Tag Archives: Jena Malone

Love Lies Bleeding review — Juicy noir embraces and resists genre

March 15, 2024 flawintheiris

Directed by Rose Glass | Written by Glass and Weronika Tofilska | 104 min | ▲▲▲▲△ What a terrifically pulpy headscratcher this is. This is the second feature from Saint Maud filmmaker Glass, which couldn't be more different from her debut. It's a sleazy American noir that embraces the late 1980s setting and synthwave on… Read More

Nocturnal Animals review — Glossy thriller steps between b-movie punch and campy satire

December 18, 2016 flawintheiris

Directed by Tom Ford | Written by Ford, adapting the novel by Austin Wright | 116 min | Netflix When slick celebrity designer Tom Ford tried his hand at filmmaking, his first effort was a genuine surprise. A Single Man (2009) was a tender melodrama with Colin Firth as a heartbroken (and exceptionally well-tailored) academic wrapping… Read More

The Neon Demon review — Weird Couture

June 25, 2016 flawintheiris

Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn | Written by Refn, Mary Laws, and Polly Stenham | 117 min | ▲▲▲▲△ This one upset some folks at Cannes, and it's easy to see why. Promoted as a horror, it's no more a horror than Under The Skin was. There are moments of gore late in the running, and… Read More

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 review — A disappointing conclusion

November 29, 2015 flawintheiris

Directed by Francis Lawrence | Written by Peter Craig, Danny Strong, and Suzanne Collins, from Collins' novel | 137 min How exactly does such a compelling series of blockbuster films, with the biggest star in the world front and centre, go so quickly from thrilling to sad and drab? I'm still trying to figure it… Read More

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire review

November 30, 2013 flawintheiris

Directed by Francis LawrenceWritten by Simon Beaufoy and Michael Ardnt, from the novel by Suzanne CollinsOne of those rare sequels that genuinely extends the territory claimed in the original, Catching Fire has just a touch of The Empire Strikes Back about it, which is a compliment in almost every way but one: as the middle… Read More