THE INTERNET HAS RUINED IRISH CINEMA!

What a statement! Yet there's some truth to it. We're on an island and should be isolated from other cultures but it's only a click away to see the cinema offerings from each continent. That's why most Irish cinema appears to be derivative of better foreign titles. Instead of coming up with our own style of cinema that's different to other countries we imitate - badly. Even acclaimed and successful directors like Lenny Abrahamson offer nothing new. It's conscious Euro arthouse that we've seen before but with Irish accents. Few of our directors stand out and the ones who do appear to have only one movie in them. The internet makes everything available and that's why people are so eager to copy rather than innovate. That's also why our filmmakers are absolutely obsessed with 'the look' of their films - stuff that's shallow and uninteresting but appears great. It's surface filmmaking and lacks the confidence for long takes or anything resembling life. There's a certain technical standard that Irish directors aspire to but audiences end up looking at the movie rather than watching it. That's why there are so many stupid horror and science fiction movies coming out of this country. Directors who have the technical skills but their minds are empty. Blame the internet people!