well-known, body-horror-loving daddy, the legendary David. This…Read More

#FIN2020 Review — Percy

September 20, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Clark Johnson | Written by Garfield Lindsay Miller and Hilary Pryor | 100 min | Crave Plus Percy Schmeiser is a farmer from Saskatchewan. In the late '90s he was sued by Monsanto, the global agribusiness conglomerate, who accused Percy of growing canola seeds that include their patented tech. He claimed to have…Read More

#FIN2020 Opening Night Gala Review — Falling

September 18, 2020 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Viggo Mortensen | 112 min Oscar-nominated actor and movie star Viggo Mortensen tries his hand as an auteur with an international co-pro domestic drama. A huge disappointment, it's a film entirely removed from real life. Willis, played by Lance Henriksen, is a senior struggling with dementia and an endless supply of…Read More

#FIN2020 PREVIEW — Bone Cage, Bread In The Bones, Citizen of Moria, The Forbidden Reel, Little Orphans, Queen Of The Andes

September 16, 2020 flawintheiris

The event of the year for the Atlantic Canadian cinephile — the FIN Atlantic International Film Festival — brings the world to Halifax every September. This year, of course, is a little different. The entire festival is online, which is a double-edged sword for the film lover. We get access to the full program on…Read More

Stage Mother review — Drag dramedy turns Halifax into San Francisco

August 26, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Thom Fitzgerald | Written by Brad Hennig | 93 min | On Demand and In Cinemas In 2020 it's fair to call Thom Fitzgerald a Nova Scotia filmmaking legend. It was 23 years ago his debut, The Hanging Garden, was an international sensation. In the years since he's carved out a career as…Read More

The Rest Of Us review — Surprising depth in breezy comedy-drama

August 4, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by Aisling Chin-Yee | Written by Alanna Francis, and Mark Van de Ven | 80 min | On Demand OK, so here's the slightly bonkers premise of this brief, but genuinely affecting Canadian feature: Cami (Heather Graham) is a children's book writer-illustrator living in a lovely, modernist home in a small town somewhere north…Read More