Wednesday 26 December 2012

Magical legend of the leprechauns

The closest Irish cinema has to Lord of the rings! Quaid arrives in Kerry to develop a theme park, falls for a local lass, and gets involved with a Leprechaun-Fairy war. Top-billed Whoppi Goldberg only appears for about ten minutes in this 3-hour movie. Runs out of steam but kids should like this one. More impressive than lots of acclaimed Irish-themed films. Little-known movie but out everywhere on DVD.

Sunday 23 December 2012

GOOD IRISH FILM QUIZ!

In the current issue of Ireland's own magazine. One hundred questions on Irish cinema with the answers on another page. Some tough ones too. Only €1.50 it's worth buying for Christmas.

Wednesday 19 December 2012

FMN MEMBER IN NEWS FOR ASSAULT!

Filmmaking Nobodies get another mention on this fine blog. This time one of their members, actress Tanya Wilson, is in today's newspapers for attacking several people (including a guard) in a Dublin bar. Bet she won't get banned from FMN either? Only people who criticise Kirsten Sheridan get banned from that website!

Tuesday 11 December 2012

THE GOOD, THE AVERAGE, AND THE RUBBISH OF 2012!

No point in reviewing Seven psychopaths as it's not Irish-themed and missed Silence so what of 2012?

THE GOOD
Other side of sleep - art, slow-moving but impressive film about a girl who finds a body.

Charlie Casanova - the Irish film event of the year was this one! Most people hated it. More stuff like this please!

Ek tha tiger - impressive Bollywood movie set mostly in Dublin. Doubt it will get a DVD release here?

Shamrocracy - enjoyable political mockumentary that will might a DVD release?

Dollhouse - surprise of the year. Impressive in place with lots of energy, looking forward to seeing more feature films from The Factory.

THE AVERAGE
Albert Nobbs - interesting film that was already done with Streisand's Yentl.

My brothers - off all the new Irish films from 2012 this is one I'd watch again. Similar in style to the early Film Board stuff only better.

Grabbers - the best-made Irish film of the year let down by one unoriginal scene after another.

THE RUBBISH
Haywire - don't like these kind of films but this one was awful. Everyone thought this would be good with its top director but it was awful.

Stella days - back to the 1950s with this rubbish. The sad thing is that these kind of films will always get made here.

Kiss for Jed - terrible film that seemed to be like Once without the songs.

Shadow dancer - just what was needed, another IRA TV-style drama. Plenty of older ones to watch. Did we really need this?

What Richard did - no doubt this will clean up at next year's IFTAs but don't believe the hype. Nothing special and laughably overrated.

Stitches - rubbish horror-comedy that should have gone straight to DVD.

Death of a superhero - lame pastiche movie that should have been made a decade earlier to really impress.

Sunday 9 December 2012

Dollhouse

Like a slasher movie without the killer! Improvised and loose movie that's good in parts. A group of scangers break into a friend's house and wreck the place. A posh neighbour arrives, and there's a shocking but silly ending (with an aged Deirdre O'Kane!). Too contrived to really work and the story is silly. Also, two of the girls are difficult to tell apart. Nothing happens and there's little tension. Has the appearance of copying better films but there are some good parts. The music is well done and even includes a song from Willy Wonka! Also, it's well made which makes it look a bit too polished for this kind of film. Not as bad as expected and certainly better than several Irish films released this year.

Friday 7 December 2012

AT LAST!

Dollhouse gets a release. Got one star in today's Evening herald newspaper. Will be wasting about €8 tomorrow to see this crap. Bet none of the director's defenders on www.filmmakersnetwork.ie will bother to do the same?

Tuesday 4 December 2012

2 by 4

One of the best Irish films no-one has seen! A construction worker in New York gets involved with gay sex, cross dressing, racism, karaoke, violence, drinking, smoking, and an abusing uncle. Well-made and fast-paced film that uses good music and acting. Similar to Riff raff if directed by Darren Aronofsky! This lost classic from the 1990s is one of the most impressive Irish-themed films of that decade. Lots of energy, street locations, contrasting scenes - this movie is alive! No middle-class Irish film school graduate could make stuff like this!

Sunday 2 December 2012

KIRSTEN SHERIDAN IS EVERYWHERE THIS WEEK!

Can't sit in my local Spar café without reading about our most overrated director! Sunday world, Hot press and bleedin' Image magazine all have articles about her a week before Dollhouse comes out. No other Irish filmmaker gets so much support for such little talent! It's laughable how ten years ago someone decided that Kirsten Sheridan was a major Irish director. Snap, All good children, As if I am not there, Eamon, and Song for a raggy boy are all films from Irish female directors that are more impressive than anything she's done. Yet these directors only get a fraction of the media support Sheridan gets. Even those tools on the Filmmakers' Network Nobodies website defend this woman regardless of talent.

Saturday 1 December 2012

Death of a superhero

This is just sh-t! The kind of Irish film that creates a 'buzz' in the festivals and media but crawls into our cinemas. Exactly what's wrong with Irish cinema. Nothing original and lots of references to other films, but done badly. Yet another film where we're expected to feel sorry for privileged Southside Dubliners! A young man gets cancer and he frees himself through drawing cartoons (which are more impressive than the rest). As expected: lots of lame indie bands at ½ the volume of the other sounds, familiar faces in support, a slight story, dull characters that fail to make you care, and worse of all BLANDNESS. The pretty schoolgirl is not pretty, the hooker is not sexy, the trip on the motorcycle is not exhilarating, the story drags, the violent arguments are not violent enough, and the escape from the hospital is not exciting. We've seen this stuff in other movies done much better. How in name of all mighty does Ian Fitzgibbon get to make so many films?

Master of the world

Dated movie from the 1960s with Vincent Price trying to stop wars around the world. He uses an airship to attack from the sky. A group of ...