Tag Archives: John Leguizamo

The Odyssey review — An epic journey home

July 17, 2026 flawintheiris

Directed by Christopher Nolan | Written by Nolan, based on Homer's epic poem | 172 min | ▲▲▲▲ | In Cinemas Filmmaker Christopher Nolan has called this 3000-year-old story a foundational text, and it's certainly inspired his work in the past — or, at least, involves themes he's interested in: The hero's journey, homecomings, non-linear… Read More

The Menu review — A tasty meal, not terribly filling

November 23, 2022 flawintheiris

Directed by Mark Mylod | Written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy | 107 min | ▲▲▲△△ | Crave, Disney+ Having gone to a food analogy for the headline, I'll try to exercise a little restraint for the rest of this review. The Menu is a new comedy thriller about a group of diners who… Read More

Encanto review — Family fantasy fundamentally familiar

January 24, 2022 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Jared Bush, Byron Howard, and Charise Castro Smith, with story credits from Jason Hand, Nancy Kruse, and Lin-Manuel Miranda | 102 min | Disney Plus | ▲▲▲△△ Just gonna get this out of the way: This is a lovely looking animated Disney musical about a magical Colombian family. Expect an explosion… Read More

The Infiltrator review — Powder, Guns, and Money

August 18, 2016 flawintheiris

Directed by Brad Furman | Written by Ellen Brown Furman based on the book by Robert Mazur | 127 min | ▲▲△△△ It's hard to believe the true story of a 1980s deep undercover agent for the US government who managed to disable Pablo Escobar's drug empire through money laundering and making friends with the right… Read More

Sisters review — Fey and Poehler’s party pad

December 26, 2015 flawintheiris

Directed by Jason Moore | Written by Paula Pell | 118 min | ▲▲▲△△ So much of what makes Hollywood comedies memorable is a balancing of tone between the gags and the narrative. It's about believing that the characters live and breathe outside the frame of the film, that they go on after it's over. It's… Read More

American Ultra review — A spy-action-stoner mash-up

August 22, 2015 flawintheiris

Directed by Nima Nourizadeh, written by Max Landis Sometimes when you bring together two disparate influences in an odd little brew you get something fresh. For the most part, that's what's happened here. It's clumsy in places, but it entertains as the world's first stoner comedy/action thriller. American Ultra is being marketed on its action comedy… Read More

John Wick review — Terrific, pure action

October 26, 2014 flawintheiris

Directed by Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, written by Derek Kolstad | Netflix A few weeks ago I reviewed The Equalizer and A Walk Among The Tombstones, where I noticed this recurring theme in recent action movies of the middle-aged guy who finds redemption and makes amends for his past by picking up a gun… Read More

Chef review

June 12, 2014 flawintheiris

Written and directed by Jon Favreau It's tempting to analogize the story of Chef with Favreau's career as an actor and director. Favreau came to prominence as the writer and star of the late-90s indie Swingers, with his buddy Vince Vaughn (they paired again in Made), which he parlayed into acting and directing gigs. He… Read More

The Counselor review

October 27, 2013 flawintheiris

Directed by Ridley ScottWritten by Cormac McCarthyThis is the first screenplay written directly for the big screen by Pulitzer Prize-winning McCarthy, whose dusty, western novels often concern themselves with the darkness in men's hearts—adapted in movies like No Country For Old Men and All The Pretty Horses, as well as the post-apocalyptic The Road. This,… Read More