Tag Archives: Emma Stone

Cruella review — The de Vil Wears Puppies, or Does She?

May 26, 2021 flawintheiris

Directed by Craig Gillespie | Screenplay by Dana Fox and Tony McNamara, Story by Aline Brosh McKenna, Kelly Marcel, and Steve Zissis, based on a novel by Dodie Smith | 134 min | Disney Plus Premium Disney's two-pronged strategy for new feature films — cannibalizing their classic catalogue — has been wildly successful. There's no… Read More

Zombieland: Double Tap review — Shambling, but not brain dead

October 24, 2019 flawintheiris

Directed by Reuben Fleischer | Written by Dave Callaham, Rhett Reese, and Paul Wernick | 99 min | Netflix, On Demand Zombieland from 2009 was, for my money, an exquisite example of what some people call popcorn for the brain: entertaining while in the cinema, but a movie where the emotional, nutritional value is near… Read More

Reviews from the Vault Vol. 8 — Comedies

August 28, 2019 flawintheiris

From 2005 to 2009 I was a programmer on CKDU 88.1 FM in Halifax, every Sunday morning hosting The Love & Hate Movie Show. I talked about what I was seeing and revisited some of my favourite films of old, pretty much what I do now here on FITI. I still have a lot of… Read More

Now on Canadian Netflix: Summer 2019

July 23, 2019 flawintheiris

To The Bone The first feature directed by Marti Noxon, whose name I’ve always associated with Buffy The Vampire Slayer. She also worked on Sharp Objects, the noirish HBO drama with Amy Adams who played a character with an addiction to self-harm. To The Bone is about Ellen (Lily Collins). She's 20 and anorexic, or… Read More

The Favourite review — Wicked, wonderful tale of women and power

December 22, 2018 flawintheiris

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos | Written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara | 119 min The new film by the Greek director of Dogtooth, The Lobster, and The Killing Of A Sacred Deer is, I offer humbly, his best film yet. It's still got a strangely skewed perspective, but it's much more character-driven than satire- and… Read More

Battle Of The Sexes review — Tennis drama delivers straight-set victory

October 3, 2017 flawintheiris

Directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris | Written by Simon Beaufoy | 121 min One of two films expected this year set in the world of 1970s tennis—the other being the forthcoming Borg McEnroe—this deftly-directed drama recreates a sideshow event, something that was as much show business as actual sports, and sees it as a… Read More

New on Canadian Netflix: August/September 2017

September 27, 2017 flawintheiris

Here are a cross-section of a number of mildly-to-solidly recommended films recently made available on Canadian Netflix. (You can click on the movie titles to read my original reviews where I’ve written them in the past.) Death Note (2017) I was a big fan of Adam Wingard's The Guest (found elsewhere on this month's list), bit… Read More

La La Land review — Fizzy musical eschews plot for romantic glamour

December 28, 2016 flawintheiris

Written and directed by Damien Chazelle | 128 min | On Demand La La Land and Moonlight are in a two-horse race for award season glory at the time of this writing. The latter has already come and gone in theatres, but the former, after much delay and glowing reviews from elsewhere, finally arrived at a… Read More

Second Screenings — and more on Birdman

February 1, 2015 flawintheiris

A couple days ago there was an interesting piece in the Guardian about whether critics should see movies more than once, and whether that was fair to viewers who, for the most part, are likely to only see a movie one time. You can go here to read it. I think of myself primarily as… Read More

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) review — Once more into the cowl, Michael Keaton

November 9, 2014 flawintheiris

Directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu, written by Innaritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, and Armando Bo After I saw the movie I considered the career of Michael Keaton. I always respected the guy as both a talented comedic and dramatic actor—in movies like Night Shift, Beetlejuice and Clean and Sober. He has a compelling, combustive quality. There's nothing warm… Read More