Tag Archives: Idris Elba

Molly’s Game review — Sorkin goes all in, but he’s got a tell

January 2, 2018 flawintheiris

Directed by Aaron Sorkin | Written by Sorkin, adapting the book by Molly Bloom | 140 min | Netflix At his best, Sorkin's words have a knack of making you feel smarter by listening to them. They zip, they zing, they inform, entertain, and surprise. We all felt it in A Few Good Men, Sportsnight,… Read More

Thor: Ragnarok review — The God of Thunder lightens up

November 3, 2017 flawintheiris

Directed by Taika Waititi | Written by Eric Pearson, Craig Kyle, and Christopher Yost | 130 min It's the third Thor movie. Can you believe it? If I could go back in time and tell 10-year-old Carsten we'd have three Thor movies by 2017, not to mention all the Iron Man, Avengers, and X-Men movies,… Read More

Star Trek Beyond review — Trek Out of Darkness

July 23, 2016 flawintheiris

Directed by Justin Lin | Written by Simon Pegg and Doug Jung, based on the Gene Roddenberry TV series | 120 min | ▲▲▲△△ We start three years into the Starship Enterprise's five year mission. That's a clever reference to where the original show left off, three seasons in. This is also the third movie in… Read More

Finding Dory review — It’s Better Down Where It’s Wetter

June 23, 2016 flawintheiris

Directed by Andrew Stanton and Angus MacLean | Written by Stanton and Victoria Strouse | 103 min | ▲▲▲△△ Despite last year's powerfully creative Inside Out, I think we can safely say that Pixar's golden period has come to an end. The (other) more recent pictures still have that professional polish and solid entertainment value, but… Read More

The Jungle Book (2016) review — Spectacular, but neglects the bare (bear?) necessities

April 21, 2016 flawintheiris

Directed by Jon Favreau | Written by Justin Marks, adapting the Rudyard Kipling book | 105 min | ▲▲▲△△ Yes, this is a more direct adaptation of the beloved Kipling collection of stories than the Disney animated musical, famously the last one overseen by Walt himself. But let's be honest here: This Disney film also plays… Read More

Zootopia review — Lots of fun (but for the self-esteem bullsh*t)

April 10, 2016 flawintheiris

Directed by Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Jared Bush | Written by Howard, Moore, and Bush, with others | 108 min | ▲▲▲△△ Disney does good work in animation, especially since Pixar's John Lasseter went over there to run things. He serves as Executive Producer here on a film with three directors and too many… Read More

The Gift review — Throwback with a sting

August 6, 2015 flawintheiris

Written and directed by Joel Edgerton One might say the domestic thriller has gone out of fashion since its 1990s heyday, but that's not entirely true. There was the Idris Elba/Taraji P. Henson picture No Good Deed, and the Jennifer Lopez drama The Boy Next Door. Halle Berry has made a couple, too. They're often morality… Read More

Avengers: Age of Ultron review — The biggest, but not necessarily the best

May 1, 2015 flawintheiris

Written and directed by Joss Whedon, from the Marvel Comic created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby After 10 movies set in this particular Marvel Cinematic Universe, we know these costumed folks now. They're fun to spend time with, what with the jokes and fighting and punching. But the filmmakers also have the added pressure of… Read More

The Gunman review — a straight-ahead black-ops actioner

March 21, 2015 flawintheiris

Directed by Pierre Morel, Written by Don MacPherson, Pete Travis, from a the novel The Prone Gunman by Jean-Patrick Manchette Spy thrillers arrive on a spectrum. At one end the flashy James Bond, and at the other the more cerebral Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy—the Brits do them better than anyone. The Gunman is much closer to the 007 end of… Read More

Thor: The Dark World review

November 11, 2013 flawintheiris

Directed by Alan Taylor | Screenplay by Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely | Story by Don Payne and Robert Rodat | From the Marvel Comic by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby | 111 min | Netflix Hard to believe this is the eighth big-budget entertainment in this daisy-chain of Marvel movies,… Read More