Tag Archives: David Oyelowo

See How They Run review — It was Agatha all along

November 27, 2022 flawintheiris

Directed by Tom George | Written by Mark Chappell | 98 min | ▲▲▲△△ | Disney+ What we have here is an entirely self-aware, tongue-in-cheek, Agatha Christie-dragging whodunnit, stuffed with a delightful cast who completely understand what kind of movie they're in and swing for the fences. Accordingly, See How They Run is a delightful… Read More

The Midnight Sky review — Clooney’s sci-fi drama goes gently

December 26, 2020 flawintheiris

Directed by George Clooney | Written by Mark L. Smith, adapting a book by Lily Brooks-Dalton | 118 min | Netflix "Barbeau Station." "February 2049." "Three weeks after the event." This is the on-screen text that follows astronomer Augustine (Clooney), whiskered, ailing, and distraught, to an empty cafeteria in the opening shots of George Clooney's… Read More

The Cloverfield Paradox review — Space nonsense elevated by key performers

February 14, 2018 flawintheiris

Directed by Julius Onah | Written by Oren Uziel and Doug Jung | 102 min | Netflix The Cloverfield franchise is much more likely to be remembered for its unorthodox marketing than its contribution to the horror or sci-fi genres. The first one showed up as a so-so monster mocumentary that hid its money shots.… Read More

A United Kingdom review — The leads are winning, though the film’s conventional

March 13, 2017 flawintheiris

Directed by Amma Asante | Written by Guy Hibbert, from a book by Susan Williams | 111 min | On Demand A post-war historical drama about how Bechuanaland, the British protectorate, shrugged off the colonial oppression of the Empire and eventually become the Republic of Botswana. If that sounds a bit dry, don't worry—at its heart… Read More

Queen of Katwe review — Heartfelt sports drama overcomes cliches

October 11, 2016 flawintheiris

Directed by Mira Nair | Written by William Wheeler from an ESPN magazine article and book by Tim Crothers | 124 min Phiona Mutesi (Madina Nalwanga) is a teenage girl from Katwe, an impoverished neighbourhood of Kampala, Uganda's capital city. We meet her in 2011, when she's competing in a national chess tournament. Flashback four… Read More

A Most Violent Year review — A gripping New York thriller of yesteryear today

January 27, 2015 flawintheiris

Written and directed by JC Chandor It's arriving late here in Halifax and appallingly under-loved by the Academy, but I'm here to tell you A Most Violent Year is one of the best movies of 2014. The scale and ambitions of this picture are sky high for what is essentially an indie drama, which is why… Read More

Selma review — History is alive, history is today

January 11, 2015 flawintheiris

Directed by Ava DuVernay, written by Paul Webb In the past few years one of the issues American Democrats and Republican parties have been disagreeing on is voter registration. Republican lawmakers in several states have been tightening up the rules around voting—requiring two picture IDs, reducing the days in the early voting period, denying same-day registration—to… Read More

Jack Reacher review

January 21, 2013 flawintheiris

Directed and written by Christopher McQuarrie, adapting the Lee Child book, One Shot.A sad coincidence, I suppose, that I'm writing about Jack Reacher today, and earlier I heard of the death of Michael Winner, a British director who was responsible for a number of thrillers and action movies of the 1970s, movies Jack Reacher is directly… Read More