Flash of Genius

It occurred to me while watching that this film should have been called Splash of Genius. We’ve seen plenty of movies about great inventors and their brain children: Edison and the light bulb, Alexander Graham Bell and the telephone, Ned Brainerd and Flubber … but intermittent windshield wipers? I mean, they’re on my car, and they’re on ... Read more »

Flashpoint

Our Canadian/American friend Spider Robinson recommended this. I wonder if any SWAT team anywhere is as well-trained and compassionate as the one portrayed here, ostensibly in the city of Toronto?

On the other hand, my only experience is of fictional SWAT teams on TV, where they are invariably shown as cowboys to a man, ready to go in with guns blazing and chafing at the ... Read more »

Flawless

I have always loved movies about con games and heists. This one looked promising. It is 1960 and Demi Moore works at a company in London that controls most of the world’s diamonds. (It is not a secret, but most people don’t know that diamonds are not actually all that rare. The price is kept high by not allowing too many to be sold at once.) Thus, this company has literally three tons of ... Read more »

Flight

Right off the bat I have to say that the airplane crash that opens this movie is the best depiction of terror in the air that I have ever seen. And one of the best terror scenes of any kind. It’s probably because few of us have ever dangled over a pit of crocodiles or been in a big car chase with bullets flying, but we’ve all been on an airliner … except those who are so terrified of ... Read more »

Flight of the Butterflies

The monarch butterflies of eastern and central North America do something that, to me, is one of the most amazing things in the animal kingdom. Every year as winter approaches they begin flying south and west from the United States and Canada, from places as distant as Nova Scotia, covering as much as eighty miles per day, riding the wind currents. Then they “return” … to a place they have ... Read more »

Flight of the Phoenix

I had slim hopes for this, which sometimes helps. If it turns out to have anything going for it, I’m pleasantly surprised. Another thing it had going for it is I automatically cut some slack to movies about airplanes. I can’t help it, I love airplanes. The one here is a Fairchild C-119 “Flying Boxcar,” which I have a particular affection for because one flew into Mid-County Airport about 3 ... Read more »

Flightplan

It happens sometimes. In 1995 two Scottish movies came out within two months of each other: the terrific Rob Roy, and that overblown farrago and Mel Gibson ego trip, Braveheart. Unfortunately, the farrago took home all the gold. In 2005 it’s this one, and Red Eye a few months ago. Both take place largely on ... Read more »

Florence Foster Jenkins

Does anyone remember Tiny Tim, the singer and ukulele player who was popular in the late ‘60s? His real name was Herbert Khaury. He was a musical oddity, with his horrible tweed jacket and stringy long hair and falsetto voice. His signature number was “Tiptoe Through the Tulips.” He was married to “Miss Vicki” on the Tonight Show With Johnny Carson, and 40 ... Read more »

The Florida Project

Sean Baker, the writer-director, wanted to draw attention to what is called the “invisible homeless.” That means people who are not actually living on the street, but in budget motels. They have a roof over their heads, running water (and, often, running bedbugs), and a place to take a dump, but are only a week away from homelessness. Some of these children are growing up in the mighty ... Read more »

The Flower of Evil

I kept hoping this would turn into something, but when the violence came at the end it just didn’t add up. The movie seemed to lack a center. I didn’t care for any of the people, for the past sins and mysteries, for much of anything. Moody music doesn’t add up to a thriller.