Tag Archives: John Ortiz

American Fiction review — Hilarious, slashing satire and family drama FTW

January 16, 2024 flawintheiris

An alternate version of this review appeared on the blog during my coverage of the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2023 Directed by Cord Jefferson | Written by Jefferson from the book Erasure by Percival Everett | 117 min | ▲▲▲▲△ | Amazon Prime American Fiction is a warm-hearted satire, which I’d generally say… Read More

Ad Astra review — A long ride into space

September 21, 2019 flawintheiris

Directed by James Gray | Written by Gray and Ethan Gross | 122 min | Crave Plus I was lining up for popcorn at the cinema last week, and behind me, two women noticed the poster for Ad Astra, featuring Brad Pitt against a starry backdrop. "Brad Pitt in space, I'd go see that," said… 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 Cult Of One: Miami Vice

April 9, 2017 flawintheiris

This is a semi-regular feature on FITI where I highlight an older film that doesn't get much love but I believe is worth discovering... or rediscovering. Written and directed by Michael Mann, based on the TV series by Mann and Anthony Yerkovich | 134 min | 2006 When people talk about Michael Mann's best work, they… Read More

Kong: Skull Island review — Good Time Gorilla Warfare

March 9, 2017 flawintheiris

Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts | Written by Dan Gilroy, Max Borenstein, Derek Connolly, and John Gatins | 120 min Kong: Skull Island is as much a movie about movies as it is a movie about a big ape. It's a deeply self-reflexive summer blockbuster weirdly released in March. But, that's fine: It embraces what it… Read More

The Finest Hours review — Terminally hokey nautical tale

January 29, 2016 flawintheiris

Directed by Craig Gillespie | Written by Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, and Eric Johnson, based on a book by Casey Sherman and Michael J. Tougias | 117 min | ▲△△△△ We've seen a lot of movies set in the early 1950s lately—the earnest, lush romance Brooklyn, the austere indie Carol. Now we have a movie that doesn't… Read More

The Drop review

September 23, 2014 flawintheiris

Directed by Michaël R. Roskam, written by Dennis Lehane, adapting his own short story Animal Rescue. Anyone familiar with Denis Lehane's other grimy gangster tales brought to the screen—Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone, for example—will recognize the world of The Drop from the get-go. We hear the prevailing myth off the top: Bob Saginowski… Read More

Silver Linings Playbook review

November 23, 2012 flawintheiris

Written and directed by David O RussellSelfishly, I think it's great to see talented writer/director Russell pick up his pace. The first movie of his I saw was the brilliant, anxious comedy Flirting With Disaster (his earlier, first feature film, Spanking the Monkey, remains unseen by me). FWD was in 1996. In '99 came Three… Read More